Yard Birds
Where you least expect it, people are raising chickens
News + Opinion
The Cult of Curry
In his first year in the NBA, Davidson hero Stephen Curry has spawned one of the most rabid and unlikely fan followings in professional sports
Three Blocks of Bearden
While I'm waiting for my Center City basketball park concept to catch on (momentum is building ... slowly), I thought I'd offer another free idea to help make this city more interesting.This one is inspired by an article in The…
Music Tuesday April 6
Missed last week due to some hairy magazine deadlines, but back at it this week. I hope you've figured out that although I call this segment "Music Tuesday," the actual publish day is a bit, um, fluid. Not too many…
Music Tuesday March 23 edition
Really interesting week of music coming up. No big (or even medium-size) national names on my radar, but two very cool local shows and one black banjo reunion. I'm guessing it'll be the only black banjo reunion I write about…
Music Tuesday March 16 edition
OK, so for the second week in a row I'm a day late with this. Blame it on other deadlines. But I remain committed to getting the word out on great live music. We may not get to host SXSW…
Baby Pains
Job swapping for conception
Hoop Dreams
Reading this month's cover package made me realize all over again that I need to do a better job of exploring our fine parks. Sure, I've strolled Freedom Park, taken a few laps on the burgeoning Little Sugar Creek greenway, and played softball at Park Road Park.
The Cage Fighter
Until Rodney "Sho Nuff" Wallace, there really was no such thing as a professional extreme fighter from North Carolina. Wallace is battling to change that, one kimura arm lock at a time
Parks!
You've finally thawed from the winter cold and are ready to get outside and enjoy Charlotte's spring weather. Take advantage of the area's (free!) bounty of outdoor awesomeness by hitting up the local parks to run, watch movies, picnic, sunbathe, kayak, fish, and more
Back in the Day
Before The Avett Brothers were The Next Big Thing, they were three guys just trying to write a good song, play a few shows, and make a good record. Local photographer Daniel Coston was there
Real Estate {DEALS} for Dummies
In the midst of a buyer's market, everyone wants to be the person who makes his home purchase just as the market hits its bottom, and then ten years later -- after prices have recovered -- gets to impress friends and family with his tale of real estate deal-making genius.
Music Tuesday: Hoots and Hellmouth with Flashbulb Fires, Steep Canyon Rangers
Welcome to the second installment of Music Tuesdays, in which I recommend a show or three this week that, in my humble opinion, is worth checking out. Let's get to it. Wednesday March 3 Hoots and Hellmouth with Flashbulb Fires…
Magazine Day!
Tomorrow, Saturday, February 27 is the first-ever Magazine Day. It just might be my new favorite holiday. Magazine Day was dreamed up by a writer and reader named Kevin Smokler. Here's his description of it: "On Saturday, February 27th, ordinary…
New: Music Tuesdays. This week: Lucero, Drive-By Truckers, Dave Alvin
I've been wanting to start this for a while, so here goes. My goal: Every Tuesday, post a quick roundup of good live music shows in Charlotte in the week ahead. Charlotte's live music scene has been getting better every…
Objective Journalism?
With rise of blogs and social media, there's an entire subculture of journalism about journalism, which I find annoying -- but strangely captivating. So I've decided to add to it. Let's start with the editor's note that kicks off the…
iPad hype building
So hype about how Apple's iPad device will transform magazines -- or rather, how magazines will transform themselves for the iPad -- is starting to build. At a recent conference, WIRED magazine offered a demo of an iPad version of…
Million Dollar Baby
In a society of excess, spoiled children are no longer the sole province of the upper class. Now, middle class parents are battling the recession, internal doubt, and each other to see who can give their kids the most stuff
Get Away. Now.
Getting away from it all is often much easier said than done. But we're here to challenge you to do it anyway. Whether it's a country cottage on a sleepy Georgia vineyard or a luxurious beach escape in Bermuda, these relaxing getaways are just what you need. Trust us.
The Art of Journalism
There's a story in this issue that deserves a little bit of background.In a piece titled “Revival,” Miriam Durkin, who was the longtime arts editor of the Observer before retiring last year, profiles Theatre Charlotte and its executive director, Ron…
Antisocial Networking
Is more time on Facebook degrading face-to-face talk among teens?
NYT loves on Levine Museum
New York Times critic-at-large Edward Rothstein, who often writes about museums, had some pretty nice things to say about Charlotte's own Levine Museum of the New South in Saturday's national edition. He lauds both the permanent exhibit, "Cottonfields to Skyscrapers,"…
Steph Curry from long range
In NBA rookie game practice today, Steph Curry drained not one but two 75-footers (because I guess that's what you practice during the All-Star break). Watch:
Slumburbia
Our January cover story, "A Tale of Two Cities" by Jen Pilla Taylor, has generated much discussion. The story exploring the growing urban/suburban divide in Charlotte by focusing on two families, one that lives in Plaza Midwood and one that…
Steph Curry.
This morning, when I got up, my cell phone was already vibrating. Seems I had a few text messages left over from the night before. Late the night before. Seems a good friend of mine was sitting in his car…
All That Remains: Update
Over the past couple years, few stories we've done have received the level of feedback of "All That Remains," which ran in the November 2009 issue. This was a passion project of Ken Garfield. He proposed that we photograph and…
Five Things You Don't Know About Nicole Manske
Mooresville's twenty-nine-year-old Nicole Manske took the steering wheel on ESPN2's NASCAR Now in January 2008, and her life's been running at high speed ever since.
Crime Costs
When thieves steal, you pick up the tab
