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        Finally, winter is upon us and it’s time to look into how you can keep nice and warm while wheeling around on your bike.
        Hypothermia can happen very quickly if you’re not dressed properly. What happens is your body senses the core temperature drop and begins cutting off blood supply to your hands, feet and your head. When the blood flow to your brain slows down, your decision making abilities start to slow down as well. Just like an intoxicated person has problems performing two tasks at the same time, as in clutching and braking, so does a person with the beginnings of hypothermia. You would usually first notice your hand getting numb then your feet, and last but not least, your forehead, which can even make you feel like you’ve eaten ice cream too fast. If you’ve got all these symptoms, I guarantee your judgment has become impaired. If you prepare for a cold weather ride, you should never have to worry about or suffer from hypothermia.{mosimage}
        First, start with a good pair of insulated gloves. Cold, numb fingers can make for a miserable ride. I’ve got three pairs of gloves — lightweight, uninsulated medium leather with Thinsulate and a somewhat bulky leather pair with heavy insulation. If using the bulky type gloves hurts your throttle clutch and braking abilities, get yourself some heated grips. Heated grips work wonders and may be enough with just a pair of light leather gloves. The warmest thing you can put on your hands are electric gloves but they can be a little bulky.
        For your feet, the best boots I’ve found are Cruiserworks. These boots have a special waterproof insulation which not only keeps your feet warm in the winter, but they’ll keep you cool and dry in the summer and they’re extremely comfortable.
        To keep your face and head warm, a balaclava or ski mask will do the trick, especially when combined with a full face helmet.
        To keep the wind from getting inside your jacket, there are many types of neck wraps available, from fabric to leather — even a bandanna helps. Your main concern is the jacket. When your chest is warm it’s much easier to keep all your extremities warm. A thick leather jacket or one made of Cudora, which is also waterproof, along with a couple of layers underneath, is the way to go. An electric vest will keep you warm as toast in even the coldest weather and eliminates the layers you’ll otherwise need.
        If you’re ever caught without all the necessary gear and find yourself shivering, pick up a newspaper and a plastic bag. Shove the paper down your jacket and wrap your neck with the plastic bag and grab a hot cup of coffee. That should make the ride home at least bearable.

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        If you’re anything like my family, breakfast is one of your favorite meals of the day. I’m not talking the breakfast you eat when you first get up — I’m talking the breakfast you eat when the craving hits you for BREAKFAST.
        There are a few restaurants in town that offer you the chance to get breakfast any time of the day and there’s a new restaurant to add to the list: Langley’s Famous Pancakes.
        The restaurant, located at 1424 Bragg Blvd., is a little off the beaten path — it’s located in the old International House of Pancakes building. A couple of other restaurants have come and gone in that location — but it is our sincere hope that this one stays in business a long, long time.
        Langley’s isn’t your run-of-the mill restaurant. The folks who own and operate the restaurant really, really believe that their customers come first. On my first visit to the restaurant, the owners brought out free pecan pie to all of their guests. I quickly found out this wasn’t a one time thing. When the Up & Coming Weekly staff put an order in for breakfast, the restaurant staff was completely willing to go off the menu to cook whatever the staff wanted.
        Up & Coming Weekly’s administrative assistant, Suzy Patterson, craved a little something different, and the restaurant staff was only too happy to oblige. Suzy ordered a scrambled egg sandwich, with melted cheese, topped with a tomato. (I know, it sounds a bit odd to me, too.) But the folks at Langley’s didn’t blink. “It absolutely melted in my mouth,” said Patterson. “It was so good.”
        On that particular morning, Up & Coming’s graphic artist Shani Lewis was particularly hungry, she was also particularly busy, so her breakfast had to sit a while before she got a chance to eat it. “You know when you eat your breakfast, and it’s cooled down, and it’s still really good... that it’s really good,” she said.
        Lewis ordered a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. “It was delicious,” she said. “A lot of restaurants skimp on the bacon — but they didn’t skimp. My sandwich was covered with it.”
        Now, so you don’t get it in your head that the only thing you can eat at the restaurant is breakfast, I have to tell you about my experience. I met Up & Coming’s publisher, Bill Bowman, at the restaurant one day for lunch. He chose breakfast, while I chose to order off the lunch menu.
        I ordered a hamburger, and while I was debating on what kind of side, our waitress, Abbey, quickly informed me that the breakfast potatoes couldn’t be beat. I took her at her word, and ordered them as a side. Boy, was she right.
        The potatoes are cut fresh into chunks, and seasoned with a delightful mix of seasonings. One bite and I was sold. I am not alone. The entire Up & Coming staff is hooked on the breakfast potatoes.
        My hamburger was also a surprise. Instead of the expected frozen patty I had anticipated, I received a fresh, hand-patted burger. It was cooked to perfection, and was one of the juiciest burgers I’ve had in ages.
        I found out that Langley’s purchases all of its meat fresh from a local butcher — including the T-bones, which is one component of their breakfast special. In addition to the freshness of the food, there is also a plenitude of it. There is more food on your plate than you can shake a stick at, but don’t let it deter you from sticking your fork in it.
        The restaurant is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., so make a run down the boulevard, you’ll be glad you went off the beaten path.

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       America Falls for Football in The Greatest Game Ever Played

        The Greatest Game Ever Played(Saturday, 9 p.m., ESPN) uses archival TV footage and radio broadcasts to re-create 1958’s National Football League championship game between the New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts. Glancing at the title, you say, “No way.” But ESPN emphatically answers, “Way.” With its dramatic reversals, its unprecedented sudden-death overtime and its titanic players (Johnny Unitas, Rosy Grier, Alan Ameche), this was the game that made America fall in love with pro football.
        {mosimage}In interview segments, current players from the Colts and Giants chat with survivors of the ’58 game. They marvel over the differences between then and now: few red flags, goal posts right on the goal line, more mud than grass on the field, no instant replay, fans who stream out of the stands, and a dorky halftime show with cheerleaders dressed up as reindeer. But there’s nothing dorky about the game itself, which pitted the Colts’ irresistible offense against the Giants’ immovable defense. We see stunning throws, impossible catches and thrilling goal-line stands. ESPN even brings in a forensics expert to analyze a first-down decision that’s been contested for the past 50 years.
        Super Bowl ’09 has its work cut out for it if it hopes to match this exciting broadcast.

    It’s a Wonderful Life
    Saturday, 8 p.m. (NBC)
        Once again, NBC broadcasts the 1947 movie about a small-town Job who triumphs over hardship; once again, we all cry. As if the financial crisis weren’t enough, here’s yet another reason to hate evil bankers.

    The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
    Saturday, 9 p.m. (Hallmark Channel)
        A beautiful single mom wastes her time with a soulless businessman (you know he’s soulless because he’s always taking cell phone calls). She has a lovable uncle (you know he’s lovable because of his thick Brooklyn accent), who meets a free spirit in the airport (you know he’s a free spirit because of his vest and stubble). The free spirit follows the uncle home for the holidays, but he perceives that Christmas isn’t what it ought to be in this household (he knows because of the artificial Christmas tree). Can he set things right by…oh, I don’t know, winning the mom away from the bad boyfriend, even though she initially hates his guts?
        No, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year doesn’t miss a single cliché. Any other time of the year I’d flatten it like a pancake, but the holidays must have put me in a forgiving mood. Henry Winkler is a lively presence as the uncle, and Brooke Burns and Warren Christie are so gorgeous as the couple-to-be that two hours pass before you know it.
        I’m gonna let The Most Wonderful Time of the Year off the hook, Hallmark Channel. But don’t get too smug, because after Christmas it’ll be back to scathing reviews as usual.

    Cat Dancers
    Monday, 8 p.m. (HBO)
        Married dancers Ron and Joy Holiday started one of showbiz’s first exotic-tiger acts in the 1960s. They hired a circus guy named Chuck Lizza, who became the lover of both Ron and Joy. This documentary chronicles the unique relationship of the three entertainers with home video footage and TV interviews. Their careers were going great until a white Bengal tiger ate Chuck in 1998. Five weeks later, it ate Joy.
        Bummer of an ending, unless you look at it from the tiger’s perspective.

    DRAMA High: The making of a high school musical
    Monday, 9 p.m. (ABC)
    ABC milks the High School Musical phenomenon with this two-hour special about a real Virginia high school mounting a production of The Wiz. We’re privy to casting calls, rivalries, triumphs and disappointments — in other words, stuff that is of no interest to anyone but students from this particular school. Unless the star of the show is as charismatic as Zac Efron, it’s gonna be a long two hours.

