Nov 10-16, 2009

Nov 10-16, 2009 / Vol. 23 / No. 37

Tastee Cosmetics makes it on QVC

Local makeup artist Jami Svay, as featured in the Charlotte Observer, Blu Magazine, and today on waxMaMa.com, has made it big (and I don’t say that just because we’re mentioning her here on Klepto). Her line of lip balm, Tastee Cosmetics, was recently the star of the show on QVC. Check out the video.

Kimberly Lawson

Drug industry gives America the finger

“When we have major legislation anticipated, we see a run-up in price increases.” According to the New York Times, that’s how Stephen Schondelmeyer, a pharmaceutical economics expert at the University of Minnesota reacted to the news that drug companies have raised prices an average of 9 percent in the face of upcoming health care reform.…

John Grooms

Scott Weaver

alias: Scott (Chaka) Weaver (Fever) inspiration: “The true subversive geniuses of art, music and politics. And Endora from Bewitched.” passion: “Equal Rights.” favorite non local band: Queen Adreena current city: Charlotte plug: “SHIPROCKED! ( my Thursday party at Snug Harbor), Softcore Jukebox (my Sundays at Soul) Babyshaker and Snagglepuss (my bands)” To see more photos…

Jasiatic

CD Review: Wale

The Deal: DC rapper’s long awaited debut album, Attention Deficit, puts DMV in the hip-hop spotlight. The Good: You get a little bit of everything. Wale manages to give people a taste of his home, DC, and heritage, Nigeria, with tracks like “Pretty Girls” featuring Gucci Mane and “My Sweetie.” An All-Star lineup of guest…

Mike McCray

New exhibition at The Gallery at Carillon

A new two-person exhibition, titled Babette Herschberger: Paintings and Mary Lou Sussman: Monoprints, opens today at The Gallery at Carillon. Check out pics (below) of two paintings from the exhibition, which continues through Jan. 29, 2010.

Anita Overcash

Raze Memorial Stadium, build baseball park

The latest bad news about Memorial Stadium should – it probably won’t, but it should – move the county to reconsider its stadium and baseball park plans. As we’ve written before, an opportunity to solve two problems at once is at hand. Lots of people want the Charlotte Knights to move to a new ballpark…

John Grooms

Jessica

alias: none inspiration: “Riding, moving and flowing.” passion: “Loving you all.” favorite dish: “Homemade Vegan Pizza.” current city: Charlotte plug: Joey’s Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies…”Best cookies ever.” To see more photos by Jasiatic, visit www.createtressphotography.blogspot.com

Jasiatic

Beaujolais is back

Pewter Rose Bistro, 1820 South Blvd. in South End, will be the first stop on a bar crawl, Thursday, Nov. 19, to celebrate of the arrival of the 2009 Beaujolais. The crawl begins at 5:30 p.m., and then travels to Sullivan’s, Blue, Terra and then back to Tutto Mondo (Pewter Rose’s adjoining lounge) for the…

Tricia Childress

Upstream Restaurant hosts wine dinner tonight

Upstream Restaurant, 6902 Phillips Place in Phillips Place, will host a J. Lohr Vineyards and Wine Dinner tonight at 6:30 p.m. One aspect of the dinner is the J. Lohr’s partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation. After vineyard owner Jerry Lohr lost his wife to complications with breast cancer last year, the winery designated…

Tricia Childress

Davidson Farmer’s Market will be open during the fall and winter

The Davidson Farmer’s Market will continue offering a variety of seasonal produce and goods this fall and winter in series of bi-weekly markets running from November through April. Arugula, beets, carrots, lettuces, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard, turnips and winter squash are some if the locally grown vegetables being offered through February. Some farmers have extended…

Tricia Childress

Black Sheep to release Nike SB Dunk High Premium ‘RESN/ Gucci’

Sneakerheads, if you’ve got plans tonight, I highly recommend you cancel them. A shoe that collectors have been anticipating release for years is finally coming, and it’s coming to your locally owned Black Sheep. The Nike SB Dunk High Premium “RESN/ Gucci” (Deep Forest/ Paprika) will be released tomorrow. From the good folks at Black…

