Day: September 3, 2013
Happy days
Day after day, Earl Grey sits in his wheelchair on Biltmore Avenue, his Veterans Affairs ID card taped to the top of a red Folgers coffee container. “Would you help a Vietnam veteran?” he asks nearly everyone who passes by. It’s raining this morning, but Grey just smiles. And though he's been posing that same … Read more
Timber Sport and Chainsaw Sculptures
Just because we can’t legally let people at one another with chainsaws in a heart-stopping fight to the death doesn’t mean we can’t crown the next chainsaw master. Timber Sports teams from regional colleges like N.C. State and Warren Wilson will compete to see who can best handle their saws with speed and accuracy. And … Read more
Getting hog wild at the Mountain State Fair
The Mountain State Fair offers Appalachian-tinged merriment right here at home. Sure, there will still be an abundance of thrill rides, farm animals and game vendors looking to guess your weight in exchange for inflatable plastic mallets, but there’s much more. From clogging and bluegrass to chainsaw sport and doughnut sandwiches, Western North Carolina’s unique … Read more
The gathering place
The skeleton shambles forward, red eyes burning like rubies in the dungeon's twilight contours. It must be defeated before the hunt for the jade katana can continue. The dwarf has failed to decapitate the fleshless specter. Now it's up to the gunslinger. Gamemaster James Becker quickly scans his laptop. "Roll to hit.” The player tosses … Read more
“Collateral damage” is an offensive euphemism
I presume it was not the intent of your publication to use a grotesque irony for the title of last week's cover story, but that is, indeed, what you did [“Collateral Damage,” Aug. 21 Xpress]. The term "collateral damage" is used to describe, specifically, the innocent noncombatants who are killed during war. These victims, who … Read more
Grow it, show it, eat it
If you’re looking for a way to teach kids about agriculture, a trip to the N.C. Mountain State Fair is a great way to bring the barnyard closer to home. The N.C. Mountain State Fair (mountainfair.org) will host a variety of activities appropriate for all ages Friday, Sept. 6, through Sunday, Sept. 15. Families can … Read more
Shuffling the deck
Casinos are not known as wellsprings of ambitious entertainment. Most performers seem to end up on casino stages post-ambition. The glittering strip in Las Vegas may have become a destination unto itself, stuffed with roller coasters, circuses and scaled-down replicas of New York and Paris, but outside of Sin City, casinos are most often seen … Read more
Head to head
The first faceoff for the trio of candidates vying to be Asheville's next mayor revealed different positions on issues ranging from downtown development to funding for the Asheville Art Museum. But they generally agreed about the city’s difficult relationship with the N.C. General Assembly. More than 100 people attended an Aug. 28 forum at the … Read more
