Two young Henderson County inventors are taking their science and math knowledge to a higher frequency, getting down to the nuts and bolts of the first annual Southern Assault robot-combat gala — a new feature of this year’s North Carolina Apple Festival. The violent sporting spectacle — a sort of virtual gladiator’s spree — is […]
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Random acts
Of note Hip parade: Local hip-hop promoters Smush Factor have recently announced plans to release their second compilation album. The group has strong ties to several local hip-hop artists, including GFE and Philo. For more info, visit Smush Factor on-line at www.smushfactor.com. Up and running: The Asheville Music Coalition has a new Web site. The […]
Rock ‘n’ roll fantasy
“I remember thinking, ‘What am I going to have in common with a transsexual [who’s had] a botched sex change?’ … [but] I left the theater that night thinking, ‘I have everything in common with Hedwig.’” — Hedwig and the Angry Inch musical director Charlie Flynn-McIver Hedwig isn’t like the other boys. First of all, […]
The rhythm method
A good funk band, like fine wine, just gets better with age. Anyone who attended last summer’s Goombay Festival and heard The Original P (Parliament) can attest to that. And with funk veterans the S.O.S. Band headlining this year’s festival, Goombay’s 20th anniversary feels more like a silver one. “The original S.O.S. Band — that’s […]
Fans mourn the passing of Widespread Panic’s Michael Houser
Being part of a family is tough, especially when someone dies. We all have to grow up and share some of the sorrow, just like we shared the joy. The life and death of Widespread Panic guitarist Michael Houser unfolded before our eyes and ears, and showed us the formidable beauty of the human spirit. […]
The Practical Gardener
Two hundred years ago, if a family had extra available cash, it was spent on a garden, for the purpose of improving the food the family was eating. Today, if a family has extra available cash, it’s spent on a second house or additional car, and the family continues to eat the same old junk […]
Asheville City Council
Once again, the Council chamber was packed to the gills. Once more, complaints about traffic congestion and public safety rippled through the room. It was an evening that pitted neighbor against neighbor and neighborhood against developer. But for once, it wasn’t about Wal-Mart. The Aug. 13 formal session of the Asheville City Council was the […]
Fifth Amendment primer
It’s called eminent domain, but for property rights advocates, that term is nothing more than a euphemism for extortion. It’s a relatively simple concept: Under eminent domain, a government (be it local, state or federal) can take private property if it is needed for a public use or the public good. The fifth amendment of […]
Stacked deck
It’s as if they’ve built an urban zoo. A safety fence encloses an entire city block. Behind it, two noble, winged lions stare out from their perches. Strange sounds emanate from within. Curious people stop and peer and wonder. But the fence isn’t in place to keep the winged beasts from escaping. After all, they’re […]
Preparation or proselytizing?
“What are we going to do about that guy?” That’s what some of the folks at UNC-Chapel Hill are asking about Joe Glover. He’s the president of the Virginia-based Family Policy Network, which calls itself “a conservative Christian group.” Glover and his Network have sued the university to stop a summer-reading program that requires new […]
Notepad
Befriend a kid UNCA Chancellor James Mullen does it. So does Vice Mayor Terry Bellamy and United Way CEO David Bailey. Each week during the school year, these busy community leaders find the time to spend an hour at an Asheville City or Buncombe County school, hanging out with first- through fifth-graders. The Big Brothers […]
Random acts
Critique, criticism, criticaster (it’s a word, look it up). Let’s take a break from all that, shall we? This week, no feelings will be squashed, no words will be misquoted nor names misspelled. A great spiritual leader once said, “If it’s not fun, why bother?” I agree, oh little grasshopper. So let’s take a stroll […]
Raising the roof—and consciousness, too
Aside from a Garth Brooks- or Madonna-style exploding-set extravaganza, at most concerts the stage itself remains, well, backstage. It certainly doesn’t take center stage, anyway — unless it’s the set for the upcoming Party for the Planet, a fundraiser-cum-dance-party in support of and in conjunction with this year’s Southern Energy & Environment Expo at the […]
International relations
Despite their home base — Boulder, Colo. — and their ability to spin crowds into heavenly frantic dance, The Motet isn’t just another jam band that decided to experiment with a little world music. In fact, it’s not uncommon to hear Motet songs performed in five languages. Then there’s the sextet’s incorporation of distinctly American […]
The Practical Gardener
I’m a member of the gender that I never tire of warning my daughters about. I think it’s because of the fantasies that run amok, like rampaging mastodons, through the burning minds of males of all ages. It’s the testosterone; I’m sure of it. The typical male will get an idea in his head that […]
The Wild Gardener
Last Sunday afternoon, I went down to the garden just to sit awhile and take a few notes on what should be done next — in essence, whether to weed a bit or get more plants. Then I said to myself: “If I weed a bit, there just might be room for more plants.” But […]
Hard to imagine
The inside of a master puppeteer’s workshop is magical. Well, OK — it’s a little creepy, too. There’s stuff everywhere, on every surface and all over the floor: stacks of lumber, collections of rods and pulleys, bottles of glue and paint, enormous blocks of foam rubber, pairs of scissors, serious power tools (think “band saw”), […]
Dangerous liaison
Highland Repertory Theatre has made no secret of its desire to broaden Asheville’s theatrical options. As Rae Bucher, Highland Rep’s co-artistic director, puts it, “We pride ourselves on choosing well-written and innovative scripts that are a little different than the usual local offerings.” Highland Rep’s latest production, Stop Kiss, is “a prime example of a […]
The latest word
Southern novel ranks high in poignant humor Wild Blue Yonder by William Price Fox (Crane Hill Publishers, 2002) The beauty of this semi-autobiographical novel rings in a particularly humorous first-person narration. Sixteen-year-old Earl Edge tells us about his impoverished life in Columbia, South Carolina in the 1940s; about his father, who’s a hard drinker and […]
The Practical Gardener
Even in the midst of the Civil War, Abe Lincoln still had to worry about running the government. Among those efforts were three bills he signed in 1862 that had major implications for the family farmer. The first established the Department of Agriculture; it was followed soon after by the Homestead Act. The third piece […]
Sacred cow or golden goose?
“There’s an old saying in politics: Don’t tax you, don’t tax me, tax that fellow behind the tree.” — state Rep. Martin Nesbitt They come in droves to gawk at our peaks, walk our trails, sample some cuisine, and pay homage to the mansion where Hollywood filmed Ritchie Rich. And by the way, the economic […]