Hit & Run
At this point, I figured I’d be through with the Oscars and ready to concentrate on upcoming summer popcorn flicks such as the X-Men and Mission: Impossible sequels. After all, my annual modus operandi is to cover the nominations, offer predictions and then be done with it — leave the reviews of the actual broadcast,…
See & Do
Wednesday, March 15 No, it wasn’t some sort of weird, hallucinogenic fit that induced Moving Poets Theatre of Dance to create Johannesburg Stories, uniting South Africa’s most famous storyteller with a Louisiana playwright who has a sweet tooth for white trash. To understand why Gcina Mhlophe is mixing her griot brio into the same gumbo…
Supersized
CORKSCREW As a precocious little tot, I subscribed to the American ritual of rooting for the underdogs. I felt they needed my support more than the team getting all the kudos. Perhaps that’s why I shop almost exclusively at independent businesses: It feels better to support the local person trying to make a living, rather…
The Blotter
Chemistry lesson: A 48-year-old man was assaulted when a suspect threw an unknown liquid in his face. The man believes the mystery liquid was Clorox. After the liquid attack, the suspect slapped the man’s glasses off his face. CL advises if you are trying to splash chemicals in someone’s face, it’s slap the glasses off…
Tale of Two Menus
Chinese restaurant menus have always suffered from bloat: they’re all over the place and filled with endless, perplexing choices. And then there’s the other menu. My server at 88 China Bistro looked as if I had just unlocked the Da Vinci Code when I asked for that menu, the “secret” Chinese menu. “We give that…
St. PaDDy’s Day Shout-out
A word of caution to this tale — beware the little people. Leprechauns deserve all the respect you’d pay, say, Colin Farrell. Otherwise, enjoy! To those of you with an ounce of Irish blood, bottoms up! The national holiday celebrating everything Irish explodes onto the Charlotte scene with multiple entertainments to keep things lively between…
Go Green
It doesn’t take much to twist someone’s arm to grab a pint of Guinness for St. Paddy’s Day. On March 17, Charlotte will become green — not from banks or envy, but for the Irish and wannabe Irish. In honor of the Emerald Isle and all things Irish, expect to see a lot of green:…
Letters
Don’t be Cruel I am writing in response to the art review written on Christopher Clamp’s exhibition Common Place Treasures: Narrative Still Life Paintings at Jerald Melberg Gallery (“Hard Acts to Follow,” by Linda Luise Brown, March 1). I feel that this critique was very brutal and it felt to me to be very personal.…
Tastings
Free Wine Tasting Thursdays, 5-7pm. Dolce Vita, 3205 N Davidson St. 704-334-1052. Wine Tasting Thursdays, 5-7pm. Aquavina, 435 South Tryon Street. 704-377-9911.
Bloody stuff
As a matter of course, bloody stuff bothers me. Unless, of course, it’s my own blood. In that case, I’m kind of proud. Take the time I got stabbed in the head at work. I was hugely magnanimous as I held that crappy airplane pillow to my forehead, though surprisingly those pillows are not that…
CIAA Reinvigorates Charlotte
What does CIAA stand for? According to Tone X, it’s an acronym for “Charlotte Invaded by African Americans.” Hey, he said it, not me. I thought it meant: “Charlotte Is having A lot of After parties.” Turns out, it actually translates as Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Like Patti LaBelle said during her Apollo Night performance…
Stargazer
Aries The Ram (March 20 — April 19) The sun returns “home” to your sign this week. You likely will find it to be energizing. Your mind is racing a mile a minute and you can hardly speak fast enough to get the words out of your mouth. Beware of suspicious incoming information. It is…
South African Blessings
Given its violent, bloody history, you wouldn’t think of South Africa as being part of the celestial realm. But on Soweto Gospel Choir’s 2005 Shanachie debut, Voices From Heaven, the group lived up to its billing, bringing a divine spiritual sound out of that ravaged country. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is the sound most people associate…
Street Geeks
Mark Knoxcvile stopped by a yard sale one day while he was living in Texas. An avid comic collector, he was not going to pass up a chance to browse through an attic collection. That would have been like a treasure hunter opting not to search a long lost sea vessel. Knoxcvile found quite a…
Savor the Flavor
“It was fuckin’ disgusting — but I couldn’t turn away … ” — Dave Chappelle Sunday night was the most dramatic clock ceremony … ever. The Flavor of Love (VH1) had just a little too much fun mocking ABC’s The Bachelor franchise. Not only did Flavor Flav select his women a la Bachelor rose ceremonies,…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: My friend and I were having a debate about karma and trying to figure out if the advice you gave to another writer could (or should) apply to her situation. She’s in a loveless relationship with a guy who makes a lot of money. She can’t leave because of the financial aspects…
Ray Davies
