Prize pigs, 600-pound pumpkins, blue-ribbon apple pies and strawberry jams — ah, the state fair, that beloved slice of Americana immortalized in lush Technicolor musicals and cherished in hearts across the generations. That candy-colored sparkle and romantic hum of the midway on a late-summer night. That sweet smell of funnel cakes and fresh … cash? … Read more
No panties are thrown on stage at Eddie From Ohio shows. No bras. No hotel-room keys. But one year, right around Thanksgiving, bass/harmonica player and songwriter Michael Clem was surprised with something even sweeter. Literally. Pecan pies. Three of ’em. “They weren’t thrown,” Clem explained by phone from his Virginia home. “We have a little … Read more
In the FBI’s Freedom of Information Act Reading Room in Washington, D.C., there are 15,786 pages devoted just to Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd. And odds are, there’s not a kind word among them. But the same could not be said of Bill Brooks’ new novel, Pretty Boy: The Epic Life of Pretty Boy Floyd … Read more
Apparently Dorothy had it right. After being swept up in a whirlwind and enduring an odyssey in Oz that turned her perceptions upside down, she finally figured out that … well, you know. These are heady times for the dance arts in Asheville, stirred by the recent influx of splendid new talent. And seeds can … Read more
Fear and loathing in ensemble experiments What: 100 Musician Improv Music NightWhere: The Grey EagleWhen: Thursday, Aug. 21 At $7 a ticket — roughly 14 musicians to the dollar — I figured a 100-musician jam couldn’t be anything but a good deal. Turned out it was merely too good to be true. The flyer promised … Read more
The drought is over! Fungi are ascendant, mold is rampant. Mushroom hunters are delighted — and your tomatoes are probably blighted! Late blight (Phytopthora infestans), the pathogen of Irish Potato Famine infamy, is the likely culprit. It caused a potato-crop failure all across the Emerald Isle (and, by the autumn of 1845, throughout the European … Read more
During the 1999 World Trade Organization mass protests in Seattle, Starbucks outlets were looted. On Aug. 13, 2003, seven San Francisco Starbucks sites were also vandalized. Store windows were covered with glue and fake “closed” signs, and mock press releases announcing a mass downsizing of the company were placed outside the stores. Meanwhile, a quick … Read more
“We don’t want it to be like a hotel.” — Council member Joe Dunn, speaking about the county jail annex With the Asheville City Council elections just two months away, Council members have tackled a host of hot-button issues in recent weeks. And the outcomes of those deliberations have not been lost on local voters. … Read more
