Oct 11-17, 2011

Oct 11-17, 2011 / Vol. 25 / No. 33

Joke of the Week: Rep. Virginia Foxx believes she’s a feminist

I’m guilty, and I’m sorry. I dutifully reported last week about Rep. Sue Myrick voting in favor of the Let Women Die Act (also known as the Protect Life Act). Unfortunately, I failed to notice that our old friend, Rep. Virginia Foxx — proud member of N.C.’s Quadrumvirate of Crazy, along with Sue Myrick, Patrick…

John Grooms

N.C. Rep. Sue Myrick votes for Let Women Die Act

Yesterday, Rep. Sue Myrick — wife, mother, and former adulteress who knows something about making life-choice mistakes — voted for, and helped the House GOP pass, an extremely restrictive national anti-abortion law. The so-called Protect Life Act would prohibit women from purchasing health insurance plans that cover abortion under the Affordable Care Act, the new…

John Grooms

Speaker Tillis jokes about Environmental Department being “a target”

Image by Rancoth at http://ranchoth.deviantart.com Hippie pinko environmentalist target N.C. Speaker of the House Thom Tillis finds himself in a deep pile of controversy today, after NC Policy Watch reported on comments he made to a meeting of Madison County Republicans. As we reported yesterday, Tillis told the meeting that he’s all for drug testing…

John Grooms

House Speaker Thom Tillis: Pee cups all around!

Speaker of the House Thom Tillis — the pride of Cornelius, N.C. — spoke Saturday to a meeting of Madison County Republicans. The meeting organizers recorded the event, which hasn’t turned out too well for Thom. Some of his comments at the meeting were, frankly, offensive to anyone who even pretends to have a heart,…

John Grooms

McCrory skirts law, thinks he’s slick

It looks like Pat McCrory wants to have the best of both worlds in his ongoing game of campaign peek-a-boo. In the process, however, the way he’s going about his re-run for the governorship makes him seem like some cheap hustler trying to game the system. Here’s what I mean: As reported by enctoday.com and…

John Grooms

Lydia Loveless infuses country with punk attitude

The description of a 21-year-old female singer who finds inspiration from the classic days of country as well as Britney Spears might conjure up the image of Taylor Swift. Tell that to Lydia Loveless, and you’ll get more than a dirty look. The fiery redhead is more likely to sing about drinking, drugs and sex…

Jeff Hahne

J. Cole puts N.C. hip-hop on the map

En route to a show in his third state in as many days, J. Cole is still caught up in the whirlwind surrounding the release of his much-anticipated debut album for Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label. After celebrating with a party in his hometown of Fayetteville the night before, the up-and-coming hip-hop star is squeezing in…

Mike McCray

Policing the prophets of Wall Street

The Occupy Wall Street protest grows daily, spreading to cities across the United States. “We are the 99 percent,” the protesters say, “that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1 percent.” The response by the New York City Police Department has been brutal. Last Saturday, the police swept up more than…

Amy Goodman

Did anti-gay lawmakers bite off more than they can chew?

It’s a long time between now and May 2012, when North Carolinians will vote on the proposed anti-same sex marriage amendment. Conventional political “wisdom” says the amendment has a good chance of passage, but a few recent developments make me wonder if the gay haters may have bitten off more than they can chew. First,…

John Grooms

SouthComm buys CL Charlotte, says journalism a priority

Sometimes change can be painful and difficult, other times it’s welcome. The changes at Creative Loafing over the past week are of the latter variety. If you haven’t heard yet, CL Charlotte has been bought by SouthComm, Inc. — the parent company of three other award-winning alt weeklies, the Nashville Scene, Kansas City’s Pitch and…

Mark Kemp

Pulp Fiction, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure among new home entertainment titles

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (2005). Forrest Gump’s mama famously declared that “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.” You never know what you’re going to get with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, either, given that director Tim Burton occasionally tends to fluctuate between enfant terrible and…

Matt Brunson

Almost Troy Davis: Exonerated N.C. inmate Darryl Hunt

Darryl Hunt spent 19 years in a North Carolina prison for a crime he did not commit. He was a vote away from being N.C.’s Troy Davis, the Georgia man executed last month for the 1989 killing of a police officer. Davis’ execution spurred nationwide protests against the death penalty because there was doubt about…

