Last week, tragedy visited our office. Our friend and colleague, Beth Walton, was murdered, apparently by her son. It was like a lightning bolt ripped through the curtain that separates us, newsmakers, from the news. There is nothing to make sense of. Someone we knew and liked, in the prime of her life, is gone, […]
Last week, tragedy visited our office. Our friend and colleague, Beth Walton, was murdered, apparently by her son. It was like a lightning bolt ripped through the curtain that separates us, newsmakers, from the news. There is nothing to make sense of. Someone we knew and liked, in the prime of her life, is gone, […]
I arrived in Charlotte last night amidst hordes of bubbly convention-goers. Before I begin covering the week’s events in earnest, I’d like to say a few words about my own perspective. Those of you who are familiar with my comics know I have fairly strong political convictions, and I’m going to let ’em rip as […]
Monday 9/3 Greasin’ the groove In an age of dub step and rap versions of ’80s new wave, Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears stand apart with gritty, funky, dirty-picking, soul-howling blues. But don’t mistake Joe’s crew for a novelty act. This band is puttin’ hands on hips, lettin’ backbones slip, and establishing themselves as […]
In Norway last Friday, Anders Breivik was sentenced to 22 years in prison for killing 77 people and wounding 242. Six days later I sat in court and watched as George Huguely’s jury-recommended sentence of 26 years for the murder of one woman, Yeardley Love, was reduced to 23 years. American prison sentences start big […]
Restaurant people know that the best way to avoid passing your spouse like a ship in the night is to marry another restaurant person—double points if she works in the same restaurant. Rapture’s Executive Chef Chris Humphrey and longtime waitress, Sarah, tied the knot last fall and now see one another at work six days […]
Second lining is a tradition that stretches back through centuries, thought to have originated as the outer circle, or second line, of West African circle dances. The tradition evolved from jazz funerals to choreographed, brass band, dance party parades that are inextricably associated with the life and spirit of NOLA, the city that incubated them. Get […]
Most of what Americans know about Sicily—mafia, garlic-laden red sauce, and the ba-da-bing wines that go with both—we learned from Godfathers I through III. Which is to say that we know nothing at all. This island, which stood as the Mediterranean port of call for wine as unfathomably early as 500 B.C., is experiencing a […]
Drawings of ponies and dragons frolic across the glass of the large picture window that faces the front of 4-year-old Makenzie Lee’s home. The word pony is written in red washable glass marker. The Fontaine-area duplex is tidy and decorated with brightly colored accents, Makenzie’s mom Chelsea’s sea-creature themed paintings and, now, Kenzie’s window drawings. […]
“I really believe it’s my job to lose, and I’m not going to lose it.” Consider Michael Rocco 1-for-1 in 2012. UVA coach Mike London named Rocco starting quarterback Monday, just 24 days after the junior publicly laid claim to the job. “It became apparent that Michael has the best grasp of the offense right […]
After hearing three hours’ worth of testimony from family, friends, teammates, even a Catholic priest, Judge Edward L. Hogshire made his final decision and sentenced convicted murderer George Huguely to 23 years in prison, reduced from the jury recommended sentence of 25 years for second degree murder and one year for grand larceny. Several of […]