Old Man of the Mountain
If Bill Monroe is the father of bluegrass, then Ralph Stanley is godfather. But Stanley says the music he does predates old Bill’s blues. “Back when I first started, they didn’t even call it bluegrass,” says Stanley in a phone conversation from his home in Coeburn, VA. “They just called it old-time hillbilly music. ‘Bout…
Childfree in America
Notorious British officer “Bloody” Banastre Tarleton once dubbed Charlotte the Hornet’s Nest because of the city’s inexhaustible, pestering Revolutionary War-era troops. Today, the nickname is as relevant as ever — only the hornets aren’t soldiers this time. To some Charlotteans, today’s nuisances are even more inexhaustible and pestering than the flying, stinging variety. They’re everywhere,…
Git-Ov-R-It?
Southerners know there is a specifically discernable difference between a redneck and a good ol’ boy. It’s a fine line, and Larry the Cable Guy is straddling it. His fans say he merely pokes fun at the down-to-earth worldview of red-state America’s inner rube. His detractors claim he makes folks laugh by using an unvarnished,…
Munich to Mommy
Aaron Klein’s nonfiction book Striking Back, like Steven Spielberg’s film Munich, is about the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes by Fatah’s Black September, the Palestinian terrorist group. Whereas the film is character-driven, dramatizing the ways in which five men tapped to avenge Jewish deaths become assassins, the book is a history of counterterrorism…
New Weird Americana
Country is amidst another aesthetic splintering in the wake of the 1990s hat-act heyday. Curiously, twang’s malleability makes it a primary mode of expression for both older, conservative traditionalists who side with the America über alles spirit of the current administration and younger would-be radicals who simultaneously reject the past while looking for a buffer…
The Blotter
U-Die: A man returned a rented U-Haul and thought he had completed the transaction with the company. He returned home and received a phone call from a U-Haul employee telling him he would be charged extra for not filling up the gas tank. The man went back down to the U-Haul yard to pay the…
Charges Expected in Hit-And-Run
The case seemed clear-cut: A guy with booze in his system strikes and kills a pedestrian, flees the scene and later turns himself in to the police. But more than a month after Roberto Rodriguez Perez died while crossing Central Avenue, charges have yet to be filed in his death. That could change within two…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: Six months ago, I broke up with my boyfriend of six years and started to date — all out of the same bars. Five months later, I have been juggling four or five men and trying to play the game but I am having problems with the guys running into each other.…
What’s Up at Independence High?
Randi Imbriano was an all-star educator. National Board Certified. Teacher of the Year. Assistant Principal of the Month. She’d been called one of the state’s best principals in training. But after she complained to her superiors in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools about questionable actions at Independence High, Imbriano found that her sterling resume didn’t matter much anymore.…
Stargazer
Capricorn The Goat (Dec. 21– Jan. 19) It seems as though the Goats have had few romantic aspects in the last few months. But this week could make up for it all. Energies favor relationship(s) to lovers, children, and even business contacts. Your attitude is upbeat and optimistic and your heart is singing. For All…
Bush: ‘I’m Not Making This Up’
WASHINGTON, DC — No doubt reassuring millions of Americans, President Bush on Jan. 4 defended his program of legally dubious wiretapping at home and strategically dubious regime change abroad for fighting terrorists by insisting he isn’t in la-la land. Terrorists want to use Iraq as a home base, Bush told reporters last week. He then…
Clips
New Releases HOODWINKED These days, it seems that everyone this side of Mike Leigh has climbed aboard the animation bandwagon. So it’s really no surprise that Harvey and Bob Weinstein, the former Miramax heads responsible for such adult features as The Piano and The English Patient, have acquired (for their new outfit The Weinstein Company)…
Another try at Democracy
For the first time in Mexico’s history, citizens who live outside its borders will be able to exercise their right to choose the next president. Unfortunately I don’t believe most people outside of Mexico — and a few who still live there — care much anymore. Why? Because in the five years since we elected…
The Constant Gardener, Rock ‘n’ Roll High School among new home entertainment titles
BROKEN FLOWERS (2005). Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes, this Jim Jarmusch gem takes Bill Murray’s accidental tourist from Lost In Translation and drops him into About Schmidt Americana territory. Here, Murray plays Don Johnston, whose catatonic existence receives a much-needed jolt when he learns he may have a son he never knew…
Short List
Councilman SAYS Charlotte NEEDs MLK STreet; Mayor suggests city honor LOCALS LIKE Sue MYRICK Yeah, who needs Dr. King as a human rights hero when you have Rep. Run-for-the-Border? ONE MILLION 700 Club VIEWERS HEAR PAT ROBERTSON say ARIEL SHARON’S STROKE WAS GOD’S PUNISHMENT FOR ISRAELI WITHDRAWAL FROM GAZA The big news is that a…
