Good Eats
All Around Town Anntony’s Caribbean, 6434-F West Sugarcreek Rd., 704-598-6863; 2001 E. 7th St., 704-342-0749. A hint of the tropics; rotisserie chicken with Jamaican jerk sauce, ribs, Paradise Island fish special, curries, and Caribbean styled greens. $$ Azteca, 116 Woodlawn Rd., 704-525-5110; 9709 Independence Blvd., 704-814-9877; 1863 W. Franklin Blvd. (Gastonia), 704-866-7574. A favorite of…
Homeland Security Boondoggle
At this very moment, jihid-crazed terrorists could be unloading weapons of mass destruction capable of decimating half the state at one of our ports, where they have less than a five percent chance of detection. Or, perhaps they’re planning to simultaneously attack our shoddily protected nuclear plants. In either case, we’d pretty much be screwed.…
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
We here at Scene and Herd Central have some sad news to report, even as we’re relatively glad it happened in a Labor Day deadline-shortened week with not much else going on: Penny Craver, longtime Charlotte music maven, is leaving Tremont Music Hall. After spending some 10 years running the “big warehouse” (her words) on…
Spreading the Word
Now in its 4th year, the Spread Your Wings breast cancer benefit remains one of Charlotte’s premier musical benefits and Americana-based multi-act shows. While the show maintains some of the flying-by-the-seat-of-their-pants spontaneity of the first year, co-founders and producers Bob Graham and Missi Ivie (a breast cancer survivor) still yearn to increase the benefit’s clout…
Us and Them
Ignored by local media, three world-famous architects slipped in and out of Charlotte last week to speak at the North Carolina AIA Summer Design Conference. Christoph Ingenhoven from Germany, Dr. Kenneth Yeang from Malaysia, and Dr. Frank Duffy from Britain gave presentations on the future form, content, and location of new office buildings. Their messages…
Reality Check
In case you needed proof that the American-led occupation of Iraq has been a complete and unequivocal success, the Christian Science Monitor brought it home the other day with a report that an Iraqi TV network is airing what is believed to be the country’s first reality program. Kinda makes you proud to be an…
“Cartel” Export: New music Image
The Cartel is a go. No, that’s not Homeland Security code for “so long, Civil Rights,” nor has your mule arrived from Medellin with your “trinkets.” Rather, it’s the latest attempt to put Charlotte on the nation’s music map. The brainchild of the Cartel is Bill Walker, president and founder of MediaEvolved, a CD/DVD replicating…
News of the Weird
Speedy sperm: Among the reality TV series being batted around in London, according to recent reports in the Daily Telegraph and The Independent, is “Make Me a Mum,” in which a woman reduces a field of men to the two whom she believes will make her the genetically best offspring. At that point, producers will…
Word On The Street
Marty Terrell Jeweler “I don’t know, but I tell you what — I got a new Escalade and a super-high-tech grill, so look for me and my posse to become tailgating legends, man.” Maria Bolcom Gallery Owner “What am I now, a fortune teller?” Bonnie Littleton Seamstress “They’re bound to have more injuries than last…
Sit & Spin
Jill Scott Beautifully Human: Words & Sounds, Vol. 2 Hidden Beach Since exploding onto the scene with her debut record Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 nearly five years ago — which incidentally, might have been the best contemporary Soul release prior to this one — Ms. Scott’s taken a well-deserved break…
Cantina 1511
Mayan Expedition Conquering Charlotte with Yucatan cuisineIn three hours, you could be transported to the Yucatan peninsula, known for its gorgeous Corona beer ad beaches. Most tourists opt to stay near the Cancun airport on that city’s Las Vegas-like beachfront with dozens of American chain restaurants. But if you venture inland to the historic Mayan…
The Blotter
STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT: A woman reported that while she was sitting in her car and talking to some friends, a strange man pulled up next to her and climbed into the passenger seat. The woman became upset and ordered the man to get out. Instead, the disagreeable degenerate grabbed the woman by her arm,…
Music Menu
THURSDAY 9.9 Great White — By now, the easy thing would have been for Jack Russell and Co. to just hang it the hell up and go home. Not only is their bluesy take on hair metal no longer the style du jour, but there’s also the matter of the band’s most famous show, the…
See & Do
SEPTEMBER 9 – THURSDAY In the past 10 years, Charlotte has grown a bounty of ethnic festivals. And we love it – the more diverse cultures the better is our motto. With that said, though, no other cultural festival in Charlotte comes close to the number of attendees and the widespread public support of Yiasou!,…
Soundboard
Wednesday, Sep. 8 Blue Melinda Hansen, Royce Guin, Korey Dudley & Rob Knox The Boardroom Bar & Bistro David Harper Breakfast Club DJ Boney B Bricktop Lounge DJ Christian and Brigmunton Comet Grill Open Mic w/ Bill McDonald Double Door Inn The Painkillers The Evening Muse Antje Duvekot and Aaron Levy The Gin Mill Wizard’s…
Ask the Advice Goddess
Guest Control Issues I’ve been dating this incredible guy. He was with his ex for a number of years, and his family adores her. I am not at all concerned that there’s anything between them. He broke up with her. Plus, she’s married and expecting. Still, I’m uncomfortable that she and her husband are frequently…
To The Rescue
Summer is generally the stomping ground of cinematic superheroes — this past one gave us Spider-Man, Catwoman and Michael Moore — but this year’s fall season is dotted with feats of comparable gallantry and bravery. The exploits of Sky Captain will grace screens in early September, while November will showcase the adventures of Mr. Incredible.…
Stargazer
For All Signs Mars, the ancient god of war, is making strong aspects this week. Mars represents the warrior within each of us and has both a higher and lower nature. At best this energy is used for healthy self-assertion, personal boundary setting, and self-discipline. The warrior side is well used when in the service…
