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How N.C. lawmakers can lead on health care access
The man whose birthday was celebrated last week, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said it best: “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” Lack of access to quality health care is a national disgrace that affects over 40 million Americans on a very real level. How…
Winehouse caught smoking…crack
Amy Winehouse, the female answer to Pete Doherty, has been filmed smoking crack recently. Sad…just sad. \\\\\\\\\\
The wrong injection
— Cartoon by Jim Hunt
The Medusa
This position offers a lesson on both love and balance. It starts with the man squatting on the floor, using only his feet for balance. The woman then straddles him, allowing penetration. The movement is described as a back and forth rocking motion, similar to that of a hammock. There is also a variation on…
Would it kill you to call, Bush?
By Mahmoud Ahmadinejad So, Mr. Bush, your trip to the Middle East has come to a close. Good! I am almost as overjoyed at the news you are leaving as I was to find out you wouldn’t be visiting me during your visit. Why wouldn’t I be happy? I was hoping that you would only…
Winter storm 2008: Head for the hills (or the Harris Teeter)!
Charlotteans are famous for their winter weather meltdowns. As soon as the word gets out that we may get a flurry of snow, the schools close, and the grocery stores become madhouses. What is everyone buying? Do they know the snow will melt by the following morning? Do they know we live in the South?…
Know when to say when …
People are taking this free speech thing too far. Although we have the right to say what we want, within legal limits, there is something called common sense, and it clearly is not that common. Kelly Tilghman’s comments that today’s young players should “lynch Tiger Woods in a back alley” in an effort to take…
The broadcasters’ billion-dollar presidential campaign
Who owns the airwaves? Hillary Clinton’s surprise victory in New Hampshire guarantees a longer, more competitive Democratic primary season. It’s like money in the bank for broadcasters, as the first-ever billion-dollar presidential campaign continues. Continue reading this column Amy Goodman reads this week’s column – [mp3]Â
Idol thoughts
America’s biggest karaoke puppet show kicked off last night – did anyone watch this? It’s really getting kind of silly, if it wasn’t already at that level before. Who keeps telling all of these delusional teens that they can sing? I understand the need to be supportive, but it gets ridiculous. Some of those trying…
Young people: What are you going to do?
By Decker Ngongang and Rod Garvin, GenGage Charlotte On Sunday, January 20, GenerationEngage and Participant Productions will screen Chicago 10, an innovative documentary about the 1968 Democratic Convention. All are welcome to attend this community screening, as we observe, remember, and celebrate the Martin Luther King holiday. Immediately following the film, GenerationEngage will host a…
Separated at birth?
Is it just me, or does WALL-E, the robot star of Pixar’s upcoming animated feature of the same name, look remarkably like Number Five, the robot star of that inane 80s comedy (and its sequel) Short Circuit?
From mayor to governor?
By Cheris Hodges On the steps of the Jamestown Public Library, 12-year Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory called on his small town roots to announce his intention to be the next governor of North Carolina. But what does his campaign mean for the city of Charlotte? McCrory, who was splitting his time between running the city…
The broadcasters’ billion-dollar presidential campaign
Hillary Clinton’s surprise victory in New Hampshire guarantees a longer, more competitive Democratic primary season. It’s like money in the bank for broadcasters, as the first-ever billion-dollar presidential campaign continues. While the world’s oldest democracy, the United States, spends trillions of dollars claiming to bring democracy to Afghanistan and Iraq (through the barrel of a…
A writer’s test
There are things that you can’t help but wonder about after spending a day with someone like AIDS activist Devondia Roseborough. The first question that came to mind was: “What’s my status?” On Jan. 7, I headed to my doctor’s appointment and I decided that today was the day that I’d get tested for HIV.…
Theater: Keeping colors white
OK, so you wake up one morning and POOF! … there are no black people. At first you think, naw that can’t be right. Black people are everywhere. Hell, the African Diaspora covers a great deal of the world from the Americas clear across the Middle East and into Europe and Asia. Can you imagine…
Karma cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: This kind of thing tends to happen to me every January. I fall into a weird period just after the start of the year and I find it hard to concentrate at work. In the evenings I spend my time on the couch watching nature programs on television and eating delivery food.…
A clinic revisited
Nearly a year after A Preferred Women’s Health Center was temporarily shut down, the southeast Charlotte clinic is again operating with a full state license. The abortion clinic’s license was restored to full status nearly seven months ago, after inspectors visited June 26 and found the facility “in compliance,” says Jim Jones, spokesman for the…
Opera: Je t’aime Puccini
