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Thursday, March 26, 2009
Arts / Today's Top Five / News Today's Top 5: Thursday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, March 26, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• The Chuckleheads at Pennyard Winery & Bistro
• Raphael Saadiq at Wachovia Atrium
• Cooking with Meat Alternatives demonstration at Earth Fare at SouthPark
• Continuality exhibition at Davidson College's Van Every/Smith Galleries
• Saliva at Amos' Southend
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
News Time Warner asserts: 'WSOC-TV Threatens to Pull its Programming'
Posted By Carlton Hargro on Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 3:35 PM
This just in from the folks at Time Warner Cable:
WSOC-TV Threatens to Pull its Programming OffTime Warner Cable Channel Lineup
Local ABC Affiliate Reaching Into Customers’ Wallets To Subsidize Its Bottom line
Charlotte, NC (March 25, 2009) –Local ABC affiliate WSOC-TV has threatened to remove its programming from Time Warner Cable customers unless their unprecedented demands are met. Cox Television, the parent company of WSOC-TV, is trying to use the Charlotte market as leverage to renegotiate unexpired retransmission consent agreements held in other Time Warner Cable markets.
“From our perspective, we’re really close to a deal on WSOC,” says Carol Hevey, executive vice president, Time Warner Cable Carolina Region. “The real issue is that they are demanding that customers pay millions more on unexpired contracts for other Cox stations in Texas, Florida and Ohio. That’s like asking you to pay extra rent now when your lease isn’t up until the end of the year, just because the landlord isn’t earning enough money from other tenants. It’s outrageous, and unfortunate that our customers could be the victims here.”
TWC continues to negotiate in good faith with WSOC-TV before its long-term carriage agreement expires April 1st. If an agreement is not reached by this date, WSOC-TV may choose to pull its programming off the Time Warner Cable channel line-up. By law, TWC cannot continue to carry WSOC-TV programming without the stations’ consent.
TWC has reached hundreds of mutually beneficial agreements with other broadcast stations over the years. While negotiations may become heated from time to time, it is uncommon for a dispute to become public “We’re disappointed that WSOC-TV decided to focus its efforts on spreading inaccurate information about our negotiations in the Charlotte community, rather than working with us to come up with a reasonable and fair agreement, says Hevey. “We sincerely hope WSOC-TV will come to their senses before our customers are negatively impacted.”
If TWC and WSOC-TV do not reach an agreement by April 1st and WSOC decides to pull its station from the channel line-up, customers will be able to access WSOC programming over the air with an antenna or online. Popular ABC programming such as Grey’s Anatomy, Dancing with the Stars, Lost and The View can be viewed at www.abc.go.com. Daytime programming such as All My Children and General Hospital can be viewed on SOAPnet and www.abc.go.com.
Look for WSOC's response to this allegation later.
Film / Film News / News Regal Stonecrest takes it to the IMAX
Posted By Matt Brunson on Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 3:33 PM
This Friday, Regal Stonecrest 22 will open the doors to its new IMAX auditorium with the release of DreamWorks' animated adventure, Monsters vs. Aliens. Having converted one of its existing auditoriums to house the format's projection system, the theater will be able to screen the film as a 3-D IMAX production. The movie will also be shown (both at Stonecrest and select other theaters in Charlotte) in DIGITAL 3D, as well as in standard flat-screen.
For more information, including showtimes, prices and purchase information, go to www.REGmovies.com.
Film / Film News / News Box Office Top 10
Posted By Matt Brunson on Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 2:30 PM
1. Knowing - $24.6 million ($24.6 million)
2. I Love You, Man - $17.8 million ($17.8 million)
3. Duplicity - $13.9 million ($13.9 million)
4. Race to Witch Mountain - $12.7 million ($44.4 million)
5. Watchmen - $6.8 million ($98.1 million)
6. The Last House on the Left - $5.7 million ($23.9 million)
7. Taken - $4.0 million ($133.0 million)
8. Slumdog Millionaire - $2.6 million ($137.1 million)
9. Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail - $2.5 million ($87.2 million)
10. Coraline - $2.1 million ($72.8 million)
(Gross for weekend of March 20-22. Figure in parentheses is total gross to date. Source: www.boxofficemojo.com.)
