Page Davis’ paintings recall the exuberance of a young child who’s just been handed a brand-new box of 120 Crayolas. Color is rampant, coming in pleasing but totally unexpected combinations. Davis’ work in the current multi-artist show at the newly refurbished Upstairs Gallery in Tryon suggests a theme of improvisation; the accompanying brochure quotes another […]
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Cartoons
Child’s play
I’ve always been wary of family fun centers. Those big warehouses of coin-gobbling video games and other pay-as-you-go amusements are about as appealing to me as a trip to the dentist. But I’m not 10, and my opinion is colored by the fact that when I was that age, such kiddy casinos had yet to […]
American holly
I just love the American holly that lives at our house. It constantly brings pleasure and nourishment to our lives, to the garden, and to the land around us. This lovely tree is home to a pair of mourning doves, and bees swarm it when it flowers. (That’s also when the leaves drop, stinging my […]
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Your first reaction to Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story is probably to think it’s funny, even hilarious. Desperate for a laugh these days, you dismiss hints of something unsavory lurking beneath the surface. Only later might you remember the homophobia, vulgarity and mean-spiritedness that dot Dodgeball like pockmarks. If you’re one of the rare people […]
Asheville City Council
When wars are waged, the people most affected rarely get a say in how it’s fought. And up till now, that’s been equally true in the case of the Asheville City Council’s dueling anti-drug plans. But at Council’s June 8 formal session, the war planners clearly felt it was time to zip their lips, open […]
Letters to the editor
Mumpower’s drug-prohibition policy won’t work As a retired officer, I would like to spare the taxpayers of Asheville a million dollars and false hopes. All law-enforcement professionals know that every drug dealer ever arrested or killed is quickly replaced. The only net effect of an arrest is the taxpayers have to build another prison. We […]
Let the voters decide
Do you know why Ralph Nader was not on North Carolina’s presidential ballot in 2000, and why he most likely won’t be again this year? Do you know why, in partisan races in North Carolina, you have no more than three choices — a Democrat, a Libertarian and a Republican? North Carolina’s ballot-access restrictions are […]
Big easy
“Asheville is my favorite town — my absolute favorite.” — Larry Keel Ever wonder about the “experience” part of Larry Keel Experience? The documentary Beautiful Thing: A Year in the Life of the Greatest Musician You’ve Never Heard Of, filmed by Baltimore native James Ryan Gielen in gritty black-and-white, focuses on sundry aspects of the […]
Long, strange trip
David Lowery knows that not all Southern states sound the same. “Just look at the difference between, say, a Republican senator from Texas and Waw-nuh,” an animated Lowery observed during a recent phone interview, referring to Sen. John Warner, R-Va. “You sort of get this proper, a little stuffy [attitude], almost like [a] New England-sort-of-but-it’s-the-South […]
Diamond mine
It’s summer in Asheville, and that can only mean one thing: tourists — and lots of ’em. Sure, the bulk of them come to Asheville for mansion worshiping and hippie-spotting (“Look, Marge, dreadlocks!”). But not all tourists are the same. Summer, in fact, brings us an entirely different kind — one that’s beloved by locals […]
Cartoons
Homegrown in the city
“Free! Homegrown, Organic Cucumbers!” If you live in the vicinity of Asheville’s Claxton Elementary, you might have seen this unlikely sign outside a small Murdock Avenue bungalow last summer. You might even have been one of those fortunate wayfarers who took advantage of the offer (made several times) and helped themselves to cukes from the […]
God save the Hilltoppers
Janice Birchfield doesn’t ruffle easily. The washtub-bass player for the Roan Mountain Hilltoppers even seems nonplussed about the day the Sex Pistols spent at her family’s homestead in Roan Mountain, Tenn. “They were very nice,” she says of Johnny Rotten, the late Sid Vicious and company. The same goes for Boy George, who, according to […]
Cartoons
More surprises
After two of the most momentous and unpredictable weeks in the history of water politics in Western North Carolina, observers had become almost habituated to surprise by the time the Regional Water Authority of Asheville, Buncombe and Henderson met to pass its budget on May 27. What transpired that day was nowhere near as earthshaking […]
Letters to the editor
Council needs to get on board I am a resident of Hendersonville, a homeowner, and I can tell you that I support and have looked forward to a rail system in Western North Carolina. My parents live in the eastern part of the state and, as they age, driving is not as easy as it […]
Asheville City Council
“This does not diminish our regional commitment.” — Mayor Charles Worley on the city’s decision to renegotiate or terminate the Water Agreement In the aftermath of the Asheville City Council’s May 25 formal session, two things are crystal clear: City leaders are sufficiently fed up with the Water Agreement that they’re prepared to walk away […]
Letters to the editor
Caudle’s letter is (mostly) off the mark I would like to clarify some of the issues raised by Fisher Caudle in his letter [April 28] responding to Brian Sarzynski’s article about gentrification. If Mr. Caudle has a problem with “giveaway programs that reward the irresponsible,” then certainly he is outraged at the City Council using […]
Raising Helen
“She’s so cute! the women sitting behind me whispered to one another throughout the entire two hours of Raising Helen. I agree completely — no matter what actress Kate Hudson is doing, she’s cute. Those Goldilocks ringlets, that cupcake face, that dazzling smile — and let’s not forget the cute little butt perched northward on […]