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Friday, November 20, 2009
Film / Film Reviews / News An Education deserves high marks
Posted By Matt Brunson on Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 3:13 PM
By Matt Brunson
AN EDUCATION
***1/2
DIRECTED BY Lone Scherfig
STARS Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard
Coming-of-age movies are a dime-a-dozen, but one as exemplary as An Education deserves nothing less than the opportunity to command top dollar on the open market. Sensitively directed by Lone Scherfig and exquisitely penned by Nick Hornby (adapting Lynn Barber's memoir), this lovely drama set in London during the early 1960s stays true to its title by showing how its teen protagonist learns life lessons as they relate to issues of class, sex, schooling and her country's own growing pains.
Film / Film Reviews / News Precious: Raw and realistic
Posted By Matt Brunson on Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 3:12 PM
By Matt Brunson
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
DIRECTED BY Lee Daniels
STARS Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique
"Kitchen sink realism" was the term invented to describe a specific type of artistic movement that took place in England in the 1950s and 1960s, and here comes Precious to borrow that expression for a more modern, decidedly Americanized look at life among the lower classes. Adding to the appropriateness of subletting that term is that fact that a good part of this harrowing drama is set in and around the kitchen, as a frying pan to the head and hairy pigs feet to the arteries both take a toll on the well-being of the story's heroine, 16-year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe).
Film / Film Reviews / News The Blind Side too one-sided
Posted By Matt Brunson on Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 3:12 PM
By Matt Brunson
THE BLIND SIDE
**1/2
DIRECTED BY John Lee Hancock
STARS Sandra Bullock, Quentin Aaron
Precious is different in that it allows an African-American character to tell her own story, never ceding the camera to anyone else and remaining the focal point throughout. The Blind Side is more typical of the sort of racially aware films Hollywood foists upon middle America, purportedly focusing on a black protagonist but really serving as an example of the goodness of white folks. The only reason this young black boy exists, it seems to hint, is so that a Caucasian woman can feel good about herself.
Boomer with Attitude / News Mel Watt tries to derail Fed Reserve audit
Posted By John Grooms on Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 12:34 PM
Rep. Mel Watt of Charlotte, whose campaign coffers are well-stocked with banking and financial industry money, yesterday tried, but failed, to derail an amendment to a House Finance Committee bill which would open the Federal Reserve to public audits. The longtime friend and ally of former Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt, and favorite of many local progressives, proposed his own amendment, presented as a “compromise” that would still increase transparency at the Fed. A close reading by the Huffington Post, however, showed that Watt's amendment would have in fact decreased transparency by adding more restrictions. Watt’s amendment was supported by frantic, last-minute lobbying from Federal Reserve officials and a letter from a group of eight economists who were presented as a "political cross section of prominent economists," although seven of the eight have extensive connections to the Fed, and half of them are on the Federal Reserve payroll.
Watt's amendment was voted down, and the amendment to audit the Fed -- proposed by two of the farthest-left and farthest-right Congressmen, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) -- passed in a bipartisan vote of 43-26. Democrats' support for the Paul/Grayson plan to audit the Fed was solidified after leading progressive economists and labor leaders posted a letter calling for a rejection of Watt’s amendment.
Watt gets much of his campaign money from businesses with intense interest in what happens at the Federal Reserve. In the 2008 campaign cycle, Watt’s four top contributors were Bank of America, Wachovia, American Express, and the American Bankers Association. Of the $458,000 received by Watt by PACs, $217,000 came from banking, finance, insurance and real estate PACs. Figures are from the Center for Responsive Politics.
