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        James Brown may have been the “hardest working man in show business,” but The Lettermen are surely giving him a run for his money. Since 1961, the group in some format or another, has performed more than 100 concerts a year. That tradition carries on today as The Lettermen continue to bring their timeless harmonies to the stage. On Tuesday, Dec. 9, area residents will get a chance to step back in time and relive their youth as The Lettermen make a holiday appearance at the Givens Performing Arts Center at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke as part of the Nostalgia Series.
        {mosimage}The Lettermen, formed in the 1950s by Mike Barnett, Dick Stewart and Tony Butala, sang and recorded music that thrived during that period. When music took a distinct turn in the ‘60s — can anybody say Hendrix and Joplin? — The Lettermen didn’t alter their style; instead, they stayed the course and built a fan base that is legendary. With a 40-year performance career that shows no signs of slowing down, The Lettermen bring their very special style of music to stages all over the world. Their hits include “All I Ask of You,” “Everything I Do (I Do it For You)” and “Unchained Melody.”
        The Lettermen have had 32 consecutive Billboard magazine chart albums, 11 gold records, five Grammy nominations, an Andy Award and a Cleo Award.
        Over the decades, the group has had various lineups, replacing members who left for various reasons with new people to maintain a trio. Tony Butala, who is still a member, has stated that the group ethos is that of three strong soloists that harmonize, and that the group encourages individual singing and songwriting. They are especially noted for their “doo-wop” stylings.
        They pride themselves in welcoming audience member photographs during the show, unlike many recording acts.
        Tickets for the show, which begins at 8 p.m., are adults, $20-$26 and $12 for children or students. For more information, visit the Givens Performing Arts Center Web site at www.uncp.edu/gpac.

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        Elyza Lenczyk knew she had a big task ahead of her when she took on the job of telling the story of Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit and Ebenezer Scrooge at the Gilbert Theater.
        Lenczyk, who has worked at the Gilbert for three years as the stage manager, has not directed a stage play since her college days, and now she finds herself at the helm of the holiday’s biggest production, A Christmas Carol, which will run at the Gilbert through Dec. 14.
        “I was a little anxious when I started,” said Lenczyk, “but so many people have stepped up to help me out that I’ve lost that anxiety.”
        {mosimage}And besides, Lenczyk has a solid template to draw from: everyone, from ages 1 to 92 knows the story of A Christmas Carol,” and it’s a script Lenczyk will not stray from.
        “It will be a traditional telling of the story,” said Lenczyk. “What everyone knows.”
        The main cast is not a large one, featuring the following ready-for-prime-time players: Fenton Wilkinson as Scrooge; Joyce Lipe as the narrator; Evan Bridenstine as Marley; Carrie Carroll as Spirit 1; Laura Lamm as Spirit 2; Jonathan DeAraujo as the nephew and Spirit 3; Charles Lee as  Bob Cratchit; Jane Moran as Mrs. Cratchit; and Matthew Kafel as Tiny Tim.
        There are a host of extras, including a number of children who will add a twist to the production by performing Christmas carols throughout the production.
        While Lenczyk praises and welcomes the inclusion of the child performers in A Christmas Carol, she says it did make rehearsal problematic.
        “We went light on rehearsal on the weekdays because I didn’t want to disturb the school schedules of the children,” said Lenczyk. “In fact, we did most of our rehearsal on the weekends, which was more convenient for the families. The parents were extremely supportive and the children are all very eager performers.”
        While Lenczyk says the play itself will follow the standard Dickens’ storyline, there will be something new for theater goers... something that is aesthetically pleasing.
    “The set is really beautiful this year,” said Lenczyk. “This is the third year I’ve worked on the set and while it’s going to be technically easier, it is beautiful. Charles Lee was a huge help in putting together the set, which we’ve streamlined.
        “We’ve already gotten a lot of comments on the beauty of the set,” added a proud Lenczyk.
        Lenczyk also says the props are more plentiful this year than in Christmases past.
        “The costumes will be gorgeous,” said Lenczyk. “We want to build up our stock of Dickens costumes and this year we’ve purchased some really authentic-looking Victorian frocks and hats.
        “It’s been a real chore to pull off this production,” said Lenczyk. “I’ve worn an awful lot of hats doing this. But it’s been a lot of fun and I think the folks who come and see it are in for a great show.”
        The production runs through Dec. 14, Thursdays through Saturdays - 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Doors and the box office open one hour prior to the performance. Ticket price is $10 at the door.  Reservations are highly recommended. To reserve seats, e-mail your reservation to gilberttheater@aol.com, or call (910) 678-7186.