Kimberly Lawson

Stupid Thing of the Week: Special Slavery Edition

God knows there were plenty of events and people to choose from for the weekly Stupid Thing of the Week. Locally, the school board went along with Supt. Gorman’s idea to gut one of CMS’ most successful programs – and did it at the last meeting of the board’s current line-up; needless to say, the…

John Grooms

Sale of the day: Handpicked

The 7th week of Christmas, Handpicked brought to me … $7 gifts to go under the tree. Limited quantities of items, including jewelry and wine totes, are on sale for $7 through Sunday. Head out that way now. 1721 Kenilworth Ave. 704.334.2037 8040 Providence Rd., Suite 600 704.541.1431 9844-A Rea Road 704.405.9780

Kimberly Lawson

Evelynn Rose — Mideast Update

I just got this e-mail from Joshua Wade of Evelynn Rose: We left Charlotte and flew to Frankfurt Germany, then to Saudi Arabia, and lastly Bahrain. The island is amazing — we’re having a blast with the locals as well as our new friends at the base here. Our first show was last night, and…

Jeff Hahne

Tonight’s Top 5, 11/13/09

Here’s a list of tonight’s top five nightlife-related events, selected randomly by the folks at Creative Loafing. • The Sol Kitchen’s Superstition at The Sunset Club • Switch at The Men’s Club • 80s Night at Town Tavern • Latin Night at Hartigan’s Irish Pub • Shuffle Magazine’s music showcase at Visulite Theatre

Kimberly Lawson

Stuffed mushrooms

For these fabulous appetizers, you just fill up some mushrooms with a mixture of cheeses and pop them in the oven.

Web Editor

Yee-haw! Dubya’s gettin his own blamed institute

Former President George Dubya Bush is giving a speech today at Southern Methodist University (SMU). He and his wife Laura will be on the Dallas campus to unveil the programs to be offered at the George W. Bush Institute at SMU. Please, no tired coloring book jokes. Groundbreaking for the Dubster’s big, shiny institute won’t…

John Grooms

Sale of the day: By Design

By Design has a dining room sale currently : Take 10 percent to 40 percent off a new dining set, just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. 11501 Carolina Place Parkway 704-542-8803 2130 South Blvd. 704-342-4600

Kimberly Lawson

Liberals kissing Kissell goodbye?

A lot of liberals in North Carolina are mightily pissed off at Rep. Larry Kissell, but the new congressman doesn’t seem to care. N.C. progressives are furious, not to mention feeling duped, over Kissell’s vote against the House healthcare reform bill. N.C. liberals put in a lot of hours, effort and money to get Kissell…

John Grooms

Larken

favorite type of underwear on a woman: “Non-existent….the kind that aren’t there.”

Jasiatic

Get your Geek on today at CPCC

THE Geek Festival is back. Check it out today at CPCC. Interested in technology and innovations in the field? Central Piedmont Community College will hold its 6th annual technology festival to satisfy the craving of any technology-hungry individual. THE Geek Festival will explore the latest innovations in technology as well as technical career opportunities. Learning…

Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman

Lied about smoking? You need to be spanked

OK, first the state told employees who are part of the State Health Plan (SHP) they’d have to pay higher prices unless they quit smoking. Apparently not satisfied with minding their employees’ personal business, the SHP has now thought up ways to punish employees who lied about their smoking habits. The SHP is contracting with…

John Grooms

How about fewer wounded vets?

Today is Veterans Day, and the nation is having its annual festival of hurrahs and heart-tugging nods toward the flag. And then, if the past is any indication, the country will go back to giving veterans about 2 seconds’ worth of thought each day. Hopefully, though, the past won’t be a guide this year —…

John Grooms

Purchase tickets early for Jingle Bell Ball

The annual Jingle Bell Ball, now in its 15th year, is held on the second Friday of December as a charity event to raise money for United Family Services’ Shelter for Battered Women in Charlotte. Doesn’t that just make you feel all warm and toasty inside? Well, here’s a heads up. Now through Dec. 4,…

Kimberly Lawson

A review of Coco Before Chanel

Planning to go see Coco Before Chanel, the recently released film about the influential fashion designer? Check out film critic Matt Brunson’s review first. He may not be the most fashionable person in the office, but he knows his movies. And if you have NO idea what I’m talking about, watch the trailer.