Arts / Today's Top Five / News Today's Top 5: Friday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Nov. 20, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Free Music Night, "Rat's Nest Harvest Hoedown," featuring Bill Noonan & the Barbed Wires, Brandon Kirkley, The Loose Lugnuts, and The Pistoleros at Neighborhood Theatre
• 16th Annual Beaujolais Wine Tasting Festival at Levine Museum of the New South
• SlamCharlotte Poetry Slam at McGlohon Theatre
• Charlotte Comedy Theater at Prevue Music Hall
• Moon Lite Dance Party at Queen City Ballroom
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Boomer with Attitude / News Crazy like a (Virginia) Foxx, civil rights edition
Posted By John Grooms on Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 6:21 PM
ThinkProgress.org calls Rep. Virginia Foxx “the gift that keeps on giving,” and today she gave us all a classic. On the House floor, Foxx, of “health care reform is more dangerous than terrorism” fame, claimed that the Republican Party “passed civil rights bills back in the 1960s without very much help from [Democrats].” Talk about revisionist history. The landmark civil rights legislation of the 1960s was introduced by JFK and pushed through Congress by Lyndon Johnson, both Democrats the last time we looked. A substantial number of Republicans did vote for the civil rights bills, but those were the days when the GOP included a hefty number of moderate or even liberal members of Congress. If those bills were introduced today, you can pretty much bet everything you own that the vast majority of Republican members of Congress would vote against them, since the party has essentially purged all but a handful of its moderates. The primary factor splitting supporters from opponents of those particular bills was geography, i.e., if a Congressman was from the South, he probably opposed them; otherwise, he was probably for them. Thus, Southern Democrats voted en masse against the civil rights legislation, while nearly all the other Dems voted for them. If you take out the Southern Democrats from the equation, a higher percentage of Dems voted for the bills than did Republicans. The bottom line, though, is that those bills were introduced and pushed through by the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate. And Foxx, as usual, comes across as a confused loony.
Arts / See & Do: The Weekender / News Weekender
Posted By Anita Overcash on Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 6:13 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. 20
Sick of the standard "Ringling Bros. and yadda yadda" circuses? Then head over to Freedom Shopping Mart Center for UniverSoul Circus, which features an international and multicultural brand of entertainment. This includes West African contortionists of Twisted Soul, Chinese Foot Jugglers, and a whole lot more.
• Music Tonight, – during NoDa’s Gallery Crawl – Neighborhood Theatre and The Rat’s Nest have partnered up to present a free music night, dubbed “Rat’s Nest Harvest Hoedown.” Bill Noonan & the Barbed Wires, Brandon Kirkley, The Loose Lugnuts, and The Pistoleros will perform. more...
• Festival The Beaujolais Wine Tasting Festival at Levine Museum of the New South offers a diverse taste of wines (including the 2009 Beaujolais nouveau) from France’s wine-producing region, Beaujolais, for sampling. more...
Saturday, Nov. 21
Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte
Actor's Theatre of Charlotte's latest production, Yankee Tavern, is a teasing mystery that will have your pulse racing – and that's without alcohol in your system. The play centers around a series of events that unravel, and ultimately suggest conspiracy theories to key events in American history.
• Food Plant-eaters will leave with their bellies full at Zizi’s Vegetarian (Vegan) to Go. The menu is full of a wide range of tasty choices for both vegetarians and vegans. more...
• Comedy Charlotte sketch comedy troupe Robot Johnson will deliver a crazy-funny performance tonight at Carolina Actors Studio Theatre. more...
Sunday, Nov. 22
Park Road Books
Matt and Ted Lee will visit Park Road Books today to sign and discuss their new cookbook titled, The Lee Bros. Simple, Fresh, Southern: Knockout Dishes with Down-Home Flavor.
• Music Known for his powerful vocal chords and as the front man of The Who, Roger Daltrey will visit Charlotte for a rock hard performance at The Fillmore during his current solo tour. more...
• Music Tonight, Carolina Reggae Vibes and Reggae Central present the One Love Reggae Festival at Amos’ Southend. You can expect to hear reggae sounds from Capleton, Cocoa Tea, Jah Thunda, and Prophecy Band. more...
News Be thankful for what you've got, donate what you can
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 5:54 PM
Every year I'm amazed by our city's generosity during the holidays. We band together to make sure poor kids get toys from Santa, we donate through work, church and at the entrances of shopping malls. Also, every year, I wonder why we can't be this generous year 'round?
Here's my challenge to you: Every time you go to the grocery store, look through your pantry for non-perishable foods that your family isn't going to eat. Set them aside.
Every time you go to to the pharmacy or a box store for paper goods, buy an extra package of toilet paper, an extra tooth brush, an extra box of bottle of cleaner. Set those items aside.
Once a month, haul those "extras" to the food pantry nearest your home.
In this second, though, I urge you to give cash to Loaves and Fishes, Second Harvest, Food Pantry, the Urban Ministry Center ...
For the first winter in its 34-year-history, Charlotte's Loaves & Fishes pantry program is worried it may not be able to meet the needs of the community's hungry.The network of 18 Mecklenburg County food pantries is seeing record numbers of clients due to the recession, and a survey released Wednesday showed over a third of the clients are first-time visitors.
