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        {mosimage}Midnight To Twelve has been getting a lot of attention lately. The first song off their self-titled album, “Slam,” his climbed the charts, and got a lot of media buzz following its airing on the show One Tree Hill.
        With or without the television buzz, it appears that the CD and the group have the potential to be BIG, REALLY BIG.
        Local residents will get a chance to judge the group for themselves, as the band makes its Fayetteville debut at Jester’s Pub on Saturday, Nov. 22. The band will share the stage with Nonpoint, 12 Stones and Anew Revolution.
        The group, formed in Los Angeles in 2000. A quote from a Roman philosopher, Seneca, seems to define their rise in the music industry: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
    The band, based in Southern California, and made up of Jon Hartman (vocals), Al Baca (bass), Steve Oliver (keyboards), Daniel Jordan (guitar) and Drew Molleur (drums) believes strongly in making their own luck, mainly through hard work.
        From Southern California by way of Iowa (Hartman) and Oklahoma (Molleur) with a stop in Nashville for Barca and Hartman, the band took full shape after meeting Oliver through a friend and Jordan through the classifieds, the band added Molleur and the time was right to get things going.  Finding the right name took a long time for the rockers — the idea for Midnight to Twelve came when discussing the shift Barca was working in order to make time to write and rehearse with his bandmates.
        Always willing to do the hard work involved in establishing themselves in a competitive market like LA, the band played all around town, slowly building their audience.
        “Our motto was, whether the audience was five people or 5,000, they got the same show,” says Hartman.  Eventually the band was headlining Saturday nights and selling out storied clubs like the Roxy. Midnight to Twelve sold 13,000 copies of its previous independently-made recording out of its tour bus.
        Along the way, the band made fans and friends who were eager to spread the good word.  One such fan worked on One Tree Hill.  The producers of the show heard the single “Slam,” and put it on the show right away.  Seeing a way to take the exposure one step further, the band made it known on the show’s message board that they would give away CD singles to anyone who signed up for their e-mail list.  A barrage of Hill fans obliged.
        “I was up all night collecting addresses, and sent out 600 singles the next day — I spent a whole paycheck on postage,” Baca explained.
        They are hoping to add to their fan base when they play in Fayetteville, make a trip to Jester’s and see if you can get sold on Midnight To Twelve.

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        Dear EarthTalk: I understand that Toyota is planning to sell a plug-in Prius that will greatly improve the car’s already impressive fuel efficiency.  Will I be able to convert my older (2006) Prius to make it a plug-in hybrid vehicle?         
    — Albert D. Rich, Kamuela, HI

        Toyota is readying a limited run of a plug-in Prius, which can average 100 miles-per-gallon, for use in government and commercial fleets starting in 2009. Toyota will monitor how these cars, which will have high-efficiency lithium ion batteries that haven’t been fully tested yet, will hold up under everyday use.
        Essentially, a plug-in version of the Prius reverses the roles of the two motors under the hood. The regular Prius relies more on its gas engine, switching to (or combining) use of the electric motor in slow traffic, to maintain cruising speed, and when idling or backing up. The car doesn’t need to plug in because its battery stays charged by the gas motor and by the motion of the wheels and brakes. The plug-in will primarily use its electric motor, allowing commuters to go to and from work every day fully on the electric charge, saving the gas engine for longer trips that exceed the distance the car can go on electricity alone.
        {mosimage}Toyota has made no announcement yet as to when consumers will be able to buy a plug-in; that depends largely on the results of the field test of the fleet version. But owners of a current or past model don’t need to wait. Those with automotive mechanical skills can convert their Priuses to plug-ins themselves.
        “The conversion is an easy DIY [do-it-yourself] project that you can do for about $4,000, if you choose to use sealed lead acid batteries,” says Houston-based Jim Philippi, who converted his Prius last year, using instructions he downloaded for free from the Electric Auto Association’s PriusPlus.org Web site. Philippi recommends that DIYers consult Google’s RechargeIT.org as well for useful background information.
        For those less inclined to a DIY, several companies now sell readymade kits (some also have kits for converting Ford Escape Hybrid SUVs). Ontario-based Hymotion sells plug-in kits for Prius model years 2004-2008 for around $10,000 via contracted distributors/installers in San Francisco, Seattle and elsewhere. Other providers include Plug-In Conversions Corp., Plug-In Supply, EDrive Systems, Energy Control Systems Engineering Inc. and OEMtek. All typically work with select garages that specialize.
        One potential worry about conversions is whether or not Toyota will honor the warranty that came with the original vehicle. The California Cars Initiative (CCI), which has converted several hybrids to plug-ins for research and demonstration purposes (sorry, they’re not for sale), says the carmaker needs to clarify the matter, since hybrid cars typically have four or five separate warranties. There is legal precedent, CCI says, that modifications cannot completely void warranties — only the part(s) affected by a retrofit.
        If you’re looking to convert, keep in mind that such a move is not about cost-savings, as it will take some time for fuel savings to justify the upfront cost of even a DIY. Most people interested in such a conversion are doing it for the sake of the environment, not their pocketbooks.
        CONTACTS: PriusPlus,www.priusplus.org; Plug-In Conversions Corp.,www.pluginconversions.com; Plug-In Supply, www.pluginsupply.com; EDrive Systems, www.edrivesystems.com; Energy Control Systems Engineering, www.energycs.com; OEMtek,  www.oemtek.com; CCI, www.calcars.org.
        GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail:  earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.

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        It all began October 12, 1988. She had long brown hair with brown eyes. She was in my French class. She was a cheerleader. She was my first girlfriend; and the world stopped for just the two of us. We spent hours on the phone, not “talking” but just listening to the other person say nothing. In class, we wrote letters back and forth all day telling each other how much we missed one another in the past 10 minutes of life. Every afternoon ended the same…a kiss behind the school bus before getting on our golden chariots to ride home. Six months later, she dumped me. But in the 8th grade, that’s what we call being  “in love.”
        The years came and went, and so did the girls. But it was not until May 31, 2003, that I married the “love” of my life. And for five years now, we have been living this thing called “marriage.” And to be honest, I’m still not quite sure I can tell you what “love” is. As a husband, how am I to love my wife? I believe that apart from God, I can’t love my wife.
        In order to really love my wife, I must first accept God’s love. In the Bible, the apostle John wrote that “love is from God” (1 John 4:7). And God proved that love in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Love is an action. It is something that we feel, but it is also something that we do. God showed his love for us in that he sent Jesus to die on the cross for us. That proved his love. In the same way, I must not only tell my wife I love her…but show her I love her.{mosimage}
        In order to really love my wife, I must also abide in God’s love. John goes on to say that “if we love one another, God abides in us” (I John 4:12) and “the one who abides in love abides in God” (1 John 4:16). If God is love, then I must fill my heart with God. As the weather turns cold, the gloves come out. The purpose of the glove is to keep the hand warm. But a glove with no hand is useless. The glove does no good. The same is true with love. If God is love, and I do not have God in my heart and life, then there is no way to express God’s perfect love. So to love my wife completely, I must abide in God’s love and allow God’s love to abide in me.
        Finally, in order to really love my wife, I must acknowledge that God first loved me. John adds, “We love, because he first loved us.” In other words, even when we hated God, spit in God’s face, rejected God, and didn’t want to have anything to do with God…he loved us first. The word “first” is a superlative here. It’s like saying good, better, best. He loved us “first” compared to all other objects. The Bible says that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” He loved us even when we didn’t love him. And so no matter how you are treated by your spouse, love them first. No matter how your boss treats you, love him/her first. No matter how your child loves you back, love him/her first.
        Remember, you can love others because God loved you first. So make him your first love today. Then, go show your spouse how much you love him/her today.