Boomer with Attitude / News AIG VP AWOL ASAP in NYT
Posted By John Grooms on Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 1:50 PM
Today, the AIG debacle took on a more human aspect as Jack DeSantis, one of the company's executive vice-presidents, published an open letter of resignation to the AIG CEO on the Op-ed page of the New York Times.
DeSantis accuses AIG upper management of betraying the public and its employees, and vows to "leave the company and donate my entire post-tax retention payment [one of the bonuses everyone's riled about] to those suffering from the global economic downturn. My intent is to keep none of the money myself."
It's an amazing letter and is well worth taking the time to read the whole thing here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/opinion/25desantis.html?ref=opinion
News / Pop Culture Frank Warren wants to post your secrets
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 1:00 PM
The founder of Post Secret, Frank Warren, who visited UNC Charlotte last night, believes everyone should share their secrets, saying, "Each one of us has a secret that could break your heart [or] create more compassion, empathy and peace."
What's not a secret is how successful Post Secret became after starting as "almost a prank." In 2004, he handed out self-addressed postcards to strangers, implored them to send in a secret, then featured those secrets in an art exhibition. What happened next, though, was a surprise.
"The project hijacked my life," he said. Post cards started arriving from everywhere — even cards people made themselves. So, he decided to post them on his blog. Today his blog is visited by an average of 700,000 people every Sunday — over 225 million since its inception — and he has published four books, with a fifth on the way.
The site is updated every Sunday with 20, or more, postcards chosen from the roughly 1,200 Warren receives each week. (Yes, he keeps them all.) Though he likes the spiritual symbolism behind Sunday, he didn't choose that day intentionally, saying, "It just sort of started that way."
He tries to envision each week's post as a composition. "I'm always trying to think of different techniques to play one card off of another, or I think of it visually like a film editor would. I think of these contrasting images or visual themes and in terms of visual story telling.
"I always try to touch on all the notes of our human emotions every Sunday," says Warren who hopes to take you on an emotional journey, to "drop you off at a different place than where you started."
Each postcard offers a peek into the inner world of a complete stranger and, Warren believes, is a reflection of the courageous and authentic spirit of the participants in his ongoing art project.
He loves that people consider Post Secret art.
He doesn't try to set goals for the project because, he says, art is difficult to define or limit. Categorizing the project as art allows it to continue to grow and find its own way. "What you see on the Web site every Sunday is this extraordinary artwork created by people who don't see themselves as artists. I think that challenges us to redefine who we see as artists and who we think can make art — and even the definition of what art is."
While the project isn't just about art, Warren doesn't want it to turn into a therapy session, either. He tries to allow all of the secrets, and their authors, to speak for themselves. He says the project has taught him about the kindness of strangers, that we don't need to fear the unknown and has challenged him to evolve into a person who can handle tons of strangers' secrets every week after he "accidentally created something he wasn't prepared for at all."
One more fact that isn't a secret is Warren's support of Reese Brooks' Suicide Help Line (1-800-Suicide). Brooks started the help line after his wife, Kristen, committed suicide. Below this post you'll find a YouTube video about their connection.
While in the Queen City, Warren dined at the Penguin and caught up with his friend Cassie, a local who long-time Post Secret followers will recognize. Her picture used to grace the site with her story of how 1-800-Suicide saved her life.
See who was there: Post Secret pictures are posted on QC Afterdark.
News / Biz NoDa project will start small, expand later
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 12:45 PM
The mix residential and commercial building boasts 100 percent financing for first-time buyers. Talks are in the works for a grocery store, too.
The first building in MercuryNoda at North Davidson and East 36th streets would have 28 condos in a three-story structure with 16,000 square feet of street-level commercial space. Tyler Foster of Hyperion Group had planned to launch with a six-story, 130-unit condo building, but the economic downturn made pre-selling difficult for new projects.Foster said that when MercuryNoda sales leveled off at 22 units, he shifted gears and decided to do the larger building later.