As of Oct. 31, Loaves & Fishes has served 81,717 clients this year, compared with 57,420 during the same period two years ago.
"That's a 42 percent increase," said Executive Director Beverly Howard. "I'm not one to cry 'wolf,' but this is the most serious crisis Loaves & Fishes has ever faced."
Currently, over half the shelves are empty at the agency's warehouse off Old Pineville Road in south Charlotte. Several major food drives are now in progress, and Howard hopes they'll supply the agency's holiday needs. Late winter is when problems may arise, she says. None of the 18 pantries will close, but potential cuts could include limiting what families receive or doubling the time they must wait between visits.
Read more from The Charlotte Observer.
Homeless in the Queen City:
News / Biz Solar roofs for everyone
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 4:53 PM
OK, maybe not everyone -- but Environment North Carolina would like to see a lot of solar panels installed in our state. Plus, they say Mecklenburg County is a great place to get started with their solar aspirations. Oh, and make it snappy.
The big snag, as always, is money. Though, if the state -- and especially Charlotte -- wants to become an alternative energy leader, I'm sure they'll find a way to step up supply -- which will lead to lower prices -- to meet rising demand.
An environmental advocacy group that says North Carolina's greenhouse gas emissions are rising proposes a solution: Putting solar panels on nearly 700,000 rooftops.Environment North Carolina, in a report to be issued today, says that based on current solar energy development in the state, the sun could supply at least 14 percent of the state's energy needs in two decades.
The group's report identifies Wake and Mecklenburg counties as having the greatest number of rooftops suitable for solar panels.
The goal set out by Environment North Carolina would require the state to develop 13,900 megawatts of solar energy, which would make this state nearly equivalent to the 14,730 megawatts of solar energy currently available worldwide.
Megawatt for megawatt, solar power is the most expensive form of electricity today, but green energy advocates say planning can't be based on current costs.
"The cost of solar power is coming down, while the cost of dirty energy is going up," said Elizabeth Ouzts, state director for Environment North Carolina. "In the not-too-distant future, the cost of solar will be cheaper than building a new coal-fired power plant."
The solar report comes a day after the group released a study saying North Carolina's greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere have risen 39 percent from 1990 to 2007. The data come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's "State Energy Consumption, Price and Expenditure Estimates."
The rise in emissions is caused by more cars on the road burning more fuel, and more electricity being generated by the state's 45 coal-burning units.
Read the entire Raleigh News and Observer article here.
Further reading:
- N.C. to get $950K for green jobs
- Report details 'coal's assault on human health'
- IRS Disclosures Show Extent of Oil and Coal Groups' Outreach
- Doctors call for cleaner coal
- Local firms get grants for green projects
"You know what a green economy is? It's jobs and opportunity."
News Progressives still peeved at Kissell
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 3:52 PM
As well they should be. He was elected to do the bidding of the people who voted for him, and he's failed in that charge. So far, the first-term U.S. House of Representatives Congressman has voted against cap-and-trade and, probably most importantly to Progressives, health care reform.
Want to share your thoughts with Rep. Kissell? Here's his contact information.
Want to run against him in the next election? Get in line.
Nearly two weeks after U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell bucked his party and voted against health care legislation, June Mabry's phone line is still burning up with calls from angry Democrats."They feel like they got hit in the gut," says Mabry, 8th District Democratic chair. "There are people telling me they want their money back."
Kissell, of Montgomery County, was one of 39 Democrats who voted against the health care bill that passed the House by five votes this month. He was one of just eight from a district that President Barack Obama carried last year.
It didn't take long for the backlash to begin.
The liberal group MoveOn.org has been running a TV ad in his district that applauds congressmen who "stood tall" to support the bill. "Our representative, Larry Kissell, stood small," it says.
Read the rest of this Charlotte Observer article here.
Here's MoveOn.org's ad:
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Photos: Plaza Midwood Tuesday Night Ride 1
According to one Facebook poster, last night there were approximately 80 cyclists out last night.
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#FergusonEverywhere: Leaders and young folks debate how to move forward 16
We are mad as hell, we are sick of this happening and we need leadership.
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LOL: Comedy in the Q.C.
A roundup of CL's top picks for comedy shows in Charlotte this week.
