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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The N Word / News Winning at a 'man's' game
Posted By Nsenga Burton on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 5:46 PM
OK, so the IAAF has asked the South African athletics federation to conduct a gender verification test on 800-meter runner Caster Semenya amid concerns she does not meet the requirements to compete as a woman. She's 18 years old and they think she might be a man because of her incredible performance beating out the world champion. The judges don't think that she's cheating, just that she doesn't know that she's actually a man. This is the oddest coupling, pun intended, that I have ever heard. She will have to submit to a battery of test to prove that she is a woman. Something doesn't sound right about this at all. If she has been competing as a woman her entire life, why question her gender now? I guess women can outrun each other but not discrimination.
Arts / Pop Culture / News WTF Wednesday: Brett Favre is a football whore, another homeless 'Housewife' and VH1 reality show contestant connected to a murder?
Posted By Nepherterra Estrada on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 3:11 PM
I recently moved back to the Queen City after 10 years back in Milwaukee. I’m so glad to be back in Charlotte, I think it’s a great city. But at the moment, here are the top three things that are making me say WTF Charlotte?!
1. Why are many Charlotte neighborhoods sans sidewalks?
2. Is everyone in Charlotte in love with the Epicenter? Newsflash: It’s just not that great. I feel like my favorite store, Revolution, is trapped in that horrible place. I am not an urban planner, but it seems that they should have put some of the retail shops on the ground level where they could be accessed from the street.
3. When are people in Charlotte going to wake up and realize that we have a pivotal mayoral race on the horizon. Wake up people!
Now that I’ve gotten that off of my chest, we can move on … Ahem …
Another Homeless Housewife?
Lynn from Real Housewives of Orange County is being evicted from the home she rents in the OC. If I were her I’d just have a rent party!
Brett Favre is a Football Whore
Brett Favre is the devil. Yes, I said it! I’m from Wisconsin so I can say that. This man is officially addicted to the game of football and will play for any team that will have him. Word on the street is that he already retired from the Minnesota Vikings to go and play for the Snoop Dogg’s Youth Football League. WTF Brett? LOL
Contestant on VH1’s Megan Wants a Millionaire Connected to Murder Case?
This show is painful to watch, but, to make matters worse, one of the finalists is a person of interest in the murder of Jasmine Fiore.
News Brian Daye
Posted By Web Editor on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 2:43 PM
Hey all! This is my first official opportunity at writing for a blog – Creative Loafing Charlotte, no less! As an actor/writer/director for 30 years who has done film, theater, commercials, TV and voice-overs throughout most of the country, I’m truly excited! I’ll make sure all my “I”s are dotted and “T”s are properly crossed.
email: bwdaye@aol.com
Boomer with Attitude / News Poll: FoxNewsies ignorant about health care
Posted By John Grooms on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 2:36 PM
Here’s a quick follow-up to this week’s story on health care reform lies. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal and NBC News announced a wide-ranging poll looking at how Americans feel about the health care reform debate. Among other things, including reports of poor PR by the Obama folks, the poll showed that many Americans believe an unhealthy chunk of the “misinformation” (aka “brazen lies”) swirling around the country about health care reform. The poll specifically measured the percentages of Americans who believe that legislation includes “death panels” (45 percent); that illegal immigrants will be covered (55 percent); and that abortions will be paid for with taxpayer dollars (40 percent).
The most interesting parts of the poll, at least to this writer, were the comparisons of respondents who get their news from CNN or MSNBC with those who prefer FoxNews. To no one’s surprise except perhaps their own, those who primarily get their news from FoxNews believe the misinformation about health care reform in far greater numbers than other respondents. For instance, 72 percent of FoxNews watchers believe the illegal immigrant misinformation, 69 percent believe the abortion lie, and 75 percent — three out of every four FoxNews watchers — still believe the “death panels” nonsense, even though it has been thoroughly, and repeatedly, debunked by the more “reality-based” media. Oh, and 79 percent of Foxies think health care reform will lead to a “government takeover” of health care.
News I-485 v. Independence Boulevard
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 2:28 PM
In February, Gov. Perdue promised to finish the I-485 loop within four years. The N.C. Department of Transportation says it can be done, but something has to give. They can't close the loop and widen Independence Boulevard at the same time — their tight budget won't allow it.
Tonight, Metropolitan Planning Organization, a group that oversees local road planning, is going to meet with state planners to try and reach a decision.
Brian Sisson, of the MPO, told WCNC the ultimate decision lies with city leaders.
What do you think should we do? Close the loop or widen Independence Boulevard?
I'll tell you my vote: Close the loop.