Kimberly Lawson

Catching a Kem concert with Mom

You don’t have to be old and stuck in a sexless marriage to do something special for the women in your life. Seeing as I’m neither old, nor married, nor dating, I thought it’d be a great idea to take my mom out on a “date.” A huge Kem fan, she’d surely enjoy a evening…

Mike McCray

Jordanos hosts trunk show in new space Nov. 12

Jordanos is ready and roaring in their new space at The Village at Robinson Farm (8440 Rea Road, Suite 100), and will be hosting a trunk show Nov. 12 (tomorrow!) from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Collection previews from Ben Sherman Accessories, Genetic Denim, Be Seduced, and local designer Narada. Bonus: Any pre-orders during the…

Kimberly Lawson

Haji

alias: Haji Basim inspiration: “My inspiration is the moment. To use the gift that I have to help or inspire so many that are in need of uplift. By default I get blessed by it. I want to travel the world teaching, learning, and creating new genre shattering acoustic music.” passion: “Expression. As a man…

Jasiatic

Fundamentalism, the other worldwide plague

Religious fundamentalists are pretty much the same everywhere. Which is kind of funny, considering that each fundie group, whether Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu, or what-have-you, thinks it’s the one true source of Truth with a capital T. One of the things shared by fundies worldwide is their sheer hatefulness; they see God as a wrathful…

John Grooms

Upcoming: Mint To Be Yours Tag sale

Find great items at deep discounts at the Mint Museum Auxiliary’s 3rd annual tag sale, going down this Friday and Saturday. Browse a gorgeous selection of home furnishings, such as furniture, lamps, china, silver, paintings and rugs. Half price sale begins at noon on Saturday. All proceeds support the Mint’s education programs and acquisitions. For…

Kimberly Lawson

MUSIC: Find Your Muse open mic at The Evening Muse

It’s Find Your Muse open mic night at The Evening Muse this and every Monday. Musicians, grab up your music gear and head over to perform one of your own musical creations in front of a crowd. No one can guarantee they’ll be liked, but constructive criticism is always helpful! Get there early to snag…

Anita Overcash

Jeff Coffin Mu’Tet offers improvisational jazz

The “hardest working man in show business” label is often thrown around haphazardly. It was a title for James Brown, but it’s also been used to describe countless musicians who make their way into a variety of bands and other projects and never seem to sleep a wink. Warren Haynes is one example that comes…

Jeff Hahne

ART: Loïs Mailou Jones: A Life in Vibrant Color exhibition

Boston artist Loïs Mailou Jones touched many with the by-product of her paintbrush hitting the canvas. Her works, birthed of the late Harlem Renaissance, grew into more contemporary art with influences splattering from across the globe, including America, Africa, France and Haiti. That in mind, you don’t want to miss Mint Museum of Art’s new…

Anita Overcash

The return of Joshua Panda

For many people involved in the Charlotte music scene, the name Joshua Panda is a familiar one. He, of Humans, Autumn in August and Eyes of the Elders, packed up and headed north to Vermont not so long ago. Since living there, one can only imagine the musical havoc he’s been causing up there –…

Jeff Hahne

MUSIC: Neko Case

Solo artist Neko Case’s newest, and most chart-topping popular, album Middle Cyclone, thematically captures the sadness and isolation that can result from a failure to cultivate in the growth human relationships. The album features a variety of guest performers and two cover songs, including Sparks’ “Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth” and Harry Nilsson’s…

Anita Overcash

CL previews upcoming concerts (Nov. 11-17)

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 11 Matisyahu As musical and cultural boundaries bend and blend, there was bound to be a Hasidic Jew singing rasta music. Matisyahu (born Matthew Miller) weaves traditional Jewish spirituality with mighty, uplifting reggae grooves. He is touring for his third album simply called Light, where conscious lyrics, funky riddims, ragamuffin, dancehall, roots reggae…

