Day: July 30, 2003
The politics of art
Western North Carolina has earned wide repute for its diverse and high-caliber arts scene. Whether one looks at venerable institutions like the Penland School of Crafts and the Southern Highland Craft Guild (which stand in the forefront of today’s crafts movement), at cutting-edge galleries and studios that range from the elegance of Blue Spiral to … Read more
Letters to the editor
Stuck inside of Asheville with the tow-truck blues again We turn this week’s Letters section over to an ongoing issue: downtown parking, and towing. The first letter you’ll read is at our request: Carl Mumpower, the most vocal Asheville City Council member on towing issues, weighs in on this thorny subject, which comes to a … Read more
Notepad
A Confederate identity crisis If you’re strolling down North Lexington Avenue this weekend and you start seeing people in Confederate uniforms and hoop skirts, it won’t necessarily mean you’re still hung over from Bele Chere. Instead, you may be catching a glimpse of the Old South — or at least a re-creation of it by … Read more
Asheville City Council
One critic called it a sex toy. A fan termed it “sophisticated.” But sculptor Ida Kohlmeyer titled her work “Conversation Piece #4C.” And while Kohlmeyer’s art may be abstract, her choice of name for this piece has proven prescient — suddenly, it seems, all of Asheville is talkin’ art. At the center of the storm … Read more
The big ride
It’s the top of the hour, and the No.16 bus is pulling into the Asheville Transit Center — precisely at its scheduled arrival time. This is a good sign. Time is of the essence today, as I have a tight schedule and can’t afford any delays. Between now and the end of the workday, I’ve … Read more
Hopes (or leaks, anyway) spring eternal
Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Here in Asheville and environs, long-running enmities and political infighting maintain a state of functional paralysis while the crumbling water infrastructure continues to decay and more than a quarter of the water produced by the system is lost to leaks. With Asheville antagonists taking control of the Henderson County Board … Read more
A rogues’ gallery
While I was considering candidates for my least-wanted-insects list, I received an e-mail from a new homeowner who was desperate to end a plague of giant green June beetles. I, on the other hand, have felt wonder and delight when confronted by these B-52s of the insect world, with their brilliant coloration and improbable, clumsy … Read more
Vital signs
Late on a Monday afternoon, I pull off the New Leicester Highway just a few yards from the Madison County line at Reeves Grocery, a brown block building with a pair of wooden benches out front. But after a few minutes inside, the strains of banjo music and the small group of people clustered around … Read more
Don’t hate ‘em cuz they’re Hootie
A few calls to Asheville-area music stores revealed something unexpected: No record vendor around here would own up to even knowing a fan of one of the most radio-friendly bands of the last decade. Instead, Hootie & The Blowfish — former rulers of the pop charts with swollen, feel-good, arena-rock anthems such as “Let Her … Read more