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       Bolt (Rated PG) Rated: 4 Stars

        True confession time. Every time the trailer for Bolt(96 minutes) appeared, I giggled like a 6-year-old. It’s the cute lil’ hamster in his cute lil’ hamster ball that really makes the movie for me. My husband fell asleep in the middle of this one…while I was clapping my hands (literally) and repeating all the hamster’s lines. I cannot even explain why this movie captured my imagination so thoroughly. Perhaps that lil’ hamster represents the lil’ hamster hiding in my heart. Perhaps the story of a cute-beyond-all-reason orphan puppy dog appeals to the remnants of the childhood idealism I though I’d lost. Or maybe I’m just a big geek who salivates at the thought of anything in 3-D. {mosimage}
        Disney is not breaking new ground here, going with directors, writers and animators from its reliable stable. There is nothing wrong with dependability, but I am ready for the next great evolution in animated flicks…and this ain’t it.
        Penny (Miley Cyrus) and her cute little doggie Bolt (John Travolta) are the stars of the hot show Bolt, which involves a super-powered dog saving his person from mishap after mishap, similar to the CLASSIC Inspector Gadget(whose daughter, coincidentally enough, was also named Penny). Starring in the show opposite Penny and Bolt is Dr. Calico, AKA the green-eyed man (Malcolm McDowell, in a lamentably small role). Much like Truman of The Truman Show, Bolt is completely unaware that he is on television. He hasn’t been off the sound stage in years, and he believes that his sole purpose in life is to use his superpowers to protect his person. 
        One day, Bolt escapes from this trailer and ends up in New York. Once there, he meets a scraggly little kitty cat named Mittens (Susie Essman) and captures her, believing her to be in cahoots with the green-eyed man. As was shown so hilariously in the trailers, Bolt tortures the sweet helpless little kitty for information, and it works out splendidly, just like in real life. Meanwhile, Penny is forced by her agent (Greg German) to continue filming with a duplicate Bolt. Her mother fails to fire or press charges against the borderline emotionally abusive agent, and the show goes on.   
        Bolt gradually realizes something is wrong with his superpowers, but he manages to delude himself for several states. On their cross-country journey the two hook up with RHINO THE AWESOME HAMSTER IN HIS AWESOME BALL (Mark Walton). After several hijinks, the three end up in Hollywood, just in time to save Penny from disaster.      
        This is good for a movie aimed at children, but you probably want to check your brain at the door. The film itself is endlessly derivative, calling to mind much better cartoon plotting and animation, but somehow failing to distinguish itself from other, similar movies. The 3-D is a nice gimmick, but it really does seem like a gimmick, rather than an artistic choice specific to this movie. It’s Disney. You get exactly what you expect, a kid-friendly, formulaic, road movie. Having said that, I certainly enjoyed the movie, since I didn’t attend the theater expecting to see anything revolutionary or envelope pushing.

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        On Saturday, Dec. 13, Taproot, a Michigan-based band that has toured with the likes of Korn, Disturbed and Linkin Park (not to mention writing briefly with Billy Corgan), will hit the stage at Jester’s Pub for a wild night of rock.
        {mosimage}Fans of Taproot will get a chance to see and hear the band’s performance of its latest release Our Long Road Home during the concert. And, if you know anything about Taproot, you’ll know that the title of the album says a lot.
        The Ann Arbor-based band formed in 1998, and got its first shot at a record deal after sending a demo to Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst. Durst liked what he heard and tried to help the band get a contract with Interscope Records. As is often the case, the negotiations became mired, and the band looked elsewhere, finally landing on the Atlantic Records label. The switch-up caused a little friction in the rock community, with Durst laying the blame on the jump to Atlantic at the feet of System of a Down, who helped Taproot out with the Atlantic deal. That didn’t bode well for System, as Durst kicked them off the 1999 Family Values Tour. The controversy didn’t stop Taproot from doing what it does best — rocking its fans.
        In 2000, the band released Gift, which gained heavy exposure through MTV2. The band also landed a spot on the 2000 and 2001 Ozzfest tour. In 2002, the band released Welcome, which debuted at 17 on the Billboard 200, selling more than 51,000 copies in its first week. The second release off the album, “Poem” shot to number five on the mainstream rock charts.
        Returning from a two-year break from heavy touring, the band released its third major album Blue-Sky Research in 2005. Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins frontman) assisted in songwriting on the album, which was produced by Toby Wright. In May 2006, Taproot parted ways with Atlantic Records following disappointing sales of Blue Sky Research.
        Long Road Home as been a couple of years in the making. The album was released independently through the independent label Velvet Hammer.
        So, if you’ve been jonesing for some new Taproot music – here’s your opportunity. Go over to Jester’s and get your hit of rock.

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        {mosimage}Is Beverly Perdue thinking big? Really big?
        That’s the indication you get after reading a Triangle Business Journal interview last week with the incoming governor. Citing the model of Max Gardner, who served from 1929 to 1933, Perdue suggested that the multi-billion-dollar budget deficit facing North Carolina should prompt policymakers to rethink the fundamentals of state government.
        With numerous local governments headed for bankruptcy in the early years of the Great Depression, Gardner famously fashioned a grand deal in which the state assumed primary control over education, transportation and the judicial system, while levying new statewide taxes to replace local levies. Now, Perdue told TBJ, “maybe it’s time to give (those programs) back. I don’t know the answers. But the box is so broken, the timing could not be more perfect for folks to do some things differently.”
        I doubt that the governor-elect truly meant to send a signal to state and local leaders that a radical devolution of North Carolina government will happen. It was probably meant as an example of the kind of sweeping changes that might be in the offing.
        On the Left, the operating assumption is that even after years of rapid growth state government is still too small, so the deficit is the result of North Carolinians keeping too much of their own money. That’s not how the lefties put it, but that’s what they believe. They have suggested that the incoming administration increase sales taxes (albeit through base-broadening rather than a higher rate), increase the business-tax burden, hike taxes on alcohol and tobacco and eliminate the requirement that counties submit new sales taxes to a vote of the people, since the people keep inconveniently saying no.
        On the Right, the operating assumption is that state government is at least a couple of billion dollars too big, that North Carolina taxpayers don’t get nearly enough benefits to justify the extra cost compared to nearby states with less-expensive governments. They recommend significant changes in Medicaid, university subsidies, non-teacher expenses in public schools and the crazy quilt of state agencies and departments.
        Although I suspect that the impulse of the incoming administration and legislative leaders is to side with the Left in this dispute, there’s at least some compelling evidence that they haven’t quite decided what to do. A few days ago, in response to a question about whether the general assembly would enact tax hikes to close next year’s budget deficit, House Speaker Joe Hackney was less than enthusiastic. Another key legislator, Rep. Mickey Michaux, was even clearer in stating that the budget could be balanced without tax increases. As for Perdue, she told TBJ that she was “against a new tax to fix a hole.” She did leave open the possibility of some kind of grand deal on reforming the entire revenue structure, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the resulting plan would significantly increase net revenue in the short run — because major tax reforms are easiest to pass when they are at least revenue neutral.
        A key reason the aforementioned impulse to increase taxes may not actually translate into higher taxes is, to put it bluntly, electoral politics. State officials are already looking ahead to the 2010 cycle, when control of the General Assembly will again be up for grabs, as will the power to redraw legislative and congressional districts after the 2010 census. Democrats are loath to give Republicans a powerful election issue by seeming to mismanage the budget crisis or increasing the tax burden on households and businesses already coping with economic recession.
    Perdue’s not up for reelection until 2012. But she doesn’t want to play a state version of Bill Clinton to a 1994-like Republican resurgence in two years. So, she’s downplaying talk of major new initiatives and emphasizing talk of budget savings and reform.
        “Are state employees, teachers, parents and elected officials going to yell and scream at me? Yes,” she said. “But I have been yelled and screamed at before. It doesn’t bother me, and I am going to do what’s right.”
    Interesting.

