It’s a conundrum every human being must confront: To what extent is the world outside us linked to the one within? Is there a common thread between peace in the world and peace in oneself? Asheville residents Rusty Maynard and Clare Hanrahan are no strangers to such pressing questions. Both are pacifists: Maynard is a […]
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Notepad
Tracking down that old-time music At last February’s Grammy Awards ceremony, the soundtrack for the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? was the unexpected winner in five categories: Best Compilation Soundtrack, Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, Best Country Male Vocal, Producer of the Year and Best Album of the Year. Despite little or no airplay […]
Peace through strength
“If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace — one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity — it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.” Sounds like a quote from a State of the Union Address […]
Outer walls, inner peace
Tammy Morgan walks unhurriedly into the small room, softly singing to herself, “You are my passion,” a line from the theme song to the NBC soap opera Passions. She has a pleasant voice, firm and a little country. A faux diamond on a beret above her right ear winks in the fluorescent light. In the […]
Something to prove
After enjoying a sly hug from the “Pink Lady,” Bob Farrar went from strong skeptic, he says, to stunned believer. “I was married 22 years to a woman who said she grew up in a haunted house,” the attorney relates. “I’d come up with logical explanations. I said [to her], ‘You’re absolutely crazy.’” After his […]
This Jesus is cool
Old sins die hard, as they say. And Sebastian Bach as the King of Kings is just, well, weird. Every time I imagine the former bad-boy front man of late-’80s metal band Skid Row stepping into the titular role of Jesus Christ Superstar, I’m reminded of the musical’s standard-setting London cast from 1970 singing, “This […]
The good fight
What do you picture when you hear the words “kung fu”? Bruce Lee in a yellow jumpsuit, yelping as he clobbers Kareem Abdul Jabar? Or maybe David Carradine, morosely plodding across the desert? Will your vision be scored by Carl Douglas, or by the Wu Tang Clan? For all of us who exited Crouching Tiger, […]
Made up—or made to last?
Devised a mere generation ago, Kwanzaa is sometimes dismissed as a made-up holiday. But YMI Cultural Center officials discount that indictment. For them, Kwanzaa is less a “new” version of Christmas than an ancient community festival that’s been revamped in the here and now. Asheville will honor African-American heritage and values this week, celebrating Kwanzaa’s […]
Notepad
Hybrid wolves need loving assistance Late one night, Nancy Brown received a very disturbing phone call. “A guy told me his neighbors had a four-month-old wolf puppy that they had beaten and almost starved to death. He wanted $100 to get the dog from that situation and to safety,” she recalls. “I call her Annie. […]
Calendar karma
No matter what kind of flag you’re flying these days, the Xpress Community Calendar offers a 12-day window of events that has opportunity written all over it. For nearly nine years, WNC residents have counted on our calendar to help them keep abreast of local happenings, volunteer opportunities, classes, workshops and much, much more. Sure, […]
Arrest the musicians—it’s the law
So it’s come to this: I’m walking on the sidewalk near Pritchard Park when a man in a wheelchair rolls up and starts serenading me with an a capella ballad about life on the streets. Part rap and part ditty, the song’s clever lyrics touch on a wide range of social issues, including Asheville’s new […]
On with the show
The Cold War never ended; it merely took a 10-year break. During those years, we cultivated our xenophobia, subconsciously trading fact for fantasy. America, it seems, moves ever more rapidly in two opposite directions: isolationism and imperialism. And without that scary Soviet foil, what a menace we’ve become! Even during the mid-20th century, American foreign […]
The big ride
I boarded the Route 4 Asheville Transit bus at the Coxe Avenue station at 11 a.m. on a chilly Thursday morning. Snow was still on the ground and the wind was icy cold, but when I stepped onto the bus, I was immediately forced to open up several layers of winter insulation — it was […]
Asheville City Council
Vigorous debate helps keep the body politic healthy, feeding it with life-giving, dialectic nutriment. Such sustenance will undoubtedly be on the menu when City Council considers revising the Unified Development Ordinance to either allow or prohibit soup kitchens in certain areas of town. At their Dec. 10 formal meeting, Council members turned their attention to […]
Wind power not just a lot of hot air
Along Western North Carolina’s highest ridgelines, the wind never stops. And it blows hard, too, as a recently updated “wind map” of the state reveals. According to Professor Dennis Scanlin, coordinator of Appalachian State University’s Appropriate Technology program, WNC is blessed with thousands of acres of what’s known in wind-energy industry parlance as class 5, […]
Notepad
A resource for cancer patients “People need to know we’re here to help them,” proclaims Lynda Bock, campaign manager for the local chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. “If they don’t know that we’re here, then we’re just wasting our time and spinning our wheels in Asheville and Western North Carolina.” Bock is passionate […]
Fostering economic development
Although economic development has dominated the agendas of many governors, legislators and local elected officials in North Carolina, it remains one of the most misunderstood activities that governments undertake. All too frequently, the political incentives to attract media attention by making job announcements outweigh the need for having a policy that maintains a balanced, efficient […]
Stand up for your right to breathe
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to loosen emission-control requirements challenges the political viability of the clean-air movement and opens the door to a potentially unstoppable series of policies that could be disastrous to public health and the environment. Unless this unpopular move is overturned, the rest of the Bush administration’s proposed energy policy will […]
WNC loses gifted publisher
The community of publishers and book designers in the Asheville area is a very small fraternity, and Bright Mountain Books might not even make the short list. Yet over the last two decades, one of the most experienced and respected designers has been, hands down, a man by the name of Eric Bright. This talented […]
‘Fur seals in the desert’
Just inside The Captain’s Bookshelf, en route to a must-see art exhibit showing in the back through the first week in January, is a newspaper clipping from The Richmond Times-Dispatch dated Nov. 30, 1950. The article mentions two young Virginia artists; the accompanying photograph shows a studious-looking young man and an attractive young woman with […]
Home is where the jam is
You’d think a guitar god could get a little respect. When Warren Haynes was a kid, his incessant six-string practicing used to piss his siblings off, his brother Brian confessed with a chuckle. Back then, the family TV set would sometimes get only one channel, and Warren’s favorite Clapton and Hendrix riffs would often drown […]