The Two Palms
Name of Kama Sutra Position: The Two Palms Getting into the position: The man has his back to a wall and his lover clings to his neck, places both feet into his palms and then rides him like a vertical donkey. On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate position (1 as…
CITIZEN SERVATIUS: Floral Update: Tulips dead, Mums to Follow
-Photo by Dale Johnson Last week, we learned that the city spent $8,460 of your tax dollars for 940 pots of tulips it displayed in planters along Tryon Street two weeks ago. Unfortunately, the tulips are dead now. But don’t despair. Your oh-so-broke Charlotte city government, the same folks who raised your taxes last year…
NEWS: Cop Killing and the Death Penalty
The shooting deaths of two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers, Sean Clark and Jeffrey Shelton, that occurred last weekend undoubtedly will spark discussions about the death penalty in the months, even years, to come. For most people who don’t oppose capital punishment, the killing of a cop is a crime that most strongly demands a death sentence.…
FILM: Talent to Believe
Despite his humble beginnings — as a Mouseketeer on The All New Mickey Mouse Club — 26-year-old Ryan Gosling has since established the sort of career most actors would envy. In the past few years, he’s been able to move between mainstream hits (2004’s The Notebook) and acclaimed indie fare (2003’s The United States of…
MUSIC: Morisette’s ‘Humps’
If you’ve seen the preview for the new Will Ferrell movie “Blades of Glory,” you’ve probably given at least a chuckle at him singing “My Humps.” If you gave it a laugh, you’ll probably fall out of your chair watching Alanis Morrisette’s new video for the song. And she probably doesn’t sing it like you’d…
The Spirit of Spirit Square
Since 1976, when Spirit Square burst forth like a Phoenix from the shell of the old First Baptist Church of Charlotte, the arts complex at North Tryon and Seventh St. has been one colorful, flamboyantly dramatic, singing bird. Nnenna Freelon and the Marsalis Brothers are among the artists who have brought righteous jazz to the…
Get back
Jet is a band. Go to its Web site — www.jettheband.com — and it plainly states just that. And when you’re a balls-to-the-wall rock band hailing from the land down under, comparisons to high voltage, hard rock pioneers AC/DC are inevitable, especially when you too become so damn good at crafting what Rolling Stone refers…
Politically Creative
Interested in local and/or national politics? Ever had the desire to smack Rush Limbaugh or kick Tim Russert in the gonads? Well, you’ve got to check out Creative Loafing’s Political Party. Modeled after Bill Maher’s hit TV show Politically Incorrect, it’s CL’s twist on a political talk show, except you get to participate. We encourage…
Creative Loafing’s Political Party
April 4 at 7 p.m., Creative Loafing presents Political Party! Our twist on talk shows like Politically Incorrect, Political Party is a live event that gives you the chance see a panel of local notables — from journalists to media personalities to community activists and educators — debate today’s hottest issues. In addition, we invite…
Black people removal
Citizen Servatius
We Heart …
I would like to give a shout out to one of my personal favorites, The Penguin! Burgers and beer, a true crowd pleaser. (1921 Commonwealth Ave.) — Andy Ellenburg, advertising director U.S. National Whitewater Center. The wooded trails have challenging hills and riverside views. My husband biked it and I hiked it — keep an…
The turtle & the tavern
Ed’s Tavern is the newest edition to Dilworth — it’s a quaint neighborhood bar tucked down on Park Road. Now this is Park Road that runs East and West, not to be confused with Park Road that runs north and south — gotta love Charlotte streets. It’s one of those chill, everyone-is-welcome type of joints.…
Cheap thrills
MILESTONE FILM SERIES Not your average movie viewing house, not your average movies. The folks behind this series have a fondness for theme nights. This week’s offerings include: March 28: Pirates of the Caribbean Double Feature — Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, dubbed The Classic (early show, 7 p.m.); Pirates…
Michael Plowman’s Top 10
Michael Plowman is the lead guitarist and vocalist of the thrash metal band Final Curse. After winning a contest in January at The Evening Muse, Final Curse has lined up a bunch of summer gigs in hopes of getting signed by a label soon. “We’re bringing what’s real, true and raw.” Plowman says. “Scaring some…
Word of the Week
Terpsichorean: adj. Of or pertaining to dancing. n. A dancer Example: The best terpsichoreans are Koreans in tarps. OK, not really. But we do like to think we have great terpsichorean skills when tainted with an alcoholic beverage.