I say that because I'm rarely on Independence, but I'm all over I-485. In fact, I think they should stop eff'in around and widen the southern portion of the loop near I-77 before they touch Independence. That area is a nightmare during rush hour traffic. Plus, I'm sick of having to drive south on I-77 to pick up I-85 north when I'm traveling from Huntersville to UNC Charlotte.
Though, I have to admit, if the DOT came out and said, "Nah. We'd prefer to transfer these funds to CMS instead of work on either project," I wouldn't complain.
What's your vote?
Film / Film News / News Box Office Top 10
Posted By Matt Brunson on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 1:51 PM
1. District 9 - $37.3 million ($37.3 million)
2. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - $22.3 million ($98.5 million)
3. The Time Traveler's Wife - $18.6 million ($18.6 million)
4. Julie & Julia - $12.0 million ($43.3 million)
5. G-Force - $6.9 million ($99.0 million)
6. The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard - $5.6 million ($5.6 million)
7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - $5.1 million ($283.8 million)
8. The Ugly Truth - $4.4 million ($77.4 million)
9. Ponyo - $3.5 million ($3.5 million)
10. Funny People - $3.0 million ($47.9 million)
(Gross for weekend of Aug. 14-16. Figure in parentheses is total gross to date. Source: www.boxofficemojo.com.)
Boomer with Attitude / News When it's teeth-pullin' time down South
Posted By John Grooms on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 11:57 AM
You don’t joke with rural Southerners about teeth. Too many stereotypes, too many humiliating jokes, and too many missed kernels in their corn on the cob. Teeth problems were especially un-funny to Elizabeth Smith, a resident of Sumter, S.C., who made the news yesterday when ... well, let’s let our colleagues at Charleston’s Post & Courier tell it: “Sumter woman awarded $2 million after 13 teeth pulled.”
Other than the headline making it seem as if Ms. Smith won some sort of weird contest, this is no laughing matter. It turns out Ms. Smith, 28, had gone to a dental clinic in Metro-Sumter to have three teeth pulled, and, you guessed it, a dentist pulled those three, plus 13 others, turning the poor woman’s upper grill to gums. She sued and won. Evidently, the jury didn’t buy the dentist’s contention that he had simply misunderstood Ms. Smith. “I guess she said something about wanting to get rid of ‘some-a-vem teeth,’ and I thought she was saying she wanted ‘summer teeth.’ It could happen to anybody.”
Ms. Smith, for her part, may delay getting restorative surgery, as she has been informed that, having just a few teeth left, she is now eligible to compete in the Ms. Sumter Pageant. Ba-da-boom.
News N.C. healthcare premiums up 96.8 percent since 2000
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 11:02 AM
How much has your salary increased over the same number of years?
North Carolinians have seen their health insurance costs rise five times faster than their salaries over the last decade, according to a new report released Tuesday that is likely to add more fuel to the health care debate.The report found that health care premiums in the state rose 96.8 percent from 2000 through 2009, while median individual earnings rose by 18.4 percent, according to the study by Families USA and by Action for Children North Carolina.
“Rising health care costs threaten the financial well-being of families in North Carolina and across the nation,” said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA. “If health care reform does not happen soon, more and more families will be priced out of the health coverage they used to take for granted.”
In case you missed it, here's President Obama's weekly address which focuses on ... you guessed it ... health care reform:
News More fake letters sent to Congress
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 11:01 AM
This round of letters was falsely attributed to senior citizen groups. As with the other letters, they oppose climate legislation and are actually from lobbying groups that publicly swear this isn't the type of thing they condone.
More fake letters opposing climate legislation have come to light, with this latest batch being falsely attributed to senior-citizen organizations.As we’ve reported previously, forged letters were sent to three U.S. representatives from Bonner and Associates, a Washington, D.C.-based group that specializes in astroturfing. Bonner was subcontracted by the PR firm Hawthorn Group to do work on behalf of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a coal-industry group that wanted to stop passage of the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill in the House.
Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on Tuesday released copies of five letters that hadn’t been seen publicly before, including one we hadn’t heard about previously, upping the total number of confirmed fakes to 13. Markey chairs the House Select Committee for Energy Independence and Climate Change, which is leading an investigation into the scandal.
Arts / Today's Top Five / News Today's Top 5: Wednesday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Aug. 19, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Woodcut Prints by Dan Allegrucci with featured potter Ronan Peterson exhibition at Lark & Key Gallery
• King's X at Amos' Southend
• Comedy Class Graduation with up-and-coming comics at Wine-Up
• Jimmy Brown at Connolly's
• Shear Madness at Stage Door Theater
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5 Reasons To Buy Home Insurance Policy
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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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Question the Queen City: The Outlaws Motorcycle Gang Massacre
What's frequently referred to as the worst mass murder in Charlotte history remains unsolved.