As the erudite, witty, gap-toothed leader of the Kinks, Ray Davies has been feted for many things. Among them: penning the timeless “You Really Got Me,” introducing the term “quintessentially British” to the rock & roll lexicon, and making onstage sibling brawls safe for Oasis’ Liam and Noel Gallagher. One of his lesser-known accomplishments, however,…
Charlotte’s Top Ten Drunk Drivers
In the long run, it would be so much easier to just call a cab. Cheaper, too. But an elite group of Mecklenburg County drivers continues to drive drunk at all costs. Creative Loafing analyzed drunk driving charges levied in Mecklenburg County over the last decade to find the county’s 10 worst drunk drivers. That…
All Around the World
Quiet as it’s kept, the chief frustration of the rock-crit gig is burnout — the fact that the sheer surfeit of music can become tedious. As with artists who turn to musical tourism, critics can over-hype fresh sounds from unexpected quarters out of mere delight at discovering something that seems new. And so this column…
Intellectual bickering
We sometimes speak of it as a phenomenon unique to the Internet era: You befriend a virtual acquaintance in a chat room or on a bulletin board. You have shared interests, similar complaints and you both have a facility with the written word. Then you meet in meatspace, and it turns out your high-minded friend…
Driving Drunk
Drunk drivers are on a roll in Charlotte. We’ve gone from simple DWIs and car crashes to the latest trend of intoxicated folks barreling down the wrong side of the highway. Our wise leaders, naturally, are full of suggestions for solving the problem. If you’re Sue Myrick, the answer is to deport illegal aliens. If…
CL Theater Award Nominations
Our Charlotte Theater Awards have become a cornerstone of the local arts scene, picking up the highest of compliments: They’ve been emulated by the Metrolina Theatre Association, now in the midst of their third season. There are good reasons to accord the MTA awards the credibility they have quickly earned. Each award is decided by…
Fame or Shame?
It was one thing for Charlotte to win the NASCAR Hall of Fame. It was another thing entirely for Charlotte to beat out Atlanta for it. Charlotte has often been called “the next Atlanta,” and civic types here measure the city’s achievements against Atlanta’s. They also eye Atlanta’s mistakes as lessons to be avoided here.…
Continental Drift
It may be a small world after all, but it sure is different from one place to the next. Over here we have conservative religious fanatics going ballistic at the sight of a nude tit, over there they have a national fund for art in the subways and stations that look like undersea caves. Sigh.…
Abortion Rights under Fire
North Carolina is relatively cautious when it comes to hindering access to abortion, which means it’s unlikely NC will join other states’ rush to ban the procedure. But if Roe vs. Wade is overturned, a state push to ban abortion could come overnight, its success depending largely on the makeup of the legislature. Supporters of…
Excavating For A Bard
Bellying up to the Bard seems to be an inspiration. If you can pick up beers and casual sex at a bar, why not a smattering of culture? Collaborative Arts is bringing its first production ever, Tavern Shakespeare, to RiRa Irish Pub on Thursday nights. This freewheeling revue of canonical scenes — from Taming of…
Freedom of Information
Nothing could be clearer to Charlotte’s undocumented community than the convenience of deporting criminals. No one wants to be considered among those who steal, lie in court, falsify documents, protect drug dealers or associate with convicted murderers. Law-abiding undocumented immigrants see the behavior of these people as a plague that gives a shameful image to…
Film Clips
New Releases CACHÉ (HIDDEN) Too much ambiguity in a motion picture can potentially turn off moviegoers, especially if there’s suspicion the filmmaker is being elliptical just for the hell of it. The best type of cinematic vagueness is an open invitation for audiences to keep digging deeper and deeper until they uncover what they’re seeking…
Short List
Colorado High School Teacher Reprimanded For Comparing Bush To Hitler Administrators say comparison won’t be accurate until Bush grows a mustache. Another Area death caused by wrong-way driver What about all those drivers who kill going the right way? News Outlets Report Popularity Of online bin Laden Fan Clubs The most popular is called www.GeorgeWBushCouldn’tFindHisOwnPeckerWithACompass,Map,OrCountlessWhiteHouseFlunkiesAssistingHim.com.…
View From The Couch
THE AGATHA CHRISTIE MISS MARPLE MOVIE COLLECTION (1961-1964). Considering that audiences have had to endure seven Police Academy movies and 11 Friday the 13th entries, it seems especially cruel that only four movies starring the inimitable Margaret Rutherford as Jane Marple were produced in the early ’60s. Rutherford was the perfect embodiment of Agatha Christie’s…
Country Grammar
The following should be required reading for the folks on the various committees currently attempting to fix Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, because they’re not going to see it anywhere else. Brain teaser: As a parent, if you only had two choices where would you send your kids to school? Your first choice is Mecklenburg County. Your second…
