Can you remember the last time you surrendered to a good story? Not one in a book, on the radio, or on the screen (large or small) — but one told to you in person, from the heart and mind of a storyteller? Perhaps it’s been since childhood. But just because you’re grown up doesn’t […]
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Lying in the sun
Their lyrics cover everything from blue-collar angst to the merits of coconuts. And their Southern-rock jams have covered this country like peach butter. Widespread Panic vocalist/guitarist Michael Houser, who was born in Boone, spoke to Xpress from a hotel room in Austin recently, reflecting on his dark days B.P. (before Panic). “I was a lost […]
Notepad
“The times, they are a-changin’ “ As we enter the new millennium, it seems the world is changing at an ever-increasing pace. Globalization is one of the words used to describe this shifting landscape — but what exactly does that mean for the United States? How should our public-policy decisions be influenced by our relationship […]
Letters to the editor
Keep your nose out of my business I have never seen a city (Asheville) filled with so much gossip in all of my life. You can’t even go out and have a good time in this town without somebody or some group (mainly losers) who can’t focus on their own miserable lives telling folks what […]
Enduring vision
When Sallie Southall Cotten, perhaps North Carolina’s foremost clubwoman of the early 20th century, attended the 1893 World’s Fair, the experience not only inspired her latent feminism, it also quickened her aesthetic sensibilities. For her, as for so many other visitors, Chicago presented a vision of the future, a great white city rich with parks […]
Notepad
Seeking a vision for West End/Clingman A charrette is a bit like an election: If you don’t put in your own 2 cents’ worth, you shouldn’t gripe about the outcome. So jump on the cart for the Nov. 10-16 Community Design Workshop and help shape the future of the West End/Clingman Avenue neighborhood (WECAN).”Building a […]
A change of venue
How many people will attend? Will the acoustics be adequate? Will there be enough parking? Those are some of the vexing questions that caused Mayor Leni Sitnick to, in her words, “lose sleep over this.” The city’s dilemma was where to hold a potentially volatile Nov. 14 public hearing on the Wal-Mart Supercenter proposed for […]
Letters to the editor
Commissioners made best decision regarding FFA contract On behalf of the Find-A-Pet Society (formerly, Humane Society of Buncombe County) Board of Directors, I would like to offer another view to the recent article, “Commissioners lie, animals die” [Commentary, Oct. 4]. The opinions expressed by Ms. David do not present the entire picture, nor [do they] […]
Cooking in our own soup
I rested by the fire, my work done for the day, staring into the dancing flames as the autumn leaves glowed amber in the setting sun. I’d just put the finishing touches to my winter camp, on the summit of a mountain a few miles outside the Asheville city limits. My sturdy lean-to, built with […]
The accidental entrepreneur
When I first met Linsi Deyo, she was busy crafting a pile of funny round cushions she called “zafus.” I was impressed. Here was a woman who had found a trade she could follow in her rural Appalachian community, while most of the rest of us were commuting to Asheville. Little did I know that, […]
Pie in the sky
B-movie fans have come to expect fun things from Kathy and Tommy Hildreth. Comet Video, their Wadesboro, N.C., store, stocks the hardest-to-get B westerns and serials, and for the last five years they’ve brought us glamorous glimpses of a bygone era via their Asheville Film Festival. This year’s event features, live, a bouquet of past […]
In praise of ‘Disobedience’
“Out of tune with my time and with the splintered families around me, I knew when I was small that our worldly home was composed of the sun and the moon, the planets and the Shaws, the four of us holding together with a force that would not fail, would never cease. That knowledge was […]
Outside the lines
“I’m the Johnny Appleseed of the publishing world,” boasts writer Michael Frederick, coffee steam wreathing his face. We’re huddled in a back booth at Earth Fare, and the vagabond novelist is spinning a compelling tale about smashing through the publishing empire’s imposing brick wall. Gifted wordsmiths whose names ring no bells with Oprah Book Club […]
Asheville City Council
The chamber where the Asheville City Council meets, with its high ceiling and wood-paneled walls, clearly looks the part. Upon entering, one’s eyes are immediately drawn toward the front of the room, where a dais is adorned with a large, curved desk backed by seven chairs facing seven microphones. The occupants of these seats look […]
An educational experience
When voters cast their ballots in the millennium’s first election, they’ll be faced with a dizzying array of choices: Who do we send to Washington? Who do we send to Raleigh? But at least nine candidates are asking for your vote so that they can stay right here in Buncombe County. These nine are vying […]
Ayn Rand is turning over in her grave!
My God, what a bore! Not just art, music and literature, but architecture too! Frank Lloyd Wright would be speechless (not to mention Ayn Rand, who in The Fountainhead, her thinly disguised portrait of Wright, predicted that all this would happen); Mies Van Der Rohe unable to hold back the tears; Philip Johnson without words. […]
WET Force’s day of reckoning nears
Many Mountain Xpress readers are familiar with the work of the Water Efficiency Task Force (a.k.a. the WET Force). As reported recently in these pages [“Water, water, everywhere …?,” Oct. 4], the Regional Water Authority is considering a recommendation from its Policy and Priorities Committee that the group be dissolved. The committee has argued that […]
Across a broad spectrum
We met in coffeehouses, offices, back porches and living rooms. Some wore ties, and some wore T-shirts. Some answers were succinct, and some were rambling. But in interviewing the five candidates for state Senate District 28 (encompassing Madison, Yancy, McDowell and parts of Buncombe and Burke counties), one common thread emerged: passion. All five candidates […]
Letters to the editor
Don’t confuse animal issues with political bullying I have just read an Xpress article dated Oct. 4, 2000 about the problems with the animal shelter [“Commissioners lie, animals die”]. It is interesting how individuals find self importance on issues like this. I have found that these people lead lives so bereft of interest that any […]
Let’s get cracking
“We got a lot of problems, but while we talk this thing to death, other cities went ahead and built new facilities. And nothing is ever going to happen up here until someone nails down the site.” — former city planning official. Thousands of hours and millions of words have been spent on the seemingly […]
Libertarians spotlight drug war casualties
As election day approaches, those of us who are thinking about voting will be considering many issues and personalities. One issue that doesn’t seem to be making its way out of the dark abyss of misguided policy is the drug war. It is apparent to many that this war is not being won — and, […]