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        There’s great mischief lurking in fuzzy definitions.
        In politics, the mischievous — and most certainly the villainous — prefer to employ ill-defined words that hide their true intentions and reduce their exposure to investigation and refutation. As the great philosopher John Locke himself once wrote, in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, “there is no such way to gain admittance or give defense to strange and absurd doctrines as to guard them round about with legions of obscure, doubtful, and undefined words.”{mosimage}
        Today’s excursion into the political misuse of the English language, a form of rhetoric Locke compared to “the dens of robbers, or holes of foxes,” concerns the word subsidy.
        Many politicians and commentators employ the term to describe any payment from one party to another. But that doesn’t capture its true meaning. If I give you a dollar today, and you return the dollar to me tomorrow, neither of us has been subsidized. There was no net transfer of wealth. Moreover, if I pay you a dollar in exchange for a good or service you perform for me, I’m not subsidizing you. Again, there is no net transfer. It is a trade.
        Bear with me. This is no mere semantic distinction. It has a bearing on many political debates in North Carolina, on issues ranging from transportation to higher education.
        The original Latin term was subsidere, combining two words: sub, meaning below, and sidere, to settle or sit. It is the root of such modern-day English words as subside, subsidiary and subsidy. The common denominator is the concept of something being left over, as in what solids sink to the bottom of a glass of liquid. Figuratively, it refers to something being supplemental, extra, a remainder.
        Subsidies can be voluntary. But in the political context the subject is typically an involuntary subsidy, a forcible transfer of money from some group of taxpayers to another group of beneficiaries. The important point is that it has to be a net transfer. It is impossible for everyone to be subsidized. That’s an incoherent concept. If everyone receives direct benefits in relationship to direct taxes paid, no one is being subsidized.
    Confusion about subsidies pervades the debate about transportation funding. Defenders of mass transit like to argue, as critics did in response to a recent John Locke Foundation study of the Charlotte new rail-transit line, that all transportation choices are subsidized, so fixating on the share of transit cost shouldered by non-transit users is unfair.
        This is a case of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. Sure, if we’re talking about government assets such as unlimited-access highways or airports, it appears as though taxpayers rather than users are financing the system. In reality, however, the taxes and fees that fund roads and airports bear a strong relationship to usage. The vehicles being used to traverse the infrastructure are privately owned and maintained, unlike transit vehicles.
        Moreover, the direct beneficiaries aren’t hard to identify. You either ride the train or you don’t. Either there’s a net transfer of wealth from transit users to non-transit users, or the money flows the other way. It is impossible for both users and nonusers of transit to receive a net subsidy, unless foreigners or extraterrestrials are involved. One group must subsidize the other.
        Of course, the transit users are the ones being subsidized. In the case of the Charlotte rail line, more than 90 cents of every dollar spent to transport a rider come from taxpayers other than the rider.
        To distinguish the subsidized from the subsidizers is not necessarily to invalidate the program in question.     You might say that even though students at public universities derive the vast majority of the benefits from their education, those who don’t attend public universities should help pay the bill. But at least you’d be admitting that a subsidy exists (in this case, constituting a forcible transfer of wealth from the relatively poor to the relatively rich). Using precise language helps to clarify political issues — which is why so many politicians and commentators prefer to keep things nebulous

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        {mosimage}Calvinism — the great threat to Christianity?
        I was stunned the other day when I wandered into the bookstore of a nearby conservative religious college bookstore coffee shop and found shelves of books warning about the dangerous threat of Calvinism.
    Surrounded as we are everywhere by books that attack the religious beliefs of others, maybe I should not have been surprised. Books denouncing the heresies and menace of Islam, Judaism, Mormonism and Catholicism abound. I have gotten used to seeing them and passing them by, unwilling to take my time to read their passionate justifications for adding another group to my enemies list. Nor have I been moved to mount a platform and attack the attackers.
        No business of mine.
        But the attacks on Calvinism struck a personal chord. How, I wondered, could the church doctrines of my religious ancestors and those of many of the founders of our country be so dangerous?
    If you attack somebody else’s religion, I shrug my shoulders and move on, hoping that you have not done any real harm. But attack mine and we are enemies.
        What would Jesus think? What would Jesus do?
        Maybe he would evangelize, which is what one of the young students in the bookstore set out to do while I was visiting the bookstore on his campus. He approached me in a friendly and respectful manner. He asked me about my church connections. I told him I was reluctant to tell him, given the hostility toward Calvinism apparent from the many books for sale in the store.
        Respectfully, he said that he could not believe that God could limit salvation to only a predetermined “elect” as he believed the Calvinists teach. In a moving conversation, he described his own conversion experience, the positive changes that had come about in his life, and God’s plan for him to serve in the ministry.
    I responded, “If all these things are part of God’s plan for you, hasn’t God selected you in advance? Isn’t that close to the part of Calvinism that your books attack?”
        We continued our discussion for a while. He told me of his plans to start a new congregation and build it over time. He said he had been taught to deal courteously with mistaken religious views of others and would do so with mine — and as we said goodbye, he promised to pray for me, praying, I supposed, for me to give up my wrongheaded religious views.    
        Why am I sharing this experience with you now?
        Now, when our country has made its decision about leadership for the next four years. Now, when some discussion of our options and opportunities might be more helpful and timely.
        Why, at this critical time in American political life, am I writing about religion?
        Here is why. Our politics is too much like religion.
    In our political life, we have broken ourselves down into sects and tribes. Our political groups and parties adopt the same kind of dogmas, doctrines and intolerances that characterize the worst features of some religious groups.
    In politics this year, we saw the results. Candidates and political parties not only asserted that their opponents were wrong. They treated those on the other side as dangerous heretics — prospects, it might seem, for burning at the stake.  
        With this election is over, somehow we have to put aside unnecessary doctrinal differences and find practical approaches to the common challenges face together.
        Healthy disagreements are a positive part of American government and politics as long as we remember something. We Americans are all in the same boat. And, as long as we are in this world, whether we are going to heaven or hell, we are traveling all together.

  • Details
        {mosimage} Calvinism — the great threat to Christianity?
        I was stunned the other day when I wandered into the bookstore of a nearby conservative religious college bookstore coffee shop and found shelves of books warning about the dangerous threat of Calvinism.
        Surrounded as we are everywhere by books that attack the religious beliefs of others, maybe I should not have been surprised. Books denouncing the heresies and menace of Islam, Judaism, Mormonism and Catholicism abound. I have gotten used to seeing them and passing them by, unwilling to take my time to read their passionate justifications for adding another group to my enemies list. Nor have I been moved to mount a platform and attack the attackers.
        No business of mine.
        But the attacks on Calvinism struck a personal chord. How, I wondered, could the church doctrines of my religious ancestors and those of many of the founders of our country be so dangerous?
        If you attack somebody else’s religion, I shrug my shoulders and move on, hoping that you have not done any real harm. But attack mine and we are enemies.
        What would Jesus think? What would Jesus do?
        Maybe he would evangelize, which is what one of the young students in the bookstore set out to do while I was visiting the bookstore on his campus. He approached me in a friendly and respectful manner. He asked me about my church connections. I told him I was reluctant to tell him, given the hostility toward Calvinism apparent from the many books for sale in the store.
        Respectfully, he said that he could not believe that God could limit salvation to only a predetermined “elect” as he believed the Calvinists teach. In a moving conversation, he described his own conversion experience, the positive changes that had come about in his life, and God’s plan for him to serve in the ministry.
        I responded, “If all these things are part of God’s plan for you, hasn’t God selected you in advance? Isn’t that close to the part of Calvinism that your books attack?”
        We continued our discussion for a while. He told me of his plans to start a new congregation and build it over time. He said he had been taught to deal courteously with mistaken religious views of others and would do so with mine — and as we said goodbye, he promised to pray for me, praying, I supposed, for me to give up my wrongheaded religious views.    
        Why am I sharing this experience with you now?
        Now, when our country has made its decision about leadership for the next four years. Now, when some discussion of our options and opportunities might be more helpful and timely.
        Why, at this critical time in American political life, am I writing about religion?
        Here is why. Our politics is too much like religion.
        In our political life, we have broken ourselves down into sects and tribes. Our political groups and parties adopt the same kind of dogmas, doctrines and intolerances that characterize the worst features of some religious groups.
        In politics this year, we saw the results. Candidates and political parties not only asserted that their opponents were wrong. They treated those on the other side as dangerous heretics — prospects, it might seem, for burning at the stake.  
        With this election is over, somehow we have to put aside unnecessary doctrinal differences and find practical approaches to the common challenges face together.
        Healthy disagreements are a positive part of American government and politics as long as we remember something. We Americans are all in the same boat. And, as long as we are in this world, whether we are going to heaven or hell, we are traveling all together.