It’s Paris circa … a long time ago. Love is in the air and some young Parisian artists aren’t quite making it on their talent. But, one thing they have in abundance is passion, desire, and the ability to sing in Italian, go figure. Local tenor Craig Estep follows in Placido Domingo’s legendary shoes by…
Stargazer
Capricorn the Goat: (Dec. 21 – Jan. 19) Recent plans for expansion into a greater business territory will prove worthwhile with patience. Logistics and planning require some effort but should be successful. You have favorable aspects for travel, legal affairs, publicity and educational interests. For All Signs: Energies this week focus with high intensity on…
Honoring the Dream
If your employer observes Martin Luther King Jr. Day, you’re in a minority, albeit a growing one. No group appears to track how many Charlotte businesses observe the day by giving its employees the day off. But nationwide, 31 percent of U.S. employers surveyed by a publisher of business newsletters say they honored the holiday…
Visual Arts: Picture perfect
Ready for a trip down memory lane? Whaddya mean you can’t recall when gas was less than a dollar a gallon? No recollection of TV’s distant past (before regular cable even) when there were only enough channels to count on one hand? Ever had to put in work to call your BFF? If none of…
Film Clips
Current Releases ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS About the best one can say about this occasionally rancid but mostly just dull film is that it’s not as excruciating as Garfield: The Movie, another ill-conceived project that placed CGI animals in the real world. Here, Jason Lee is the hapless human who serves as the sacrificial-career lamb:…
Have a beer, save your life
It’s not as if most of us need a good reason to drink, but a new study says that it’s healthy to drink as long as you exercise as well. So, what are some good reasons to take a swig of the brew or a sip of wine? • Wine could preserve your memory. When…
Music: C.R.E.A.M. of the crop
It’s hard to believe that the Wu-Tang Clan — one of the most influential hip-hop groups of all time — is actually playing the city of Charlotte; the Q.C.’s not exactly known as a hip-hop town after all. But, hey, let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. Just buy a ticket, go to…
Just a little crazy
An eye-opening show Local soul vocalist Rudy Currence sings original songs and cover tunes during his performance last Wednesday at The Wine-Up. Imported soul Singer Algebra Blessett drove up from Atlanta to serve as opening act for her pal Rudy Currence (see the pic above this one) Wed., Jan. 9 at The Wine-Up. It’s…
Walking the line
Something has got to give. Now, I fully support the Writer’s Guild of America’s strike; they should be paid for their work in all formats including DVD and the Internet. But I cannot take any more reruns, reality programming, cobbled-together talk shows (daytime or nighttime) and awkward interviews with athletes and “civilians.” The last season…
Documentary: Mummy Dearest
Discovery Place is taking us on a trip through ancient Egypt, the land of the pharaohs. The difference this time is a CSI spin. Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs follows the discovery of a tomb containing 40 royal mummies, including the cloth-wrapped corpses of Ramses the Great, his father Seti I, and his son. Then,…
High on white
I’m a chemistry moron. In high school — those years when you’re supposed to absorb useless knowledge, which turns out later to be useful — I somehow convinced my adviser (with sparkling charm and wit) that I should take the affectionately called “sped” science class — the one reserved for jocks and short-bus riders. I…
Ragnarok and roll
Now that she’s finished writing the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling has time to embark on a second career by opening a Young Adults Fantasy Writing School. I can just see the classified ad: “Earn Big Money! Never Teach a Class or Apply for a Grant Again!” Clearly, many obscure but respectable mainstream writers would…
Exhibition: Garden art
“That which we call an orchid by any other name would smell as sweet.” C’mon, we all know Shakespeare was talking about a rose, not an orchid. Tell that to the folks at DSBG who are unveiling its Orchid Conservatory in honor of the lovely flower. As a tie-in, Art at the Garden 2008 will…
Cranky for curry
It’s a new year, and everybody on cable television says I should feel bright and shiny like a brand-new penny or a twinkly star, full of determination and potential. And I do kinda sorta feel that way, with this year’s to-do list permanently tucked into my pants pocket, hoping it will somehow etch its way…
No Skin Peels for Skinner
I knew Emily Skinner could sing, enchant and bewitch when she walked onstage, yet I was totally surprised by the transformation that I witnessed at Booth Playhouse last Saturday night. Flouting longtime TV and Hollywood custom, which decrees that women must do their utmost not to surrender to the onset of middle age, Skinner…
CD Review: Reverend Organdrum
The Deal: Jim “Reverend Horton” Heath finds a new groove with the help of Tim Alexander on Hammond organ and Todd Soesbe on drums. The Good: Combine the Reverend, and organ and drums and the name is quite simple. So is the music, but not necessarily in a bad way. The groovy trio put their…
Tales from the bathroom
This week I am here to answer the age old question that has been piquing the curiosity of men across the nightlife scene: Why the hell do girls always go the bathroom in groups? No, we don’t need moral support to break our seal, we don’t have organized male-bashing meetings and, contrary to assumption, we’re…
