Pardon our dust

As you may or may not have noticed, we are in the midst of launching an all-new Charlotte magazine website. While we’re getting that done (and putting out a magazine at the same time), we may not be blogging much for the next few days (but don’t worry, we’re still collecting lots of juicy stuff to share with you!). Also, we’ll be working out kinks in the new site for a few days, so thanks for your patience as the site evolves. And trust us–it’s going to be cool. —R.T.

P.S. We’ll also soon be launching a new web site for our sister publication Charlotte magazine’s Home & Garden. Lots going on around here!

A world few of us know (repost from Crime Blog)

(Note: I just posted this on our crime blog, but thought it appropriate here, too.)

A recent news item reminded me of a story we ran a few months ago. The news item was about a shooting at the Fast Food Mart and Beverage Store in the Hidden Valley neighborhood. Apparently, a clerk at the store shot and killed a would-be robber. The store has been robbed 3 times since last July.

The news made me think of Van Miller’s piece in the May issue of Charlotte magazine. In it, he told the story of Ghenet Hailelassie, an Eritrean immigrant who owns and runs Midtown Foodmart near the intersection of Eastway and Shamrock. On New Year’s Eve 2005, her husband was shot and killed in the store by a would-be robber. Ghenet has worked in the store every day since, even though she hates it. “All my hope is gone, all dream is gone,” she told Van. “What kind of dream is the American dream?”

For me, the piece illuminated a part of Charlotte that I never experience. It displayed the desperate lives that many in Charlotte lead, and it showed a different side of the immigration debate. And it showed how crime, or the threat of it, is a constant in many people’s lives. —R.T.

The dating story that won’t die

In the past couple years, no Charlotte mag story has generated more feedback than a piece that ran anonymously (as told to Lori K. Tate) in the March ‘07 issue. Tagged on the cover with “Where Are All the Men?”, the article was titled “Age-old Dilemma.” The subtitle: “Dating is always difficult, but this thirty-seven-year-old Charlottean says it’s become damn near impossible. The former investment banker (we promised not to disclose her name, but she’s hot–trust us), who had a close call with The Bachelor and was a finalist with a $50,000 matchmaker, share what it’s really like out there. You can read it here.

The letters flowed in. Interestingly, almost all the letters were from men. In fact, they’re still coming. Over the weekend, we got this one:

I recently ran across your March issue in one of my client’s offices. After reading the article by the 37-year-old single woman, I felt that I needed to reply with a single guy’s point of view.

The first thing that I would like to make clear is that the frustration with the single scene here in Charlotte is not only on the female side of the fence. I’ve been in Charlotte for 4 years now and have found that the single scene can be categorized into three groups. First, the 21-26 year olds that love to go out and party every weekend and aren’t really looking for more than that. The 27-30 something year olds that as your writer put it, “end up doing things together all weekend long because we don’t get asked out,” and then there’s the 30 plus/divorced with kids/I can’t believe I’m back out here group.

Group one is who you will find out at Cans, the attic, Ri-Ra’s Buckhead, etc every weekend doing the same thing. These are mostly people that are partying like they were still in college (and some are) and typically aren’t interested in “dating.” They just want to have a good time.

Then comes group two. This is the group that is looking for someone to date, but doesn’t want to hit all the places I just mentioned in group one, yet don’t know where to go instead. Your girl made a comment about Cans where “there are always droves of men together but no one on a date. No one is walking hand in hand.” Is it that men don’t want to date anymore? Is dating extinct? No and No. She nailed it when she asked “do we just not have the channels to meet people who are likeminded.” We guys like to go out in groups the same way that women do. A guy by himself is never looked upon as a good thing—most of the time it’s just creepy. But the women are also out with their friends and approaching a pack of women, especially in a place like Cans, is a suicide mission. There is so much going on, the music is so loud, that even if you had something to say, your intended recipient would have a hard time hearing it. I actually agree with just about everything that she said in the article, but it’s just as bad on the men’s side. Sure there are guys that are just trying to hook up for the evening, but there are just as many that are looking to find someone that they want to date. We don’t know where to look either. We go to Cans because that’s apparently where everyone else goes. We don’t know where you and your friends are having dinner, otherwise, we would go there too.

Group three is thrown into the same mix with everyone else, but tend to spend more time in the suburbs where other divorcees tend to hang. I fall into the same category as your author, so that’s where my experience comes from.

