If you’ve been following the news lately, then you’re aware that a crisis is brewing in Vietnam. I mean, there must be, right? Why else would our two presidential candidates make this Southeast Asian country the central focus of their campaigns? With control of the White House on the line, American voters can rest assured … Read more
“In classical ballet, in Swan Lake, when you see the swan, you see a woman,” Nelson Reyes mused during a recent interview. “I’m thinking: Why? Why no men?” The Cuban-born dancer pauses, then takes a leap: “I think Frida [was] thinking the same way.” Reyes is guessing the mind of the once-obscure, now pop-pasteurized late … Read more
Ocracoke Island, permanent population 600, is only 17 miles long. Its width varies from half a mile to all of … two miles. And yet a recent Semi-Public poster announcing an exhibit of five Ocracoke artists at the gallery is littered with a bountiful assortment of provocative words — OCOCK, WOCCON, WOKOKON, CROATOAN. All are … Read more
artwork by Jason Krekel So here’s the scoop: The Blue Rags are back together, and they have a new CD. But don’t believe everything you read. While it’s true the group will debut songs from a still-unnamed album at their upcoming Orange Peel gig, the “new” disc was recorded back in 2000. Furthermore, this makes … Read more
Rock you like a … (news) The good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise (again), we should finally have this hurricane mess well behind us. That is, at least so long as Jeanne finds some other place to visit. Countless folks in our community have now endured the wrath of back-to-back weather debacles. The … Read more
Like most members of the mint family, Physostegia virginiana (aka Dracocephalum virginianum), sometimes mistakenly called false dragonhead, is best described as a robust grower. It’s native from our northern borders south through Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia. It’s also one of those plants usually described by nurseries as being easy to grow. The scientific name … Read more
As the justly famous garden expert Yogi Berra once observed, “You can see a lot just by looking.” Hey, they don’t call them “farm teams” for nothing. And baseball seasons are bracketed by first and last frosts. But as far as I can determine, Yogi never went public with the essential companion wisdom that he … Read more
The deadline for registering to vote is Friday, Oct. 8. Apathy? That’s so September 10. Voting is what’s hot now — so hot that a voter-registration movement has spontaneously erupted locally, if not nationally. In fact, enough grassroots registrars have taken it upon themselves to help their fellow citizens prepare for the Nov. 2 day … Read more
Avoid the rush — vote early: With so much public interest in the upcoming election, voting activists worry that long lines at polling places — not to mention fears about terrorism, however well founded — might discourage some people from voting on Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 2). Accordingly, these poll watchers are advising folks to … Read more