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        In 1997, the idea of living downtown was just starting to take hold. A few brave folks, with Eric Lindstrom in the lead, started to make their mark downtown. Many in the community laughed at the idea, and thought the experiment with downtown living would fail. Eleven years later, downtowners are still going strong, and on Sunday, Dec. 7, they invite you to share their world during the annual Candlelight Loft Tours.
        The event, which has become something of a tradition, opens up the homes of some of the city’s downtown dwellers for the less urban of us to get a peek inside. This year, 10 to 12 lofts will be on display during the tour, which is sponsored by the Downtown Alliance. {mosimage}
        “It’s a chance for people to see how we live downtown,” said Chris Villa, a downtown dweller and a member of the alliance. “With all of the growth downtown, while it’s still not New York, it’s pretty cool being downtown.”
        Villa explained that the people who choose to live downtown are a pretty diverse group: singles, couples, married couples and even a family (Villa’s) make up the neighborhood. And then, there are those day dwellers: the merchants and restaurant owners, the people who work downtown and those who just come downtown to be. She likened it to a “community within a community.”
        “We all consider ourselves neighbors — even the retailers and the restaurant owners,” she continued.
    It is that spirit of community that they hope to share during the candlelight loft tours. She explained that volunteers will be at the entrance of each building that has a loft in the tour. The buildings will be marked by luminaries, which will dot the path throughout the tour.
        She said that the residents will be on hand to lead you through the loft and to answer questions about downtown living and the renovations of the buildings.
        “All of the lofts are really different,” said Villa. “There are lofts in older buildings and newer buildings. They are all really different. Some of the lofts will have exposed walls and high ceilings, while others are step ups or step downs into the living areas.”
        She said many of the homes will already be decorated for Christmas, which will add to the excitement of the tour.
        Tickets for the loft tours are $10 and are available at the Downtown Alliance office , Rude Awakenings Coffee Shop, City Center Gallery and Books, all on Hay Street, and the Pilgrim.

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        Most of us are creatures of habits in many ways, and the Dicksons surely are when it comes to Thanksgiving.
    Every Thanksgiving of my childhood was spent around my grandparents’ damask-covered dining room table in Kinston, with a small table on the side for the younger grandchildren. I took pride in being the oldest grandchild and the first to sit at the “big table” and felt quite smug when a littler one once shouted to his mother across the room at the other side of the big table to inquire why our grandmother had a “sheet on the table.” I understand the boy had an etiquette lesson when he got back to Fayetteville.
        The tradition with my grandparents ended, of course, and for as long as I can remember, our little Dickson clan has made a day trip to Chapel Hill to be with cousins who lived there. The group has changed over the years as more children arrived, grew up and had babies of their own. It also almost always includes folks outside our family who, for one reason or another, find themselves at our Thanksgiving table.
        {mosimage}Over the years, we have been joined by friends and friends of friends, some of whom have come from other nations and who do not have a tradition of national Thanksgiving. These have included several of my mother’s Austrian relatives, an in-law’s Belgian relatives, and once an entire family from Nigeria whose connection I never did learn. One of my sons calls our tradition “Thanksgiving with the United Nations.” This year we were joined by a young woman named Charity who arrived with the girlfriend of a cousin.             
        The food is always spectacular. My Chapel Hill cousin and her Belgian husband always do the turkey and his wonderful dressing with walnuts, mashed potatoes and other people fill in the rest. This year that included several hors d’oeuvres, turnip greens cooked the old-fashioned Southern way, asparagus topped with hard-boiled eggs, sweet potato casserole, lima beans, brandied peaches and watermelon rind pickles, cornbread and roasted vegetable casserole, yeast rolls, apple and honey pie, coconut cream pie, Kentucky horse race pie and an ice cream turkey.
        There were only a few leftovers.
        As I enjoyed my favorites among the people I love, I was also aware of my many blessings and those of millions of other Americans who were also celebrating Thanksgiving with their loved ones.    
    Not the least of those blessings is that I live in a family with several vehicles, which allows me to go to whatever grocery store I choose to buy food that is generally healthy for me and my family, including lean meats and other proteins and fresh fruits and vegetables. This access is an important component of good health, and it is access not everyone has.
        It takes a bit of thinking to realize what an obstacle a lack of transportation is to good health. Clearly, all of us need transportation to get to health care providers, but we also need transportation to get to healthy food, such as the fresh produce available in supermarkets, farmers’ markets and other outlets. People without such access often have few choices beyond the myriad of fast food vendors which now dot our national landscape.
        These establishments are convenient, usually clean, and, if one chooses carefully, relatively inexpensive. They are also nutritionally negative, offering food that is high in calories and low in nutritional value. A limp slice of tomato plopped on a greasy cheeseburger slathered in mayonnaise on bleached white bread is no substitute for a green salad with various other vegetables, and French fries are not even close to the nutritional value of, say, a baked sweet potato. Easy access to such empty-calorie laden foods and lack of access to nutritionally-rich foods is among the complex reasons why so many American children, nearly 1/3 of those between 6 and 11 years old, are now obese and why the American Academy of Pediatrics is now recommending cholesterol-testing for some children as young as 2-years-old.
        There are many and complicated reasons, of course, why the present generation of American children may be the first in history to be less healthy than their parents and to have a lower life expectancy, but nutrition is clearly in the mix. As we consider this problem, we must think not only about what people should be eating but also about how they are going to get it. If there are few stores selling high quality food in some neighborhoods, how are people going to get such food? And, why is it that poor-quality prepared foods are so much less expensive than nutritionally high quality foods, even if they come from the local area?
        Those of us blessed to visit bountiful Thanksgiving tables may see food access as someone else’s problem, but good health affects all of us because we all pay for other people’s poor health in one way or another.
    Think about it as we move into the season of even more bounty.