The bottom line is that dating takes a lot of effort and most of the time you go home disappointed. But as your writer said, “you just have to have a positive attitude” because if you don’t, everyone can see it. Desperation is like a little black cloud that follows you around everywhere you go, and everyone can see it but you. I believe that your best bet of meeting someone likeminded is through friends. Unfortunately, our friend network is typically limited, so we just keep going to all the same places over and over hoping that this time will be different. Personally, I’d just like to know where she and her two gorgeous single friends go out to dinner.

So what’s up guys? Is that what it’s really like? And women, where can this guy and others like him go to meet you?

We expect Jarrett to be in collisions on the field, not off

I spent a lot of time Wednesday making calls and sending emails to set up an interview and photo shoot with Dwayne Jarrett, the Carolina Panthers rookie wide receiver. Wait, let me back up a bit. We were planning coverage of the Panthers preseason for our August issue when our writer, Addie, informed me she couldn’t get Jarrett through the Panthers PR. Around that same time, Tiffany, a friend of mine who does PR and event planning, happened to mention that she had a connection to Jarrett. So Wednesday we were able to set up everything. Addie interviewed Jarrett Wednesday evening and we scheduled the photo shoot for Friday (today).

But what happened next wasn’t scheduled. Our six-foot four-inch All-American receiver from Southern California ends up getting in a car accident Wednesday night. Most of the news outlets Thursday reported that Jarrett’s car was “rear-ended” and he “walked away from the accident.” Yes, he walked away from the accident, no serious injuries. But it wasn’t just a fender bender.

When I met Jarrett and his entourage (You know that’s how star athletes roll. They were all very nice, though. Even his mom came along.) today at the photo shoot, I found out that the BMW 645 coupe he was driving was totaled. He says a car hit him and pushed him into another car and his car flipped over. And the kid wasn’t even hurt (he’s only twenty, by the way).

I said to Jarrett: “Well, aside from that, welcome to Charlotte.” Now the guy has to go and get himself another fancy new whip, which is required for all professional athletes.

Look for Jarrett in our August issue.

Early Look at Body Worlds

Just got back from the premiere of Body Worlds at Discovery Place. While everyone else on the internet is blogging about The Sopranos‘ ending (loved it), I figured I would post about Body Worlds.

It’s a much larger exhibit than I expected. If you go, allow yourself plenty of time. To be honest, I’ve never been much of a science buff. I slept through AP Biology in high school and signed up for the easiest science classes I could find in college. So if I hadn’t been invited to the premiere (perks of the job), I’m not sure if I would have gone to see it. It’s an interesting, worthwhile exhibit. It took a while before it sunk in to me that these were real bodies. The creators used a process called plastination (which is what it sounds like) to, um, flesh them out for the purposes of the exhibit. So at first, they just seemed like the plastic models from school days, only better. But as I went through the exhibit and saw various body parts up close, it began to seem more real.

There were a lot of people at the premiere, so it was hard to get the full effect. I hope DP allows fewer people in for the regular exhibit. But still, several parts of the exhibit were memorable. There was a small section devoted to the ravages of lung cancer. It would make any smoker think twice. One woman next to me was a smoker (her friend started giving her a hard time), and she joked that she was an independent woman and could make her own decisions. But behind that facade of humor, you know she was thinking, damn, that’s what my lung looks like (i.e. black and disfigured).

The fetal development section was fascinating and moving. There were displays of fetuses ranging from 4 weeks up to conception, from the size of a quarter to the size of an infant. At the end was a display of a woman with an almost full-term pregnancy. (A poster said that all fetuses on display died of natural causes, and a DP docent made clear to visitors what they were about to see, if they so chose.) That little room was worth a truckload of bio books.

To me, nothing about the exhibit was disturbing. But then, I’m one of those jaded, cynical media types. In a few of the bodies on display, the muscles were splayed in bizarre shapes and directions. A few figures held their brains in their hands. I could see how that might disturb some folks. But sometimes, learning something new can make you a little uncomfortable. I think that’s OK.

An interesting sideshow to this night was observing the observers. Carolinas Medical Center is the presenting sponsor for the exhibit, and a lot of doctors were in attendance. Some of them looked at the exhibit with child-like wonder, others with blase, been-there, seen-that expressions. They held running side conversations about anatomy and biology. I could tell a few were dying to touch the bodies (no pun intended). A few were tipsy from the reception, which I missed, stuck at the office finishing up the July issue. Which, ironically, is our Top Docs issue. In fact, I saw a few previous cover subjects at the exhibit. And I recognized several name tags from having just finished editing the list. I also saw some names from past issues that didn’t make this year’s list. I averted eye contact with them because I was, you know, tired.

