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Friday, November 27, 2009
Arts / News Charlotte Bobcats vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Posted By Anita Overcash on Fri, Nov 27, 2009 at 9:00 AM
The Charlotte Bobcats haven’t been off to a great start this season. Actually, they’ve lost more games than they’ve won — but, they have won some and that counts for something, right? There’s always hope they can win again and we'll hope that’s the case when the league’s reigning MVP, LeBron James, and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers come to the Q.C. to take on The Charlotte Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena tonight. Be ready to watch this game intensely, and all while the food in your bellies from Turkey Day is still digesting. - Marian Drayton
Arts / Today's Top Five / News Today's Top 5: Friday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Fri, Nov 27, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Nov. 27, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Metric with Band of Skulls at Neighborhood Theatre
• Comedian Jon Reep at McGlohon Theatre
• In The Blood at Duke Energy Theatre
• Holiday Lights at The Garden at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
• The Von Ehrics at Milestone
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Arts / News The Carolina's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Posted By Anita Overcash on Thu, Nov 26, 2009 at 7:00 AM
In its 62nd year, The Carolina's Thanksgiving Day Parade - which, goes down today at 10 a.m. - has become a tradition for many folks in Charlotte and the surrounding area. With finely decorated floats and a variety of participants and marching bands in line to strut through the streets of Uptown Charlotte, it's something to experience. It's kinda like the Charlotte version of New York's Macy's Day Parade. Since The Carolina's Thanksgiving Day Parade's earlier, morning start - which replaced its longtime afternoon festivity hours last year - it's not like you can use being full from gorging on Thanksgiving food as an excuse to not attend. Chill out at the parade (And I do mean chill. It's getting cold, so dress warm people!), which might even kick you into some holiday cheer (or fear). And, like it or not, Santa Claus will be there to remind you that Christmas is just around the corner. 10 a.m. Parade begins at Tryon Street at 9th Street, turns left onto 3rd Street and ends at 3rd Street and Davidson Street.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Arts / News Simply Sinatra at Belk Theater
Posted By Anita Overcash on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 5:48 PM
This weekend (Nov. 27 & 28) Charlotte Symphony will present a special Pops concert, titled Simply Sinatra at Belk Theater. The show, conducted by Victor Vanacore, will feature Steve Lippia performing hits by Frank Sinatra. Tickets are $25-$67. Show starts at 8 p.m. For more information, click here.
News / Biz Because we know you're watching the clock today ...
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 5:30 PM
Happy Thanksgiving, Clog readers. Be safe. Be good(ish). Relax. Have fun. Say hi to Mom for us.
Sorry you're stuck at work till 5 p.m. Looking for something to do? (Go ahead, put your headphones on ... )
Click here to see my husband, Dan, and I ... as (disco) elves.
Not interested in embarrassing yourself online? You can always go Flash Mob style ...
Arts / See & Do: The Weekender / News Weekender
Posted By Anita Overcash on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 5:02 PM
Check out these events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area this weekend— as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
Friday, Nov. 27
Thanksgiving may have been yesterday, but comedian Jon Reep is still stuffed. Filled with humor, this winner of NBC's Last Standing Comic can dish out a hearty helping of hilarious, faster than you can say leftovers. For two nights (Nov. 27 & 28), Reep will perform at McGlohon Theatre.
• Exhibit Discovery Place’s newest interactive exhibit, Cool Stuff allows for visitors to explore and test the laws of physics, chemistry and engineering. If you thought Bill Nye The Science Guy was the answer to your science problems, you ain't seen nothin' yet. more...
• Theater On Q Productions’ latest play In The Blood, explores racial, gender, and social injustices through a homeless mother with street smarts. Performances kick off tonight at Duke Energy Theatre. more...
Saturday, Nov. 28
Time Warner Cable Arena
Trans-Siberian Orchestra is known for putting a rock-hearted spin on Christmas-themed songs. It will bring its very extravagant show - which features everything from lights being synced to the music, pyrotechnics, and lots of other special surprises (I'm not telling) - to Time Warner Cable Arena tonight.
• Literature Local author Tamar Myers - who was born and raised in the Belgian Congo - will sign and discuss her newest book, The Witch Doctor’s Wife at Joseph-Beth Booksellers. more...