View From the Couch
CHILDREN OF MEN (2006). No matter how closely I scoured each scene in Children of Men, I couldn’t find Charlton Heston lurking anywhere in the background. Yet a Heston cameo would have been apropos, given that this adaptation of P.D. James’ book harkens back to the cinema of the early 1970s, when Hollywood was hell-bent…
End of the Line
Hot Linx
No Fu-ling
If you think you’ve finally got your mind around all the various Chinese cuisines currently available in Charlotte — Sichuan, Taiwanese, Cantonese, Hunan, Mongolian — add one more: enter Indochinese. This term can be confusing since Indo-China was the incorrect term used for Vietnam, thus many Americans assume Indochinese food emanates from the Southeast Asia…
Chiquita’s slipping appeal
Breaking the Sound Barrier
Identity Crisis
An unlikely — and superior — companion piece to the current Chris Rock vehicle I Think I Love My Wife, writer-director Mike Binder’s Reign Over Me likewise centers on a well-to-do African-American male who’s bored by what he perceives as a predictable and sexless life, one that’s equipped with wife and kids but, alas, no…
Buyer beware
Corkscrew
Mild in the streets
“Wild in the streets … in New York … and New Orleans” — so sang veteran New York black rocker and South by Southwest (aka SXSW) panelist Garland Jeffreys at his Saturday night Antone’s showcase. Jeffreys’ classic tune could have easily served as the official anthem of this year’s music festival in Austin, judging by…
Strom Thurmond is smiling
Boomer With Attitude
Decades of direction
Yes, it’s truly amazing. We have been glad-handing the Charlotte theater community since 1987, making this our 20th annual review of all things theatrical in the Queen City. A wealth of acting, directing and design talent still creates wonders across the breadth of fair Mecklenburg, and nobody has celebrated it more diligently and authoritatively than…
Mitzi’s Top Five
Culture Surfing
A Comedy of Errors
Charlotte’s political class has spent thousands of dollars on consultants to advise them on how to be cool so they can attract the so-called “creative class,” the coveted young over-achievers thought to be critical to the future success of U.S. cities. It wasn’t enough to just have football and baseball teams, they learned. They needed…
Charlotte at the turn of the century
What might a typical phone book have looked like at the turn of the century in Charlotte? Here’s an idea. For more on Charlotte between 1900 and 1910, check out www.cmstory.org. Car dealerships; 3 Carriage and wagon dealers: 5 Saloons: 15 Fire insurance companies: 65 Insurance agents: 54 Secret and benevolent societies: 41 Newspapers: 13…
“Are you gonna be my … “
The Aussie rockers Jet are touring stateside in support of their second release, Shine On. The quartet unashamedly rips Keith Richards’s riffs and stitches it up with bits of 70s hard rock hits. Whereas its debut, Get Born, was a raw garage-rock romp, the new disc is decidedly more polished and leans into arena-rock territory,…
For the sake of others
Moodswing
Sumthin’ in the wine
When Malcolm Welborne got hold of some fortified wine of the Thunder Chicken persuaion, he hatched a new personality. In his reincarnation as Papa Mali, he’s a swamp- soaked, hoodoo man. His latest, Do Your Thing sounds like Dr. John in his night tripper days, psychedelic and fonky. Galactic opens the 9 p.m. show at…
Welcome to spring
Kitchen Witch
Clay + Adults = Kinky Fun
The ad for Muddy Fun Day on the Clayworks, Inc. Web site asks: “Have you ever wanted to make something out of clay?” Such an open-ended question, especially in light of what’s already been done with clay in the mainstream. Ya’ll remember when a pre-Ashton Demi Moore got down and dirty with Patrick Swayze in…
Locals make most of SXSW
From most accounts, the contingent of Charlotte bands at this year’s South by Southwest hoedown represented the local side quite well — which might not have been the case given the speed bumps fate threw up before anybody even got to Austin. For starters, MoRisen chief Chuck Morrison had a last-minute family emergency that kept…
Kicking up skirts and dirt!
Who says a woman’s place is in the kitchen? Not this weekend, it ain’t! Check out Women’s Weekend at the U.S. National Whitewater Center. With whitewater kayaking, rock climbing, trail running, mountain biking and much more, who has time to deal with those feminine stereotypes? Saturday 9 a.m. and Sunday 10:30 a.m. Register by calling…
Stargazer Horoscope
Aries The Ram: (March 20 — April 19) Your heart has a desire to help large groups of needy people. Your inspiration may also encourage others to work in this direction. Your frame of mind is giving, caring and if possible, healing. Some of you may be inclined to overindulge in mind-altering substances. Be careful.…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: I have a friend who recently accepted a very busy job. We used to IM, e-mail and call all the time. Now I am lucky if I hear from him once a month. I get that he’s busy, but I’m sick of playing the fool and feel like he’s not holding up…
March to Atlanta
It’s been a crazy road to the Final Four since the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament got started in Dayton, Ohio two weeks ago. With several interesting upsets, least of all #1 North Carolina’s loss to Georgetown, twenty-five years after Michael Jordan won it all for the Tarheels with “The Shot” that launched a franchise.…
Film Clips
Current Releases BLACK SNAKE MOAN After earning positive notices for his breakthrough feature, 2005’s Hustle & Flow, writer-director Craig Brewer returns with another look at Southern discomfort deep-fried in a greasy pool of sex and song. Befitting the double meaning of its title, Black Snake Moan provides a pleasurable bait-and-switch, beginning as a funky, freaky…
Nikki Thompson
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String talk
Today during Chamber Music at St. Peter’s, a violin shares dialogue with a cello. The two stringed instruments are at the center of a First Tuesday “Masterful Conversation” conceived in a work by Zoltan Kodály entitled Duo for Violin and Cello, Opus 7. The hands giving this “conversation” it’s bite belong to Jennifer Curtis on…
