All In The Game
One night when I was in college, a girlfriend called me up and asked if I wanted to go to a Miss Hawaiian Tropic Contest at a local sports bar. I sat there, holding onto the telephone, dumbfounded. “Sure, Patrice, nothing turns me on more than seeing a cattle call of big-breasted women prancing around…
One War, Lots of Reasons
As President Bush’s campaign against Saddam Hussein has escalated, so too has a loosely organized movement against the proposed war. Particularly during the past month, the voice of dissension against the war has grown in both number and diversity around the country. Unlike the Vietnam era anti-war movement, which didn’t reach a substantial size until…
Auntie Maimed
There are comedies by women that discreetly question or refute traditional world views perpetuated by men. Satires written by women have put these same self-serving paternalistic views to ridicule and scorn. Beyond comedy and satire lies Lisa Loomer’s The Waiting Room, a dark, venomous concoction incubated in seething spite and hatched in vengeful fury.Toss in…
Who Knew?
The official answer appears to be that no one knows anything. After another week of digging, it’s still unclear how the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) managed to hire transportation consultants responsible for two of the nation’s biggest transit debacles — not to mention numerous instances of scandal, fraud and corruption — to oversee engineering…
Respect your elder
The ElderArt Gallery is the new kid on the block in the SouthEnd area of Charlotte, a neighborhood which appears to be vying for a larger piece of the art market.Larry Elder is showing a preview of five artists he’ll show solo later this year. Four Shadow Plus One is a sampling of what this…
“Inadvertent Removal”
It’s a mystery, all right. Some members of the Charlotte City Council want to know how a personal file belonging to an assistant Charlotte city manager wound up on a reporter’s desk at the Charlotte Observer.At Monday’s meeting, indignant council member James Mitchell asked city staff to prepare a report on the situation. According to…
Selfishly Selfless
Richard Price’s new novel, Samaritan, succeeds in bringing fresh meaning to the phrase “give till it hurts.” In this story, every gift comes with strings attached. And when the main protagonist gives, everybody hurts — sadly, that includes the reader, who suffers the unbearable lightness of this character’s being and the overlong study of his…
What’s Not Real?
In the year 2020, when live cockfights and soft-core porn will be shown after 10pm on network television, codgers like us will remember the good old days of today, when “reality” shows sprang up like crabgrass, and TV critics lamented the downfall of Western Civilization because of Joe Millionaire.Even though they’re not scripted dramas and…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music Charlotte Symphony’s Mostly Mozart & Neighborhood Concert This intimate, informal concert on Feb. 14 encompasses four centuries of time-honored works for chamber orchestra. Held in the Duke Family Performance Hall at Davidson College. A second performance will be held on Feb. 15 at First Baptist Church, 301 S. Davidson St. Both performances will…
Letters
Listening? Kudos to Tara Servatius for her well-documented story (“Taken For A Ride?” January 29), about the unbelieveable deception of the consulting firm of Parsons Brinkerhoff Quade & Douglas. They seem to have left a scandalous trail across this country and yet still seem to sustain a thriving business. She really did her homework. And…
The Perfect Pair
Long before Whitman created the famous index to their chocolate sampler box and Necco introduced their conversation hearts (a candy which is, by the way, 101 years old this month), Valentine’s Day has been a day set aside to celebrate twosomes.Who was Saint Valentine? The Catholic Saint Encyclopedia reveals three individuals named Saint Valentine. Of…
The Blotter
Color Coordinated: A local woman discovered that her shed had been broken into. The thief took one yellow weed eater, one red chainsaw, and one green chainsaw. He also snatched a red grass blower, as well as a red and silver tiller and a blue sander. The woman has no suspect information at this time.…
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.…
News of the Weird
Take me higher: Following a religious experience, Michael Braithwaite of the mountain village of Putney, Ky., recently converted his Love World shop (selling vibrators and other porn paraphernalia) to Mike’s Place (selling Bibles and other Christian items). (However, according to a December report in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, a 31-year-old government lawyer has developed…