• Music Dress in you undead best for a zombie theme party at Tremont Music Hall tonight. A zombie costume contest and beauty pageant will go down and music will be provided by Angles on Acid, Graveyard Boulevard, Swarm Theory, DJ Sin, and DJ Price. more...
Sunday, Nov. 29
Milestone
The Pretty Things Peep Show features vintage-style burlesque dancers, as well as popular SuicideGirls Bettina May and go-go Amy. The jaw-dropping excitement abounds with Miss Heather Holliday, who will fire-eat, sword-swallow, and more.
• Food The menu at One-U: Japanese Kitchen & Sushi Bar offers dozens of choices, from traditional Japanese to other Asian-styled foods. Try the crisp tempura. more...
• Music Tonight Mayday Parade brings its pop-punk harmonies to the stage of Tremont Music Hall. With There for Tomorrow, the Dangerous Summer and Vega Under Fire. more...
Boomer with Attitude / News Thankful for Obama, sort of, more or less
Posted By John Grooms on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 3:39 PM
Unlike some of my progressive friends and acquaintances, I can understand the humongous bailout of Wall Street initiated by the Bush administration and continued by Obama. Nearly all economists agree that we would be in a new version of the Great Depression if the government hadn’t stepped in. That doesn’t mean we have to like it, but it does seem to have been necessary.
The management of the bailout money, however – including simply keeping track of who got what and what they did with it – has been abysmal. And we’re still waiting for any of Goldman Sachs’ or AIG’s irresponsible managers to stand trial for nearly bringing down the entire world economy.
Health care reform has moved along at a snail’s pace, and the president has been less than aggressive then we’d like in pursuing his top domestic priority, but hey, it’s getting done, even though we still don’t know the final form the legislation will take.
The new administration has made some good moves in shoring up the government’s regulatory role, particularly on environmental issues, but only a little progress has been made on bolstering anti-terrorism protection for the nation’s lethally dangerous chemical plants, an issue George “War on Terror” Bush never seriously considered.
Now it looks like Obama is going to send around 30,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan even though polls show that American voters think the war isn’t worth fighting, and despite the fact that even the administration says there are no more than 100 members of al-Qaeda operating there. As someone who had doubts about Obama at first, then warmed up to him, and finally campaigned for him and drove people to the polls to vote for him, my well-earned reaction to this Afghan news is simple: Well, isn’t that just friggin great?
Now, one more straw has been added to our camel’s back. The Obama administration announced that it will not sign the international treaty (already signed by our NATO allies and many other nations) to ban landmines. Again, well, isn’t that just friggin great? Progressives, for once, stick together and elect their candidate, and the guy can't even ban landmines?
But you know what? I’m still thankful it’s Obama in the White House and not John McCain. The first and foremost reason is that if McCain had won, we’d have a pinhead ignoramus VisionWorks model one proverbial heartbeat away from being president. No thanks -- eight years with the last dimwit was plenty. Other reasons? With McCain, there would be no health care reform, environmental criminals would still have free rein to blow up the Appalachians for coal and pollute our skies and waters. And you can bet your, er, savings that with McCain, we’d already be in up to our necks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and probably Iran as well.
So, happy with Obama so far? No, not really. But thankful he’s in office and not the odd couple he ran against? You bet. And with that, Happy Thanksgiving!
Fantastic Mr. Fox: Toon with tempo
Posted By Matt Brunson on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 3:22 PM
By Matt Brunson
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
***
DIRECTED BY Wes Anderson
STARS George Clooney, Meryl Streep
Whatever is in the water out in Los Angeles is forcing today's most acclaimed young filmmakers to bring beloved children's books to the big screen. First it was Spike Jonze directing an adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, and now it's Wes Anderson helming a motion picture version of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox. At this rate, can we soon expect Darren Aronofsky to tackle Dr. Seuss' Hop on Pop and Paul Thomas Anderson to serve up Arlene Mosel's Tikki Tikki Tembo?
As for Anderson's stop-motion-animated opus, it's an improvement over Jonze's recent live-action effort, even if it falls short of being the new family classic dictated by the advance buzz. The mistake would be in categorizing it as a children's film, as it largely leaves out the sort of oversized humor found in movies made for the small fry. Instead, its pleasures, including Anderson's painterly compositions and the A-list vocal cast, seem more likely to win over viewers of voting age and above.