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        Excitement and anticipation reigned everywhere as a young African American campaigning on a promise of change won a groundbreaking election victory.
        The winner, having promised change, confronted the awesome responsibility of delivering it. Some of his African-American supporters expected him to quickly redress hundreds of years of the consequences of their second-class citizenship. Meanwhile, whites watched every step for evidence of preferential attention to African Americans.
        The spotlight that shone upon him would be uncomfortably hot — so hot that it demanded from him an extraordinary coolness.
        It sounds like the story of Barack Obama’s recent election, doesn’t it?
        No. It is 1969, when Howard Lee won the mayor’s election in Chapel Hill, becoming the first African American to win the top job in a majority white Southern town or city. It was more amazing, perhaps, than the recent presidential election. Lee’s victory came in at a time when the civil rights struggles were ongoing, and the legacy of centuries of discrimination was very fresh.
        {mosimage}Lee’s new memoir, The Courage to Lead: One Man’s Journey in Public Service (Cotton Patch Press, distributed by John F. Blair), begins with his memories of the night of May 6, 1969, when his victory propelled him into the national and international news, and as he says, “My name was written in history.” His moving recollections of that night, the campaign that proceeded it and the first days of his service as mayor give compelling insights into our country’s history as well as a portrait of Lee at that moment in time.
        Even better than his memories of the election are Lee’s recollections about how he got to that victorious on that evening.
        In Lee’s story of growing up on a sharecropper’s farm and in a small Georgia town, readers can share his growing up pains and joys in the days of strict segregation and subservience.
        His account of losing his beloved horse to the landlord when his grandfather gave up his tenant farm will bring tears to anyone who has ever loved — and lost — an animal. So will his story of losing his best friend, a white boy named Lukee. Lukee’s father told him to break off the friendship because the neighbors did not like Lee “hanging around their house” and that self-respecting whites did not associate with “niggers.”
        Lee excelled in his hometown’s segregated schools, but they did not prepare him for his struggle with college. His determination and resourcefulness overcame his lack of preparation and inadequate financial resources. That success gave him a bedrock of self-confidence on which he built the rest of his life
    His army experience may have taught him his most important lessons. As a low level private, he was chosen to lead the soldiers in his barracks, the majority of whom were white. He found two things:  He was smarter than most of them and he could lead them.
        These lessons gave him the confidence to stand up to his superiors in the army. He wrote President Ike Eisenhower to protest the army’s “under use” of his talents. He refused to back down when his commanders sought to pressure him to give up his efforts to get served at a segregated café near his base.
        Foolhardy as these efforts may have seemed, Lee developed the determination to resist authority when its actions unfairly discriminated against him or others on account of race.
        There is much more to Lee’s story, including how he became an important “insider” in North Carolina political life, serving today as chair of the state’s Board of Education, a member of the Utility Commission, and a part of Governor-elect Bev Perdue’s transition team.
        Everyone who wants to learn about North Carolina political history should study this book. They will get a bonus — a very good read.

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        You’d have to be a combination of Scrooge, the Grinch and the Abominable Snow Monster of the North to find fault with the Gilbert Theater’s production of A Christmas Carol.
        Produced by first-time director Elysa Lenczyk and starring a cast of local actors — including a group of children who pop up here and there like a Yule version of the Greek chorus, peppering the play with adorable renditions of traditional Christmas carols — A Christmas Carolis a pitch-perfect, faithful retelling of the Dickens’ classic. It’s all here: old Ebenezer in all his crotchety glory, played by Fenton Wilkinson; the ghost of Marley as interpreted by Evan Bridenstine; Bob Cratchit, portrayed by Charles Lee; and, God bless us every one, Tiny Tim, more than ably played by the cute as a dickens Matthew Kafel.
        {mosimage}There are many other excellent players making up the large cast, each turning in a bravura performance, and it is all kept on balance by the soothing narration from veteran actress Joyce Lipe, who serves as the play’s moral barometer.
        With the exception of perhaps a few billion Chinese, Muslims and secluded Borneo headhunters, everyone knows the storyline of the stingy, insufferable Scrooge and his encounters with the ghosts of Christmas’ Past, Present and Future, so I’ll not spend a lot of time outlining the plot. Suffice to say, Wilkinson is the real thing as the old miser in dire need of an injection of Christmas spirit. He is led through a series of striking and authentic looking set changes as the well-worn story unfolds. It’s no wonder the sets are so wonderful, as director Lenczyk is in her third season as the theater’s resident stage manager; not only did she direct and help supervise the props, she served as stage manager, was part of the stage crew and designed the lighting. She wore as many different caps in the play as the male characters doffed Victorian-era top hats — which reminds me, I need to give props not only to the excellent props, but also to the wonderful Victorian costumes, ably maintained and created by seamstress Ivette Feliciano.
        However, all the props and costumes and seamless set changes would mean nothing if there was not the proper dose of humanity in this retelling of the old Dickens’ Christmas chestnut — and there’s as much humanity here as one would expect to find coal in old man Scrooge’s stocking. As mentioned, Wilkinson is a true standout as Scrooge, while Bridenstine’s Marley is as fine a portrayal as you’ll find on any stage.
        Lee’s Cratchit is perfectly subservient, yet loyal to his overbearing and ill-humored boss, while Jonathon DeArujo displays great acting chops in a dual role as Scrooge’s nephew and Spirit No. 3.
        As mentioned beforehand, all of the characters are wonderful, especially the child carolers. And I heard more than one sniffle in the crowd during the scene from Christmas Future when Tiny Tim’s crutch sat alone next to his grieving family, the child having departed to a better place.
        And you won’t find a better time or better way to get into the Christmas spirit this year than checking out A Christmas Carolat Gilbert Theater. The play runs through Dec. 14, Thursdays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10. For information or reservations, call the Gilbert Theater at 678-7186, or online at www.gilberttheater.com. 

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        Live Oak United Methodist Church in White Oak will truly come “alive” Dec. 12-13 when the church presents a live nativity scene entitled “A Journey to Bethlehem.”{mosimage}
        Sixty to 65 actors will portray characters from the birth of Christ — a portrayal that attracted more than 1,000 visitors last year.                                                                                                                                                                “This is the fourth year we’ve done this and it has really grown,” said Karen Valenzuela, a member of Live Oak United Methodist Church, and the brain trust behind the event, which is not held at the church, but on the grounds of her family farm.
        “It came from a dream,” said Valenzuela. “We have about 50-60 acres on our family farm and we thought it would be a great place to have a live nativity. So from that we took it to our church and our church said ‘yes, let’s try it.’”
        The story of the nativity is spread across nine stations, with groups of actors portraying such scenes as the angel Gabriel telling Mary she will have a child, as well as the scene in which Joseph and Mary are turned away from the inn.
        Church members portray the characters, and church members also sewed the costumes and built the nine stations that make up the presentation.
        “It gives you a place to go where you can reflect on the true meaning of the season,” said Valenzuela. “We spend so much time in the hustle and bustle that we forget the reason for Christmas.”
    The event is free, though donations are accepted to help put on the event the next year. It is a walking tour and Valenzuela reminds folks to bring a coat.
        “Our actors do get cold just standing there,” said Valenzuela, “but they are all real troopers.”
        A golf cart will be provided for those unable to walk, and there will be hot cider and coffee and homemade cookies available following the tour. You are allowed to take pictures.
        In order to get to the living nativity, which starts at 6:30 p.m. and runs until 8:30 p.m., follow Hwy. 53 South across the Bladen County line and take your first left onto Dennis Harold Simmons Road. There will be luminaries lining the road, which you will follow about 3/4 of a mile to the site. A census taker will greet arrivals and pass out programs.
        “It’’s very easy to get into and out of,” said Valenzuela. “And everyone is welcome to come and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.”

    Singing Christmas Tree at Green Springs Baptist Church

        For several years, the Singing Christmas Tree at Green Springs Baptist Church has been a great way to celebrate the Christmas season. The tree, which spans from the floor of the church sanctuary to the top of the ceiling and has thousands of twinkling lights, comes to life as the choir of Green Springs and other community members climb it.
        This year, the choir will present a compilation of Christmas songs around the theme Joy!Joy!Joy! Under the direction of Charles and Laura Stevens, the program will be presented on Friday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. and on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. There will be a reception with finger foods following the Friday night presentation.
        The event is free and open to the public. It is requested that attendees bring one canned item as a donation to the Gray’s Creek Christian Center.
        Green Springs Baptist Church is located at 1095 Green Springs Road, off U.S. 301. From Fayetteville, take All American to Owen Drive, turn right on U.S. 301, take the Parkton exit and make a right turn on Green Springs Road. The church is on the right.

    The Nutcracker Put on by Fayetteville Dance Theatre

        More than 90 children from age 7 on up to college students will put on the Christmas classic, The Nutcracker, Sunday, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. at the Garner Historic Auditorium in Garner.
        {mosimage}The musical is performed by the Dance Theatre of Fayetteville — a nonprofit group dedicated to bringing entertainment to the masses. Participants audition for a part in The Nutcracker, which follows the traditional storyline — a fairy tale-ballet in two acts, three scenes, composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
        Tickets for the performance are $8 for adults, $5 for children ages 5-12, and free for children under 4.

    A Jazzy Christmas at Highland Presbyterian

        It’s time to get all jazzed up about Christmas.
        In order to help you get into the holiday spirit, Highland Presbyterian Church is presenting a “Jazzy Christmas” featuring members of the church’s choir, as well as the North Carolina Brass Ensemble on Sunday, Dec. 14, at 5 p.m.
        In addition to the choir and brass section, there will be hand bell performances and 60-65 percussionists.     There will be traditional songs given a spiritual, African-American tinged spirit — songs such as “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” as well as traditional Christmas tunes. The event is open to the public and free of charge, though visitors are asked to bring a can of food and/or make a monetary donation to go toward the church’s food pantry.

