Stargazer
For All SignsTips to readers of any weekly column: 1) Life does not start and end at midnight on Wednesdays, and aspects don’t either. Time is a flowing entity. Occasionally last week’s column may be applied more accurately this week or vice-versa. 2) If you have had your horoscope cast using the exact time of…
The War Party’s huckster
Like most Americans, I felt drawn to Colin Powell’s projection of sincerity and substance during his February 5 agitprop performance before the UN’s Security Council. Polls show that about twice as many Americans trust Powell as trust his boss, George Bush. Thus, what we have is a convincing con man fronting for someone we know…
Opera Full of Sass
Could it be that Carlisle Floyd, widely heralded as America’s Puccini, is a bit of a prude? Evidence was mixed last week as Opera Carolina presented the Southeastern premiere of Floyd’s newest piece, Cold Sassy Tree.When it came to skewering the hidebound religious rectitude of the sleepy Georgia burg at the turn of the 20th…
Bingo!
Since 1995, the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte has paid nearly a half-million dollars to local victims of alleged sexual abuse. The carefully worded disclosure was buried in its 2001-2002 annual report at the end of a description of its policy on protecting young people from sexual abuse.By our deadline on Monday, diocese spokesperson Kevin Murray…
An Artful Balance
The more I think about Joe Walters’ work and what I want to say about it the more baffled I become. The drawings and the sculptural work are straightforward, not the least bit confusing. The show at Joie Lassiter Gallery consists of several groupings: drawings of trees and the landscape and sculptural forms of plant…
War Plans
“Embedded” is odd Pentagon-speak for the old school combat reporting that will take place if the US goes to war in Iraq. Journalists have been through a military-led “boot camp,” slogging through fields with soldiers and learning the fun of slapping on a gas mask and a bio-chem suit, all in the name of war…
The 60s and All That
Thirteen years in the making, Great Neck, Jay Cantor’s epic look at growing up in a New Jersey suburb during the turbulent 60s and 70s, doesn’t lack for chutzpah, scope, grand themes or gross tonnage, as its 700-plus pages attest.The novel weaves the daily dramas of six friends and a host of other characters into…
Give Me A Break
Take a look at the photo here. Does the person pictured in it look like an aging radical hippie activist to you? No? Well, I’ll be damned — I’m not Jerry Klein. Despite his sometimes wacky radicalism, Klein, who once wrote for this paper, was the nicest guy you ever wanted to meet. But he…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music Always on Sunday: Edward Eikner, pianist Dr. Eikner is from Wesleyan College in Macon, GA. Sun., March 2, 3 p.m. Free. Barnes Recital Hall, Winthrop U, Rock Hill. 803-323-2255. American Dinner Concert Presented by the Charlotte Civic Orchestra. Featuring works by Leonard Bernstein, Antonin Dvorak and Louis Spohr with guest conductor, Alexander Kordzaia.…
Letters
Deeply Betrayed I’m writing to thank you for your Feb. 12 article entitled “From Boston to Charlotte” (by Tara Servatius). I have not experienced sexual abuse by any cleric, but have certainly experienced other forms of abuse, including having my job as a theology professor at Belmont Abbey suddenly and inexplicably terminated in 1993. When…
Thai Scores
Toi (Sukanya) B. Rogers, a native of Bangkok, met her husband on an airbase in Thailand and moved to Charlotte in 1972. “All the time people tell me they love my food and asked me to open a restaurant,” says Rogers. Twenty years ago, she and some partners opened Thai Cuisine on Central Avenue. That…
The Blotter
Obsessed: A person called a local man’s cell phone 7,620 times. If that was not enough, the offender also e-mailed at least 3,000 Instant Messages to the man. Although the calls and messages were non-threatening, they were interfering with his business and daily living. The man said that he had changed his telephone number twice,…
The Wine Schmooze
Ah, the ever solemn, oft confusing restaurant ceremony of “tasting” a bottle of wine. I call it the “Wine Schmooze” since it’s a dance between you and the server. We all know there’s not exactly a training class that teaches you the machinations of the ritual, so it can be intimidating. But knowing the reasoning…
News of the Weird
War news: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wrote to Yasser Arafat deploring public bombings, at least when the bomb is delivered (as one was on Jan. 26 in Jerusalem) on a donkey. (Said a PETA official, “It’s not my business to [comment on] human wars.”) And to help the U.S. military, a Las…
Good Eats
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.…
Taking The Rap
Until somewhat recently, independent and underground hip hop in Charlotte has always been relegated to outcast status — unlike, say, Atlanta, where similar acts are rapidly gaining OutKast status. The occasional radio-program chattin’, dub-rollin’ star appears at an out-of-the-way place on The Plaza or Independence Boulevard, or perhaps as part of a downtown festival bill.…
Matthews Live!
