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Friday, January 30, 2009
The N Word / News Obama signs equal pay bill
Posted By Nsenga Burton on Fri, Jan 30, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Now, this is the change I'm looking for! I'm giving President Obama mad props for tackling major challenges in the infancy of his administration. Gitmo? The Economy? Equal pay for equal work? Oh, yeah. Delaying the switch to digital — not so much. This is a man that clearly mean's business and is doing the work that this country needs. Go Obama!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
News How many people are vying for the same jobs in the Queen City?
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 4:44 PM
This morning, The Consumerist's Ben Popken reported that a part-time job posting on Craigslist, in Virginia, generated 3,520 responses in under 24 hours.
That made us wonder, how many people are vying for the same positions in the Queen City? It's difficult to tell for sure, but, to give you an idea, we've made a list of the companies that have cut workers since January 1, 2008. Not all of them disclosed the number of employees given the heave-ho, but, of those that did, we count 13,233 potential job hunters in the Charlotte-metro area. Ouch!
The N Word / News Jessica Simpson's fat?
Posted By Nsenga Burton on Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 3:24 PM
Yeah right. She's as pretty as a picture and they should leave her alone. The cynic in me thinks that she's getting what she deserves because she put herself out their as a beacon for fitness and a sex symbol in all of the songs and promos for the Dukes of Hazard remake. But the realist in me believes that enough is enough, and we need to stop picking on stars for looking like real women. Jessica at her worst pretty much looks better than many women at their best, so let's give her a break — really.
News Mecklenburg and beyond ...
Posted By Karen Shugart on Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 1:53 PM
Military: The Army's suicide rate is the highest it's been in nearly three decades. (AP via Yahoo)
Politics: Arkansas legislative committee says no to resolution congratulating Obama. Why? Slavery, of course. (Arkansas Business via Wonkette)
Skullduggery: Peanut Corp. of America knew products contained salmonella and shipped 'em anyway. (Consumerist)
Medicine: Which antidepressants work best? (Scientific American)
Economy: Shades of 1933, anyone? (Alternet)
Transportation: CATS wants $300 million of stimulus-package money for its north line. (NewsChannel 36)
Relics: Phyllis Schlafly is still around. (The Sun Journal)
Politics: Atlantic Beach, S.C., mayor arrested. Again. (Myrtle Beach Sun-News)
Boomer with Attitude / News Will Obama learn a lesson?
Posted By John Grooms on Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 12:47 PM
I hope President Obama has learned a lesson. Yesterday, his mammoth economic stimulus package passed the House of Representatives. If you remember, Obama bent over backward to appease Republicans and get their votes by adjusting his plan to make one-third of the "stimuli" a series of tax cuts rather than more public spending. OK, he said he'd be a bipartisan president, and he gave it a shot. So how many Republicans were swayed by Obama's largesse? Nada. None. Not even one. Exactly zero Republican representatives voted for the stimulus package, although it still passed by 66 votes.
Here's the lesson I hope Obama learns from this: simply put, you can't please these assholes, you never will, they'll never "get it," so to hell with 'em. Prez O, you've got the votes to ram what you were resoundingly elected to do down the Republicans' throats. So do it. Did Roosevelt worry about the GOP's reactions during the New Deal? A little, but not much. Did LBJ hesitate to push Medicare through when he had a huge Congressional majority? Of course not. It's politics, O, not tiddlywinks. You made a nice gesture, too bad it didn't work out. Now, get back to work and screw these jerks. There's too much at stake to hesitate again.
Film / News Friday Film Openings
Posted By Matt Brunson on Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 12:02 PM
New in Town - Renee Zellweger, Harry Connick Jr.
Taken - Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace
The Uninvited - Elizabeth Banks, Emily Browning
Food / News Food news: Jan. 29
Posted By Tricia Childress on Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 11:14 AM
Feast at HOM, 116 W 5th Street, downtown, closed.
Opened last October is Mama’s Express, 500 South Old Statesville Road, Huntersville, the second area operation of co-owners Joe Guercio and Frank Mantis. Mama’s is strictly takeout (three-mile radius free delivery) and offers pizza, sandwiches, and southern Italian-styled entrees. Guercio’s first area eatery is J. Pasta, 9605 North Tryon Street in the Terraces at University, which is primarily takeout, but has eight seats and features 18-inch pies. Guercio is a Long Island native (Copiague to be exact).