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        {mosimage}The great, puncuation challenged poet ee cummings once wrote, “For every mile the feet go, the heart goes nine.”
        For Roberta Humphries, who is sponsoring the third annual Ryan’s Reindeer 5K Run — a race that she started in memory of her 18-year-old son, Ryan, who died of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma — her heart has crossed the finish line a thousand times.
        “Ryan was very athletic,” said Roberta, “so I thought that this race would be a good way to remember him.”
        But let Ryan tell you in his own words. Three days before Ryan passed away at Duke University Hospital, he wrote these words from his hospital bed: “The cold sores are coming, I get feverish every couple of hours, and other than that my body is in sort of this slow down where I don’t feel like doing much of anything active. So do a favor for me, and whatever you’re doing today, just go out and RUN, somewhere, anywhere, just RUN because you can. Those are the things I miss, the things I have been raped of.  So protect them and nurture them while you are able. Don’t wait until you are 80 and the grains of sand are almost gone to begin to live. Make sure you use life as a means to live, not just as a means of postponing death. Don’t be afraid to live because sooner or later, the one chance you have is gone.”
        The race, which will be held Dec. 20 at 8:30 a.m. in downtown Fayetteville, honors Ryan by lining up legions of runners — more than 350 competed last year — and raising money to fight the disease that left him unable to run: Last year, more than $14,000 was raised to help fund the Ryan P. Kishbaugh Memorial Foundation, Duke Pediatric Bone Marrow Unit, and Friends of the Cancer Center at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.
        “I can’t say the race has given me closure,” said Humphries, “but it does give me some satisfaction knowing that this is something that Ryan would have definitely wanted.”
        The run will start and finish at the Medical Arts Building Parking Lot Entrance on Hay Street; the Medical Arts Building is located at 101 Robeson St. Prizes will be awarded to the top overall male and female finisher and the top three male and female finishers in the following age divisions: 13-19, 20-29, 30-39,40-49, 50-59 and 60-plus. Prizes will also be presented to the top three family finishers and the best costumed runners. A trophy will be presented to the group with the most number of participants. All under 13 participants receive a finisher’s award. Prizes will be awarded to the top three pet finishers and their owners. Packet pick-up and registration will be 5-8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 19 at the Clarion-Prince Charles Hotel, Azalea Room No. 1.
        “The run continues to grow every year,” said Humphries, who started the race with the aid of her husband, Paul Humphries. “The runners come from across the state and all of them have told me that it’s a great race.”
        Registration fee is $25 for individuals, which includes a T-shirt and reindeer ears, and $75 per family, which includes four T-shirts and four reindeer ears. Registration will be available on the day of race beginning at 7:30 a.m. On-line registration is available at www.active.com or www.runbecauseyoucan.com.
        Ryan’s book, Run Because You Can, My Personal Race with Cancer, has been published and is available for order at the Web sit www.runbecauseyoucan.com.
        “I know this is exactly what Ryan would have wanted,” said Humphries. “It’s a great cause in memory of a great kid.”

  • Details
        The newest exhibit at the Arts Council of Fayetteville and Cumberland County directs us away from the pervasive genre of painting and drawing. Instead, the works in the exhibit titled Woven in the Fray communicate the power of needle and thread, fabrics, yarn and lure of the tactile.
        The exhibit is a welcome relief from gallery walls usually lined with paintings and framed drawings. Instead, the Arts Council is hosting an exhibit that celebrates the continued endurance of fiber arts, a revival that began in the 1970s. It is apparent that fiber arts are well and thriving in Fayetteville.
        {mosimage}Quilts, fabric wall hangings, batik paintings on silk, and hand-dyed fabrics fill the gallery walls. The fiber arts in this exhibit give evidence to the range of talent and styles for contemporary fiber artists. Calvin Mims, the curator for the exhibit, said it best: “The exhibit is designed to take the viewer on a journey through the broad range of rich textile arts that are available in North Carolina.”
        So many of us have special associations with a handmade quilt. Perhaps it was something made for you by a special relative, friend or caretaker, something you may have created yourself or a magnificent quilt you have admired in a folk art museum or hanging on someone’s wall.
        I have been fortunate to have experienced all of the above, plus I view the exhibition from another dimension. When I see quilts being honored in a gallery I often think of the artist Miriam Schapiro. A feminist artist in the early ‘70s, Schapiro embraced the use of textiles in her work as a symbolic reference to the history of feminine labor. Since most women were historically excluded from “high art” and relegated to domestic chores, Schapiro celebrated this tradition by making works of art in a quilting format.
        Credited with establishing the movement called Pattern and Decoration (or P & D), Schapiro began an art movement that challenged the traditional Western European “high” art hierarchy of painting and sculpture. The consequence of raising quilting to high art can be seen in the art council’s exhibit. The traditional hand-sewn work (such as embroidery, quilting, cross-stitching, etc.) still crosses over into works of fine art, highly valued for their craftsmanship, design, details and beauty. Fabric has become the medium of choice for many fine artists.
        The wall hanging by Hollis Chatelain titled The Change will certainly make anyone pause, the pause quickly turns into a lengthy study in design and craftsmanship. The wall hanging is nothing short of remarkable! Chatelian changes the color of her thread and subtle changes in material like a master painter. From across the gallery floor, the wall hanging looks like a painting!
        Visitors to the gallery will readily see Chatelain’s talent. A background in design and photography has been converted to textiles. She began as a textile artist living in parts of Africa; after living abroad, she now calls Hillsborough home. Her work can be found in public and private collections in Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and North America
        Tricia McKellar is exhibiting several wall hangings which focus on the subtle power of hand-dyed fabric. Stitching takes a backseat to her painterly composition of color and movement in her-dyed fabrics — subtle and atmospheric. 
        For the more traditional quilter, Tulip Dance by Annette Ornelas is one of four quilts being exhibited by the fiber artist. Very large in scale, Ornelas uses the value of black for the background to set off her brightly colored patterns. Traditional quilt patterns beam, patterns of colored lights against a night sky.
    Anne Francis is exhibiting two very different styles of quilted wall hangings. In Dancing Deer, her highly detailed Art Deco deer is repeated amid subtle natural shades of greens, tans and browns. This work is in sharp contrast to her crisp lines and stark shape-colors in Victorian Window, a wall hanging made to look like a stained glass window. 
        Ann Flaherty, a local fiber artist who spearheads the Fabled Fibers quilt group, is also exhibiting. Although she does traditional quilting, in this exhibit she is exhibiting works which are more abstract and combines textiles with mixed media.
        Flaherty was an important contact for Mims. He commented, “When I was looking for artists to be included in the exhibit, I was given Flaherty’s name as someone to contact. I made one call to her and she ran with the idea of making this exhibit happen. She knows so many quilters and has so many contacts; she simply called artists and they sent the work directly to me at the council to select for the exhibit. I attribute much of the success of this show to Ann’s efforts.”
        A familiar local artist, Edwina Clark, is exhibiting seven of her batiks. Known for her distinctive style, Clark exploits the ancient medium of batiks to focus on women and children as a subject. Clark’s works are always well received and will be enjoyed by anyone visiting the gallery.
        Of the 17 artists in the exhibit, Maria Marois is the only artist who mixes printmaking with fibers. A printmaking student at Fayetteville State University, Marois is exhibiting stuffed dolls and prints sewn with yarn. Her dolls are made from fabric she prints by hand from her original relief prints (large linoleum plates were gouged and inked).
        Two of Marois’ images are framed monoprints, both made with layers of ink on heavily weighted intaglio paper. Each print is then hand sewn with various yarns to create texture and movement. In the work titled The Three Graces, three women appear and disappear on the abstracted surface of the paper, orange and green sewn yarn is sewn around each figure to separate them from the background. Marois’ images are unique and haunting.{mosimage}
        The Woven in the Fray textile exhibit, at the Arts Council should be a stop for the holiday season. Visitors to Fayetteville will enjoy seeing a quality exhibit that merges technique with style and mastery with creativity.     The exhibit stays open through Jan. 17, 2009. As always, the art council exhibits are free to the public, but please call for holiday hours at 323-1776.

  • Details
        The annual Christmas presentation by the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra is a much anticipated event in our community. On Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m., the symphony will present its “Holiday Celebration” concert at Berean Baptist Church. The production will be conducted by music director Fouad Fakhouri.   
        The spotlight of the concert will be three soloists.  Denise Payton, soprano soloist, will perform Adam’s “O Holy Night,” MacGimsey’s “Sweet Little Jesus Boy,” Wagner’s “Du bist der Lenz” and Yon’s “Gesu Bambino.” 
        {mosimage}Payton is a native of Spring Lake, and attended North Carolina A & T State University and Fayetteville State University and is pursuing her doctorate in music education at Boston University. She is the director of the university choir and teaches applied voice at Fayetteville State University. Payton’s accolades include founder of the Heritage Restoration Chorale, performing with the Fayetteville State University Concert Choir on its first European tour and being featured on the CD What A Mighty God We Serve recorded in Belgium.     
        Dominic Mercurio, piano soloist, is the 2007-2008 Harlan Duenow Young Artists Competition Winner.  Mercurio is a junior at Southview High School and has been studying the piano since the tender age of four. 
        He will perform Mendelssohn’s “Capricciio Brilliant” at the concert. Mercurio has won many competitions such as the Raleigh Music Piano Teachers Scholarship Competition and the National Guild of Piano Teachers auditions in which he consistently received superior ratings.      
        Flutist Lindsay Leach hails from Pittsburgh, Penn., and will perform Ibert’s “Concerto for Flute and Orchestra.” She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Peabody Conservatory as well as a Post-Graduate Performance Diploma from the Royal Academy of Music in London. 
        Leach is the recipient of the Cumberland County Arts Council Regional Artist Grant and has produced her premiere CD One of a Kind.   
        Tickets are $25 adults; $20 for seniors 65 and older; $20 for members of the military; and $8  for students. Berean Baptist Church is located at 517 Glensford Drive. 
    For more information call 433-4690.