George Clooney brings his usual mix of leading-man swagger and character-actor eccentricity to his interpretation of the title character, a newspaper columnist who once promised his wife (a largely wasted Meryl Streep) that he would leave behind his life of danger (i.e. stealing chickens) but instead finds himself being lured back by the prospect of sticking it to a trio of wicked farmers (the leader being voiced by Dumbledore himself, Michael Gambon).
Moving to its own laid-back rhythms (an approach sure to cause seat-shuffling from those not on its wavelength), this likable lark functions as a reprieve from the plasticity of most modern 'toon flicks. It may not be fantastic, but it's good enough.
Boomer with Attitude / News N.C. investigating Blue Cross' robo-calls
Posted By John Grooms on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 2:38 PM
You remember earlier this month when Blue Cross Blue Shield of N.C. (BCBSNC) sent out a ton of postage-paid cards urging people to send them to Sen. Kay Hagan and urge her to oppose health care reform? And no one can forget all those cheery, welcome robo-calls about the evils of reform and all the anti-business socialists who are out to getcha! Lots and lots of people were upset about BCBSNC’s blatant politicking, and now somebody’s doing something about it. Yesterday, state Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office said it is investigating BCBSNC’s robo-calls, adding that a preliminary review shows that some of the calls violated the law.
The Attorney General’s investigation follows a complaint by 20 state lawmakers who asked him, as well as Insurance Wayne Goodwin, to look into the robo-calls and mailers. It’s unclear how long the investigation will take, or how much BCBSNC would be fined if the AG finds the insurance company broke the law. As reported by NC Policy Watch, however, “a group that made unlawful automated phone calls to North Carolina voters before the 2008 primary was ordered to pay a $100,000 penalty.” That’s not too much, really – maybe BCBSNC honcho Bob Greczyn can shake out that much in pocket change from the $4 million salary he earned from raising his customer’s rates again.
News / Biz An appeal for cleaner, more efficient cars
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 12:55 PM
Now that the U.S. government has a financial stake in the American auto industry, it's advisable to watch legislation involving that sector all the closer.
Here's an opportunity to tell the government what you think about new auto standards. Note: the public comment period ends Friday.
From SaveTheEnvironment.org:
The Obama administration has proposed new standards that would require new cars sold in the U.S. to average 34.1 mpg, cutting our greenhouse gas emissions and saving us money.There's just one problem: loopholes in the new standards would allow automakers to dodge the new regulations instead of meeting them...
BUT we have a chance to close the loopholes and strengthen the rule if we act before Friday, the 27th!
Please write the EPA and the Department of Transportation (DOT) right now, and urge them to close the loopholes that would allow automakers to evade the new standards.
The EPA and the DOT have asked for comments from the public by Friday, before they implement the Obama Administration's proposal.
It's hard to overstate what's at stake here: we must cut greenhouse gas emissions dramatically in order to avoid climate catastrophe, and we must cut them now!
Making our cars more fuel-efficient is one of the most effective ways to accomplish this.
If the proposed standards are enacted, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the vehicles sold in model years 2012-2016 would equal 950 million metric tons – the equivalent of shutting down 204 coal-fired power plants for a whole year!
During the same time period these standards could save American car owners 1.8 billion barrels of oil. That's money we'll keep in our pockets – instead of shipping it to countries like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Libya, and Nigeria.
Tell the EPA and DOT that we can't afford to enact weak standards.
Please don't delay – we only have until next Friday to make our voices heard and force them to close these dangerous loopholes.
Once you've taken action, please forward this message to your friends and family to keep our momentum going strong!
Thanks for all that you do to protect the environment.
Sincerely,
Michael Town
Campaign Director, SaveOurEnvironment.org
Here's President Obama announcing his emission standard goals:
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Question the Queen City: Who set fire to the nightlife? 3
From 1971 to 1976, 17 nightclubs in Charlotte burned to the ground. Who did it?
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Rango / Gnomeo & Juliet: Tale of two toons
Toon Western triggers a good time for all, but silly Shakespeare spin is solely for the kids.
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Question the Queen City: An unsolved double murder 5
Did they ever catch the killer from the Mulberry Church Road murders?