  • Details
        {mosimage}Great Marley’s ghost! It will be a “dickens” of a time in downtown Fayetteville on Friday, Nov. 28, as the ninth annual Dickens Holiday is observed, turning historic downtown into a Victorian Christmas wonderland.
        The event kicks off at 1 p.m. and runs until 9 p.m. and will feature such holiday faves as roving carolers, horse drawn carriage rides, hot cider, bright lights and decorations, and, of course, business owners and volunteers dressed as Victorian period characters, many of them straight out of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
        “I think it will be our biggest celebration ever,” said Margo Jarvis, spokesperson for the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, which presents the Dickens Holiday in collaboration with the Fayetteville Downtown Alliance. “Last year we had more than 10,000 people and I expect even more to show up this year. The event gets bigger every year as the renaissance of downtown Fayetteville continues.”
        In addition to most of the downtown businesses being made up for the holidays, Jarvis said revelers can look forward to 19 arts and crafts vendors as well as seven food vendors and copious entertainment, including the Salvation Army band and the Highland Brass Ensemble. There will also be the traditional lighting of the Christmas decorations by a child selected randomly from the audience, as well as fireworks.
        And there’s something new this year — $500 in cash prizes for the winners of the Victorian costume contest, which starts at 7 p.m. in the Metropolitan Room. Entry fee is $10 for advance registration, $15 at the door. Here’s some guidelines for dressing like the Dickens: Look in thrift shops/resale shops/ yard sales for old, wide brimmed dress hats. Trim with flowers, feathers, ribbon, netting, lace, etc. Bonnets were popular also. Check with relatives, they may have an old bonnet in their attic. You can make a mobcap (maid’s cap) by cutting an 18-inch circle from cotton material. Thread a large needle with narrow ribbon (or you can use narrow rope elastic) and use a running stitch 3 inches from the cut edge all the way around. After you have gone all around the circle make sure both the ribbon ends come out the same side. Glue lace around the edge. You will set it on your head, pull the ribbon (rope elastic) to fit and tie the ends into a bow. Tuck the bow under the cap. Pin cap to hair to keep in place. Ladies always wore their hair up, the only time they let it down was for bed.
        If you don’t feel like dressing the part, you can always shop the night away. Patrons of the downtown shops will receive a free candle, which will come in handy as darkness approaches and the clock reaches 5 p.m. and townspeople gather in front of the Arts Council for the candlelight procession which begins at 5:30 p.m. The crowd will follow a carriage to the Market House for the lighting of the Holiday Tree and the illumination of Olde Fayetteville. The fireworks display will follow.
        “It really is a reflection of what’s going on downtown,” said Hank Parfitt of the Fayetteville Downtown Alliance. “So many of the shops there were built during the Victorian era and have been renovated and restored and really represent that time period well.”
        While the Dickens Holiday itself is free, there is a charge for carriage and wagon rides. For $15, you can ride aboard Queen Victoria’s Carriage. It departs from the transportation museum at 1 p.m. and reservations may be made in advance by calling 678-8899. Or, for $10, you can hitch a ride on Ye Olde Hitch Wagon; tickets go on sale at 222 Hay St. at noon — no advance reservations for this one.
        There will also ne a sneak preview of the Gilbert Theatre’s performance of A Christmas Carolat the Metropolitan Room.