Tall In The Saddle
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN Rating: ***1/2 DIRECTED BY Ang Lee STARS Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal Has there ever existed a movie genre simultaneously as macho and as rife with homoerotic undertones as the Western? With the exception of the war flick, no other film classification has found as little use for women as this one. The camaraderie…
Musical Chairs at CMS
They’re not fooling Judy Kidd. The old official line from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools was that they didn’t have discipline problems, no matter how many kids said they didn’t feel safe at school. The new official line was, OK, CMS does have discipline problems, and the school system might have — shall we say — “underreported” those…
Out There
Patience is integral to one’s enjoyment of Breakfast On Pluto, Neil Jordan’s adaptation of the novel by Patrick McCabe. Fifteen minutes into the film, as subtitles helpfully translated the chirping of robins and lead Cillian Murphy laid on the diva act with a trowel, I was ready to call it quits. But a funny thing…
Port Authority
Nothing evokes social panache like serving a good port wine. A carefully chosen port can get you laid, secure a raise or impress the in-laws. Since it’s a mystery to so many, it always makes an impact, more than Scotch, more than liqueurs like Amaretto or Bailey’s, and definitely more than regular wine. And, although…
See & Do
Tuesday, january 12 Blooze-soaked ’70s megarockers Aerosmith have been savvier than most at playing the endurance game, diversifying their classic-rock portfolio with lucrative endorsements and Diane Warren-penned soundtrack treacle. The Bosstown-bred superstars’ canny spectacle still delivers live, though, on the strength of front man Steven Tyler’s cartoonish flamboyance and deathless nuggets like “Sweet Emotion” and…
What’s the Buzz?
The water-cooler buzz in the downtown towers last fall centered on a rumored bakery in the Charlotte Plaza Building. In September I featured Marguerite’s French Bakery, a marvelous spot which offered downtown folks fresh baked pastries for the first time in decades. A few weeks ago I noted that Bridgette Shaw, the owner of Marguerite’s,…
Sistas in Rare Form
Kick off the King Weekend with plenty of drama and maybe a few laughs too! From a Sundance selection displaying a marriage minus love to a short explaining the intricate complexities of buying hair, the Legacy of Black Women — Short Film Showcase has something for everybody. These films highlight the newest crop of up-and-coming…
Auld Lang Van
I, the undersigned, do hereby make the following culinary proclamations and resolutions as concerns for the New Year (2006, for those still in extended hangover mode): 1. Quickly check online for any mixed drinks that I might be able to make out of all the leftover cheap champagne I’ve amassed. 2. Learn to use the…
From the Editor
Now that the holidays are well behind us, it should be time for us to relax and enjoy a little peace, right? Maybe do some running or swimming laps, or take a motorcycle ride into the country. Maybe volunteer at a shelter, or flee town altogether for the comfort of warmer climes. Or maybe just…
Wine List
Wine Classes www.CarolinaWineClub.com. Jan. 17, 6:30-8:30pm, Diversity of the Piedmont — Italy. $35. Westye Group Southeast Showroom, 127 West Worthington Ave. # 104. 704-344-8027. Wine Tasting A different sampling of wines every week. Saturdays, 12-5pm. Free. Frugal MacDoogal’s, I-77 at Carowinds Blvd. 803-548-6634. Wine Tastings Wednesday Flight Nights, 5:30-7:30pm, three-wine tastings; $10. Four for Fridays,…
Letters
The Important Things Re: Tara Servatius’ “Behind the Brown Door” (Citizen Servatius, Jan. 4): You have my sympathy for all you went through. Confronting your parents’ mortality in such a situation is an emotionally draining ordeal. There is nothing “to do” except watch the flashing numbers, hoping for the slightest upward trend. Good luck in…
Altered States
Oh goodness, isn’t it time for a little brain-numbing? These totally weird sites are perfect for just sitting back, spacing out, and letting your subconscious out for a little walk in the park. Aaaah, that’s better! Dervish Flowers www.flyingpuppet.com/shock/ dervish.htm Dreambase www.dream7.com Mutato Muzika www.mutato.com Oulipoems www.sporkworld.org/oulipoems On the Riverside www.turbulence.org/Works/lefevre/index.htm
My Burning Bed
It’s important I point out that my brother-in-law Eddie was only blamed for the flaming mattress. The verdict is still out on whether he actually started the fire. There was never a conviction or anything, and calling the police was not really an option, even though I insisted (because it was my bed that was…
Band of the Year: The Talk
Shoot, we’re still reflecting on 2005, when we let several worthy local rockers, including an Avett Brother, an Alternative Champ, a La Rúa and those rising siblings in the Barnettes reel off the five things that rocked their world. We wish them and all local artists much good fortune this year, but for helping increase…
Beyond Discovery
Tierra Strickland’s 10-year-old face lights up. Her head tilts as far back as it can go, and her mouth is agape as she stares up at a ten-foot-plus grizzly bear frozen forever in attack mode. In her wheelchair, Tierra barely reaches the beast’s knees. At the moment she’s too awed to crack a joke, but…
