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Friday, October 19, 2012
News 'Chilly Willy' died Thursday evening
Posted By Ana McKenzie on Fri, Oct 19, 2012 at 9:43 AM
Charlotte lost a unique character Thursday evening when William "Chilly Willy" Major was fatally struck by a car in front of Jackalope Jacks. Major, a formerly homeless man who had struggled with addiction, was 58.
- Graham Morrison
- Chilly Willy
According to the Charlotte Observer:
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said Major stepped onto Seventh Street and was struck by a 65-year-old woman driving a Hyundai Sonata. Paramedics rushed Major to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead around 9:30 p.m.
Look for more on Major's death in next week's CL. Watch a video of him playing the guitar below.
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Friday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Fri, Oct 19, 2012 at 9:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Oct. 19, 2012 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
* Apple Juice Kid at Chop Shop
* Opus at Duke Energy Theatre
* All Arts Market at Neighborhood Theatre
* Tar & Nicotine: Photographs of Chris Radok at Baku Gallery
* Robot Johnson at Wine Up
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Arts Theater review: Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Posted By Perry Tannenbaum on Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 5:29 PM
In a grim wartime setting, playwright Rajiv Joseph juggles the animal, the human, and the divine in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, currently caged at Carolina Actors Studio Theatre through November 11. Toss in American military arrogance, Hussein family beastliness, a whore, a leper, a topiary artist, and a talking tiger and you have an Iraqi stew rich in meaning.
Tom and Kev are the ugly Americans who are guarding the zoo while the occupiers tighten their control of the capital after Saddam Hussein’s capture. In a very unguarded moment, Tom literally gives the tiger a hand. After boasting that he is bigger and smarter than the lions at the zoo, the tiger must admit to poor impulse control. He bites and devours the hand that feeds him. Itching for action and resenting his zookeeping assignment, Kev guns down the tiger on the spot.
The opening scene action sets loose a couple of bizarre things that we’ll follow for the rest of the evening. First, there’s the ghost of the Tiger, a natural atheist who must grapple with the reality of the afterlife, the existence of God, and how to reconcile what he sees in Baghdad with God’s dominion. Or that’s my guess about what Tiger is hunting for when he isn’t driving Kev insane.
Along with the big cat, Joseph weaves another curiosity into the plot, a golden gun that Tom has seized from Uday Hussein’s palace when the Marines gunned him down. The trophy gun falls into Kev’s hands when Tom is shipped home for surgery, rehab, and a new prosthetic hand. But Tom signs up for another tour, for country more than God — and for the golden gun far more than either. If Tom’s persistence sounds to you like a metaphor for America’s preoccupation with Middle Eastern oil, you’re not alone.
News Artists, musicians show support for Jennifer Roberts
Posted By Joanne Spataro on Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 3:23 PM
On Wednesday evening, a father-daughter duo took the stage at The Saloon at NC Music Factory. Manley Roberts and his daughter Montana sang Carole King’s classic “Where You Lead,” replacing New York City with Washington, D.C., in a lyric about following someone to a new destination. The blonde high school junior belted out the chorus as her dad played keyboard. She seemed to be singing to one particular audience member in the front row: her mom, 9th Congressional District candidate Jennifer Roberts.
- Joanne Spataro
- Roberts joins her family on stage
Artists’ Night for Jennifer Roberts seemed to be more like a music and arts festival than a stuffy fundraiser. Hardin Minor, a mime, juggler and fire eater in Charlotte for about 30 years, created the event to give a boost of artistic energy to the final weeks of Roberts’ campaign, especially since she’s running against someone with double her cash. Republican opponent Robert Pittenger recently reached $3 million in fundraising, setting a record in the 9th District and possibly in the history of North Carolina congressional races, while Roberts has raised $449,000 through September.
“Because we don’t have the kind of money Robert Pittenger has, we have to find other ways of supporting Jennifer to equal measure,” Minor said.
Film / Film Reviews Halloween Countdown: The Mist
Posted By Matt Brunson on Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 2:00 PM
(In anticipation of the coolest day of the year, this month-long series will offer one recommended horror flick a day up through Oct. 31.)