Banners are up at The Village at Robinson Farms, 8410 Rea Road, (south of Stonecrest on Rea Road) for a bevy of soon-to-open restaurants. Two are products of the Barfly Group and owned by former Panther linebacker Dan Morgan, his wife, and others. These are Sweet T Diner, which will feature Southern comfort food and will be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The second is Dan Morgan’s Cheeze Mo’z Coal Fired Pizza, with an oven that heats to 800 degrees. The menu also offers pasta, wings, and salads.
Also to open in The Village at Robinson Farms by mid-March 2009 is the second location Cosmos Café, with 200 seats in the main dining room and an additional 100 seats on the patio.
News Muddling through Morning News: Jan. 29
Posted By Cheris Hodges on Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 9:16 AM
Yawning. Fox News Rising should be lauded for trying to get people back to work, but I think they killed it this morning when Mark Mathis promised to do something special to an employer who hires someone from the show.
Over on NewsChannel 36, the worst news I've heard all week: the folks responsible for Girl Scouts Cookies have cut the number of the cookies. Expect three to four less cookies in each box. The anchor said if you want to combat this, buy more boxes.
Despite the fact that PETA's ad won't be running during the Super Bowl, people can't stop talking about it. WCNC showed about 15 seconds of it. Good job PETA, you got free advertising.
WSOC-TV wants Burke County residents to know you're going to have a problem finding weed. Police busted someone growing marijuana at home. They found plants and instructional videos.
The Today Show seems pretty PO'd that change is coming slow to Washington. While President Barack Obama's stimulus package passed the House, no Republicans voted for it.
Grossness to the highest level. The Georgia plant where the tainted peanut butter came from has a leaky roof and roaches, yet they were still allowed to ship food. Not only should the company be sued, but the health inspector should have to eat the left over crackers for falling down on the job.
In more Obama news, his children didn't have to go to school in D.C. yesterday because of snow. Man, they would love it in Charlotte. The Chicago family is used to going through the snow. Obama said his seven-year-old said they still had recess in the snow in Chi-Town.
Good Morning America showed a 16-month-old little girl dancing like Beyonce this morning. Of course the producer of that segment had to be a man because he had the split screen of Beyonce doing her thing.
Former mega-church pastor Ted Haggard and his wife were on the show this morning. Just as his HBO special is about air, detailing his life after his fall from grace for having sex with a man and doing drugs, another former church member comes out and says Haggard exposed himself to him. The man went to Haggard for help with his homosexuality.
Despite all of this, his wife is standing by his side. I have to give it up to Robin Roberts; for a morning show interview, she asked some tough questions.
So, I spent a lot of time on GMA this morning because they had some interesting stories, like women going online looking for and finding sugar daddies.
Some say the "sugar babies" are giving up their self respect. But an 18-year-old said she's having a lovely life. She has designer bags and Manolo Blaniks. The sugar daddy is a married 40-year-old. He says sex isn't the only reason he's with her. He just wants to feel young.
Some women say this is just prostitution. "You are selling yourself if you're in a relationship like this," a woman said.
But a former sugar baby said it's just dating. ABC is slick. They pulled out Ashley Dupree who said she thought the escort business was like dating. Ooh, they just called the sugar babies prostitutes. But with the shaky economy, sites like SugarDaddies.com are seeing a spike in unemployed women joining.
Today's Top Five / News Today's Top 5: Thursday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Jan. 29, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• The Chuckleheads at Alive
• Habitual Ritual Comedy at Neighborhood Theatre
• Von Iva at The Milestone
• The Barber of Seville at Belk Theater
• Locals Only Thursday at Revolution Pizza & Ale House
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Arts / News Rent: No Day but Today
Posted By Cheris Hodges on Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 4:49 PM
Last night, Rent opened in Charlotte with Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal starring in the roles that made them famous.
You can't call yourself a true "Rent head" if you don't go see this show while it is in town, though Feb. 1. Last night's show wasn't flawless, but it was powerful. There was a bit of a sound problem, but seeing Rapp and Pascal perform the roles of Mark and Roger on stage overcame all of that.
Watching the performance of Pascal and Rapp, you almost thought they were really Roger and Mark. It's not fair that they didn't age, either.
Maybe Rent has remained so popular because the themes of the musical remain relevant today.
But don't take my word for it, see it for yourself.
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Today's Top 5: Thursday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
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Bath & Body Works is under fire for using triclosan in its soaps 4
The L.A. Times is wondering whether Bath & Body Works' new soaps are harmful.
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Halloween Countdown: House of Wax
Month-long series offers one recommended horror flick a day up through Oct. 31.