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        I’m a 21-year-old student who’s been dating a 45-year-old man for three and a half years. He’s been technically married throughout our relationship (two years ago, I discovered he lied about being divorced). I’ve given him an ultimatum: He has to be divorced by July, when I graduate. He agrees, but supports his 26-year-old daughter and unmarried 46-year-old sister (even paying to remodel her bathroom), and pays his wife’s mortgage and bills. He manages to take me to dinner and helps with my rent, but he’s pulled in so many directions. I’m told I’m very mature for my age, but I don’t know how to handle this. I do love him very much, and we plan to get married and have children. Please don’t focus on the age difference. A 27-year-old could have the same issues with a guy.
    —Got Competition

        At 21, being “very mature” for your age makes you less likely to end up on the Internet, naked and compromised, so corporate recruiters can lean across the table on job fair day and whisper, “So, tell me...were you in business school on a gymnastics scholarship?”
        A few years back, you probably just missed taking a married, middle-aged dad to prom. Even if you were “mature” for your age, at 17 your greatest accomplishment is something like getting a handle on your pimples. Ask yourself what man in his 40s finds a 17-year-old girl his peer, his partner, his equal? Probably one who knows better than to hit on all-growed-up women who’d be quick to notice he doesn’t just have baggage, but a caravan of broken-down U-Hauls. Think about it: You’re planning to marry and have children with a guy who’s not only still married to somebody else, but supporting three other adults. And you’re seriously expecting this to change? Okay, it could — should an asteroid flatten all of them.
        Here you are in your early 20s, the peak of your hotitude, the time to date around and see what’s out there, and you’ve taken yourself off the market for this guy? You actually have no business doing anything of a permanent nature in your early 20s. These years should be renamed The Idiot Years (a follow-up to the teen years, the Wildly Moronic Years). Recent research by child and adolescent psychiatrist Jay N. Giedd suggests the prefrontal cortex, the judgement department of the brain, is still developing through the early-to-mid 20s. While individuals do vary, you most likely got together with this guy before you were fully brained, and certainly before you had the life experience to know who to let into your world and who to send back to his wife.
        Be honest: You know this guy is a bad bargain — a married liar and one-man welfare state who’s bailing out everybody but General Motors. But, because you got attached (perhaps both to the guy and to the guy paying your rent) you’re working very hard to tell yourself love is all you need. Be sure to tell that to your kid when he has a toothache and you can’t afford the dentist, or when you’re consoling him after he wets the refrigerator box (he’ll have a bed to wet just as soon as Daddy finishes paying off his sister’s new kitchen).

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        Recent research in the Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy sheds light on the thorny social issue of why females continue to earn less money than males, even in similar jobs. Competing hypotheses have been advanced: It’s either gender discrimination or simply that more women than men de-emphasize career aggressiveness in favor of family. The recent research suggests discrimination. Researchers found that females who were established in jobs and who then underwent sex changes actually increased their earnings slightly, but that males who became females lost about one-third of their earning power, according to an October summary of the research in Time magazine.

    Fine Points of the Law
        A 38-year-old man was cited for disorderly conduct in Fond du Lac, Wis., in September after he bought a beer for his sons, ages 2 and 4, at the county fair. He could not be cited for providing alcohol to minors because, under Wisconsin law, parents are exempt, but he was written up for swearing at police.
        Meleanie Hain’s Pennsylvania concealed-weapons permit was revoked in September after spectators complained about her openly carrying her loaded, holstered Glock at her 5-year-old daughter’s soccer game. However, the only penalty under state law is the loss of the privilege of concealment, so that if Hain continues to carry the gun, she must do so openly.

