Cranky Hanke’s Screening Room: About those kiddie movies

The whole concept of a list of kid-appropriate movies reminds me of when Frank Zappa testified at the Parents Music Resource Center hearings (remember those?). Much of his point came down to the idea that what was inappropriate for one child was not necessarily inappropriate for another, and that as a parent he objected to someone else telling him what his children were mature enough to process.

Hard times? Must laugh

The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, ongoing war and perhaps even more disturbingly, a national media frenzy over the untimely death of Michael Jackson — it's enough to bring anyone down. However, if laughter truly is the best medicine, Asheville is a good place to be these days. The town might not yet […]

Apocalypse WNC

The lights go out. Your car coasts to a halt while trains and subway cars careen into crashes and airplanes plunge to earth. Forget about the Internet, or using your radio, phone, refrigerator or microwave — they're all disabled. You're suddenly off the grid, because it's fried: Everything with electronic circuitry has shut off, and […]

From party boys to tempered domestics

“For two guys who aren't siblings, we really mesh very well. I'm really big on two-part harmonies,” says Peter Holsapple, talking about the new record he's made with longtime musical collaborator Chris Stamey. Best known as the acclaimed songwriters of the dB's, the two have returned some 18 years later with a new album, hERE […]

WNC News Roundup

Here’s a look at some of what’s making headlines around Western North Carolina: There’s a possible serial killer on the loose in upstate South Carolina; a Florida man drowned while saving his son at a popular Macon County water hole; the venerable Monte Vista Hotel in Black Mountain is on the verge of bankruptcy; and more.

Grab your Uncle Sam hat and your lawn chair, it’s fireworks time

Time to break out the sparklers, veggie dogs and sousaphones: July 4 has come around again. And, like a kitsch-fest the Founding Fathers probably never envisioned, this is your annual opportunity to be as red-white-and-blue-wearing, flag-waving, homemade-ice-cream cranking, watermelon-seed-spitting, patriotic-song-singing, family-bonding, parade-watching, Uncle-Sam-hat-sporting, kiddie-pool-wading, rocket-lighting, grill-dominating hokey as you want to be. (And by hokey, […]

Junker’s Blues

The week before Michael Jackson's death I ignored a copy of Thriller I saw at the Goodwill. I already had one out at my antique booth and there was no point trying to sell it on eBay, where copies were too abundant and selling at around $5 a pop with shipping. There was no need […]

Cranky Hanke’s Screening Room: Remakes, rethinking­s, rehashings

Is there anything calculated to set off the movie enthusiast like a remake? We just passed a week that offered us a new-and-not-improved version of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) on apparently no better excuse than changing the title to The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. Presumably in our more frenzied time, it simply takes too long to spell out the numbers.