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        Rob Sich is entering this third season with the Fayetteville FireAntz but it will be his first complete season with the club. The Windsor, Ontario native enters the season with his name already firmly entrenched in the FireAntz All-Time Record Book. 
        {mosimage}In his fifth game of the season, Sich moved into a tie for first on the FireAntz’ all-time list in goals scored (60), tying all-time leader B.J. Stephens. To put it into perspective, it has taken Sich just 75 games to reach his 60 goals, while it took Stephens 129 games to reach his 60. He is already in fifth place on the all-time points list, trailing leader and former linemate, Tim Velemirovich, by 38 points. Velemirovich totaled 160 points on 53 goals and 107 assists in 108 games played. Sich has 122 points on 60 goals and 62 assists, again in only 75 games played with the FireAntz. That is a staggering 1.63 points per game. If Sich averages 1.63 points per game this season he should become the all-time leading scorer in FireAntz history around the midpoint of the season. And all that in right around 100 games played with the FireAntz.
        Sich joined the FireAntz in December of 2006 and the team never looked back. Right around the same time that Mike Clarke and Chad Wilcox joined the team and Bryan Dobek returned was when Sich became a FireAnt. The rest is history. The team went 19-5-1 to end the regular season and Sich tallied 29 goals and 28 assists in only 25 games. His combined total that season was 92 points (46 goals and 46 assists) and his 46 goals set an SPHL record. He fell one point shy of the scoring title but was named the league’s Most Valuable Player. In eight playoff games, Sich scored six goals and had nine assists as the FireAntz won the Southern Professional Hockey League President’s Cup.
        Last season Sich had another year that was filled with points. In 45 games played he netted 29 goals and assisted on 31 others for 60 points. He also had a career high in penalty minutes with 138. Sich continued to average more than a point per game in the SPHL playoffs as he contributed a goal and five assists in five playoff games.
        Expect another great season from star forward Rob Sich in 2008-09.  Playing alongside talented forwards Justin Keller and Jeff Genovy will surely make this an exciting season for the “Top Line” of your FireAntz.

    UPCOMING HOME GAMES FOR THE FIREANTZ:
        Sat. Nov. 22nd (7:30 pm vs. Columbus):  Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Night; also will feature the unveiling of the 2009 Rock 103 Calendar with the Calendar girls in attendance.
        Thur. Nov. 27th (7:30 pm vs. Richmond):  It’s a Thanksgiving Tradition with your FireAntz.
        Sat. Nov. 29th (7:30 pm vs. Knoxville):  ONLY home game that weekend; Refill the Food Bank.

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        Fayetteville Urban Ministry (FUM) kicked off its annual Holiday Honor Card event on Friday, Nov. 14, at the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County.
        “There is hope in the Cards,” said event chair P.R. Moss, a Fayetteville attorney. “A purchase of a Holiday Honor Card — for just $5 — will help Fayetteville Urban Ministry fill the needs of those less fortunate in our community, by providing food and clothing, teaching adults to read, making emergency home repairs and mentoring our troubled youth. This year, it is especially crucial to help Urban Ministry help our community.”
        Twenty years ago artist William Mangum’s introduction to the plight of homelessness came about at a Hardees restaurant when he was asked for money. Something about the man’s demeanor touched Mangum. Today as the Honor Card program celebrates its 20th anniversary Mangum feels assured this was indeed a divine meeting. “The Honor Card has inspired some amazing paintings that share a subtle message about the need to support those that have stumbled along life’s journey,” said Mangum.
        The Honor cards are $5 each, and can be purchased at Fayetteville Urban Ministry, The Fayetteville Observer, Always Flowers by Crenshaw (Westwood), The New Deli (Valleygate Dr.), Edward McKay Bookstore, Northwood Temple Thrift Store and Kindred Hearts(Franklin St.). They are also available at www.fayurbmin.org
         For more information, contact Fayetteville Urban Ministry at 910-483-5944.

    LEAF COLLECTION CONTINUES
        The City Solid Waste Department is once again at your disposal with the annual loose-leaf pickup season. Round 1 hangtag schedules have been distributed. Round 1 pickup runs through Dec. 18. Round 2 of loose leaf season comes later.
        The hangtags were placed on household trash cart-handles for citizens to view easily and take inside for reference. A recommended place to keep the hangtag is on your refrigerator.{mosimage}
        Leaf season allows for unbagged leaves and pine straw to be picked up curbside. Citizens should follow these instructions when bagging up their leaves and pine straw:
        •Rake your leaves and pine straw curbside by day prior to your pickup date. Place your leaves and pine straw on the top of the curb away from storm drains and out of the road. Bad weather may cause delays
        •Leaves and pine straw only - no tree limbs.
         You do not have to wait for loose-leaf season to have your leaves and pine straw collected. If you put your leaves out in sturdy bags or containers on your regular yarddebris day, they will be picked up weekly.     This also helps keep leaves out of the storm drains.
        During loose-leaf season, citizens can pick up trash bags at any recreation center or fire station. Citizens can purchase a brown roll-out cart for $56.45. The City can deliver it to your house for $11.25 or you can pick it up at the Solid Waste Department at 455 Grove Street.
        Citizens can read the guidelines and view the leaf season schedule by their zip code on www.cityoffayetteville.org/leafseason. Another hangtag is available by clicking on Hangtag Brochure. For more information, call 433-1FAY.

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        Some things just work...a good punch-line; Gramma’s peanut butter cookie recipe and the premise for Neil Simon’s classic Broadway hit The Odd Couple. {mosimage}
        The story line goes something like this; Oscar and Felix are both estranged from their respective wives. For financial reasons the neat freak and slob decide to move in together only to find that the same things that got them into trouble with their wives get them into trouble as roommates and friends — hilarity ensues. 
    “I think everybody can relate to that,” said Dr. Paul Wilson, department chair and associate professor of theater and speech at Methodist University.  
        On Nov. 21-23, Methodist University is bringing Felix and Oscar, with all their foibles and charm, to Fayetteville. “We hadn’t done a Neil Simon comedy in long time,” said Wilson. “We hadn’t really done any traditional comedy in a very long time either and we figured this was a good time to do it.”
        The Odd Couple debuted on Broadway in 1965, followed by the movie in ‘68 and the hit television show that ran for several years in the ‘70s. There is even a female version, which proved to be just as popular as the original. From Broadway to the big screen and on to the small screen and stages across America, Oscar and Felix have been entertaining generations with their quick-witted zingers and crazy antics. “There are so many great lines in there that are classic,” said Wilson. Neil Simon has a reputation as being king of the one liners, and he writes brilliant jokes “But what really makes it work is those jokes come out of very solid character delineations,” said Wilson. “A lot of the other stuff just comes out of the way these people play off each other and the jokes play themselves.”
        This version features Justin Leonard as Oscar. Leonard is a communications major from Cambridge, Md. “He is a senior and wanted to do a show before he left,” said Wilson.
        Clinton, N.C., native and theater major Nick Owen is taking on the role of Felix. “Something very interesting that Neil Simon said in the introduction to the published version of the screen play...the main thing that people come up to him today and say is how much they enjoyed playing Oscar or playing Felix when they were in the community theater production or college or high school production,” said Wilson. “For classical actors everyone wants to play Hamlet, in community theater everybody wants a chance to sink their teeth into Oscar or Felix.” 
        So this performance promises to be a good time not only for the audience, but for the actors, too. 
        The show starts at 8 p.m. There is also a matinee at 2 p.m. on Nov. 23. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students. Children’s tickets are also available, but Wilson cautions that there is a miscellaneous curse word or two and suggested that if this play were a movie this one would be rated somewhere between G and PG. Performances will be held at Reeves Auditorium. Contact: (910) 630-7105 or pwilson@methodist.edu for tickets or more information.

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        Christmas traditions are part of what makes the holiday special. In Fayetteville, one of the many holiday traditions is the annual presentation of A Christmas Carolby the Gilbert Theater. Held in conjunction with the Dickens’ Holiday, this year’s production will run Nov. 28 through Dec. 14. Shows will be on stage Thursday through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
        “This is the third year that The Gilbert Theater is presenting A Christmas Carol,” said Elysa K. Lenczyk, resident stage manager of The Gilbert Theater. The Charles Dickens’ classic, directed by Lenczyk, tells the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, who holds anything other than wealth in contempt, including friendship, love and the Christmas season. It reveals what motivates people and how they cope with life situations. Over the course of the evening he undergoes a profound experience of redemption.   
        {mosimage}“We have about 25 volunteer cast members this year,” said Lenczyk. “We also have a new Scrooge this year.”
        Lenczyk added that there was an overwhelming number of students who auditioned for parts in the production and will be used as carolers in the show.         
        The Gilbert Theatre was founded in 1994 in the basement of Lynn Pryer’s home. It is named in honor of Marquis de Lafayette, for whom the city of Fayetteville is also named.  The theatre provides quality contemporary and classical theatre productions for. It is currently located on the corner of Green and Bow streets near the Market House in downtown Fayetteville.  
        The theater’s mission is to give local actors, musicians and artists a place where they can practice their craft and showcase their talents. There is a student review night where high school students are invited to meet with the director and cast members. The theater has highlighted the work of featured writers such as John Merritt, James Dean, Chris Canfield and Jim Geoghan and produced Eve Ensler’s, The Vagina Monologues to raise funds and awareness for the local Rape Crisis Center and C.A.R.E. Battered Women’s Shelter.       
        Other features for this upcoming season include References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot from Jan. 29, 2009 to Feb.15, 2009, On the Verge from March 19 to April 5 and Exits and Entrances from May 28 to June 14, 2009.         
    “This is a production for children and it will not scare them,” said Lenczyk. “We look forward to the community coming and know they will enjoy the show.”  
        Doors and box office open one hour prior to the performance. Ticket price is $10 at the door using cash or check only. Reservations are recommended to guarantee seating and for groups of 10 or more advanced payment may be required.
        For more information about auditions or to make reservations call 678-7186 or email gilberttheater@aol.com.  