  • Details
        At the Fayetteville City Council work session on Monday, Dec. 1, the council tackled aspects of important upcoming construction projects: the site selection for the transit multi-modal facility and the granting of contracts for the next phase in the construction of the N.C. Veterans Park. It was the latter debate that turned into a tempest in a teapot.
        The issue brought before the board was the selection of architectural and engineering firms for the park. The selection process was overseen by city staff, who received bids from 14 different companies. That number was short-listed, and five of the companies went through an extensive interview process with the selection team.  By a unanimous vote, the team recommended the selection of the Urban Resource Group, a division of Kimley-Horne & Associates, Inc., a Raleigh-based firm. The team brought together by URG includes: Carol R. Johnson Associates, Clearscape, Penn., and the engineering firms of McKim & Creed, Fleming & Associates and S&ME, all Fayetteville-based firms. In addition to this team, the team of Vandewalle and Associates, the firm that created the master plan for the park, is to be awarded a contract not to exceed $2 million for all architectural and engineering services for the $15 million project.
        At contention was the inclusion of Vandewalle and Associates in the project. The request made by the city staff was to include Vandewalle in the ongoing phases of construction at a fee not to exceed 20 percent of the proposed $2 million fee.
        Councilman Wesley Meredith was the first to question the inclusion of Vandewalle in the ongoing project. “I want to be clear — Vandewalle will be supervising the entire project?”
        Craig Hampton, the city’s special projects director explained that Vandewalle would be working on master planning documents, overseeing designs, working with the content team and the creation of displays. In short, they would be working as part of the project management team. Hampton said the majority of their work would be concluded during the first year; however, they would still be involved in Phase II of the construction.
        He explained that the majority of the work would be done by the Urban Resource Team, with Vandewalle approving designs and concepts to ensure that they are consistent with the masterplan and theme of the park.
        Councilman D.J. Hare questioned why each segment of the A&E team could not approve its own work and keep it within the guidelines of the master plan. He further pointed out that the company is not in North Carolina and that there should be companies in the state who were capable to do the work Hampton said the key to success was in the programming and schematic and design development of the project. He explained that each of the entities in the Urban Resource Group would be working on different parts of the plan, and it would be up to Vandewalle to ensure that each component complemented the other pieces and stayed true to the master plan for the park.
        It was questioned whether the city had to stick with Vandewalle as the creators of the master plan or whether it could have looked for someone to do it at a reduced rate.
        Hampton explained, on several occasions, to the council that state statutes spell out that architects and engineers are attained through qualification, not through price. He said that Vandewalle had been chosen by the council at the outset of the project and that in order for the park construction to be consistent and true to its approved concepts, themes and ideals, it was the opinion of the staff that Vandewalle should be involved throughout the project.
        Councilwoman Val Applewhite questioned whether it was the industry practice to select a firm because they were involved in the initial development or should it have been bid out again.
        Hampton explained that it was the normal practice to use the originator of the concept to ensure concept and themes were carried through the entire project and were reflected in all of the work. He explained that as the planners of the park, Vandewalle & Associates met with 200 veterans and interviewed them to find out what was important to them, and then incorporated all of the information into the masterplan and then into a concept, which URG will design with the guidance of Vandewalle to ensure that it meets the concepts and themes.
        Councilman Ted Mohn questioned whether Vandewalle’s rates were consistent with industry standards. Hampton said the firm charges $120 per hour for their principal planner; which is much lower than the $200 per hour that is charged by Gantt and Associates, the firm which is in charge of the multi-modal project. “It’s a very favorable amount,” said Hampton.
        Meredith questioned whether Vandewalle was the only company considered at the outset of the project. Hampton said a second firm, Public Places, based out of New York, was also considered; however it was much more expensive.
        Mayor Tony Chavonne said he didn’t believe the council had a real problem with Vandewalle, but rather it was a problem with “transparency,” in that the project was not sent back out to bid and that the council did not know Vandewalle would have an ongoing role in the project.
        When asked about whether or not the project should have been sent back out to bid, City Manager Dale Iman said it was the industry standard to have the master planner involved in all phases of construction.
    Councilman Mohn also noted that this was not the first the council had heard of the groups inclusion. He noted that the board was apprised of it in August.

  • Details
        Walk into Cape Fear Studios on any given day and you will be greeted by an impressive display in the main gallery; sometimes it is a pottery show, sometimes a juried-art competition, other times there will be exhibits by guest artists. This month though, the focus is on the work of Cape Fear Studios’ members.
        “It is to highlight our artists and to highlight our members’ work,” said Chris Kastner, Cape Fear Studios administrator. 
        The show hangs until Jan. 21, 2009, but quite frankly the exhibit is geared towards providing shoppers with the opportunity to buy original works of art to give as gifts this holiday season. {mosimage}
    “I just think it is a really nice place to find truly unique gifts that you are not going to find other places,” said Kastner.
        There are more than 40 member artists at the studio, each lending a unique perspective to the upcoming show.  
        “There are a lot of personalities,” said Kastner. “We have artists from all over the world.”
    With such a fun and eclectic mix of people, the work they turn out covers a huge range of artistic tastes. Whether you are looking for a still life to hang in the dining room, or a hand-turned coffee mug, some earrings, a stained glass lamp, a decorative wine stopper with hand-torched lampwork beads or something in between, chances are you will find it at Cape Fear Studios this month.
        “We’ve got, not just paintings, but we’ve got a large selection of pottery this year,” said Kastner. There are some pottery angels for the holidays and some new colors in the pottery as well, a lovely celadon green being one of them.
        “We’ve got four jewelers in a variety of price ranges, but all original jewelry.”
        Prices on items in the gallery range from $8 for a pottery bowl to hundreds of dollars for some of the paintings, although Kastner pointed out that there is quite a bit available for $30 or less.
        Keep an eye out next month for the faculty show. Cape Fear Studios has invited faculty members from Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville Technical Community College, Methodist University, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Meredith University in Raleigh to exhibit their works in the main gallery from the end of January and into February.
        “We’ve been talking a lot about trying to set up more cooperative stuff between the educational facilities and Cape Fear Studios,” said Kastner. “I just think there is a tremendous opportunity there for both organizations.”
        In the meantime, on your quest for that perfect gift this holiday season, consider stopping by the studio at 148 Maxwell St. to check out the sugar plum fairies dancing in the windows and hopefully find the perfect gift for that special someone in your life. Cape Fear Studios is open Mon. - Fri., 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sat. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., or give them a call at 433-2986 for more info.

  • Details
    {mosimage}There are two places in Fayetteville where “walk-ins” are welcome: barber shops and the performance of the Cumberland Oratorio Singers The Messiah! Sing Christmas performance scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 20, 4 p.m., at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.
        Anyone who wishes to participate in the recently reinstituted version of Handel’s Messiah, as performed by the Cumberland Oratorio Singers, just needs to show up with his sheet music and join right in... though there is a scheduled dress rehearsal to keep you on key — singers are free to “walk on” for the Messiah portion of the program at either the dress rehearsal on Dec. 20, 10 a.m. to noon, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, or at the performance itself. It is assumed that anyone who is interested in performing the Messiah has done it before, therefore, rehearsal is not required.
        The group has not presented the Christmas portion of Messiahfor the past few years and this year marks the reinstitution of the “walk on” performance in the Fayetteville community. COS’s new director, Michael Martin, received so much positive feedback that he felt compelled to return the Christmas tradition.     COS will offer a selection of holiday songs in the first half of the program: “Carol Of The Bells” — Leontovich; “Christmas Folk Song — Reese/James; “Bashana Haba’ah” — Manor/Hirsch arr. Leavitt; “Mary Had a Baby” — Dawson; “Sleigh Ride” — Parish/Anderson.
        Martin, a native of Maine, is an assistant professor of music and the director of choral activities and music education at Methodist University; he brings a wealth of experience in various fields of the performing arts to the COS. Martin replaced conductor and founder Alan Porter, who led the COS for its entire 17-year existence.
        “I’ve been a choral director of several community groups — different kinds,” Martin said. “I conducted a rather large choral group of 120 and I built that up from 35 while in New England. I also directed a semiprofessional group set up by audition.
        “And, I conducted men’s barbershop chorus, sang for 18 years in professional barbershop quartets,” said Martin, “and had the chance to travel all over the U.S. and Europe singing with them.”
    Martin sees the performance of Messiah as a way to reach out to and involve the community in the COS.
        “This (the Messiah) is an open gathering and everyone is welcome,” said Martin. “It’s almost like a church service when everybody in the audience starts singing.
        “So far, I think my experience with the Cumberland Oratorio Singers has gone exceedingly well,” said Martin. “People are working hard and doing a great job of recruiting singers in this transition year.”
        There will be a live orchestra backing up the COS singers, as well as the audience during the performance of Messiah.
        Maureen Yearby, who does marketing duties for the COS, first performed Messiah with the COS at the prompting of her husband.
        “He read the ad in the newspaper and talked me into doing it (the Messiah),” said Yearby. “It was such a wonderful experience that I went back and did it the next year and I’ve been involved with the COS ever since.”