Stumptown No. 1: Wonderful

Stumptown No. 1 Published by Oni Press. Written by Greg Rucka. Art by Matthew Southworth. The Deal: Writer Greg Rucka continues his near-trademarked line of strong, yet flawed, female heroines (as seen in Queen & Country, White Out, Detective Comics, The Question, and Wonder Woman, among others) with the private eye Dex, star of his…

Carlton Hargro

CD Review: Karen O and the Kids’ Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack

The Deal: Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O gets together a bunch of her friends for the soundtrack of the movie based on the classic children’s book. The Good: Among those teaming up with O are Queens of the Stone Age/Dead Weather/Raconteurs’ Dean Fertita, Liars’ Aaron Hemphill, Greg Kurstin of The Bird and the Bee, Jack…

Jeff Hahne

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files

Starting Early: Police were called to James Martin Middle School after a male student was found to be intoxicated. The boy was released to his parents and no charges were pressed. It became obvious the boy was drunk when he slurred to his teacher, “My homework ate my dog, I mean … umm,” then started…

Ryan Pitkin

CD Review: Fool’s Gold

The Deal: L.A. co-op Fool’s Gold gets its Afro-beat on. The Good: “World Music” isn’t the same Putumayo-flavored pejorative it used to be. Like fellow travelers Extra Golden or the Ruby Suns (or even some Animal Collective), this L.A.-based co-op of up to a dozen members integrates African instruments, music and rhythms (Congolese, Ethiopian, Eritrean,…

John Schacht

How did the states establish long straight borders before GPS?

How is it that, in places without natural features such as a river or mountain range to mark a border, U.S. states could establish a nice, even line over hundreds of miles before GPS? — Granite-Morale The lines aren’t always nice and even. Study a U.S. atlas and you’ll find many supposedly straight boundaries with…

Cecil Adams

Veterans Day checkup: What’s Obama done for vets so far?

It’s the week of Veterans Day, a good time to see if things have improved or not for our military vets. I didn’t serve in the military, but veterans and their concerns have been a personal point of interest for a long time. A college friend was killed in Vietnam, and a high school classmate…

Horoscope for Nov. 11-17, 2009

Scorpio The Phoenix (Oct. 23-Nov. 20): Fear of the unknown, or perhaps the skeleton in the closet, may want to control your mind. Cultivate a better mental habit, one that gives you hopeful thoughts and no negativity. About 90 percent of what we worry about never comes to fruition. For All Signs: This week is…

Vivian Carol

Is Quinn Gray a sick woman or a desperate housewife?

You can’t make up this kind of story. Some of you may have heard about Quinn Gray, the Jacksonville, Fla., housewife who faked her abduction in order to extort money from her husband. Gray, the mother of two young daughters, alleged that she had been kidnapped, sexually assaulted and held for $50,000 ransom in “hellish…

Nsenga Burton

Asheville’s annual fest will feature films galore

The seventh annual Asheville Film Festival will be held Nov. 12-15, meaning that it’s time once again for Charlotteans not averse to road trips to get excited about seeing a wide range of potentially interesting movies. Over 90 features, documentaries, shorts and student films will be screened over a four-day stretch at various downtown venues.…

Matt Brunson

Up, The Ugly Truth among new DVD reviews

THE THREE STOOGES COLLECTION: VOLUME SEVEN (1952-1954). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment continues to release their knuckleheaded sets at a rapid clip, earning the gratitude of Stoogephiles everywhere. The third collection to be released in 2009 (following the March and June compendiums), this collects the 22 shorts that Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard made…

Matt Brunson

White flight drives mayoral results

In a column called “Charlotte’s last white mayor,” Glenn H. Burkins, editor of the local news Web site Qcitymetro.com, pointed out the obvious last week. “Outgoing Mayor Pat McCrory may well be Charlotte’s last ‘white’ leader,” Burkins wrote, after studying election results. That hits some people funny. When I made the same argument last week,…

The eye candy of Innovative Works

Except for the topmost rows in the balcony, Booth Playhouse was sold out for this year’s edition of Innovative Works. It may be more difficult to snag a ticket for this week’s NC Dance Theatre performances. Electricity and eye candy onstage were enough to spark a word-of-mouth wildfire. Most of the choreographies — and nearly…