Exhibit: The People Speak of River
The Catawba River has gone through some changes lately. As have nearly every body of water in the world, thanks to global warming. The Light Factory Contemporary Museum of Photography teamed with York County’s Culture & Heritage Museums to give us a project focused on the Catawba River. River Docs: A Catawba River Narrative is…
Inspired by 1,000 years of music
About the best song Richard Thompson performs in his current 1,000 Years of Popular Music tour is Britney Spears’ “Oops! … I Did It Again,” which depending on your point of view is either very good or very bad. Good because it shows the virtuosity of an artist who can turn a pop bimbo’s bit…
New York, New York
A welcome climate change at Lincoln Center
CD Review: Marshall Tucker Band
The Deal: Big ole good ole boys in big ole hats and boots who weren’t afraid to let a flute lead ’em captured at the height of their powers in a ’77 show in Passaic, N.J. The Good: Southern rock pioneers Marshall Tucker had a unique sound that featured a hunk of Allman flavoring in…
CD Review: The Lights, Fluorescent
The Deal: Debut EP, Neoteny, from band made up of singer/songwriter Erika Blatnik who joins forces with former members of VIA and Frontpage. (Release party at the Milestone on Jan. 19.) The Good: Having first heard Erika Blatnik solo and then seeing the group at a recent Evening Muse show, I wondered if the recorded…
How to carve a bird
I will never forget the first memory I told myself never to forget. It happened while my sisters and I were visiting a neighbor with my mother to apologize for my thieving ways, seeing as I had stolen a necklace from their household the night before. I was 5, and had pocketed the necklace as…
CD Review: Lupe Fiasco
The Deal: 25-year-old rapper, often associated with and compared to Kanye West and Jay-Z, releases sophomore album. The Good: Fiasco, born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, can go from steady to speedy with his flow – rapidfire on “Go Go Gadget Flow,” the slow, sure groove of “Put You On Game.” He’s not trying to talk about…
Music menu
THURSDAY, JAN. 17 Days of the New Days of the New’s head day keeper, Travis Meeks, likes to name his records like early Led Zeppelin – merely add a I, II, III, or IV after the band name, perhaps change the color of the cover art, and voila. Problem is, he also doesn’t usually change…
Savage love
Examining material gains and familial strains
Sexist or racist? Take your pick
You almost have to feel sorry for Democratic voters. The media has set a trap for them. If Barack Obama wins a state, they imply that it was because voters were too sexist to elect Hillary Rodham Clinton. If she wins a state, the talking heads say, it’s because voters were too racist to elect…
Into the Woods
Chef Marvin Woods revitalizes a South End eatery
Two bits of shameless self-promotion this week:
1.) We’re looking for Charlotte’s hottest citizens — the sexiest hairdressers, bartenders, bank tellers, dog walkers or yoga instructors — for our annual Lust List cover pictorial. If you think you’ve got what it takes (or know someone who does), come out to our live Casting Call at Madison’s on Jan. 23 at 8 p.m.…
A new inspiration
Tim Reynolds is busy with a “power struggle between man and machine.” He’s trying to program a microwave in his new Outer Banks home without much success. Our phone conversation is broken up by intermittent beeps from time to time, though it’s not quite a distraction. For a guitar player that has an intricate, almost…
J.D. Lewis
J.D. Lewis, longtime actor and revered acting coach, has recently expanded his company, The Actor’s Lab, to the Charlotte area. Lewis moved from L.A. to Charlotte with his two children, opening the new actor’s studio in the popular art district of NoDa, located at the Hart-Witzen Gallery at E. 36th St. The Actor’s Lab was…
Who’s listening to this stuff?
Talent has fallen by the wayside on mainstream radio
The Blotter
DELAYED REACTION: A 20-year-old man called police to his home in reference to an assault. He said he was woken up by someone stabbing him multiple times with a pair of metal scissors. Noticing the man wasn’t bleeding, the officer dug for more details. Turns out the incident happened more than two months ago. DRESSES…
Surviving AIDS: A Day in the Life
For Devondia Roseborough, living with the virus isn’t easy, but she’s not giving up
Comic Proportions
The Incredible Hercules No. 113 Published by Marvel Comics. Written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente. Pencils by Khoi Pham. Inks by Paul Neary. The Deal: The conclusion of Marvel’s World War Hulk limited series launched this comic, focusing on the exploits of the superhero and demigod Hercules. In this new ongoing book (which…
Vague and unelectable
A number of people whose opinion I respect, including friends, are supporting Barack Obama’s bid for president. They like his rhetoric, his demeanor, and more than anything else, the possibilities for change in American life they see in his candidacy. Obama’s personal story is stirring, and if he is nominated by the Democrats, I’ll surely…
Who are South Carolinians voting for?
It’s a shame that North Carolina’s primary elections are so far down the road that most of the major candidates don’t care to stop in our fair state. But just to the south of Charlotte, the Democrats and the Republicans are fighting to win over voters. What do the people of South Carolina — particularly…
