The miracle flower of Peru, the four o’clock (or, as the French call it, “Belle de Nuit”), has been in gardens since the 16th century, when seeds were brought to Europe from the Peruvian Andes. Mirabilis jalapa caused such a stir in flower-and-garden circles that the original name for the genus was Admirabilis (from the […]
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I prefer not to …
While my high-school English teacher taught me a lot about Bartleby the Scrivener, he left out one vital morsel: Bartleby was a temp. Of course, Herman Melville never directly discloses this fact about his pale, milky hero — whose dogged repetition of the phrase “I prefer not to” drives his employer to distraction (with generations […]
Local writers strive for balance
Tommy Hays is executive director of the Great Smokies Writing Program, which bills itself as “a consortium of the Western North Carolina writers’ community.” (Supported by UNCA’s Special Academics Program, it offers evening workshops in poetry and prose throughout the year.) Hays also teaches classes in advanced prose writing. In a recent e-mail, he describes […]
Cartoons
Planting hope
Fall is about hope. The seeds we sow and the bulbs we plant now help us dream, plan — and look ahead to next year. After a string of dry, dusty years, the plentiful rain, cool nights and nonstop gardening season we’ve been enjoying have been a wonderful relief. What’s more, a lot of folks […]
Is there a walnut in your future?
Walnuts are fantastic trees that protect their territory by releasing a potent chemical into the surrounding soil. The active principle, juglin or juglon (hence the scientific name, Juglans), prevents many other plants from establishing a roothold there. The clan includes a number of species; the most important are the native North American black walnut (Juglans […]
Asheville City Council
“Good news! Housing prices will drop — through the floor! No more affordable-housing problems at all! Landlords, just tell your tenants that they’re gonna get their rebates.” — Asheville City Council member Holly Jones At the Asheville City Council’s Aug. 12 formal session, Holly Jones raised sarcasm to an art form. Gesticulating wildly and using […]
Buzzworm news briefs
From the whirlwind Charlie Castex has been busy. Over the last eight years, this Asheville-based psychic consultant and spiritual teacher has done readings for more than 7,000 clients. Consistently voted best psychic in Western North Carolina by Mountain Xpress readers, Castex also gives periodic lectures (which he calls “An Evening of Spirit”) in Asheville and […]
Letters to the editor
Dean! Dean! He’s our man! I don’t believe that our country can endure another four years of Bush’s extremist, irresponsible policies. Bush’s policies, whether they be fiscal, social, foreign or environmental, are all driven by ideologically narrow self-interest at the expense of the greater American good. Fortunately Dr. Howard Dean, ex-governor of Vermont, is the […]
Grind
Grind is so-o-o-o-o eezer, dudes, you’ll want to bail before anybody you know catches you vamanosing out of the theater. The film has a few redeeming qualities, though, that might make you want to see it for free on cable TV. What little skateboarding footage there is, is awesome. The soundtrack, too, is rad. Two […]
Damn right!
“Who’s the black private dick that’s a sex machine to all the chicks? Chef! You’re damn right. Who is the man that would risk his neck for his brother man? Shaq! Can ya dig it?” Well, if you can, then you’re probably a good deal younger than I am. Because that’s not how the above […]
Get off the Prozac
Oblivious to the gathering thunderclouds in my world, Everyman the puppet snoozed under his colorful patchwork quilt. In Everyman’s world, in fact, a glowing sun was rising (courtesy of a TV monitor) and continuing its journey (on yet another screen). At some point, Everyman would awake to find a hole in his belly, which would […]
Cartoons
The life of the party
By midsummer, my tidy garden parties have become informal and disheveled. Herbs, a strong presence by then, create a certain amount of chaos. As my gardener-granddaughter, Ivy Rose, observes, herbs are weedy, wild things that sprawl, ramble and flop. But the benefits of interplanting them with vegetables — superior pollination, protection from pests and diseases, […]
Running Reza
He rode his bike through six continents, covering more than 46,000 miles. Along the way, he battled malaria and war zones in Africa, and suspicious customs agents practically everywhere else. But Reza Baluchi remained undeterred — after all, he was on a mission to promote peace and nothing was going to stop him. Ironically, however, […]
Buzzworm news briefs
Winging it I remember when I could fly. It always happened late at night. I would run out the front door, flap my arms, and swoop up over the trees lining our block. Sometimes I was being chased; other times, it was just for fun. Somehow, I was never surprised, because it seemed so natural. […]
Letters to the editor
Same-sex marriage debate wastes government’s time I recently read an article regarding President Bush’s position on same-sex marriages. The article (“Bush: Marriage Should Be a Union of Man, Woman” in the July 31 Asheville Citizen-Times) stated that Bush supports marriage only between a man and a woman, and that he feels so strongly about this […]
Notepad
“Plop!” goes the art Plop Art: Term used to describe public art that has been placed in a public space with little consideration for its relationship to the surrounding uses, or its context in the city, or its impact on the public also using the space. — city of Asheville Public Art Master Plan, p. […]
Letters to the editor
Thanky, Hanke! I have been meaning to write a letter of great praise about your movie reviewer, Ken Hanke. I want him to know what an excellent job he does (this is more than one [person’s] opinion). I have only ever read negative criticism of his movie reviews. Even when I disagree with him, I […]
Cartoons
A farewell to artichokes
The way I tell it, Eleanor and I had a prenuptial agreement that we would never leave the area of southern New England where I had a reasonably thriving general-contracting business. But she came to me one frigid New England day and said she wanted to move south. She couldn’t get warm in the winter […]