  • Details
        So how’s the news lately? Everything working out the way you thought it would? Your retirement savings doing well? If so, then don’t read the rest of this column. As the late great Satchmo once sang, “It’s a wonderful world.” Be like two fried eggs, keep your sunny side up.{mosimage}
        World events keep getting more eventful. We have a new set of terrorists in India called the Lashkar-e-Taiba with a new terrorist leader, Yusef Muzammil. Might get a nuclear rumble between India and Pakistan. Somali pirates continue their attacks on shipping off Africa, now upgrading their assaults to luxury cruise ships hoping to snag lots of rich folks who will bring a dandy ransom. Never one to miss a bet, our modern day Hessians, Blackwater, is exploring hiring themselves out to shipping companies to ride on ships to fight off the pirates. A private army fighting pirates in the 21st century. I can hardly wait for the movie version. Do you get the feeling that Willie Yeat’s lines about “things fall apart; the center cannot hold;/ Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world” is playing out all around you?
        A recent U.S. government report predicts a terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction within the next five years. The economy is withering faster than UNC’s football team did against the Wolfpack. Bush’s acting president, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson came up with the Troubled Asset Relief Program to save the economy. It hasn’t worked but does have the clever acronym of TARP. Maybe he thought TARP was to buy tarps for foreclosed homeowners to live under after the banks booted them out of their houses? TARP is running out of money as more supplicants line up with their hands out for a federal bailout.
        Keeping up the cheerful drum beat of gloom, let us consider the contribution of the Big Three Automakers who are now imitating Somali pirates demanding their own ransom. The boys from Detroit are threatening to channel Sampson and pull down the walls of the American economy unless Congress meets their ransom demands. The vice president of Chrysler threatened Great Depression II if Congress didn’t ante up billions to keep Dodge Ram trucks on the road. Stand and deliver, your money or your economy.
        When the Boys from Detroit first flew down in their private jets to testify, they initially demanded $25 billion to save them. When they came back two weeks later they demanded $34 billion. Guess a lot can happen in two weeks. Kind of makes you wonder how much they will demand in January to save the Titanic.
        Just so neither of the readers of this column get so depressed that they consider jumping off a bridge, there are some hopeful signs. Britney Spears has just released a new album and is going on a come back tour. Britney’s reappearance in the news again will keep the Paparazzi Association from seeking a federal bailout. Chemical Ali, Saddam Hussein’s evil cousin who gassed thousands of Kurds has just collected his second death sentence from the Iraqi courts. If they can kill Chemical Ali twice, that’s positive.
        Ordinarily I do not give investment tips. However, in light of the demands for financial bailouts from various interest groups, I feel it is a public service to tell you how to invest your money now. It’s pretty simple. Congress is going to be passing out money left and right. Congress doesn’t have the money in the bank that it is going to give away. We will either have to borrow the money from the Chinese or just print it up. Unfortunately, even our dear friends the Chinese don’t have enough money to pay off every group in America that is looking for free money.
        Since we can’t borrow all the money that Congress will give away to avoid Great Depression II, the U.S. Mint is going to be working overtime to print all that cash. Your best investment at this time is buying stock in companies that make engraving presses that produce money. The U.S. Mint is going to be running 24 hours a day printing $100 bills. The mint will be burning up engraving presses like Rusty Wallace burns up tires at the Charlotte 500 on a hot day. Engraving presses are going to be a growth industry for the foreseeable future. Invest in America, find a good printing press company and put your money in it.

  • Details
        This is a favorite time of year for all sorts of reasons.                    
        I enjoy the glitter and glam of the holiday season. I look forward to and love the time we set aside for family and friends. And, as a list-loving American, I can hardly wait for all the various rankings which have already begun coming out. Among them are such goodies as the most significant news stories of the year, most beautiful people, most prestigious schools and such. I have recently encountered a new series regarding 2008 in review from the online search engine Yahoo! — its 10 most searched for items in various categories and overall.
        {mosimage}For me, these lists were a real eye-opener about what interests other people as well as what is going on in our culture that I have missed altogether. Yahoo’s list of what it calls “trends” is hardly scientific. After all, it includes only people who use the Internet and who spend time searching for what interests them. This excludes plenty of folks who do not use the Internet or who belong to the email-word processing only crowd. Nevertheless, what we were collectively interested in this year is fascinating and sometimes surprising. In a huge political year, it is not surprising that President-elect Barack Obama is the most searched for politician. His meteoric rise from an Illinois legislator to a United States Senator to the White House is a tale for the ages. Same for Sarah Palin, who went from national obscurity in faraway Alaska to international celebrity. Farther down the list were Ron Paul, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, political wannabees many of us were probably trying to find out who they were. Sadly, our own John Edwards also made the politician list after he disclosed an extramarital affair while his wife was battling cancer.
        Our economy overshadowed much of the year’s news, so what aspect of that were we most interested in? Oil prices? The stock market? Home foreclosures or the AIG bailout package? Nope. We were most interested in the stimulus checks the U.S. Treasury Department announced early in the year. We were dying to know when the checks would be in the mail, with some version of “When will I get my tax rebate check?” coming into Yahoo’s search machine from all around the nation. It turns out, too, that many of us have something in common with the big boy entities seeking bailouts. Number 10 on the economic trend list is “debt consolidation.”
        I had a little jolt when I saw the “Influential Women” category. I expected and found Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and Katie Couric. Funny and talented as she is, I was nonetheless surprised to see Tina Fey at number six, and I had to do a search myself for Gina Carano, who is number five. For those of you in my shoes, Gina Carano is an undefeated kickboxing champ who found her place in television history in the first primetime fight between women. The jolt came when I saw who was number one among “Influential Women.” None other than Angelina Jolie. Go figure.
        In the “Farewell” category, we cared enough to search for several newly and dearly departeds, including Paul Newman, George Carlin, Tim Russert and Isaac Hayes. The one who interested us most, though, was Heath     Ledger, a young actor who died of an accidental overdose.
        I struggled with the all-important “Celebrity Brat Pack” category, because I recognized only five of the 10 names. Maybe you will have better luck than I did. In order, they are Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Chris Brown, the Jonas Brothers, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Jamie Lynn Spears, Hayden Panettiere, Zac Efron and Selena Gomez. What did we search for most often in the “News” category? Hurricanes are number one, which I certainly understand. I had to look up number two, Caylee and Casey Anthony, who turn out to be a missing Florida toddler and her mother who is charged with her murder. Number three is Election 2008, reasonably enough, followed in order by Pakistan, the pregnant man, China, Iraq, Shelley Malil — who my search informs me is an actor charged with stabbing an ex-girlfriend more than 20 times, actor Patrick Swazye who is battling pancreatic cancer, and Afghanistan.
        And, finally — drum roll, please, the Top 10 searches across the board for 2008, the topics that moved us to rev up Yahoo’s search engines more often than any others. These I give you in descending order to save our number one interest for last: 10. The TV show American Idol. 9. Angelina Jolie (again). 8. Lindsay Lohan. 7. Naruto, described as the “Web’s most popular fictional character.” 6. Jessica Alba. 5. RuneScape, a computer role-playing game. 4. Miley Cyrus (again). 3. The man set to become the leader of the free world, Barack Obama. 2. The ongoing saga of World Wrestling Entertainment.
        Now for the envelope, please.
        The most searched for words sent to Yahoo during 2008? And the winner is — none other than Britney Spears!!
        Is this a great world, or what?