In one of the best kept secrets in recent memory, an upcoming March 25 Davidson College date by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds was announced and sold out rather quickly. The Belk Arena show had been anticipated for weeks after the college learned that it was one of 12 schools selected for the tour from…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 2.26 Honeychild — A groove rock band recently relocated to our neck of the woods from Arizona, this sextet has an assorted classic rock sound with mellow underpinnings sung by an able female vocalist. It’s your better than average, straight-ahead rock & roll band with plenty of percussive sidebars and keyboards adding to the…
Soundboard
Wednesday, Feb. 26 Big Al’s Pub, Mooresville Scott Johnson Cajun Queen 7th Street Gator Band Connolly’s On Fifth Rich acoustic Double Door Inn Honeychild The Evening Muse Scott Jeffrey’s Band The Meeting House Restaurant John Alexander Trio Midtown 51 Dialed-In Mojo Restaurant & Spirits Juggernauts Neighborhood Theatre Ribbon Of Highway — Endless Skyway O’Charley’s Concord…
Dead Man Gawking
THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE DIRECTED BY Alan Parker STARS Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney Movies that tackle the subject of capital punishment haven’t exactly flooded theaters at any point in cinema history, so the best of this meager output is Tim Robbins’ Dead Man Walking, which spent the majority of its running time…
See & Do
FEB.26 WEDNESDAY Blues legend B.B. King has been touring for something like 50 years, bending the strings of various guitars named Lucille, and overlaying a sleek, sophisticated sheen on one of America’s great musical artforms. King plays Ovens Auditorium tonight at 7:30pm. Tickets range from $38-$43.50. For more information, call 704-522-6500. (Grooms) The Charlotte 49ers…
“C” Average
OLD SCHOOL DIRECTED BY Todd Phillips STARS Luke Wilson, Will Farrell, Vince Vaughn Laugh-out-loud moments have become such a scarce commodity in most comedies these days — usually, filmgoers have to settle for a steady succession of smiles, with maybe a couple of chortles thrown in — that it’s almost tempting to recommend a whole…
Bill, Grill and Russian Footwork
Thursday night, I took some folks’ advice and headed to The Evening Muse to see Bill Mallonee, formerly part of the Vigilantes of Love, along with Will Kimbrough. I had heard Mallonee on disc before, but had no idea about his live show or even his relative age. After I arrived, I spent about 15…
Film Clips
NEW RELEASES DARK BLUE James Ellroy wrote the novel L.A. Confidential while David Ayers penned the screenplay for Training Day; small wonder, then, that this collaborative effort between the pair gleefully snatches elements from both earlier works, placing a charismatic yet corrupt cop at the center of a drama in which the city of Los…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: I had a pipe burst for the second time in three years. I live in a condominium complex and my neighbor has been unfortunate enough to have her unit damaged with water as well. The insurance company does not allow for both units to be covered under one claim, therefore my neighbor…
Man Of Mystery
Bannon, a 39-year-old husband and father, comes across as a perfectly nice and pleasant fellow. He taught computer science at colleges in Greensboro and Raleigh for about four years before moving to Charlotte in 2000 to take a job at Information Architects, which went belly-up last year. This, of course, makes his cloak and dagger…
