What skeletons in whose closets might be rattled by an extensive financial audit of the WNC Regional Air Pollution Control Agency? Would an impartial investigation into the agency’s sketchily kept records from past years turn up evidence of greed and corruption, or merely of carelessness and lack of competent administration? Answers to these questions remained […]
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Notepad
Saving Lake Logan: the final chapter When Champion International announced last year that it would sell its land surrounding Lake Logan, Western North Carolina environmentalists, businesspeople and literature lovers alike were worried that the property would fall into the wrong hands. Estimated to be worth more than $10 million, the 4,374-acre tract of land — […]
Letters to the editor
Thanks for the open forum I want to compliment you on your editorial courage in publishing the letter from Ginny Godfrey [Dec. 15] strongly expressing disappointment regarding her unfortunate experience with the Catholic Church. While you may be criticized instinctively, as a matter of reflex, by some offended Catholics, you deserve the plaudits of those […]
Up against the curb
Hello, Asheville — it’s me again. This time, I am mildly annoyed. (This is a good sign, since it is a fact that, when I get irked, I have a history of declaring war on the city and proposing ritual floggings for certain city employees.) Not this time, though. Nope. This time, I am biting […]
Why do Asheville and Buncombe County dislike each other so much?
Anyone who has watched the recent Mc-struggles between the city of Asheville and Buncombe County over such issues as zoning and annexation surely must come to the same conclusion that a well-paid consulting firm did several years ago: The city and county don’t like each other very much, and the resulting distrust threatens both present […]
A league of their own
The inspiration for the Swannanoa Valley Fine Arts League — the area’s oldest group of community artists — grew out of a ladies’ luncheon back in 1967, at Black Mountain’s historic Monte Vista Hotel. It was there that a Mrs. Guilford (a noted artist from Pennsylvania who’d retired to Black Mountain) quickly realized the abundance […]
Memphis brash
Yamagata seems at odds with the musical heritage of its hometown: While Memphis has delivered Elvis Presley, the Stax Sound and some great blues, not many “jam bands” have come to us from the northern tip of Highway 61. But Yamagata hopes to change that. The group — guitarist Joe Austin, bassist Andy Neely and […]
Apt Pupil
Terrified to sit through another movie exposing gory, WWII atrocities, I coerced David Clayton (one of Asheville’s pithiest film buffs) into reviewing Bryan Singer’s Apt Pupil. And while I got a good night’s sleep, it seems that David was underwhelmed by the film’s alleged nightmarish content. But we thank David, anyway, for his chivalrous intentions, […]
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Diana Abbott is just one of those naturally talented 21-year-olds … OK, so she has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from UNCA, and, well, true, she wrote for the Blue Banner while in college. But in addition to her scholastic background, Diana just has a flair for the spirit of film critique. As a […]
10 Things I Hate About You
Bianca Stratford (Larisa Oleynik) has a problem. Her older sister, Kat (Stiles), is an ill-tempered social disaster. Normally, this wouldn’t cause self-centered Bianca any sleepless nights, but because of a new rule in the Stratford house, Bianca is forbidden to have a boyfriend before Kat does. In desperation, Bianca’s male suitors begin a frantic search […]
102 Dalmations
Just so you know, I have opinions about 102 Dalmatians, but they’re not the opinions of somebody who knows anything. This movie was made for children, and — like most self-centered 20-somethings — I don’t know anything about children. I don’t know what they like. I don’t know what they want. I don’t know what […]
A Shot At Glory
My friends and I were sitting around eating sushi, solving world problems. Where should some of us travel for vacation? “The best-looking men on the planet,” says I, “are in Scotland.” Yes, girls, if it’s men who look like Gaelic gods you’re craving then head for the Highlands. In the meantime, catch A Shot at […]
Agent Cody Banks
Teen Spy Adventure I was prepped to enjoy Cody Banks, the tale of a teenage CIA agent who has to smooch up a luscious schoolmate (Hilary Duff of Disney TV’s Lizzie McGuire) in order to get close to her daffy-scientist father (Martin Donovan, Insomnia), whose metal-eating ice cubes are being sought by power-mad nasties. I […]
Ali
“I am The Greatest!” boxing legend Muhammad Ali often shouted, not needing to convince anyone really — least of all himself — that he was one of the 20th century’s top athletes. He was a loud-mouth braggart, a womanizer, the original rap artist. Yet underneath the huckster was a man of true courage. With indomitable […]
American Pie 2
When you’ve built a surprise summer hit out of the precarious premise of one’s “first-time,” an impossible question looms: What can you possibly do for a follow up? The makers of American Pie 2 don’t waste their time trying to answer that question. Unlike its predecessor, the second helping of American Pie doesn’t include plot […]
Basic
The most important three things in a movie are the ending, the ending and the ending. You can forgive a whole lot of flaws in a flick if at its conclusion you can say, “Yeah, man, ultimately, that movie was satisfying.” But when Basic ends, you just mumble, “Huh?” It starts out exciting enough. Sgt. […]
Bean
Maggie West, our 13-year-old teen reporter (who you may remember from her review of Masterminds) was given her second assignment: to review Bean, the film version of the PBS television show featuring the misadventures of one discombobulated fellow known as Mr. Bean. Below, then, is Maggie’s take on this popular British comedian’s foray into the […]
Beautiful
Beautiful is a girl-buddy movie disguised as a beauty-pageant send-up. You have to realize three things: First, guys will hate it. Second, it’s the directorial debut of actress Sally Field. (We applaud her for having finally made it in the Big Boys’ game at age 54. On the other hand, you gotta wonder why she’d […]
Bedazzled
Bedazzled opens with sweeping, high-speed shots of our planet and its denizens. When the camera pauses to isolate a particular person, a yellow tag gives a capsule description of the subject (i.e., “sleepy” or “anxious” or “cheats on his taxes”). It’s a kind of cinematic shorthand, and it got me thinking what a great innovation […]
Big Fat Liar
Like lots of kids, 14-year-old Jason Shepherd (Frankie Muniz, star of Fox TV’s Malcolm In the Middle) tells stories. Well, er, to be perfectly honest, he lies. In fact, he lies a lot. If there’s anything in life that comes easily to Jason, it’s twisting the truth. But he’s sweet and audacious, and can do […]
Biker Boyz
From the windows in my home office, I can glimpse promises of the glories outdoors — a Sunday morning, cool and perfectly clear, the sun shining softly and seductively. The guy across the street is revving up his mint ’97 Softtail Harley, prepping to hammer his heart out on the motorcycle-friendly roads of Buncombe County. […]