THE MIST (2007). The Mist marks writer-director Frank Darabont's third adaptation of a Stephen King property, and because he's not shooting for Oscar gold this time around (the previous titles were the reasonably enjoyable but grotesquely overrated pair, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile), he's able to ease up on the pedal of self-importance and deliver a "B"- style genre flick, albeit one offering some evaluations of human nature in between all the bloodletting. Owing a nod in the direction of John Carpenter's The Fog, this concerns itself with a group of people who are gathered at the local supermarket when a mist envelops the entire area. It soon becomes clear that something evil resides in the fog — oh, about the time that a bag boy gets shredded by a monstrous tentacle — and the shoppers decide that they should remain indoors rather than venture out into the parking lot. It's here that Darabont's script reveals its cynical roots, as a religious zealot named Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden) converts many of the frightened survivors to her mode of thinking, a path that leads to a Jim Jones-like environment and at least one human sacrifice. Propelled by Harden's scary performance, Mrs. Carmody is a genuine threat, and she validates Darabont's contention that times of crisis are as likely to turn people against each other as they are to unite them against a common enemy. His pessimism also extends to other areas of the script, most notably a powerhouse ending.
News / Opinion Election Notebook 2012: Surrogates start their engines in N.C. early voting race
Posted By Mary C. Curtis on Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 12:56 PM
Based on Election Day votes, John McCain would have easily defeated Barack Obama in 2008 in North Carolina. But Nov. 6 isn't all that counts here.
From Oct. 18 through Nov. 3, voters can cast an early ballot or even register and then vote. But the election and the polls are close in the battleground state of North Carolina, so both parties are in serious campaign mode here. One-time Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum was stumping for Mitt Romney early Thursday morning at the campaign’s Charlotte Victory Office. Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz is spending so much time in North Carolina that she may be picking up a southern accent.
News Antoine Young arraignment scheduled for today
Posted By Ana McKenzie on Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 11:03 AM
Antoine Young will enter a plea to the charges of murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and larceny of a motor vehicle today in the case of former CL photographer Chris Radok's 2011 murder. If Young pleads guilty, he will likely be sentenced. If not, the trial will be postponed.
- Jacqueline Heer
- Radok
The arraignment starts at 2 p.m. at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, 832 E. 4th St., Courtroom 5350. According to "The Chris Radock [sic] Memorial Page" on Facebook, Radok's family is flying in from England to attend. The page goes on to say, "We want to pack the courthouse."
Read our Radok obituary here.
Film / Film News Opening Friday
Posted By Matt Brunson on Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 10:00 AM
- Future You Pictures
- Beauty Is Embarrassing
Alex Cross - Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox
Beauty Is Embarrassing - Documentary; Wayne White, Paul Reubens
Paranormal Activity 4 - Katie Featherston, Kathryn Newton
News Full speed ahead on light-rail extension
Posted By Ana McKenzie on Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 9:12 AM
The federal government has agreed to pay half of the construction costs for a $1.6 billion light-rail extension, according to the Charlotte Observer.
- James Wilamor
The Federal Transit Authority will spend $580; the city, Charlotte Area Transit System $250 million; and the N.C. Department of Transportation will chip in $299 million. According to the Observer:
The new, 9.2-mile extension could open in 2017. It will connect downtown to UNC-Charlotte, adding 11 new stations. Four stations will have park-and-ride lots.Construction is scheduled to begin in November 2013.
Read more here.
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Thursday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 9:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Oct. 18, 2012 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
* House at Carolina Cinemas Crownpoint Stadium 12
* Indigo Girls at McGlohon Theatre
* Esther Kitoko (Establish her Beautiful) at Dupp&Swat
* Amy Schumer at The Comedy Zone
* Opening reception for Collection exhibit at Center for the Arts
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Question the Queen City: Hugh McManaway, the man behind the statue
It pays homage to a traffic director, friendly neighbor and one of Charlotte's most beloved local characters
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The Hangover Part II: Buzz kill 7
No use crying over spilt sequel.
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Longtime dancer to leave NC Dance Theatre 3
Mia Cunningham, a dancer who has spent 18 seasons performing with the North Carolina Dance Theatre, is set to retire.