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        The weather was dreary for October’s 4th Friday celebration, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the patrons who came out to support the Fayetteville Art Guild’s juried competition at Cape Fear Studios.
    “Even though the Art Guild has been around for what, 41 years now, we don’t have a piece of property where we can meet and display our work,” said Starr Oldorff, Fayetteville Art Guild president. “So we make arrangements to show at different galleries.”  {mosimage}
        Cape Fear Studios has been hosting the Art Guild for years, to the benefit of both organizations. 
    “This arrangement has been going on for quite some time and I don’t know how it started, to be honest with you” said Oldorff.  “Everyone has been very supportive and welcoming and we appreciate that. It helps to contribute to the unity of the art community, and of course different venues have different regulars who frequent that particular venue so it allows for our artists to have exposure to different people.” This also give the galleries around town a chance to show fresh, new pieces and offer a wider variety of art to the community.
        Up & Coming Weekly’s art critic and Fayetteville State University art professor, Soni Martin, claimed both first and second place for her abstract pieces, Yesterday’s Promise in Red and Counting Spaces (featured above). Third place went to Joshua Shakar for a necklace and earring set titled Pink and Aqua Beauty. The 60 entries were juried by Richard Gay, a University of North Carolina at Pembroke faculty member.
        {mosimage}Stop by Cape Fear Studios and check out the show, it will hang until Nov. 24. The gallery is located at 148 Maxwell St., and the hours are Monday - Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. To find out about other events and programs affiliated with the Fayetteville Art Guild, give Starr Oldorff a call at 635-6114.

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        Having trouble finding just the right gift  for that special someone? Or maybe something fabulous for you — just because you deserve it? Then don’t miss the 18th Annual Fort Bragg Area Officer Spouses Club (FBAOSC) Yule Mart Craft Fair. 
        With 53 vendors and an intimate shopping atmosphere, Yule Mart Chairman, Kelly Pardew is excited about what this year’s event has to offer. 
        “I think the important thing for people to know is that this is a crafter’s fair,” said Pardew. “All of the items have to be handmade and we want the artisans to be there; so you aren’t going to find any retail products or commercial type things.”
        The Yule Mart will open on Friday, Nov. 21 and run through Sunday, Nov. 23 at Frederick Physical Fitness Center on Gruber Road (between Reilly Street and the All American Freeway). Shoppers can not only find some great gifts, they can also enjoy some yuletide cheer.  {mosimage}
        “I am really wanting to make it a warm holiday spirit kind of event,” said Pardew. There will be a huge range of crafters on hand with great ideas and gifts including jewelry, hand bags, Americana items and hand-woven baskets, to name a few. The location isn’t the only new thing this year. The food court is going to offer German and Mediterranean cuisine.
        Mrs. Claus will have her bake shop open, providing tasty treats and Santa will be on hand, too, for photo taking opportunities. Visit Santa’s workshop and let the kids (ages 3-10) come and do some Christmas shopping of their own. All gifts will be priced under $5. Gift wrappers and Santa’s helpers will be on hand to help kids pick out the perfect gift for family members, teachers and even pets.
        As the FBAOSC’s largest fundraiser, Yule Mart does more than offer great shopping opportunities and a chance to catch the Christmas spirit. Funds raised, are put back into the community in the form of scholarships and donations to various organizations both on Fort Bragg and in the Fayetteville area. In the past, the FBAOSC has given money to the Fisher House, the Wounded Warrior Committee, the Autism Society of Cumberland County and the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society.
        The Yule Mart is open Friday, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. -6 p.m., and Sunday, 12-5 p.m.  Admission is $3 or $5 for a three-day pass. Children 10 and under are free and admission is free after 3 p.m. on Sunday.  Visit www.fbaosc.org/yulemart for more information.

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        {mosimage}On a recent Saturday morning the auditorium of a Cumberland County school rang with the laughter of children. That was soon accompanied by the sound of music, interspersed with the occasional shriek of laughter when someone missed their mark or forgot the words to the song.
        Most of the joyous sounds were caused by the five girls who make up Voices of the Heart, but they were joined in their hilarity by the extensive cast of the 10th Annual Heart of Christmas Show. The show, scheduled at the Crown Theatre Nov. 29-30, has become firmly entrenched in the holiday traditions of the community.
        The show, a Branson-styled musical journey that takes its viewers directly to the heart of Christmas, features the vivacious and talented members of Voices of the Heart. The singing group, which was the impetus for the show, has been together in one form or another for the past 10 years. At its center is local musician and voice teacher Laura Stevens. Stevens, who can be just as vivacious as the girls she mentors, started the group with her voice students. After winning a gospel music contest, Stevens started looking for ways for the group to perform, but also benefit the community. That’s when the idea for the Heart of Christmas Show took root.
        The show, which can be compared to a show you might see in Branson, Mo., has all the props. There’s the scenery, there’s the dancers, there’s quick costume changes and a chorus of singing Elvises. All of those elements are put together to tell the story of Christmas starting with the traditional celebrations like Rudolph and Frosty, and then leading to a quiet manger in Bethlehem.
        And while the girls make it look easy on stage, the road getting to the stage is far from easy. In the months and weeks leading up to the show, the girls totally immerse themselves in music. Of course, that’s not so difficult, as they spend the whole year traveling across the state performing concerts at churches. The girls will be the first to tell you that they love to perform, but more importantly, they love to share their love of God with the people they perform for.
        You only have to have one conversation with the girls to understand where they are coming from. Take 14-year-old Mandy Hawley for example. Hawley has been a full-fledged member of the group for three years, but she performed in the show before then. Hawley, a student at Jack Britt High School, has been performing since she was a small child. Hawley, whose usual show tradition is to get sick or hurt prior to the performance, has managed to stay in good health to this point, but even in years past she hasn’t let her various illnesses slow her down.
    “I really just enjoy singing and this is a way for me to share my love of the Lord with everyone,” she said. “It’s very important that people know about God’s love, and someone has to tell them.”
        And, the show has also given her sisters. “These people are the best people,” she explained. “We have grown to be best friends, and all the time we spend together is just a lot of fun.”
        Her thoughts were echoed by all the members of the group. For 15-year-old Katie Strickland, a sophomore at Pine Forest, the eight years she has spent in Voices of the Heart have enriched her life as much, as the group has enriched the lives of the community. “They are just like my sisters,” said Strickland, “but the fact that we can have fun and still share with those in need is really important.”
        Strickland is referencing the funds raised by the group during the annual show. Each year the proceeds from the show go to various charitable organizations in the community. The show itself is designed as an outreach to share God’s love through music, but also to share his love in a very real and tangible way. Since its inception, the show has returned more than $200,000 to community nonprofits.
        This year, that money is even more important to Strickland. A friend of her’s is at Cape Fear Valley. He’s staying in the wing sponsored by the Friends of Children, one group that benefits annually from show. “I can actually see where the money we raise is making a difference,” she said.
        For her sister, Karmen, this year is bittersweet. Karmen has been performing with the group for the past nine years. She will leave the group when she starts college, but knows that the time she has spent has done a lot of good in the community. Karmen noted that while performing was a rush and something she has enjoyed, what is more satisfying is seeing the good the group can and continues to do in the community. “To know that we’ve impacted the lives of children in need is really important,” she said. “It lets us know that even at a young age you can make a difference, you can change someone’s life.”
        Rachel Crenshaw, also 14, has been with the group for seven years; like the others she enjoys helping the community, but she also loves the spectacle of the performance. “There’s a lot of singing and dancing,” she said. “We love to perform. I would like to continue working on my music, and maybe one day teach kids just like Ms. Laura.”
        Hannah Godbold, 13, is the newest member of the group. She’s still finding her way, but has found herself welcomed with open arms. “I danced in last year’s show and the girls were just so nice,” she said. “They made me feel like a part of the family.”
        And they hope you’ll feel like part of the family and join them on Thanksgiving weekend for the 10th Anniversary of the Heart of Christmas show. The show is scheduled to be at the Crown Nov. 29-30 at 7 and 3 p.m., respectively. Tickets are $12 in advance for adults; $8 for children under 12; and $18 at the door. Group rates are available.
        Tickets may be purchased at the Crown Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets. Advance adult tickets are also available at Hawley’s Bicycle World on Raeford Road.
        For more information, visit the group’s Web site at www.heartofchristmas show.com.

