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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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        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.

  • Details
        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.

  • Details
        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.

  • Details
        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).

  • Details
        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.

  • Details

    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.

  • Details

    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.

  • Details
        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.

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