Mobile
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
First Drip First Drip (5/27/14): Charlotte reaches out to immigrants, shootings at Myrtle Beach, more
Posted By Ana McKenzie on Tue, May 27, 2014 at 10:41 AM
The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce will host a listening session today to collect feedback from the city's fast-growing immigrant population. The session aims to collect feedback from a broad segment of immigrants about what Charlotte is doing right and wrong in its dealings with residents from other nations. It also hopes to gather suggestions of how the city can better support immigrant entrepreneurs.
Six separate shootings at Myrtle Beach on Saturday left three people are dead and five wounded. The shootings, which officers don't think are connected, occurred outside a motel. No one has been arrested.
Protesters believed to be pro-Russian rebels set fire to a hockey stadium in Ukraine. "The attacks were the latest in an upsurge in fighting as Ukrainian anti-terrorist troops mount a major campaign against rebels in the wake of the weekend election of a new Ukrainian president, candy magnate Petro Poroshenko, who has vowed to negotiate a peaceful end to the crisis."
The soda industry released a study that shows drinking diet soda actually helps consumers lose weight, not gain it as multiple independent studies have shown over the years.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Monday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Mon, May 26, 2014 at 9:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, May 26, 2014 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
* Simplified at Rusty Rudder
* Patriot Festival at Symphony Park
* Memorial Day Celebration: Music, Gelato & Food Truck in the Vineyard at Raffaldini Vineyards
* Lace Up Son 5K at Stumptown Park
* The Monday Night All Stars at Double Door Inn
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Sunday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Sun, May 25, 2014 at 9:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, May 25, 2014 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
* Memorial Day Celebration at U.S. National Whitewater Center
* Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
* Celebrate America! A Memorial Day Celebration Concert at CPCC's Halton Theater
* Angels in America at Carolina Actors Studio Theatre
* Mint Hill Madness Festival at Mint Hill Veterans Memorial Park
Saturday, May 24, 2014
News / Music Protesters picket EDM event 'Pow Wow'
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Sat, May 24, 2014 at 4:44 PM
A small group of picketers held up signs outside of the Chop Shop on Friday, May 23, to protest an electronic music event called "Pow Wow 2." Created by local music promoter Mikey Tookie as an event to celebrate the art of people from diverse backgrounds, last year's "Pow Wow" drew attention for the use of Native American regalia and imagery at a non-Native American event.
- Photo by Mert Jones
- Wesley Stevens, Tawa Poplin-Redhouse and Kayla Holland protest the Pow Wow on May 23, 2014.
A commentary by Desiree Kane published in Creative Loafing earlier this week drew strong reactions from both sides of the argument - is it racist for non-Native people to wear Native American regalia, which is considered sacred and religious to many tribes?
Wesley Stevens, one of the protesters, commented that people can "have a pow wow, just do it respectfully."
- Photo by Mert Jones
- Kyle Buffkin, who is 50 percent Native American, attended the Pow Wow on May 23, 2014.
Kyle Buffkin, who attended Pow Wow 2 wearing a headdress and is 50 percent Native American, said, "My dad thinks it's awesome. It's just an event and a way to dress up and express yourself."
Chop Shop owner Jay Tilyard noted the line is somewhat blurred when it comes to what is "allowed" or not. "So, if a guy is 100 percent Native American, it's cool to wear regalia, but what if someone is 50 percent Native American, or 25 percent? What are the rules?" Tilyard said by phone the day after Pow Wow 2. "Is it then a type of segregation if you say you can only do something if you're part of a race? With young people, they see someone wearing regalia and think it looks cool and want to wear it, too. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It's not like people are dressing up as cowboys and pretending to shoot the people who are dressed in Native American attire."
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Saturday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Sat, May 24, 2014 at 9:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, May 24, 2014 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
* Damon Wayans at The Comedy Zone
* 600 Festival Uptown
* Charlotte Knights vs. Indianapolis Indians at BB&T Ballpark
* The Big Lebowski at UpStage
* NoDa Run Tours at Johnson YMCA
Friday, May 23, 2014
Arts Charleston, Ho!
Posted By Perry Tannenbaum on Fri, May 23, 2014 at 4:15 PM
Vaaaa-ROOOOM! That's the sound you'll be hearing all weekend as the NASCAR-mad masses flock to Concord, eager to be mesmerized by the deafening clamor of insanely high horsepower motors and the blurred colors of circling stock cars at the Co-Cola 900. Perhaps preceded by a Tryon Street pit stop for a dip into a sprawling beer blast? Slightly fainter, that sound may also be the mass exodus of culture cultists escaping to Charleston for the cuisine of South Carolina's Port City and the performing arts banquet of the 38th annual Spoleto Festival USA.