Passionate Potable
“If a life of wine, women and song becomes too much, give up the singing.” — Anonymous There’s something about clinking glasses filled with a red-colored liquid that sets a sexy scene for Valentine’s Day. Gazing at a lover’s face over a brimming goblet primes us for romance and whatever else might arise. Assuming these…
Adult Entertainment
The Hart Witzen Gallery’s probably not the first place you think of when you think of indie hip hop shows, but then again, Sage Francis isn’t your normal hip hop artist. No, Sage Francis’ shows fit better in a place like an art gallery or a library: The lack of suffocating clouds of smoke and…
Rundgren And All That Nazz
Todd Rundgren emerged as a blip on the rock scene radar in the late 60s as guitarist and songwriter for the eclectic pop band the Nazz. Since then, he’s worked in almost every aspect of the music business, often blazing a trail of new ideas and innovation. The mercurial Rundgren — long considered a pioneer…
The Poetic Barber
Patricia Barber Verse Premonition/Blue Note Poetry and jazz gracefully mingle in this aptly titled outing from singer/pianist Barber, her first disc consisting completely of original material. Like Abbey Lincoln and Cassandra Wilson, Barber takes cues from tradition (her use of silence and timing evokes Miles Davis) while writing and singing her own poetic lyrics, with…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 2.5 Chris Connelly — Best known for his Pigface/Ministry work, Connelly has lately been pursuing a softer, more mellow acoustic approach to his music, which, while sonically interesting due to his Bowie-like pipes, fails to keep one’s interest for very long. Openers VooDou, on the other hand, are a hell of a lot of…
Soundboard
Wednesday, Feb. 5 15th Street Garage Malevolent Creation, Between the Buried and Me, Aria & Sadie Mae Barone’s Wine Room, Huntersville Amy Broome Cajun Queen 7th Street Gator Band Comet Grill Pervis & Sonya Lee Connolly’s On Fifth Rich (acoustic) Double Door Inn Reverend Love The Evening Muse David Childers, Rick Spreitzer & Tom Eure…
Movie Missives
Three local film series will exclusively feature black-themed movies during the month of February. Already in play is African-American Films at the Main Library, which is currently presenting a new title at 7pm every Monday in the venue’s Francis Auditorium. Up next on February 10 is 1974’s Claudine, with Diahann Carroll’s Oscar-nominated performance as a…
See & Do
FEB 7 FRIDAY Rocker Todd Rundgren, perhaps best known for his landmark 70s experimental albums Something/Anything and A Wizard, A True Star, will play the Neighborhood Theatre tonight at 8pm. Rundgren, whose cult following in the 70s was rabid enough to launch a line of fan-produced “Todd Is God” bumper stickers, is on a solo…
Agent Provocateur
THE RECRUIT 1/2 DIRECTED BY Roger Donaldson STARS Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, Bridget Moynahan Is it possible that the heads of all the major studios in Hollywood routinely meet in secret, like a shadowy cabal straight out of The Star Chamber, and decide who they will collectively promote as The Next Big Thing? It’s a…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: So my friend calls me up and tells me that he has started dating this girl and that he’s totally infatuated and thinks she’s the one for him. He tells me her name, “Jenny Smith” (not her real name) and I think to myself, “That name rings a bell.” We make dinner…
Film Clips
NEW RELEASES BIKER BOYZ What does it say about a cinema culture in which something like The Fast and the Furious would serve as an inspiration for other movies? Nevertheless, this obvious take-off, adapted from a New Times article about African-American motorcycle gangs though doubtless greenlit because of the success of that 2001 racing hit,…
Stargazer
For All Signs For two weeks on either side of February 16 we are witnessing the influence of Jupiter opposite Neptune. The general interpretation is expansive optimism, probably based on idealism and what we want to see. It is a hopeful attitude, but may not have a solid basis in reality. We are all prone…
Talk About The Passion
Twenty years ago, four young men decided to take a break from recording their first album at Charlotte’s Reflection Studios. Bored and without a car, they ambled across Central Avenue to the Salvation Army thrift shop. The young quartet — Bill Berry, Mike Mills, Peter Buck and Michael Stipe — often spent their free time…