  • Details
        {mosimage}A recent front page article and editorial in the Raleigh News and Observer bespeaks very clearly of the reason for the long-suffering struggle to obtain highway funding for Cumberland County from the state legislature. Both the article and editorial chide N.C. Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett and state Sen. Tony Rand for the latest round of funding that favored the I-295 loop around the northern and western boundaries of our county. With all due respect to the rest of the Raleighs and Charlottes of the world, it’s about time we got our fair share. If your feelings are hurt, then get in line! 
        In the late ‘60s, due to the efforts of Charlie Dawkins and Walter Clark, Cumberland fared rather well when it came to doling out highway funds across the state. Then, in the ‘70s, when the businesses on U.S. 301 and Business I-95 tried to keep I-95 from moving to its present location, the well of highway funds ran dry. The message was loud and clear from Raleigh — we (Cumberland) had messed with the mother nature of highway funding and our place in line disappeared.
        However, thanks to the likes of Terry Hutchens and Albert McCauley, when the Republicans gained control in the ‘80s, we still had some folks who knew how to play the game and we slowly got our place back at the table of the N.C. Board of Transportation. Cumberland County projects once again began to surface, or better yet, resurface!
        Now that Secretary Tippett and Sen. Rand, who have long-since paid their dues to be in their positions, have brought home the fruits of their efforts why should they be singled out for doing things by the book and within the rules? That is how the other larger metropolitan areas have done it for years. Senator Rand still had to get legislation passed that evened the playing field, and it has finally become our turn.  {mosimage}
        Why should we have to struggle to get from the west side of Fort Bragg to a four-lane highway to the coast? The folks in Charlotte have had U.S. 74 (four lanes) for years, as well as Raleigh with I-40 to U.S. 17. It goes without saying that there are legitimate needs in other metro areas of this state for extending bypasses and creating better ways of getting around (compare the new I-40 and I-85 Greensboro southern bypass). However, we’ve had similar needs in Cumberland County for 30 years and hooray for Lyndo and Tony for finally making it happen.
        The new governor appears to be headed in the direction of changing the highway funding system. It may be back to the end of the line for us; but for now, it is nice to have finally gotten to the front. 

  • Details
        I think everyone should attend at least one public meeting in their lifetime. If you’ve never taken the time to attend one, it’s well worth the price of admission — which by the way, is free.
        I could say that every good citizen should attend public meetings in order to understand what’s going on in his community. That would be true, but there’s an even better reason to attend public meetings — the sheer humor of it. Sometimes, it’s a pretty good show.
        {mosimage}I remember as a young reporter, I was very good friends with the city manager in my hometown, and as it would follow, his interns. So, I usually wound up sitting beside the interns at the city council meetings. And without fail, we would usually wind up choking on our laughter before the meetings were over. I remember particularly a discussion about the renovation of the police department. One of the councilmen queried the manager on what he planned to do with the “chubby holes.” The manager stood there, deer-in-the-headlight look in his eyes. Was the councilman referencing the overweight officers? I think the manager stuttered a few times before he got out, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” To which the councilman kept adamantly saying, “Chubby holes.” It seems he was talking about offices that were more like cubby holes.
        Unfortunately, not all of the conversations are as funny and most of them are not really what you think they are about. There’s always a story behind the story. Take the recent conversation about the rewarding of grants for the architectural and engineering portion of the N.C. State Veterans Park. The Fayetteville City Council got hung up on a fairly extensive debate over the inclusion of the park’s master planners, Vandewalle and Associates, in the ongoing phases of the park’s construction. It didn’t really seem to make a lot of sense.
        If you have someone start a project, it would stand to reason they would be involved throughout the project. That is, in fact, the industry standard. But the conversation really wasn’t about the $400,000 Vandewalle stands to make in the process, but more about how Vandewalle came to the table. As Paul Harvey would say, “Here’s the rest of the story.”
        Apparently, City Manager Dale Iman had done business with the firm in his previous job. No one questions whether or not Vandewalle was qualified for the job — take a look at their concept and the way they sold it to the state legislature. No one disagrees with it. But some members of the council are afraid that Iman’s past business dealings with the firm will make them look bad. That was what wasn’t said. So instead, the council talked around the subject, with the mayor finally summing it up as a matter of transparency.
        I’m not sure if there was an ax to grind here or more of a covering of the collective six just in case someone thought someone had done something wrong, but it’s just one example of the drama that can be found at public meetings. You bring the popcorn, I sit against the wall.

  • Details
        Mark your calendar for the eighth annual Holiday Jubilee at the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex in Fayetteville. This year’s event falls on Sunday, Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, so the event will feature a World War II theme to commemorate the day. Join us for this celebration from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free. 
        {mosimage}The Holiday Jubilee will offer something for all ages. Engaging hands-on activities will fill the museum. Meet World War II GI reenactors and inspect the tools of their trade. World War II vehicles, including a 1943 Harley Davidson WLA motorcycle, will be on display. Become a pilot after taking a depth-perception test, and then try out your skills during an aircraft carrier landing simulation. Write a V-mail holiday greeting to see how GIs and their families kept in touch, or join a World War II scrap drive. Learn about codes and ciphers, and try your hand at code busting. Look up and identify the airplane silhouettes as part of your Civil Air Defense duty.
        The holiday decorations are always spectacular inside the 1897 Poe House. Greenery, ribbons and blown-glass ornaments are sure to delight, but there’s more. In a giant tent outside the 1897 Poe House, a re-created USO Canteen and dance hall will bustle with activity. Enjoy music evocative of the swing, the dance craze of the 1940s, performed by the Second Time Around Band, and take a swing dance lesson. To make the USO Canteen complete, reenactors dressed in period clothing will serve refreshments.
        The USO played an important part in the lives of World War II soldiers, sailors and aviators by bringing America to those who were far from home. Even in home front communities like Fayetteville, the USO provided a home away from home and a place of comfort for many.
        This year’s Holiday Jubilee promises to be an extraordinary event commemorating a time of the nation’s strength and resolve. The event will lift history from the pages of books and bring the holiday season to life. We hope to see you there! For more information, call Heidi Bleazey at (910) 486-1330.
        The Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex is located on the corner of Bradford and Arsenal avenues in Fayetteville. The historical complex is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call (910) 486-1330.

  • Details
        I'm dismayed that you usually tell ladies to dump men because of their shortcomings. Learning to deal with somebody's problems is how you learn to have genuine love for them. I think it was Winston Churchill who said "you're not human if you don't have problems." So, why don't you encourage an open dialogue in relationships you feel are doomed? Your advice is going to make a lot of women die lonely if they follow it.
    —Realistic

        So, when all evidence points to a relationship being doomed, the people in it should stick around and talk about it? Maybe the woman should try a little of that "active listening" -- even when the guy's coming on like Jack in "The Shining" and she's cowering behind the locked bathroom door: "Um...Jack, honey...would I be right to say you seem to be hacking through the bathroom door with a really huge, very sharp ax?" Maybe even you have to agree, there's a time for active listening and a time for active running for your life.
        The truth is, except when the guy is chasing the woman with the ax, or seems about to, I rarely tell women to break up -- mainly because it's not very effective. In fact, 32.5 of a woman's friends have probably told her to get out, like, 32,000 times. If she's writing to me, it's usually because she's still there -- power-rationalizing why she should continue to stick around. Addiction treatment specialist Stanton Peele concurs that you don't get people to change by telling them what to do, and says about my approach, "Humor and good-natured irony are far more effective at motivating change than direct instructions and -- certainly -- than lecturing. The latter raise people's defenses." In the spirit of giving advice that might actually be productive, I lay out the disconnect between what people want and what they're doing and let the absurdity of it stink for itself: "Aww, how sweet, maggots in the shape of a heart!"
        As for the contention "you're not human if you don't have problems," it doesn't seem to be from Winston Churchill, but I'm guessing whoever said it wasn't advising people to find the most troubled, unsuitable partner they could and get cracking. While looking for the quote, I did find this exchange Churchill had with Lady Astor. She said, "Winston, if you were my husband, I should flavor your coffee with poison." His response: "Madam, if I were your husband, I should drink it." Clearly, "shortcomings" are sometimes hugecomings. Fear of being alone or reluctance to acknowledge you've made a mistake and wasted a chunk of time with somebody won't turn irreconcilable differences into nagging idiosyncrasies. Better to admit you're coming in for a crash landing, and follow standard procedure (it says "hit the 'eject' button," not "hit the 'stay with the burning plane' button").
        Living alone doesn't mean you'll die alone. I had a friend die, and if anything, she died crowded, with the nurses scolding her friends for violating fire codes. By the way, she did have a husband. They were divorced. The truth is, if you stick with the wrong person, you can die lonely with your husband of 86 years right by your side. If more women were comfortable enough with themselves to be alone, they wouldn't feel the need to grab hold of the first piece of driftwood that floats by, then spend the rest of their lives in couples counseling complaining that the guy's a little...wooden.