The annual rites at Charlotte Motor Speedway are pretty much a one-race pony, so there's little for me to add to your knowledge, especially if you already own a handy set of earplugs. Spoleto Festival varies each year, with fresh offerings of theater, opera, dance, jazz, orchestral music and chamber music - 150 ticketed events crammed into 17 days - so a description must go into a modicum of detail. Aside from this world-class festival, by far the largest in this hemisphere, there's a satellite Piccolo Spoleto featuring local and regional artists. That little baby requires a guidebook if you care to navigate.
Here's a breakdown of Spoleto 2014:
- Photo: Pat Redmond
- My Cousin Rachel
Theater: The headliner here is an Irish import, Gate Theatre's production of Daphne du Maurier's My Cousin Rachel (May 22-June 8). Anyone familiar with du Maurier's mix of suspense, melodrama and romance in Rebecca will wish to whet his or her curiosity on this new stage adaptation of her 1951 thriller. The ancient ambiance of the beautifully restored Dock Street Theatre will be perfect for this wind-swept Gothic wallow.
The remainder of the theater events will be staged at the Emmett Robinson Theatre on the gorgeous College of Charleston campus. A Brimful of Asha (May 29-June 1) pairs actor/director/writer Ravi Jain with his old-school matchmaking mother. That second-week run is sandwiched between two immersions into what is being called "physical theater" - but you can call it circus - A Simple Space (May 23-27), performed by Gravity & Other Myths, and Finnish aerialist Ilona Jäntti (June 3-8).
Arts Combat artist Robert Bates ventures into enemy territory
Posted By Barry Falls Jr. on Fri, May 23, 2014 at 12:40 PM
Five years ago, the Taliban tried to kill Robert Bates with an improvised explosive device (IED) near the Helmand Province in Afghanistan. The now 30-year-old Marine turned to art as a means to cope with the trauma. Today, his combat art and ambition of becoming a high school art teacher are triumphant testaments to the Taliban's failure.
Bates is hosting his first solo exhibition, The Art of War, through June 5 at the Student Union Art Gallery on the UNC Charlotte campus. Bates is modest and approachable. He discusses his art without jargon or eccentric descriptions of the messages behind his pieces. He discusses his work with eagerness, pride and humor, even when he's discussing paintings of wounded soldiers. Each piece validates Bates not only as a gifted artist but as an insightful storyteller who's emotionally invested in the subjects of his craft.
Behind every work in The Art of War is a narrative of a soldier who has experienced the unimaginable. Sometimes, Bates' art centers on someone who didn't make it out of the war zone alive. He chooses to paint what he has seen on the battlefield and in hospital rooms, as it's more freeing than the stark confines of photography.
Music Avett Brothers on Front and Center this weekend
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, May 23, 2014 at 12:11 PM
The Avett Brothers will be the featured performer on UNC-TV's Front and Center on Sunday, May 25, at 2 a.m. The band was recorded live at New York's McKittrick Hotel as part of the third season of the PBS series.
And here's their performance of "Down With the Shine" from the show:
Music God Save the Queen City announces 2014 lineup
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, May 23, 2014 at 10:49 AM
God Save the Queen City, held at the Chop Shop on Aug. 9, has announced its 2014 lineup:
Jeff the Brotherhood
Johnny Fritz
Apache Relay
Floating Action
Natural Child
Clear Plastic Masks
Promised Land Sound
Benji Hughes
Temperance League
Ancient Cities
The Loudermilks
Sinners and Saints
Renelvis
Late Bloomer
Elonzo
Toleman Randall
AM/FMs
Batsheet
Started in 2011, the event combines local, regional and national talent all under one roof for one price. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 day of show. For more information, go to gstqc.com.
News / Politics N.C. lawmakers criminalize disclosure of fracking chemicals
Posted By Sara Patterson on Fri, May 23, 2014 at 10:37 AM
When state Mining and Energy Commission Chairman Jim Womack commented on an anticipated fracking bill earlier this month, he said that a key component of the bill was to "get chemical disclosure the way we want to do it." The way they want to do it, as it turns out, is in secret, with felony charges at the ready for anyone tempted to tell.
The Energy Modernization Act, which breezed through the N.C. Senate just a week into the short session, not only will lift the current moratorium on natural gas drilling as of July 2015 but will make it a Class I felony to reveal details about the chemical cocktail fracking companies will use to extract gas from drill holes. The state geologist and first responders would be privy to the details - confidentially, of course - but to the general public the bill would consider the chemicals a "trade secret." That "secret" formula - known as the Master Well Formula currently used by fracking companies like Encana Corp. in Wyoming, where drillers are actually required to disclose their chemicals, includes multiple carcinogens and can be viewed here.
-
Atlantic City's boardwalk suffers fate similar to Charlotte's 2
A storm destroyed the Queen City's own boardwalk almost 80 years ago
-
Top European Poker Players Reveal Their Winning Strategies 1
-
5 Reasons To Buy Home Insurance Policy