Read the rest of this Charlotte Observer article here.
Arts / News Live Review: Dixie's Tupperware Party
Posted By Anita Overcash on Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Dixie's Tupperware Party
Booth Playhouse
March 24, 2009
The Deal: Playwright and actor, Kris Andersson brings his one-man show, Dixie's Tupperware Party to the stage of Booth Playhouse.
The Good: Kris Andersson's Dixie's Tupperware Party stirred laughter and merriment with Dixie Longate, a red-headed, big-mouthed gal (played by Kris Andersson), willing and ready to spill her life's details, as well as more tips on Tupperware uses, than you want to know. To give the production, a real, party-like feel Longate walked around talking with guests, as they took their seats, even before the show began. When it kicked off, Longate let some folks sit on stage and she often stepped off stage to better interact with the audience. Everyone was given a name tag, which also contained a number, before entering. This was so Longate could call out names, but more importantly, for giveaways. Some folks were even picked from the crowd to participate in a rimming contest. Throughout the show Longate told her story, one which involved being out of the workforce via prison. When she finally got loose from her life behind bars, she worked her way up to the top of Tupperware sales. In the show, Longate showed a variety of impressive Tupperware pieces and explained an array of possible uses for each piece. For instance, she showed off a cup with a straw, that almost magically "seals up like a vagina," when removed. Then there was the Tupperware cupcake caddy, also great for holding Jello shots, and other pieces perfect for throwing at the kids or for dumb people who like to throw parties. Throughout the show, Longate cursed and carried on, also making lots of indirect sexual references. Longate really did want folks to buy pieces of plastic food storage and catalogs were available for those interested. This show takes a different spin on what a Tupperware party could be by the means of a humorous script, improv and the startling charisma of host, Dixie Longate. At the end, a positive message is even delivered to the crowd.
The Bad: This is definitely not a show for kids, as language was at times vulgar. Also, if you cringe at being picked out of crowds, you'd have been on the edge of your seat with this performance.
The Verdict: Dixie's Tupperware Party is a good time. Dixie Longate is dashing throughout the performance with jolly, seemingly-fabricated tales and her own unique way of selling plastic food storage products. You'll leave surprised and maybe even having ordered some Tupperware.
News Red Ventures is hiring
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Good news for Queen City job hunters.
Local online marketing firm Red Ventures will host an open house to meet candidates for 30 openings in online marketing, Web development and general-business management.It will be held at Red Ventures’ Charlotte headquarters on April 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The offices are at 15009 Lancaster Hwy. Advance registration is required at www.redventures.com/events.html.
Read the rest of this Charlotte Business Journal article here.
News Piedmont Natural Gas offers rebates
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 11:43 AM
But, first, you must buy new heaters and pay $18-$20 more on your monthly bill. (It's always the minor details, eh?) The good news is your increased bill will help low-income folks and nonprofits, too.
No mention of what the plan might be for the replaced heaters. Will they go straight to the dump, be recycled or refurbished? Remember, Piedmont, being good to Mama Earth is not just about reducing consumption, it's also about reusing and recycling items.
The N.C. Utilities Commission has approved Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc.s $1.28 million conservation plan.The program will offer customers rebates to buy high-efficiency gas water heaters and space heaters. Piedmont will give rebates up to $50 for traditional water heaters, $250 for tankless water heaters and $300 for furnaces
The plan also includes retrofitting homes of low-income individuals for greater energy efficiency and providing conservation services to nonprofit organizations.
Read the rest of this Charlotte Business Journal article here.
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Lunch Break (9/1/16): Organizers unveil "People, Not Polluters" platform in Charlotte as McCrory officials testify in Raleigh
The morning already passed us by. What the hell happened?
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Jigsaw, Dating App That Hides Users’ Faces, launches in Charlotte, NCTo Fight Superficial Dating App Culture 3
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Question the Queen City: The story of Mabel Rea 4
The Charlotte native went Hollywood, returned home and met a tragic demise.