Cheris Hodges

Capsule reviews of films playing the week of Oct. 12

ABDUCTION Sure, it’s easy to pick on the Twilight guy. Because who’s gonna rush to his defense other than smitten Team Jacob fans? Make no mistake about it: Abduction, in which Taylor Lautner is handed his first starring role in a motion picture, will never, ever, ever be mistaken for a good movie. But the…

Matt Brunson

Occupy CLT gets real

On Saturday, Oct. 8, Occupy Charlotte began its official occupation of Uptown at the Old City Hall building at 600 E. Trade St. That means the group is not only marching and protesting outside big corporations such as Bank of America and Duke Energy, but some of its legion also are camping out on the…

Rhiannon Fionn

Charlotte Style Exchange Semi-Annual Consignment Sale

In less than 11 weeks, family and friends will be tearing open the packages that sit under the Christmas tree. Will they find last-minute gifts that are filled with love but a little cheap because you didn’t plan ahead? Or will they find the latest styles and fashion in apparel and accessories? Head up to…

Kimberly Lawson

It’s wilder on wheels: Xanadu

You could easily come away from the Queen City Theatre Company production of Xanadu, now at Spirit Square through Oct. 22, with the impression this show has always been off-Broadway in spirit, like Urinetown or Evil Dead. Under the direction of Glenn T. Griffin, the notoriously putrid Olivia Newton-John film, infused with uproarious self-mockery by…

Perry Tannenbaum

Item of the Week: T MADE4U from The Last Word

What’s more fashionable than something that’s functional too? For all you smart fashionistas and dapper dons out there, get hip to the next big thing; it’s called T MADE4U and they’re wristbands designed by a 12-year-old named Taylor Brown. For the girls, the bands are colorful and cute. For the guys, they’re masculine with that…

Kadee Blakely

Exhibit: Butterfly World

The New Gallery of Modern Art, which opened up in early September over at The Green, continues its metamorphosis. The gallery’s latest exhibit, titled Butterfly World, is swarming with art inspired by the popular insect. Works by contemporary artists Damien Hirst and Hunt Slonem (see his pictured oil painting) are showcased. The exhibit continues through…

Anita Overcash

Meredith Cushing’s Craigslist-centric Cotswold home

If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself. Two years into owning her first house, Meredith Cushing would have to agree: “My house has been a labor of love. Little to none of what decorates the house has been left untouched. I like to make things mine.” Cushing and her husband…

Laura Camilo

Style Stalking Erika Mendoza

Erika Mendoza loves being in the know about the latest fashion trends. The Costa Rica native is currently working toward her Masters in English as a Second Language at UNC Charlotte so she can teach Spanish. She says she will give almost any new style a chance, but that doesn’t mean it’ll make the cut…

Anita Overcash

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police Files

trick or treat: Police responded to a Family Dollar store in South Charlotte after an employee witnessed kids shoplifting. The witness told officers that two unknown suspects who appeared to be juveniles had dashed from the store with $138 worth of candy. There was no indication of the costumes they were wearing. Geeked: When a…

Ryan Pitkin

Whatever happened to that plan to grow square trees?

About 20 years ago when I lived in Vancouver, I watched a TV local news segment about how the University of British Columbia’s forestry department had created a system for injecting hormones into growing trees to produce a “square tree.” Much was made of the advantages for the lumber industry: reduction of waste and so…

Cecil Adams

Weekly horoscope (Oct. 12-18)

Libra The Scales (Sept. 22-Oct. 22) This is a second major week for you, in which you will be pondering important issues. You are launching a new project in self-definition. Anything new can be intimidating, but remind yourself that you stand on the security of solid research in your field. For All Signs: The planet…

Vivian Carol

Where to find it: Oktoberfest

Break out the lederhosen, or dirndl. It’s Oktoberfest. What started as a town (Munich) celebrating a prince’s wedding in 1810 has turned into an annual international beer party. Oktoberfest, which curiously begins officially on the third weekend in September, is in full oom-pah at the Waldhorn Restaurant (12101 Lancaster Highway, Pineville, 704-540-7047). They are celebrating…

Tricia Childress

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