    Cultural Diversity
        Athletes Demanding Respect: “I think one day it should be an Olympic sport,” said Jeannine Wikering, 26, who finished third while representing Germany in the 10-nation European pole-dancing championship in Amsterdam in September.
        And Australia’s champion sheep-shearers prepared to once again lobby the country’s Sports Commission for official recognition, which would enable them to apply for training grants and corporate sponsorship. Shearers are revered in New Zealand, with televised matches and large prizes, according to an August dispatch from Sydney in Britain’s Guardian, but Australia’s top shearers get much less respect.

    Latest Religious Messages
        Spiritual Rulings: The highest ranking Muslim authority in the Turkish province of Adana declared in August that observing the fasting requirement of Ramadan could be assisted by the use of medical “patches” that reduced hunger pangs.

  • Details
        {mosimage}What started as  a group of friends motorcycling together five years ago has grown into a nonprofit organization whose goal is to step in and lend a hand whenever they can to make Fayetteville a better place. 
        “We help underprivileged children and distressed women in our community,” said Wendy Rogers, Steele Angels president and cofounder. “It has turned out really well. We have a lot of good events every year and great women (who participate).” 
        On Saturday Nov. 22, the Steele Angels toy run takes off from Legends with a police escort and will ride to The Doghouse to deliver a load of toys that will go to the Department of Social Services to be distributed to underprivileged children at Christmas. Registration starts at 12 p.m. and everyone will pull out of the parking lot at 2 p.m.
        While the Steele Angels contribute to many great causes, the Department of Social Services is one of their favorites. “They are really great because they know all the inside stuff — the details about children who are really in need in our county,” said Rogers. “That is why we definitely wanted to help them, because they know what’s going on.” 
        You don’t have to be a biker to help make a great Christmas for a struggling family. Toys and monetary donations can be dropped off at Legend’s or The Doghouse right up until the day of the ride. All of the toys will be loaded into a trailer and delivered with a check to social services. According to Rogers it is always worth the effort, and hearing from the recipients is a blessing in itself.
        “We get thank you cards back from these little kids that just bring tears to your eyes,” she said.
    There is no registration fee, just bring a toy or make a financial donation. Legends is located at 4624 Bragg Blvd.

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    The Changeling (Rated R) Rated 4 Stars
       

        We begin our journey in the parking lot this week, which seems suspiciously crowded for a pre-dinner show. A dull roar greets me as I wander towards the cinema, only to realize my horrendous mistake…High School Musical 3 has drawn every tween from Hope Mills to Spring Lake to the very theater I am trying to find my way into. I barely make it through the overstimulated throngs to my little theater in the back, which is surprisingly packed with people. Yes, after its inauspicious debut last week, The Changeling (141 minutes) continues to climb up the charts. Continued interest in the film is due in no small part to the quality of Angelina Jolie’s acting, although I still want to force feed her cheeseburgers whenever I see her skeletal profile.   
        {mosimage}The title of this Clint Eastwood directed flick refers to various legends in which a child is stolen away from its parents and replaced with soulless fairy spawn. The film itself is a nice counterpoint to Mystic River, a film about violence and children, which Eastwood also directed. The film includes fine attention to period details, and most of the facts of the case on which the story is based are accurately depicted. Of course, it is Hollywood, so some characters are composites, and some scenes are perhaps a touch more dramatic than real life. In a nod to realism, there is a very nice touch of ambiguity included in the finale, a directorial choice made to leave the audience deliberately unsatisfied.
        J. Michael Straczynski (who also wrote Babylon 5 and is currently scripting World War Z—AWESOME) stuck closely to the facts of the real-life case. The film tells the story of Christine Collins (Jolie), a single working mother in 1920s Los Angeles whose son goes missing while she works. The corrupt LA police department delivers a child to her, but she isn’t willing to exchange her child for a boy she knows isn’t her own — despite the insistence of the police. She tries to go public, but in doing so she threatens the department’s fragile claim to legitimacy, and so they work against her at every turn. When she continues to press for the department to find her son, Chief James E. Davis (Colm Feore) and Captain J.J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) conspire to discredit her and conceal their own mistakes. John Malkovich has a nice supporting role as Reverend Gustav Briegleb, the one man who believes in Collins’ and her claims that the police returned the wrong child.
        While the film is tangentially a drama about a missing child, Eastwood uses the story as a jumping off point to explore several larger themes. Especially worth noting is Jolie’s charisma and ability to play a strong woman trapped in a sexist society, who is still determined to defy social conventions and the male power structure.
        Among other things, there is a powerful scene towards the end which works as a powerful argument against the death penalty. It is important to acknowledge that however brutal the scene is meant to be (and it is not east to watch) it still fails to show the extent of the brutality and inhumanity present during state sanctioned executions.
        There is a slight issue with the pacing of the movie, and the courtroom scenes toward the end seem to drag on and on, slowing the pace of an otherwise suspenseful thriller.

