In the King James Version of The Holy Bible, Jonah finds himself scorching as the sun beats down upon his head. Jonah 4:6 reads: “And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So […]
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Bowing out of competition
Figuratively speaking, Arvil Freeman has more time to just fiddle around these days. The veteran musician won the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival’s fiddle contest four times (in 1974, and then from 1993-’95). But the festival, now in its 76th year, is no longer a competitive event — though it remains a top showcase for […]
Exploring the post-lanyard movement
It’s two weeks into summer camp, and you’ve already mastered the J-stroke on the lake and hiked up High Windy, and you’ve just begun to identify the mystery meals in the mess hall. And now that it’s raining, counselors are trying their best to hype the day’s scheduled arts-and-crafts project. Camp veterans over 30 will […]
Garbage on a voyage
The herd ambles gracefully into the field from the edge of a patch of woods, its members grouping protectively as they move forward into high grass. One is down, possibly injured. Another bends over its fallen comrade, apparently trying to, well, iron out the problem. When the Forest Service released its own pack of real […]
Now is all there is
Smither’s music feels its fullest at its least adorned — that guitar, that voice, those songs, those feet. He’s not one to be missed live. Eric Clapton? You can have him. Give me Chris Smither any day. Admittedly Smither — of Slowhand’s generation — doesn’t have the supergroup resume, the Britishness or the naked pre-teen-girl […]
Pickin’-party crashers
A family is camped out beneath a giant magnolia. A woman looking to be in her 70s sits in the center of the group, plucking sharp, earthy notes from an old banjo. To her left, her husband — the patriarch of this clan — strums a guitar, singing a mournful song. Gathered all around them […]
Intimacy & distance
The subject matter and shiny surfaces of les caison III’s paintings make them seem, at first, whimsical. But take a closer look: The artist is digging deep into other people’s lives. caisson, whose work is rife with psychological implications, walks a fine line between illustrative and narrative painting. He seems to view the world without […]
Cartoons
A rogues’ gallery
While I was considering candidates for my least-wanted-insects list, I received an e-mail from a new homeowner who was desperate to end a plague of giant green June beetles. I, on the other hand, have felt wonder and delight when confronted by these B-52s of the insect world, with their brilliant coloration and improbable, clumsy […]
Hopes (or leaks, anyway) spring eternal
Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Here in Asheville and environs, long-running enmities and political infighting maintain a state of functional paralysis while the crumbling water infrastructure continues to decay and more than a quarter of the water produced by the system is lost to leaks. With Asheville antagonists taking control of the Henderson County Board […]
The big ride
It’s the top of the hour, and the No.16 bus is pulling into the Asheville Transit Center — precisely at its scheduled arrival time. This is a good sign. Time is of the essence today, as I have a tight schedule and can’t afford any delays. Between now and the end of the workday, I’ve […]
Asheville City Council
One critic called it a sex toy. A fan termed it “sophisticated.” But sculptor Ida Kohlmeyer titled her work “Conversation Piece #4C.” And while Kohlmeyer’s art may be abstract, her choice of name for this piece has proven prescient — suddenly, it seems, all of Asheville is talkin’ art. At the center of the storm […]
Notepad
A Confederate identity crisis If you’re strolling down North Lexington Avenue this weekend and you start seeing people in Confederate uniforms and hoop skirts, it won’t necessarily mean you’re still hung over from Bele Chere. Instead, you may be catching a glimpse of the Old South — or at least a re-creation of it by […]
Letters to the editor
Stuck inside of Asheville with the tow-truck blues again We turn this week’s Letters section over to an ongoing issue: downtown parking, and towing. The first letter you’ll read is at our request: Carl Mumpower, the most vocal Asheville City Council member on towing issues, weighs in on this thorny subject, which comes to a […]
The politics of art
Western North Carolina has earned wide repute for its diverse and high-caliber arts scene. Whether one looks at venerable institutions like the Penland School of Crafts and the Southern Highland Craft Guild (which stand in the forefront of today’s crafts movement), at cutting-edge galleries and studios that range from the elegance of Blue Spiral to […]
Fueling the future
“The age of the steam engine is coming to an end, and it’s being replaced by a fuel cell.” — UNC-A environmental-studies professor Rick Maas It’s more than 200 years since the Industrial Revolution launched its machine-based retooling of human societies, yet our high-tech gadgetry is still mostly dependent on the steam engine. That’s right […]
What’s a fuel cell?
A cross between a battery and a generator, the fuel cell uses a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to create a current of electricity. Its only waste products are water (pure enough to drink, when straight hydrogen is the fuel), carbon dioxide, and a small amount of heat. Although it sounds futuristic, this high-tech […]
Letters to the editor
Note to progressives: Get real! Lord, how it pains me to pick up this newspaper and read letters from progressives still arguing over who’s to blame for the 2000 presidential election debacle [recently: “Democratic “Left Wing” Is Flight-Impaired, Xpress June 25; “Wake Up, You Political Greens,” Xpress June 11]. Of course Bush lied, of course […]
Teaching in the School of Life
Every parent is a teacher. Whether you realize it or not, everything you say and do is being intently watched and listened to by your own children and probably by a slew of other people’s kids as well. That’s how we learn — by watching and listening, and then doing for ourselves. Whatever age you […]
Wish you weren’t here …
Reams of pretty writing have been printed about Asheville. Guidebooks and brochures have laid down miles of words in praise of the mountains. Pages of newspapers and magazines have brimmed with the story of a town that is a mecca for people seeking good health and good vibes, an appealing mix of the arty and […]
Grief and exaltation
The modern publishing scene has brought yet another type of literary tourist to Asheville: the writer on a book tour. Xpress approached a couple of these authors to ask what memory defined Asheville for them. Here are their e-mailed replies. Dave Eggers Eggers read in Asheville in October 2002. His friend Amanda Davis was killed […]