The exhibit is worth seeing. You’ll learn more than you think you would. I’m really glad it’s in Charlotte. The ticket price is a little steep ($22 for adults, $15 for kids), but this was an expensive exhibit to produce. Also, I believe several DP partners offer $2-off coupons. Check at Harris Teeter or Earth Fare, or download a coupon here. —R.T.

P.S. If you’ve seen the exhibit, or even if you haven’t, let me know what you think.

All About Molly

When I talked to Molly Ringwald back in April for the June 2007 Conversation, I ended the interview with, “I can’t wait to see the show when it gets to Charlotte!” *Audible Sigh* Why did I do that? Well, I try to be an honest person, so for a Mother’s Day gift I got tickets for my mom and I to see Sweet Charity at the Belk Theatre as part of the Stanford Broadway Lights Series. We made an evening of it last night hitting Zink American Kitchen beforehand where we saw a few cast members eating their dinner before the evening performance. I’m always amazed at the amount of make-up required for theater.

So, after a nice dinner, assisted by two (maybe three) glasses of a fine Pinot Grigio, we got into our seats and awaited the first number. I have to admit, when I saw Molly — and yes, I’ll skip formality and call her Molly now — appear as Charity Hope Valentine on stage for the first time I got a bit giddy. I did in fact grow up watching her movies. I love them to this day and can’t wait until my daughters are angst-ridden teenagers so I can share these wonderful rites of passage with them. Okay, scratch that. I can wait on the angst-ridden teen part. But the point is, the films are timeless and in many respects, so is Molly.

Before my interview with her I was told by her handler that she doesn’t like answering questions about the “80’s movies” because she wants to keep focused on her current career. I can understand and respect that. But I also would have loved her to just embrace the roles that have made her an identifiable star. Embrace them, Molly. We all love those films! And we love you for making them. We have all grown up and many of us are wives, husbands, mothers and fathers now, but there is a part of us all that remembers our first Sixteen Candles experience. We all went to high school and longed to be Pretty in Pink. And some days, detention seemed like a fine idea, if it all played out like The Breakfast Club. So, while Molly sang her heart out — very well, I might add — and danced around as Charity Hope Valentine, visions of Samantha Baker, Andie Walsh and Claire Standish filled my head. And that’s a good thing. In fact, I’m looking forward to Sixteen Candles, The Musical one of these days. One can dream.

New Crime Blog, Charlotte mag on the radio

We’ve gone live with our latest blog, Charlotte’s Crime Blog. In the new June issue, we’ve launched a four-part series called Charlotte’s Crime Problem. Authored principally by Melissa Hankins, the series will look at four major aspects of crime in Charlotte. We’ll use the blog to provide between-issue updates and interesting stats and facts, link to other interesting sites (here’s one: CrimeInCharlotte), and, most importantly, tell your stories. We want to hear what you think about crime in Charlotte.

Also, Melissa will be on WBT’s The Jeff Katz show tomorrow (Friday) at 4 p.m. to talk about the first article and the series (that should be interesting). If you miss it live, the show has podcasts.

If the first Crime Blog post isn’t up yet, check back a little later. I believe Melissa is working on it as I type this.

Behind the Scenes with Brooklyn

Our current cover (to the right) featuring Matthews model Brooklyn Decker–best known for her work in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and in Jimmy Buffett’s latest video–has generated plenty of conversation around town. Fox News Edge debated whether or not the cover best represented Charlotte (news flash: not our job) on two shows last week. The feedback we’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive–people seem to think it’s just a really attractive cover. Frankly, I’m a little surprised by how positive the feedback has been. In the office, we felt strongly that it was a great cover, but you never know how people are going to react.

Anyway, the cover has generated so much attention that I thought I would share some behind-the-scenes action from our photo shoot. Brooklyn was gracious enough to give us five hours of her time when she was in town for some Wal-Mart signings. Some pics are pasted below. We have some video, too, if we can figure out how to get it online. (By the way, every blog post won’t contain bikini shots.) (Also, here’s an argument between Jarvis and me about who’s hotter: our September 2005 cover model and Miss USA Chelsea Cooley or Brooklyn.) —Rick