View From The Couch
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951) / DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954). There are the capital-C Classic Alfred Hitchcock movies like Psycho and Vertigo, and then there are the lower-case-c classic Alfred Hitchcock movies like this pair from the Master’s thematically rich run during the 50s. Strangers continues to work its way up into the major…
They’ve Got Issues
The comic book anthology McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern #13 marks the latest milestone in the medium’s drawn-out coming of age. If American comics saw their infancy with newspaper strips in the early 20th century, and endured an endless adolescence with superhero titles, the art form now emerges ready for adulthood. The ultra-hip literary journal McSweeney’s Quarterly…
Film Clips
NEW RELEASES WE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE Not a movie for the young or the restless, this adaptation of two stories by Andre Dubus (whose scribblings also inspired In the Bedroom) is a bracingly mature look at the messiness of matrimony — one of the most scabrous such depictions to hit the screen since Ingmar…
Brave New Modernism, Revisited
“All times are contemporaneous,” the American modernist poet Ezra Pound once proclaimed. Pound certainly tried to make good on that assertion, throwing everything from Homer to Confucius to Thomas Jefferson into the kitchen sink of his Cantos. His literary colleagues T.S. Eliot and James Joyce did their best on the project as well: Eliot quoted…
Not Just A One-Time Fluke
At the beginning of last season, the Carolina Panthers were not yet “The Cardiac Cats.” Defensive lineman Julius Peppers was merely a local boy made good, provided you managed to forget his drug-related suspension the year before for using illegal diet supplements. New QB Jake Delhomme was a former backup for the New Orleans Saints,…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music Charlotte Symphony A performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.27 and Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony. www.charlottesymphony.org. Sept. 10-11, 8pm. $15-$73. Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, 130 N. Tryon St. 704-372-1000. Christopher Berg Original music for guitar includes works by Granados, Albeniz, Ponce and transcriptions of music by Bach, Mozart and Haydn. Mon., Sept. 13, 8 p.m.…
Carolina Panthers 2004-05 Schedule
September 13 — Green Bay Packers: Ah, Monday Night football. Madden and Al Michaels are in town, a national TV audience, and another chance for the local TV stations to show how clueless they are (Last time around, WSOC-TV ran the legend “What the Nation Saw” at the bottom of the screen post-game). Green Bay’s…
Mayan Expedition
In three hours, you could be transported to the Yucatan peninsula, known for its gorgeous Corona beer ad beaches. Most tourists opt to stay near the Cancun airport on that city’s Las Vegas-like beachfront with dozens of American chain restaurants. But if you venture inland to the historic Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza or down…
Who you callin’ Pee Wee?
The BoA Stadium will no doubt be filled to capacity when the Carolina Panthers take on the Atlanta Falcons on October 3. While gridiron fans may be anxious to see how Jake Delhomme and the Cats will match up against Michael Vick and the rest of the Falcons, the real excitement is going to be…
Fresh Flavors, Fresh Approach
Tim Groody, the Executive Chef at Sonoma Bistro, is the fresh face of Charlotte cuisine with a culinary philosophy to match. Groody’s commitment to buying fresh, organic produce from local markets has helped pave the way in bringing a larger selection of produce to Charlotte, and a fresher taste to gourmet cuisine. Originally from Long…
Don’t mention the tight end
Ingratiating yourself with the guys during football season can be quite a task. From late August through late January, men spout player statistics like it’s Shakespeare and participate in fantasy football leagues (still don’t quite understand those), shutting out any possibility of the women in their lives contributing to these conversations except to interject, “Can…
Curry Favor
The word gravy just doesn’t have the same pizzazz as the word curry. Curry is exotic. Gravy goes on mashed potatoes. Nevertheless the Tamil word kari means gravy, or sauce. In India, a curry is actually any dish made with a sauce. So Chicken Tikka Masala is a curry. Curry powder, on the other hand,…
Are you better off today?
A sure sign that at least one of George Bush’s wars is going well is that you never read about it. I’m not talking about Iraq or Afghanistan, and, no, Bush hasn’t stealthily devastated some other bedraggled-but-oil-soaked Third World nation. The conflict I have in mind is class warfare — which, although not described in…
This Is Healthy?
The next time you reach for a “healthy” frozen microwaveable meal because you’re too rushed (or lazy or unadventurous) to cook a meal from scratch, do yourself a favor and take a minute to look at the ingredients in that “Healthy Choice” or “Lean Cuisine” or “Smart Ones.” What you see should send you rushing…
It’s All In The B-Roll
There’s a phrase TV types use that started out as a film term: “b-roll.” Simply, it’s video that we use when we edit a piece, commercial or program that takes you away from the action. For example, you’ll have a soundbite from a subject, and while they’re talking about, say, a Snickers bar, you cut…
Mail Bonding
This quarterly column lets you talk back. I’ll print whatever wine comments and questions you might have, so have at it. If you have something to add or air, e-mail me at: corkscrew@creativeloafing.com. Gimme the Free Stuff Edita Beasin asked: “I enjoyed your article “Bring Me Your Quirks’ [8/04/04] … I do have a question:…
Last Minute Scenarios
With both political conventions/ infomercials out of the way, we find ourselves entering the home stretch of what may be the most critical Presidential election of our lifetime. With so much at stake, and given the tightness of the race and Karl Rove’s track record of “creative politics,” much speculation has been raised about the…