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        For those unschooled in music history, the names of some of the instruments in the museum of the Cape Fear’s upcoming exhibit Rhythm and Roots of North Carolina Music, might sound like something out of a Dr. Suess book. The melodeon, the cimbalom and B-flat Flugelhorn all play a part in the heritage of North Carolina and will be on exhibit starting Saturday, Nov. 22. As part of the opening, the museum is hosting an old time music band featuring local musicians Marvin Gaster and Richard Owens.
        The goal of the exhibit is to not only preserve artifacts like the instruments, but to bring meaning to them as well. While the exhibit covers North Carolina music in general, there is a specific focus on the Cape Fear Region.
        For example, there is a hand-crafted drum made by Joe Liles of Durham County on display. It was used in 1971, as the center drum at the Lumbee Indian tribe’s first pow wow, and is still in use to this day. Liesa Greathouse, curator of education at the museum, pointed out the process that people go through at an exhibit is simple but important.
        “When you sat down and saw this drum you didn’t know anything about it and now through talking about it; it has more meaning to you,” she said. {mosimage}
        There is a similar reaction with the old time music program that the Museum of the Cape Fear sponsors. “We provide a place for people who want to keep that alive. This is a place where they can come and learn and do and teach each other. Museums are great for doing that; keeping those things preserved and ongoing,” she added.
        As society has moved on and progressed in different ways it is a museum’s job to help the community remember by preserving and interpreting traditions.
        Unfortunately, since the instruments on display are artifacts, they can’t be handled — which may be hard to resist.
        “That is the thing about musical instruments they make you want to pick them up and touch them and see what they sound like and how they work,” said Exhibit Designer Margaret Shearin. “We do have an interactive thing called jukebox interactive and they will be able to hear different types of music using that.”
        The exhibit opening will give everyone a chance to come and hear history first hand. Officially dubbed Old Time Music by the Library of Congress, the music has a direct link to the history and heritage of North Carolina. According to musician Marvin Gaster, this genre is very traditional. 
        “There are quite a few songs that I play that no one else knows because I learned ‘em from old people.     They are very traditional and a great many of them are from the upper Cape Fear Valley,” he added.
    One such song is “The Boatmen.” It is about the boatmen and riverboats and dates back to the pre-Civil War era.
        “’Rye Straw,’ is an old song, that is a local one, too, and ‘Dancing Ladies’ — they are both Cape Fear River Valley stuff.”
        Chris Woodson, Arsenal Park educational coordinator, credits generational changes for the decline of old time music. 
        “A lot of that stuff is passed down generationally and a lot of it just didn’t get passed down,” he said. “That is part of the reason for doing this, to preserve some of these songs and styles of playing that are unique to North Carolina or even unique to the Sandhills region,” explained Woodson, noting that when some of these older “fellas” are gone, the tradition may ver well die with them because they are the keepers of the music. 
        Through exhibits like this, Woodson hopes that interest can be generated and perhaps a few folks will connect with old time music and the rich local heritage. “Every once in a while you can see it connect with some of the people who come through,” said Woodson. “Hopefully it will spark an interest in this older kind of music that is dying out.” 
        The jam session begins at 2 p.m. on Nov. 22. Admission is free. The exhibit will be on display through Apr. 5, 2009. The Museum of the Cape Fear is on the corner of Bradford and Arsenal.

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        What people name our most precious possessions, our children, has always fascinated me, as longtime readers of this column may have noticed.
        Some of us, including the Dicksons, opt for traditional family names, even if they sometimes sound a bit old-fashioned, odd or dated. This course does seem to have limits, however. I know several young Emmas and Ellas and Jacobs and Aarons, but no young Ethels and Berthas or Clarences and Elmers. Perhaps the resurgence of those names lies in the years ahead.
        {mosimage}Others of us go for the creative, choosing names from other nations and cultures, or simply creating a new and unique name for a new and unique human being. Occasionally I run into an unusual name whose bearer tells me it means virtue or beauty in some other language, but this path has its pitfalls as well. Naming a girl Chandelier seems a bit off base to me, as does the legal name I once read in the newspaper for a girl. The name was spelled using the numeral 8. Both of those choices seemed destined to set up those individuals up to deliver explanations all their lives.
        Still others of us honor someone we admire by naming our children for him or her. I have a cousin named Jessica in honor of a great friend of her parents and another cousin named Robert in honor of the doctor who delivered him.
    Some of us name our children for people we admire but may not know personally, and with the advent of a new administration in Washington, we seem to be entering a new era in Presidential baby-naming as well.
        When I was growing up, it was common in Fayetteville to meet men named Franklin Roosevelt Smith or Franklin Roosevelt Jones in tribute to the President who led our country out of the Great Depression and who guided us and the world through World War II. My generation has more than a few Dwight Davids, in honor of the World War II military hero and United States President Dwight David Eisenhower. A bit later, I met several John Kennedy Somebodies, and there were even a few Lyndons running around, probably mostly in Texas. Not surprisingly, the name Theodore as in Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th President from 1901-1909, peaked in the early 1900s, according to the Social Security Administration which keeps up with such things. A trip to its Web site to tour baby names makes an interesting afternoon diversion and clearly illustrates the long American tradition of honoring our Presidents in this fashion. It is an Internet journey well worth the trip to me.
        The practice of Presidential naming seems to have fallen from favor shortly after the rash of Lyndons. Maybe folks just did not want to name their sons after Richard Nixon and his successors. Maybe we became cynical about instead of admiring of our leaders, or maybe the 1960s made us all especially creative, but for whatever reasons, there do not seem to be many Jerry Fords, Jimmy Carters or George Bushes running around in American neighborhoods these days.
        All of that appears ready to change.
        Jennifer 8. Lee — yes, 8, just like the newborn whose name I read in the newspaper, reports in the New York Times that Barack Jeilah was born to a mother in Phoenix, Ariz., after she got so excited on election night that she jumped up and down and promptly went into labor. Across the Atlantic Ocean, Michelle Obama was born to a mother in Kisumu, Kenya.
        Can little Malias and Sachas be far behind? {mosimage}
        If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then American Presidents, or at least some of them, should be proud that we lesser mortals name our children after them and their families. But the honor of Presidential naming comes with built in risk. The Times also tells us that bad economic times and scandal bode ill for Presidents with such problems and their potential namesakes. In 1928, Hoover — as in Herbert, was in the top 400 for boy’s names. But three years later, when the Great Depression had the entire nation in its grip, Hoover was pushing 1,000. Similarly, Clinton was a top 200 boy name during much of the 1970s and 1980s, but by 1999 and countless news stories about Monica Lewinsky and her berets and blue dresses later, Clinton had tanked to nearly 700.
        I suspect that what we are already beginning to see is the first wave of many Baracks, Michelles, Malias and Sachas who will be named in honor of our nation’s new, young, and attractive First Family. None of us can predict the future, of course, or know whether or how long these names will make the Social Security Administration’s Top 20 list.
        I do believe, though, that kindergarten teachers in classrooms across the nation in the fall of 2013 will make name tags for so many eager Baracks, Michelles, Malias and Sachas that most of them will be known as Barack A, Michelle B, and so on through Z.

