Most country-folk is overripe with heartbreak. And so it’s hard not to treasure the jaunty hope in these lyrics: “Baby you’re so bad/can I have some?” “Magick” isn’t the only fun song on Pistol Pete and Popgun Paul’s second full-length CD, Son of a Gun. There’s also “Whatsyername,” an ode to one-night stands (“Whatsyername/could you […]
Author: Webmaster
Showing 8674-8694 of 9872 results
The people’s resource
There’s no question that the Asheville area is fertile ground for gardening. No less than 23 women’s garden clubs meet each month. And the substantial membership of the Men’s Garden Club represents an enormous reservoir of knowledge. As for organic farms, WNC has more of them than the rest of the state put together. We […]
Nontragic camellias
Back in 1937, when MGM was filming Camille, the gorgeous Greta Garbo walked into a Parisian flower shop to get a nosegay of camellias. Holding the pretty flowers to her nose, she took a glorious sniff. But it was a major faux pas: The popular blossoms of Camelia japonica have no fragrance. If they did, […]
Path of plenty
Spring camping in WNC definitely has its advantages: Fewer crowds, longer days, and a chance to soothe that long-standing winter itch to get outdoors create the perfect excuse for planning a trip. But don’t let the recent unseasonably pleasant days we’ve been enjoying fool you: Spring sunshine can quickly morph into cold, wet, miserable conditions […]
Feeling good again
Puffed-up daffodils are already trumpeting that spring is here. You’re contemplating tossing your boots and digging out those sandals and short-shorts. But how will you look when you uncover yourself? Uh-oh … it’s time to fight your way through the winter-flabby crowds at the gym — or at least rev up your guilt over not […]
I dye, therefore I am
My roots are showing. But not quite enough to warrant a fresh application of on-the-scalp bleach, followed by a beigey toner. The process of growing, bleaching and toning has become a ritual of sorts. OK, the word “ritual” only works on days of extreme denial; obsession is a more fitting term. My name is Sarah, […]
Thinking outside the vox (populi)
Robert McChesney takes aim at the way America reports and consumes its news. His upcoming visit to Asheville could prompt locals to do the same. The author of the award-winning book Rich Media, Poor Democracy will be in town on Thursday, April 4 to present a series of talks focusing on the challenges posed by […]
It’s the Media Stupid
In the book It’s the Media Stupid, Robert McChesney and John Nichols argue for a broad-based movement to make “media democracy” a central political issue in the United States and push for media reform. Here is their platform: • Expand funding for traditional public-service broadcasting with an eye toward making it fully noncommercial and democratically […]
Back to the future
Across America, cities are spending billions of dollars to correct their own costly errors. In Cincinnati, Boston and elsewhere, the futuristic highway projects of the 1950s and ’60s — once touted as these metropolises’ saviors — are now being painstakingly dismantled and replaced. Here in Asheville, one need look no farther than I-240 to comprehend […]
Two-wheeled ecology
The simple feat of transporting people from point A to point B and back again poses enormous challenges for city planners and transit-system managers across the country. But analyzing transportation trends is similar to the way wildlife biologists study their furred and feathered subjects — you do it by looking at behavior. Whenever engineers, city […]
Local activist reports on National Bike Summit
Local activist reports on National Bike Summit Claudia Nix has been riding WNC roads since she first came to Warren Wilson College back in 1965. For more than three decades, she and her husband, Mike, have been active in local efforts to promote cycling both for recreation and transportation. They own Liberty Bicycles (1987 Hendersonville […]
From spuds to sustainable fuel
It seems fairly certain now that at least half of the air pollution that gets trapped in the inversion-prone French Broad River Valley originates from the tailpipes of our own cars, trucks, lawn mowers, backhoes and tractors. (See “SAMI says we’re all to blame for ozone and haze,” Jan. 23 Xpress). And as our sprawled-out […]
Asheville City Council
“One more thing: God bless America.” — Council member Joe Dunn Mountain Xpress has been known to poke fun at the fact that City Council’s often-tedious meetings are broadcast live on cable television. Not that we don’t appreciate the expense borne by the city to bring government to the people; it’s just that, at times, […]
Joyful noise
“I’m not that good of a singer, and I need my guitar to sing for me,” Robert Randolph confessed in a recent interview. “Everybody else in my family are great, great singers, and I just wasn’t given the voice,” he continues. “I try and sing anyway, though. When I’m struggling with notes, I use my […]
Will the real Best Actress please stand up?
It’s not polite to diss the Academy. But I have nothing to lose. I’m not an actress — Hollywood can’t drop me from the A-list. I never much cared about being polite, either. I know it’s trendy to bash the Oscars. That said, the members of the Academy need to take a closer look at […]
The world tonight
Lila Downs’ music is otherworldly, and not just in the metaphorical sense. It’s true she can transport listeners to an aural world of lush, layered sound. But Downs’ music — particularly her mesmerizing vocals — also takes listeners to a literal world, one inhabited by outsiders: Indians living in “Spanish” Mexico, Mexicans of all backgrounds […]
Learning to love the F-word
The F-word: You want to be careful using it in mixed company, because you never know what reaction you’ll get. Some flinch. Others embrace the word, using it with grace and ease. This chasm in how the F-word is perceived is one of the reasons Lori Horvitz, assistant professor of literature and language at UNCA, […]
Seeds of content
Until the late 19th century, all gardeners saved seed as a matter of necessity. Each year, they harvested seeds from the plants displaying the most desirable characteristics. A gardener might “select” the slowest-bolting lettuce plant, for example, or the longest-keeping onion plant, or the tomato plant that was the earliest to set flowers. In time, […]
Notepad
Feeding hungry families “No one should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from,” proclaims MANNA Food Bank Executive Director Toby Ives. The Asheville-based organization, which serves 17 WNC counties, reports a 26.7 percent increased in food distribution in 2001, compared to 2000. Through a network involving more than 340 charitable agencies, […]
A grassroots education
Every year, I’ve attended at least one workshop that has absolutely blown my mind. I don’t have a favorite gardening book — I have about 20 of them. One is Gardening for Profit, written in 1886. The author, Peter Henderson, grew veggies year-round on his intensively planted farm in Jersey City Heights for his customers […]
Ugly Asheville
Here in Western North Carolina, the four seasons unfold with a welcome regularity. Although summer sometimes lingers into early October and an unexpected snowfall could usher in winter that same month, each season generally lasts an almost perfect three months. And each brings its particular beauty: the crispness of winter; the tender, early greening of […]