Feb 13-19, 2013

Feb 13-19, 2013 / Vol. 26 / No. 51

Cover Story

Modern Dating Rituals

The stigma has passed. The future is here. Last July, Reuters published research stating that 40 million of the 54 million single Americans have turned to online dating and hook-up websites. This isn’t all that surprising when you put those numbers in context. A recent study by Socially Aware (the social media update published by…

Megan Henshall

The Ringers playing Neighborhood Theatre tonight (02/20/13)

The Ringers The Ringers aren’t exactly The Highwaymen (Cash, Waylon, et al.) or Traveling Wilburys (Orbison, Petty, et al.), but we’ll give ’em the “supergroup” title. Boasting a guitarist from Widespread Panic (Jimmy Herring) alongside noted solo performer Wayne Krantz and session musicians who’ve played with the likes of Ray Charles (bassist Etienne Mbappe), Joni…

Rachel Bailey

CD review: Azita’s Year

Azita Youseffi, the former Scissor Girl and Bride of No No founder, returns with another compelling and challenging record featuring her odd blend of torch songs and moody laments. The nine tracks on Year were written for an avant-garde theatrical production, and stake out territory much closer to Burt Bacharach — as heard through Patti…

John Schacht

Book review: Dan Fesperman’s The Double Game

The Double Gameby Dan Fesperman (Knopf, $26.95, 356 pages) Dan Fesperman, as his website proudly notes, was educated in the public schools of Charlotte and graduated from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. His former career as a reporter included a stint at the now-defunct Charlotte News. During his journalism days, Fesperman writes…

Erik Spanberg

Charlotte’s got your goat

Goat meat is a delicacy most Americans are missing out on, and it’s a shame. Popular in African, Middle Eastern and some Latin American and Asian cuisines, it’s milder than lamb, lower in fat than chicken, and higher in protein than beef. It’s also delicious. Despite proudly claiming my G.R.I.T.S. (girl raised in the South)…

Emiene Wright

Where to find Egyptian falafels

Like barbecue and pizza, falafels are prepared differently in various countries. Unfortunately, many people believe falafels are the same throughout the Middle East — that broad expanse of countries banded together by a geopolitical designation, not an agricultural and, hence, culinary grouping. I know of no other regional cuisines that have been lumped together on…

Tricia Childress

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files (Feb. 14)

Burn Notice: Some people just don’t know when to keep quiet. A neighbor called fire and police departments after noticing a Matthews home was on fire. When the owners arrived and the fire had been put out, the two men dug around the ashes and noticed someone had broken in, most likely before setting their…

Ryan Pitkin

A Good Day to Die Hard: Pull the plug

A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD * DIRECTED BY John Moore STARS Bruce Wilis, Jai Courtney It’s been exactly a quarter-century since Bruce Willis became a movie star with the action classic Die Hard, but while 2013 finds the actor headlining the fifth film in the never-say-die series, it’s clear that A Good Day to…

Matt Brunson

Beautiful Creatures an ugly mess

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES *1/2 DIRECTED BY Richard LaGravenese STARS Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert Emma Thompson delivers the worst performance of her distinguished career, Jeremy Irons resists the urge to have the producers sign his paycheck even as the cameras are rolling on him, and the exaggerated accents by a significant chunk of the cast are no…

Matt Brunson

Taking stock of Bond: Ranking the 007 flicks

For ample lists about everything 007, including Best Theme Songs, Best Villains, Best Character Names and more, see related sidebar. Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond movie, but before I’m accused of being a day late and a pound short, let me state that 2013 marks the 50th anniversary for…

Matt Brunson

The Double-Oh Dossier

(To see rankings of all the James Bond films from worst to first, go here.) Best James Bond In preferential order: 1. Sean Connery 2. Daniel Craig 3. Timothy Dalton 4. A blank space in honor of the vast gap between the first three and the last three 5. Roger Moore 6. Pierce Brosnan 7.…

Matt Brunson

Weekly horoscope (Feb. 14-20)

Aquarius The Waterbearer (Jan. 19-Feb. 18): 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 must be reminded that we are actually separate beings, helping when we can. Sometimes our energy is too low…

Vivian Carol

Pat McCrory’s commerce fetish

Jaws dropped in North Carolina and around the nation recently when Gov. “Mayor Pat” McCrory talked about higher education on a radio show hosted by Bill Bennett, former Reagan education secretary, hypocritical moralizer and admitted gambling addict. Their exchange was sadly revealing, as the two beneficiaries of liberal arts education bowed to their party’s aggressive…

John Grooms

Indie artists Kickstart their art

Ah, the starving artist. So many ideas, so little money. As downloads and audio streaming continue leaching cash flow from the music business, musicians are seeking funding for projects and materials on Internet sites including Kickstarter, Indiegogo and PledgeMusic. But with these DIY approaches to raising dough come new challenges. Just ask Charlotte’s Fusebox Poet.…

Rachel Bailey

Material gains

“Without the ethical consciousness, a painter is only a decorator.” Robert Motherwell’s words from 1957 could also serve as the foundation for Catalan artist Antoni Tàpies’ work, as evidenced by the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition, Antoni Tàpies: Texture and Image. Although he was well-recognized in his home country, he remains fairly unknown here.…

Grace Cote

The Zulus have arrived

The Zulus have come to Charlotte, and I don’t mean the African warriors, or even the Mardi Gras krewe. I’m talking about the Universal Zulu Nation, an international hip-hop awareness group that organizes cultural events and community activism, mainly aimed at youth. The organization was founded in the 1970s by former gang members in the…

Erin Tracy-Blackwood

Brennan and Kiriakou, drones and torture

John Brennan and John Kiriakou worked together years ago, but their careers have dramatically diverged. Brennan is now on track to head the CIA, while Kiriakou is headed off to prison. Each of their fates is tied to the so-called war on terror, which under President George W. Bush provoked worldwide condemnation. President Barack Obama…

Amy Goodman

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