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        My fellow conservatives, take heart. We won Canada!{mosimage}
        Not only does President-elect Obama deserve our admiration, so does the whole Democratic Party, though I would argue that they benefited from a complicit media and a dis-spirited Republican Party that gained momentum too late in the game.  Nonetheless, the Democrats were passionate, disciplined and mobilized, electing, in defiance of conventional wisdom that we are a center-right country, one of the most liberal members of their party. To the victor goes the spoils and may the next four years bring us peace and prosperity.
        In an endless campaign full of surprises, a final twist is that the U.S. of Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh and George W. Bush has taken a hard turn left, while Canada has turned to the right (to saying nothing of France and Germany veering to the center).
        Yes, that Canada. The Canada whose national healthcare system has been held up by the left as a model. The Canada of gay marriage and liberal immigration and stifling taxation. The Canada that some liberals threatened to move to if George W. Bush was re-elected (that was the premise of Blue State, a 2007 film starring Anna Paquin).
        The Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, picked up 16 seats in Parliament on Oct. 17, making them not a majority but a greatly strengthened minority. The Washington Times’ Jeffrey T. Kuhner writes that, “For decades, the country’s liberal elites have sought to transform Canada into a North American version of Scandinavia — a multicultural social democracy characterized by economic [control], moral permissiveness and a United Nations-first internationalism. The results have been devastating.”
        So, what do the results from Canada say for America’s political future? Nothing hard and fast, they just remind us that there is a cyclical aspect to political fortune. The Republican Party is now at its lowest point since the years just after Watergate. The GOP was blown out in the 1974 midterms and lost the presidency in 1976 — and then, under Ronald Reagan, won an electoral landslide in 1980 and a dominating bloc that finally crumbled on Nov. 4, more than a generation later.
        America is much more diverse than it was in 1980 and Republicans face an uphill climb in winning votes from racial and ethnic minorities and nontraditional families, groups that don’t traditionally vote Republican. Barack Obama may well have altered America’s political landscape for at least a generation.
    Or Obama-mania may fade in a single term.  Who knows? Conservatism in this country is not dead. If Canada and France can see a resurgence, there is no reason to believe the U.S. won’t. I started out here graciously but I end defiantly: I do not believe that most Americans want government-mandated healthcare and higher taxes on businesses. I believe that most Americans’ values are more in sync with those of Joe the Plumber than of Barack Obama. I believe that Americans are still deeply concerned about illegal immigration and national security, two issues that received scant attention in the general election. I do not believe that liberalism, on an issue-by-issue basis, won in 2008. Americans, justifiably upset and betrayed by their leaders, voted for change, which is neither a philosophy nor an ideology.
        Note to the Democrats: with leadership comes responsibility. The possibilities of economic catastrophe, a nuclear Iran, a resurgent Russia and the continued threat of radical Islam require more than bumper sticker-isms promising hope. They may require unpopular decisions. And remember, every president ran promising something new or in contrast to the previous administration. Indeed, today’s change is tomorrow’s status quo.

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        The recent brouhaha over a leak on the city council has gotten many on the council up in arms. It has also put the spotlight on open meetings and what business is and is not subject to our state’s open meetings laws.
        As a young reporter, I had a crash course in the state’s open meetings laws. The local community college was involved in an internal squabble. Some members of the board of trustees wanted to fire the college’s president. {mosimage}
        Others wanted to keep him. They tried to do most of their bickering behind closed doors — even though most of the time what they wanted to talk about did not fall into the realm of a closed meeting.
        So, it was with a copy of the state’s open meetings law clutched firmly in my hand that I stood the board down one day. It’s the kind of right versus wrong moment that young reporters dream about. I had right on my side, and I was not going to stand for any business going on behind closed doors. The board was, as you can imagine, rather surprised that a 22-year-old reporter would call them on the carpet. They railed against it. But I was right. Later, when everything came down, the very folks who were ready to blow a gasket when I questioned their practices, wanted to use the law to bring discussions on the president’s annual review out into the open. They were wrong.
        The state’s sunshine laws were not written to give boards an excuse to conduct business outside the sight of the public. Nor were they written to give board members an out when things don’t go their way. What is covered by the open meeting laws should be respected — personnel matters, real estate transactions, economic development, etc. If it is covered by the open meetings law as something that should be discussed in a closed session, then no one on the council has the right to discuss the gist of that meeting outside the confines of that closed session. All the law requires is that if an action is taken, then it is reported by the board.
        That doesn’t mean that every statement made within the closed session is discussed or shared with the local media.
        It may seem odd that I am writing this, but Fayetteville has a problem. We have too many leaders who want headlines and not enough who want to do what is right. Transact the business of this city, make good decisions and you won’t have to seek headlines. You’ll get them because people see you as someone who knows what they are doing; as someone who is truly serving this city. If you have to seek the spotlight, it’s because you’ve got the newspaper on your speed dial and have already written your next headline.

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        {mosimage}Sitting down to chat with Pete Skenteris was like listening to a favorite uncle or catching up with an old friend. He is the owner of the Haymont Grill, and a spaghetti dinner fundraiser volunteer with a fabulous way of bringing the flavor of Fayetteville’s past to life. He remembers the first spaghetti dinner like it was yesterday.  
        “We started 50 years ago with the late Pete Parrous. In those days we only had 30 or 35 families (in the Greek Orthodox Church congregation) and when we built the fellowship hall we didn’t have any money coming in. So anyways, Mr. Parrous came out and said he wanted to do something to help us raise money. So that is where we came up with the idea to make spaghetti — it was the cheapest thing we could do to make money. We started to make spaghetti and we’ve  gone all these years; we built the fellowship hall, we made the church, we built the education center. Of course a lot of this goes to charity too.” And yes, Skenteris noted, they still use the same recipe.
        Fayetteville, prepare your tastebuds.  On Wed. Nov. 19, from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.  the Hellenic Center is hosting it’s 50th Annual Spaghetti Dinner. Each meal costs $6 and includes spaghetti with meat sauce and a hard roll and cheese, so each one is a complete meal. “We do not only the spaghetti, but also the pastries. It is not just the worlds largest spaghetti sale but the worlds largest spaghetti and greek pastry sale;  lets correct that one” Skenteris laughed.  Pastry sales can add as much as $7000-$9000 dollars to the fundraiser. “It still goes to the church though, it goes to the Philoptochos Society — that stands for friends of the poor” he added.
        In the past, the funds have benefitted  organizations like the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Some pastries to look forward to this year include Baklava, Finikia, Kaitaifi, Kourambiedes and Koularakia as well as home made breads and cakes. “They make thousands of pastries” Skenteris noted. This year there will be 60 pans of baklava prepared with each pan yielding 85 baklava pastries. No matter how you slice it, that is a lot of baklava. “These ladies been working hard making homemade breads, homemade cakes... they put in more time than the men” said Skenteris.
        Don’t be shy, there is always plenty to go around. In past years the church has served as many as 13,000 meals to the community in 10 hours. Preparation starts several days in advance. “Everybody pitches in, but when it comes to selling the spaghetti...Sunday through Wednesday night all of our volunteers are helping.” Each year, the cooks prepare 4,000 pounds of dried pasta, 1,000 gallons of sauce, 1,300 pounds of high-grade hamburger meat, 1,500 pounds of fresh onion, 400 pounds of grated Romano cheese and 13,000 rolls for the citizens of Fayetteville. The event is such a tradition that attempts to table the fundraiser have always been discarded — and quickly. “The spaghetti dinner, everybody enjoys......everybody likes it. We were going to stop it many times but we get at least 10-15 phone calls a week at the church ‘When you gonna have the spaghetti dinner?’”  said Skenteris. “In the meantime we were able to raise funds to do what we wanted to do and like I said we donate to charities” he added. 
        Come on out to the Hellenic Center at 614 Oakridge Ave. or call the church for more info at 484-8925. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

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        There is nothing more priceless than the look on a child’s face on Christmas morning; however, some children wake up on this much anticipated day only to receive nothing.  Methodist University and Samaritan’s Purse are making a concerted effort to make sure that every child around the globe receives a shoe box filled with goodies in order to have a wonderful Christmas.
        {mosimage}“We have had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of this event for several years,” said Michael Safley, vice president for university relations and campus ministry. “We are the regional collection site for Operation Christmas Child.”
        National Collection week is Monday, Nov. 17 through Monday, Nov. 24 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Gift-filled shoe boxes can be dropped off in front of Reeves Auditorium on the campus of Methodist University. Tractor trailers will be on site to receive the shoe boxes. The boxes will be transported to the distribution site in Charlotte to be shipped all over the world. 
        The directions for packing the shoe box are fairly straightforward. First you have to decide whether the gift will be for a boy or a girl. The label can be downloaded and printed by visiting the Web site www.samaritanspurse.com. Next, select the age group of the child which includes: 2-4-years-old, 5-9-years-old or 10-14-years-old. The box should be filled with gifts that will bring joy to the child of that particular age group. Some gift ideas are school supplies, toy cars, hygiene items, dolls, stuffed animals, hard candy, lollipops, yo-yo’s, T-shirts, socks, coloring books, educational toys, crayons and other items. Do not pack toy guns, knives, chocolate, food, liquids, lotions, perishable or breakable items. Donate $7 to help cover shipping overseas and other project costs. Place a rubber band around the shoe box before dropping it off to the collection site at Methodist University.  {mosimage}
        Since 1993, more than 61 million shoe boxes have been packed with gifts for children and shipped around the globe. Last year 7.6 million shoe boxes were collected and more than 100,000 volunteers helped inspect and prepare boxes for shipment. Samaritan’s Purse is an international Christian relief and evangelism organization that provides spiritual and physical aid to victims of war, poverty, disease and natural disaster. 
    “We expect to collect thousands of shoe boxes this year,” said Safley. “It feels good knowing that children will have something to open for the Christmas holidays.”
        For more information call 630-7043 or visit www.samaritanspurse.com.  