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    Stephen Colbert hosts an ironic Christmas special
       

        Stephen Colbert shines as an egotistical host on his mock right-wing news program The Colbert Report. Colbert satirizes the Fox News worldview while pretending to embody it. He makes war-loving, tax-hating, God-slinging, gay-baiting conservatism look absurd — even more absurd than it does on The O’Reilly Factor. The Colbert Report is undoubtedly a work of genius.
        {mosimage}A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!(Sunday, 10 p.m., Comedy Central) is a work of…well, to be honest, I’m not exactly sure what it is. I can say with confidence that it’s one of the weirdest TV shows of all time.     Still in character, and outfitted in a cable-knit sweater, Colbert hosts a faux-cheesy Christmas special featuring “sincere” songs, “surprising” celebrity appearances and “wise” words for the holiday. The “plot” finds Colbert trapped by a bear in his mountain cabin, and thus unable to make it to the studio for his Christmas special.
        My initial impression of A Colbert Christmas was that Colbert had jumped the shark. The celebrity set pieces seemed less amusingly surreal than certifiably insane. There’s Willie Nelson as a miniature nativity-set wise man who brings marijuana to the baby Jesus; Feist as an angelic operator who puts Colbert’s call to God on hold; and Elvis Costello as a victim of the aforementioned bear.
        But damned if Colbert didn’t finally yank me onto his nutty wavelength. Jon Stewart nails a semi-apologetic song that explains the not-quite-jolly holiday of Hanukkah to the puzzled host. The bear, now with the Costello’s voice, unexpectedly touches your heart with a performance of “Peace, Love and Understanding.” Colbert’s last song also catches you off guard by taking the quotation marks out of “wise.” He concludes that, in a troubled world, there are worse things to believe in than Christmas. It’s a qualified affirmation, but an affirmation nonetheless. Beneath the irony, we’re shocked to find, lies a heart.
        Writing this review has helped me figure out what A Colbert Christmas is: a work of genius.

    An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving
    Saturday, 9 p.m. (Hallmark Channel)
        Ah, old-fashioned America. Women couldn’t vote, black people couldn’t associate with whites and workers couldn’t convince robber barons to pay them a decent wage. Oh, wait, this TV movie is about old-fashioned America Hallmark-style. All poor families are happy, any obstacle can be overcome with pluck, and no one uses contractions, somehow suggesting an essential decency.
        An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving is about a family that falls on hard times following the father’s death. The cold, wealthy, disapproving grandmother (Jacquelyn Bisset) comes to visit and is soon thawed by their can-do spirit. “My father said everything is a lesson from which we ultimately profit,” the daughter tells her proudly.
        I’m not sure I profited from the lessons of An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving. It just made me feel vaguely guilty for using contractions.

    24: Redemption
    Sunday, 8 p.m. (Fox)
        24’s season seven begins in January with another 24-hour adventure in real time. But first comes 24: Redemption, a TV movie that continues the season six storyline. Agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) is on the run, fleeing a subpoena. The U.S. Senate wants answers about prisoners in Bauer’s custody who were illegally detained and tortured; Bauer has no intention of testifying. So he holes up in Africa to help children at a friend’s orphanage. But an evil rebel army has designs on those children, kidnapping them to use as cannon fodder in a coup against the country’s democratic government. A new American President must decide whether to fight them with U.S. forces or slink away.
        The cast is divided between good guys and bad guys, and the good guys don’t slink away. Bauer risks his life and his freedom to save the children — a noble move. It’s too bad nobility is so dull onscreen. We might as well be watching The Perils of Pauline as Bauer foils one goon after another to get a bleeding child to the hospital. “If we don’t get him there soon, he’ll go into shock!” he cries in a speeding truck. The story lacks tension and momentum, and even a grisly torture scene can’t get us onto the edge of our seats.
        I think we have a long 24 hours.

  • Details
        {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.

  • Details
        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.

  • Details
        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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Details
        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.

  • Details

        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.

  • Details
        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.

  • Details
        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.  

  • Details
        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.

  • Details
        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.

  • Details
        {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.

  • Details
        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.

  • Details
        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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