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        {mosimage}Friday, Dec. 5  is Guaranteed Victory Night for the FireAntz, brought to you by CJ’s Motorsports in Lumberton; if the FireAntz win, everyone in attendance receives a free ticket to the Dec. 18 game.  It is also the first of the Hooters Cup games.
        It is also the first game, at home, of the season vs. the Twin City Cyclones. In fact, four of the next five home games are versus their rival from Winston-Salem.
        Saturday, Dec. 6 is Lumbee River EMC Kids Night #1, featuring the Blades for Grades program. Teachers of elementary aged students may pick up information on the Blades for Grades program at the game. The Twin City Cyclones visit the Crown Coliseum. The Cyclones enter December with a 4-9-2 record and are tied for fifth place with the Columbus Cottonmouths. There will also be a post-game party at Huske Hardware House downtown.
        On, Saturday, Dec. 13, it will be Rick Hendrick Toyota Night. There will be a post-game jersey auction of the Rick Hendrick jerseys. The Columbus Cottonmouths play at the Crown Coliseum. The FireAntz are undefeated against the Cottonmouths this season, winning 5-4 in overtime, at Columbus, and 3-2 at the Crown Coliseum.
        Thursday, Dec. 18 is Guaranteed Victory Redemption Night, brought to you by CJ’s Motorsports of Lumberton. If the FireAntz won the Friday, Dec. 5 game against Twin City, everyone in attendance will receive a free ticket to this game courtesy of CJ’s Motorsports in Lumberton. CJ’s is the Official Victory Dealer of the FireAntz.
        Thursday, Dec. 25 is Christmas with the FireAntz. Spend Christmas day with the family and Christmas night with the FireAntz. It’s a Fayetteville tradition. It’s also the fourth of five heated contests with the Cyclones over a three week period. The FireAntz won the only meeting, prior to December, in Winston-Salem, 5-4.
        Friday, December 26 is Christmas with the FireAntz Part II; continue the Holiday Tradition with back-to- back FireAntz games for the Holidays. The Columbus Cottonmouths once again visit the Crown. This has been a great stretch of home games for the FireAntz, over the holidays, as they’ve faced the two teams in the cellar of the SPHL for there previous six games at home.
        Wednesday, Dec. 31 is New Year’s Eve with the FireAntz. Close out 2008 and kick off 2009 with your FireAntz Hockey Team. Close out 2008 as the FireAntz take on the rival Richmond Renegades at home on New Year’s. Spend the holidays with friends and family and make sure to go to all of the FireAntz home games in December! It is sure to be “Fire on Ice.”

  • Details
        Jeff Henderson has a remarkable story to tell. He grew up on the streets of South Central Los Angeles, and by the time he was 19, he was running his own business. Pulling down $35,000 a week, Henderson was rolling in money — of course, that was before he was arrested for trafficking in drugs. That bust put an end to Henderson’s business, but it put him on the path to new career: cooking.{mosimage}
        Henderson, a chef who can be seen on the Food Network, spent 10 years of his life in prison paying for his crimes. While in prison, he developed a love of cooking, and was able to do what many in the prison system are unable to do: He took that passion and turned his life around. You can hear his story when he speaks on the campus of Fayetteville State University on Dec. 4 in the J.W. Seabrook Auditorium at 6 p.m., as part of the Chancellor’s Distinguished Speakers series.
        Upon his release from prison, he became the executive chef at Café Bellagio in Las Vegas, wrote a best-selling book, scored a television show, and is now setting his sights on helping others.
        In his Food Network show, Chef Jeff Project, he takes six at-risk young adults and commits to turning their lives around by putting them to work in his catering company, Posh Urban Cuisine. He arms them with the knowledge, the skills and, ultimately, the opportunity for a new life with a culinary career.
        The event is free, and open to the public. For more information, please call (910) 672-1474.

  • Details
        {mosimage}For 30 years, Snyder Memorial Baptist Church has given new meaning to the term “live Christmas tree.”
        There’s absolutely nothing artificial about the church’s 45-foot tall Singing Christmas Tree that will be populated by human Christmas ornaments come Dec. 4-7. And these ornaments are musical: One hundred singers will climb aboard steel risers arranged in the shape of a Christmas tree to welcome the holiday season with sounds of joy.
        The Christmas tree singers are just a part of the whole show, which includes a total of 250 singers, a 40-piece orchestra and two hand-bell choirs. The singers will perform traditional Christmas carols, such as “Joy to the World,” “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” and “Silent Night.” However, Larry Dickens, minister of music at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, said there will be plenty of variety in this year’s Singing Christmas Tree program.
        “We will be performing about 15 songs... everything from Bach chorales to Brooklyn Tabernacle,” said Dickens. “We will also be performing three original pieces by Dan Goeller, who has written movie soundtracks and is now composing Christian music.”
        Dickens said the choir will also perform the hugely successful song “The Prayer.” The theme of the show itself, Imagine, is based on the popular contemporary Christian ballad, “I Can Only Imagine.”
        “The show seems to get bigger every year,” said Dickens, who is in his 10th year as minister of music. “It’s really grown in recent years because we’ve added teen singers who had been absent from the program for about 15 years.”
        Speaking of the past, as part of the show’s 30th anniversary the man who started the Singing Christmas Tree, the retired former original director of the music program, Bob Hayes, will conduct the first song of the evening. Also, Linda Schafer, who has been the church’s organist for 40 years, will be performing her final Christmas show as she prepares to retire.
        “The pipe organ has 3,000 pipes, so it puts out a really massive sound,” said Dickens. “And we’ve updated the sound system.”  
        In addition to the “wall of sound,” more technology has been utilized to make the show as spectator-friendly as possible, including the implementation of two giant, wide screen TVs to ensure everyone in the church has a good view. 
        More than 1,000 music lovers will show up for the program, including folks aboard charter buses traveling all the way from western North Carolina.
        “This show is famous all across the state,” said Dickens. “People come from far away.”
    And even though the shows are free, Dickens says all the advance tickets are gone, which means almost every pew will be filled.
        “We are always able to squeeze in some more people,” said Dickens, “but I advise getting there 40 minutes early for the show.” 
        The performance dates are Thursday and Friday, Dec. 4-5, 7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6-7, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. For more information about the Singing Christmas Tree, please call 484-3191.

  • Details
        Each year the staff of the Museum of the Cape Fear researches the decorative styles of the Victorian era to come up with a theme to decorate the Poe House and give the public a peek into Christmas traditions of the Victorian era. 
        “The theme this year is the first decade of the 20th century,” said Heidi Bleazey, Poe House educator. “The process has usually been researching through Ladies Home Journal magazines of the time period of the house.”
    Of course the house is always swagged in greenery from the outside.
        “It looks amazing,” said Bleazey. “We are doing traditional greenery indoors. We are doing a small tabletop tree this year and putting it where many of our regular visitors are used to seeing a full-sized Christmas tree.” 
        According to Bleazey, Christmas trees began in pop culture as tabletop size. While the Germanic cultures were embracing the Christmas tree tradition, it wasn’t until Queen Victoria married Albert and he brought some of those traditions to England that the British started using trees during the holidays. {mosimage}
        “But our museum represents southeastern North Carolina and even though these things were happening in Europe, many North Carolinians, based on their Scotch Irish or Scottish heritage, didn’t adopt those (traditions),” said Bleazey. “So even into the 1870’s Christmas trees were not very common in homes — so you are seeing a lot of variety in terms of styles and sizes and even what was put on the tree.”
        Another cultural tidbit that adds some insight to the mindset of the Victorian lady of the house is the responsibility she bore to represent her husband well by keeping an immaculate home.
        “There was this cult of domesticity or conspicuous consumption — sort of just creating this “wow factor” in your home,” said Bleazey.   
        The dining room would have been the public room that visitors came into and it was Mrs. Poe’s job to impress them when they walked in. The woman was responsible for raising her husband’s social status. Mr. Poe was a public figure in the community, so if somebody was coming over to dinner, his home — even to the point of what was being served and the manners displayed in that dining room — should reflect on him as well as humanly possible.
         “Everything about that house should put Mr. Poe and his family and their status up on a pedestal,” said Bleazey.        So it is with that in mind that the museum staff planned this year’s decorations.
        “Probably the most spectacular thing happening this year is this dramatic dining room ceiling that we are doing,” said Bleazey. “We are going to have 270 yards of 3-inch satin ribbon latticed (woven) across the ceiling. Then at every interval there is a sprig of holly and the ribbons ooze down the walls.”
        The staff found the idea in a 1906 Ladies Home Journal magazine and thought the idea would be perfect for the Poe house. 
        “When people come to a Victorian house there is sort of this expectation,” said Bleazey. “No, I can’t say that Mrs. Poe ever put a lattice ceiling on and I don’t know what size their tree was, typically, so we have turned to what was typical nationally and internationally and try to balance that out with what was happening here.”
        The display opens on Nov. 25 and runs through Jan 11, 2009. The Poe House is located next to the Museum of the Cape Fear on Arsenal Avenue. Tours are conducted hourly during normal operating hours and admission is free. Call 486-1330 for more info.

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