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        Artists, particularly painters, don’t have to be verbose to explain the meaning of their work. Some artists rather not explain their work, instead preferring to let the viewer interpret all meaning without any influence from the artist.
        No so with the painter Dr. Mohamed Osman. He loves to talk extensively about his paintings. And he is very clear about the purpose of his work. For Osman, a clear vision is the underpinning of content; relaying the message or the emotion he is trying to convey. It’s a positive that Osman likes to explain his work. His style and subject warrant questions as to their meaning.
        Being a physician by profession, Osman infuses work experience into the meaning of his paintings. Titles like Obesity, Touch Healing and AIDS in Africa are examples of what the exhibit titled Art and Medicineis about. The exhibit is on display at the Rosenthal Gallery on the campus of Fayetteville State University.
         Bright in color and expressionist in style, Osman is very clear on what he is trying to capture on canvas for this exhibit — all types of diseases, acts that cause pain and death.
        The painting titled Opisthotonus is an example of Osman’s use of a limited palette of primary and secondary colors. The figure in the painting is on her back, yet her back is arched due to severe spasms of the muscle along the spinal column, clouds of color push against the top edge of the body.
        In reference to Opisthotonus, Osman carefully explains on his Web site the meaning of the painting. “Such posture is linked to tetanus and can predict imminent death. Tetanus occurs almost exclusively in people who are unvaccinated or inadequately immunized,” said Osman.{mosimage}
        Osman’s empathy for the unsuspecting and his slant on the political come into play in his text about the painting: “There have been numerous accounts of tetanus as a result of female genital cutting. Such occurrences were linked to the use of non sterile, contaminated instruments. Are parents of female genital cutting of their loved ones aware of such a complication like tetanus? Are they conscientious about the fatality of such a complication? It has to stop.”
        In another painting titled Female Genital Mutilation, Osman talks about the history of such an act and its psychosocial, psychosexual and physical impact on the female. “Instruments used for this painful procedure may vary to include knives, scissors, razor blades or the sharp edge of broken glass. Once the cutting is complete the genital area is cleaned with water and stitched up, legs are bound for nearly 45 days.”
        Clearly Osman’s artist’s statement reflects what his work is about. “Art is a strong feeling that communicates with us. Art conveys energy. We are surrounded by this invisible energy. My unconscious part of me strives to capture this energy and to transcribe it into fine art images. I am inspired by what I see, feel, touch, dream and remember.”
    In addition I would say that Osman feels a strong purpose to educate and illuminate the public through his paintings. Although the text about many painting is straight forward in content, he can also become poetic in his explanations. A good example of this is his writing on the painting titled Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 
        His poetry about the above painting starts like this: “I feel overwhelmed. I feel preoccupied with intruding thoughts. I feel I am unable to control the flow of my thoughts. I feel unable to control self. . . .”
        Osman’s personal history is as interesting as his paintings. Born in Somalia and educated in Kalinin, Russia, Osman is presently the physician in charge at the Primary Care Center in St. Pauls, N.C. He speaks five languages: English, Italian, Russian, Somalia and Spanish.
        A self taught artist, he grew up in the midst of a turquoise-blue Indian Ocean and the orange dunes of Merka, Somalia. His father owned a tailor shop and Osman worked daily with bolts of fabric in all colors. Perhaps these are the colors reflected in his paintings. After his training as a physician, he went back to Africa. He later immigrated to Canada as a refugee in the 1990s. He eventually became a resident physician in Toledo, Ohio. During the late years of his training he started painting.
        His work is included in many medical journals and local newspapers. Exhibitions include, but are not limited to, the Emerging Artist Exhibition at Ohio University, the African American Museum of Art and Pratt Art Gallery, both in Tacoma, Washington, and the Sundiata Arts Festival in Seattle, Washington. Locally, Osman has exhibited at the Architect’s Gallery,the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County and the Fayetteville Museum of Art.
        To see Art and Medicinevisitors will need to come over to Rosenthal Gallery before the Thanksgiving holidays. Visitors will see 24 paintings by Osman which include subjects from diabetes to cancer. Through his paintings and in his text and in poetry, Osman examines that which causes bodily and psychic harm.
        In Osman’s own words he writes, “What I create is far from being named primitive art. It communicates with the psychosocial, ego, spiritual and aesthetic sense of your being.”
        You can view the works online at www.osmanart.net or visit the Rosenthal Gallery between the hours of 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information on the gallery, contact Shane Booth at 910-309-0309.

  • Details
        My boyfriend’s from a socially prominent family, complete with a long line of sycophants and hangers-on. I apparently passed the initial vetting process, but a year later, I still feel like I’m auditioning. He sometimes doesn’t invite me to events where everyone brings a spouse or a date. I feel like he and others don’t think I’m “fabulous” enough. He said his not including me is related to issues he has with letting go and trusting, and mentioned an ex who attended events with him, then let him know she was doing him a favor. I’m trying to be patient and gradual, stop analyzing, and just enjoy our time together. How else can I cope and make this work?
                                —The Girlfriend

        Perhaps you could do more to let these blue bloods know how much you and they have in common. Maybe mention how you learned the ABCs of diplomacy from your father’s work at the Embassy (Suites Hotel, where he’s the night manager). Share how you felt the day you discovered that you, too, are an heiress, as your father waved his hand over the family holdings, proclaiming, “Someday, this will all be yours.” Unfortunately, he wasn’t gesturing at the homes, the cars, the yachts, but at the boxes of crap piled up in the basement.
        If that campaign doesn’t get you in, you might take a lesson from the society stiffs — those who made their money the old-fashioned way, by inheriting it from their robber baron ancestors — and stop trying so hard. You’ve already asked, watched, waited, avoided analysis; you’ve pretty much done everything short of enrolling in suck-up lessons at the community college. Yet, a year later, your boyfriend’s still trotting off solo to society events, leaving you to wait home on the foyer rug like the family dog. (Some girls get into the society pages, some just go on them.)
        Your real problem is your failure to be difficult. I’m not suggesting you start flying around your relationship on a broom, but that you become somebody who couldn’t fathom trying to “cope” with a guy who balks at presenting her to Mummy, Daddy and the drunk trust-fund uncles. Tell your boyfriend “I don’t date guys who don’t feel they can bring me around.” And be willing to walk away. Don’t just get behind the idea of that; be a girl who needs her dignity more than she needs a boyfriend. This should eliminate the need for icky conversations about how you’d like to be treated. Instead, you’ll communicate it from the start, from within: Oh, what’s that? They don’t want my sort around? Well, who wants them? My family got an engraved invitation to be here, right on the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor; your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...” Nowhere does it say “Give me your stuck-up snots, your country club masses in scary-ugly golf pants yearning to get everything for free...”

  • Details

           Legendary banjo player Eddie Adcock, age 70 and suffering hand tremors that failed to respond to medication, volunteered for a revolutionary neurosurgery in August in which he finger-picked tunes while his brain was exposed, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center surgeons tried to locate the defective area. In “deep brain stimulation,” doctors find a poorly responding site and use electrodes to arouse it properly. As Adcock, conscious but pain-free, picked out melodies, doctors probed until suddenly Adcock’s playing became disjointed, and electrodes were assigned to that spot. By October, according to an ABC News report, Adcock, with a button-activated chest pacemaker wired to his head, was back on stage, as quick-fingered as ever. 

    Fat is Good
        Clair Robinson, 23, told an interviewer in September that she believes the only reason she survived the deadly flesh-eating infection recently was because she had too much weight for the bacteria to consume. “Being big saved my life,” she told Australia’s Medical Emergency TV show.

    Fat is Good, Part II
        Though Mayra Rosales, 27, stands charged with capital murder in Hidalgo County, Texas, she was not ordered to jail pending trial but was allowed home detention because of her obesity. At about 1,000 pounds, Rosales requires special transportation and facilities and was ruled by a judge in August certainly to be no “flight risk.”

    The Litigious Society
        Murderers in the Money: Reggie Townsend, 29, serving 23 years in a Wisconsin prison for reckless homicide against an 11-year-old girl, won $295,000 from a jury in September as compensation for a two-month confinement with only a “wet, moldy and foul smelling” mattress to sleep on (about $4,900 per unpleasant night). 