Perry Tannenbaum

Capsule reviews of films playing the week of Nov. 11

AMELIA In its effort to be one of the first Oscar-bait titles out of the gate, the stately but sterile Amelia ends up stumbling over its own feet. A handsome production that fusses over every detail in order to provide the proper look, this biopic forgets to include any sort of spark necessary to get…

Matt Brunson

A look back at Halloweek

Remember your childhood when Halloween meant playing dress-up, going to haunted houses, trick-or-treating and visiting pumpkin patches to carve pumpkins and make homemade pumpkin pie? But now, as an adult, Halloween has transformed into “Dress Like a Slut” night. As in, when you ask a girl what she’s dressed up as she’ll respond with “slutty…

Who put the rainbow in ‘The Wizard of Oz’?

  Thanksgiving is around the corner, and families will be gathering to share a meal and, perhaps, enjoy another annual telecast of “The Wizard of Oz.” The 70-year-old film classic bears close watching this year, perhaps more than others, for the message woven into the lyrics, written during the Great Depression by Oscar-winning lyricist E.Y.…

Amy Goodman

A Christmas Carol: No holiday cheer here

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (*1/2) — Officially, the title is Disney’s A Christmas Carol, which is acceptable since it sure as hell isn’t Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. While it might be true that this animated version retains more of the literary classic than might reasonably be expected, it’s also accurate to state that a key…

Matt Brunson

THEATER: Alice in Wonderland

Davidson College is taking folks down the rabbit hole with performances of Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice in Wonderland. This adaptation by the Manhattan Theatre Project is geared for an adult audience, as it dives deep into dark twists and adds wacked-out humor throughout the show. $4-$8. Nov. 12-14, 7:30 p.m.; Nov. 15, 2 p.m. Held…

Anita Overcash

The Men Who Stare At Goats: Loopy and lightweight

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS (***) — Loopy enough to stand out from the homogenized pack but not bold enough to truly go the distance, this eccentric satire (inspired by Jon Ronson’s nonfiction book of the same name) proves to be a modestly pleasing piffle in which journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor, sincere but…

Matt Brunson

ART: Game Theory exhibition

Local artist Antoine Williams is one creative dude. If you haven’t seen his mixed media paintings around Charlotte, frequently displayed in exhibitions around town, you’ve missed out. Williams has also contributed his designs to past issues of Creative Loafing … and we just know you saw that and thought it was awesome. Either way, show…

Anita Overcash

Wineries embrace social media but how well?

In case you haven’t noticed, the whole world is high on social media marketing. It’s so pervasive, it’s no longer cool really. I liked it better when “status update” and “tweet” were a foreign language uttered only by those “in the know.” These tools, however, are incredibly useful, so their propagation isn’t particularly shocking. And…

Taylor Eason

MUSIC: April Verch

Canadian-based musician April Verch is no stranger to fiddling. Also a singer and stepdancer, she uses the instrument to whip up a blend of rootsy tunes that mix folk, bluegrass and jazz sounds. Inspired by her home in Ottawa Valley, Ontario, Verch also draws musical influences from melodies of the Appalachians, and Brazilian genres, too.…

Anita Overcash

Coco Before Chanel: Tattered material

COCO BEFORE CHANEL (**1/2) — Like Young Mr. Lincoln, Butch and Sundance: The Early Years and the Che Guevara yarn The Motorcycle Diaries, Coco Before Chanel is one of those films that promises audiences a peek at the formative years of a historical figure, in that underreported stretch of life before fame (or, in some…

Matt Brunson

THEATER: Birth

Playwright Karen Brody had a fixation on childbirth in America. As a result, she conducted more than 100 interviews with pregnant women (now THAT takes guts), before setting out to write her own play titled Birth. The play, based on eight women’s real-life experiences with pregnancy, will be performed at Queens University of Charlotte’s Hadley…

Anita Overcash

Eating your words: DIY tales of your culinary youth

My grandmother’s recipes are a collection of spotted index cards and tattered newspaper clippings bound together with a handful of aged, colored rubber bands in a give-away Rumford Baking Powder cookbook. Another ancestor valued her Chess Pie recipe to such an extent that she wrote it into the centuries-old family Bible. I didn’t discover that…

Tricia Childress

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