Tiger by the tail

In Tiger Town, everything was supposed to be first-class. The stunning, 50-mile views high atop craggy mountains. The luxurious $3 million home sites. Private parkland, walking trails, a helipad. And a golf course designed by none other than Tiger Woods, the man many consider the greatest golfer who ever lived. Photo by Jonathan Welch Officially […]

Teed off? The shifting state of the Tiger Woods brand

Tiger Woods has been in high demand among top-dollar corporate clients seeking a celebrity to help peddle their products. But amid the mounting scandal and media frenzy surrounding his personal travails, various national authorities are assessing and debating the current standing and value of his personal brand, and those opinions are all over the map. […]

Former Medford deputy asks judge to set him free

A reserve captain who was convicted of collecting protection money from illegal video-poker operators for imprisoned former Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford is asking a federal judge to set aside his five-year prison sentence, saying he didn't receive proper legal representation. In papers filed from the minimum security prison in Kentucky where he currently resides, […]

New Council members, re-elected mayor take their seats

Applause isn't typically allowed inside the Asheville City Council chamber, and those attending the regular Tuesday-night meetings are asked to refrain from emotional outbursts. But loud cheers and claps punctuated a special Dec. 8 session at which three new Council members and a re-elected mayor were sworn in. The new lineup: Following a short ceremony, […]

Homecoming

Go a-wassailing into the holiday season with A Swannanoa Solstice, and join the southern Appalachian's foremost bards of song, poetry, dance, and storytelling in an unforgettable celebration of Christmas and the winter solstice. In its seventh year, the event rejoices in the yuletide history of Appalachia and its Celtic origins. Rejoicing in the Yuletide history […]

"Like playing naked"

"Just because the audience isn't dancing doesn't mean they don't like the show," says singer/songwriter/guitarist Jeff Markham. The musician admits that he, himself isn't "much of a dancer, but I'll get up and do the robot from time to time." Happy hour: Despite its name, this relatively new Asheville quintet is far from its last […]

Artillery

About 150 drawings comprise Nathanael Roney's exhibit Take Me Out, currently on display at Harvest Records in West Asheville. The sheer volume of work is impressive and when viewed as a whole, the mass of drawings tells a compelling story as strange and beautiful as each individual piece. Nathanael Roney doesn't compromise subject matter for […]

Soundtrack

When Arundas plays, the crowd is a mix of friends and family, belly dancers and the broad array of Asheville freaks who want to get down and boogie. Arundas plays a range of collaborative music that explores fantasy-like mystical rhythms, incorporating sitar, dun-duns, chanting and heavy, heavy drumming. Arundas tunes in to far-flung inspirations and […]

So many miracles to celebrate

As far as we know, humans have always been big on miracles. Always big on believing that more is possible than what we were taught. More than what we have experienced. More than we logically assume. We humans have consistently wanted to believe that sometimes things happen that are outside the laws of nature. (Assuming, […]

Turkey in the straw

When I attended UNC-Chapel Hill in the late '40s, most students viewed the holiday season as a time to relax. For me it represented economic opportunity. My parents had saved to pay my college expenses, but I was responsible for earning my spending money. My first year home from college, a close family friend gave […]