    When it Rains...
        Neighbors in the previously quiet New York City neighborhood of Nolita complain about the raucous, late-night trance music and crowds at the recently opened Delicatessen, according to an August New York Post story, but with little success. However, 10 of the apartments next door happen to look directly down upon the club’s architectural signature, a see-through ceiling, and at least one resident has taken to relieving himself out his window, splattering the roof. (Another of the residents, though, said that when the man misfires, it ruins his air-conditioning unit.)

  • Details
        A few years ago, Bob and Elnora Hollingsworth, along with Tommy and Becky Lewis, had an awesome idea. They wanted to do something special for the kids in Robeson and the surrounding counties: a toy run.         
        On Saturday, Nov. 8 and 9, the Annual Red Springs Toy Run will take place at the Red Springs Fire Department.
        “This event started with 75 bikers and last year we had 502 bikers,” said Hollingsworth. “Everybody in town gets involved.”
    Hollingsworth added that each year the event has gotten bigger and has become one of Red Springs’ favorite events.   
        {mosimage}The bike run begins at 11 a.m. in Red Springs and is led by the police department through each county. The bikers ride from Red Springs to Pembroke, then up Hwy. 74 to Laurinburg. In Laurinburg there is a stop at Golden Corral to take a break. From there the route continues to Raeford with the final stop in Red Springs.
        “We have a chase pick-up truck with a trailer that follows behind us on the route,” said Hollingsworth. “This is in case one of the bikers breaks down or runs out of gas.”
        The bikers are escorted back into town and fed along with their guests. Door prizes are distributed and a 50/50 raffle is held.  
        There are organizations that donate the food for the event and toys for the children.
        Mountaire Farms donated bicycles for the children and Boles Funeral Home donated tricycles and wagons. 
        Proceeds are used to purchase toys for the kids. The toys are given to the police departments or sheriff’s department in Red Springs, Lumberton, Laurinburg, Pembroke, Raeford, as well as the Department of Social Services in Lumberton. The community delivers the toys to the children. A cash donation is given to the kids at the Waccamaw Children’s Home to purchase school items.  
        “The Red Springs Rotary Club is very integral in the toy run,” said Hollingsworth. “They help us and in exchange we help them raise funds for the Waccamaw Children’s Home.” 
        Every year a mother asks Hollingsworth for his assistance in getting her child something for Christmas. He does not mind helping and wants kids to have a great holiday season.
        “We can’t solve the problems of the world,” said Hollingsworth. “But we can make sure that a kid gets something for Christmas.”
        Registration is from 9-11 a.m. For more information call 843-6131.

  • Details

       Pride and Glory (Rated R) 2 Stars�

        About three-quarters of the way through Pride and Glory (130 minutes) one of the characters heads off-screen, mumbling “I’ve had enough.” At this point in the movie, pretty much everyone should be able to clap in agreement. Did the world really need yet another police procedural focusing on corruption in the NYPD? Especially one so utterly boring and poorly acted? There was not one person in the movie correctly cast, there is no audience connection with the characters and the writing is boring and predictable.
        {mosimage}We open on men playing football while their families cheer them on. Get used to it, because for the next two hours men are pretty much just shoving each around while women sit in the background with nothing to do but provide emotional support for the men while they argue with each other. The game is interrupted, and the film moves to a bloody scene, the aftermath of an ambush in which four officers were killed. The chief of police, Francis Tierney Sr. (Jon Voight) asks his son, Detective Ray (a miscast Edward Norton), to lead an investigation into the murders. Meanwhile, Ray’s brother Francis Jr. (Truman’s best friend Noah Emmerich) and brother-in-law Jimmy Egan (Colin Farrell) trigger his supercop radar by looking at each other shiftily, and generally telegraphing their guilt to everyone in sight. 
        The film certainly recalls police corruption in the 1970s, but there is nothing new here. Director/screenwriter Gavin O’Connor can’t even write decent dialogue. This is a movie by, for and about men. It wasn’t the most terrible police movie ever, but neither is there anything to really talk about, so let’s play improve the movie. 
        Idea one: Make Francis Tierney Jr. a woman with a sick husband instead of a man with a sick wife. It would be so much more interesting to add another layer to a clichéd character by making this a movie about the pressure on women to conform to masculine ideals while caring for a sick husband who is challenged by his inability to conform to masculine ideals. It would just make more sense if there was a legitimate reason for a detective to turn a blind eye to the kind of extreme corruption (Pride and Glory is a little short on character motivation) shown in the film. 
        Idea two: Replace Jon Voight. His strangely waxed and stiffened complexion was distracting as anything, and he can’t seem to meet anyone’s eye. In every scene, rather than talking to the character he is with; he seems to stare directly at the floor. Did he even know he was making a movie?
        Idea three: Create female characters who aren’t poorly written, badly acted wallpaper. Aren’t there any corrupt female police officers? Aren’t there any capable female politicians? This is the one of the most sexist movies I’ve recently viewed. All the women stay home; safe behind four walls…the men wander the streets and then come home to their women, whom they ignore. At one point, and I swear my mouth dropped open, Tierney Sr. orders his wife to leave the conversation and go to her room — and SHE DOES. Of course, when the character is first introduced she seems more like his daughter than his wife, since he is approximately 90 years old and she can’t have celebrated her 50th birthday yet. So, wrapping up — don’t bother. Two minutes after the credits roll, you’ll have forgotten what you just watched.

  • Details
        The name itself may confuse you. I mean Worth Dying For — what do you consider worth dying for? For a group of musicians from California, their belief in God and their passionate desire to worship him falls into that category.
        Formed in Modesto, Calif., the band began performing at Calvary Temple’s weekly youth event, “The Stadium.” The group sees its calling to awaken today’s youth from a state of lethargy and despair that seem pandemic. The band sees its work as more of a mission than music, but they tend to let their music talk for itself.
        {mosimage}Released this spring, Worth Dying For’s self-titled debut marks the national launch of a movement destined to impact youth culture in a whole new way. Featuring 15 pop/rock anthems and impassioned ballads, the debut CD draws heavily on themes that define the band’s mission: infiltrate, destroy [the darkness] and rebuild today’s youth culture.
        “Jesus Christ and music are the two things that consume the thoughts and lives of this band,” said Sean Loche, one of two lead vocalists in Worth Dying For. “Combine the two, and you get what we love to do: worship. We are ordinary people who have a desire to show others how to fall in love with God in a deeper, more passionate way. The music that God has used us to write has changed our youth ministry and our city. Now, God has put it on our hearts to let these songs resonate in the hearts of the young people across this nation.”
        Josh O’Haire, the band’s 20-year-old drummer adds: “Everything we’re doing from the ministry to the music, we want it to make an impact on this generation. We see so many young kids each week … so much that they go through. Broken homes, depression, suicide. In mentoring them, I’ve seen how they feel like they’re not a part of something… Our goal is to give them hope and something to be a part of, something real.”
        “Our dream is to see lives changed,” Loche continues, “to ignite and empower them to go out and do big things… It’s not just about us playing songs, but helping them connect, letting a revolution begin with them.”
    Many of WDF’s songs are born in personal times of worship, time alone spent with God in prayer and study.
        “The biggest place we’re seeing growth as a band is lyrically,” Micah says.  “As we keep growing in God, he begins to give us even deeper, more mature songs. ‘At Your Cross’ is a great example. I’d been praying for a song to take us past the level we were used to, a song that would tap into a deeper presence.” He says the song spontaneously came to him at a youth camp during a worship service. Not forced or planned, but a natural result of being ‘at worship.’ 
        In these and all their songs, the band says, that their mission is front and center.
        “Our message is: The revolution is you… one person standing up for Christ,” Loche continues. “We have a different sense of Christianity than some do. We talk about duty, the forces of darkness and spiritual warfare, and we try to empower our kids, not to sit back but to engage, to stand up and realize that when they do that, they are empowered by the king of kings to fight the darkness. With Jesus on their side, nothing can stand against them…”
        Worth Dying For will lead the worship during the Creation Festival: The Tour, a two-month, 30+ city tour that features some of Christian music’s top acts. 
        Nick Kulb, Executive Producer, Creation Festival: The Tourstates, “We are very excited to have Worth Dying For on Creation Festival: The Tour with us this fall. We had a blast getting to know them at the festivals this summer and we’re looking forward to not only an amazing worship time each evening, but also a lot of fun off-stage as well.”
        Worth Dying For will be joined by Kutless, Thousand Foot Krutch, Pillar, KJ-52, Fireflight, Run Kid Run, Esterlyn, Capital Lights and guest speaker Bob Lenz at the Crown Coliseum on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m.     Tickets range in rice from $25 to $38 and may be purchased at the Crown Box Office or all Ticketmaster outlets. For more information, visit creationfesttour.com.

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