Events for the Week: Sept. 29-Oct. 5

Note: If I learn of more events, I’ll update this post throughout the week.Wednesday, October 1Wine Day Wednesdays (weekly event)Stop by the Village at SouthPark and enjoy some new wines while listening to music. A portion of proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society. 5 p.m. Free. Corner of Sharon Road and Morrison Boulevard (in front of M5). www.elevatecharlotte.com.Pop Life (weekly event)After taking a month off to change venues, the popular Wednesday social networking event hasn’t missed a step. Presented by Creative Loafing and The Sol...

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Jay Leno Knows Why Wachovia Was Sold

Charlotte is still in shock over the announcement yesterday that Wachovia is selling its banking operations to Citigroup. The Wachovia as we know it will be forever changed, and the immediate attention now is on potential job losses at the Charlotte-based bank.Last night on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Leno talked about the Wachovia news. He showed this actual Wachovia commercial that he says he saw airing yesterday while the reports of the bank's sale were going on (I saw Wachovia commercials airing, too, on CNBC as the story was being reported)....

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Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia Collaborate

Jennifer Hudson, a past American Idol finalist, and Fantasia, a past American Idol winner, have collaborated on a new song titled "I'm His Only Woman." If you'll recall, Jennifer lost to Fantasia, who has gone on to have multiplatinum success, in season three of the popular show, but Jennifer has seen her own star rise as an Academy Award-winning actress.It has appeared, though, that turning her into an R&B star will be more of a challenge....

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Press Release Tells a Lot About Status of Wachovia

Charlotte and the financial world are buzzing this morning over the announcement that Citigroup will acquire Wachovia's banking operations. The breaking news, which started in the wee hours of the morning, created a long list of questions for the future of the Charlotte-based bank. A press release sent out this morning does a great job of addressing them.Particularly of note is the paragraph at the end that states where the operations will be headquartered. If you live in Charlotte, you likely have friends and/or relatives (or you yourself) who...

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Nelly Concert Footage; First-Week Sales

Here's some footage of Nelly's Myspace concert, which he performed earlier this month at the Neighborhood Theatre. I blogged about the show a couple of days later, saying that I would buy his new album, Brass Knuckles, because I was impressed with the new material he performed. The CD came out last week and I still need to go get it. According to the Soundscan numbers released today, Brass Knuckles sold just 83,700 copies in its first week.Nelly's four-year absence from releasing new albums has taken an obvious toll. In 2004 he released two albums,...

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Check Me Out In Men's Fitness

You can find me in the October 2008 issue of Men's Fitness, on newsstands now. I know what you're probably thinking, that I'm one of the buff dudes in the magazine with my shirt off, showing my bulging biceps and killer abs, covered in baby oil. Uhh, no. But you can read the feature I wrote, "Fit for the Pit," beginning on page 104. I chronicled the workout regimens of the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR teams. I bet you didn't know pit crews hit...

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Events for the Week: September 22-28

Note: If I learn of more events, I’ll update this post throughout the week.Tuesday, September 23Tone X and Friends (weekly event)Enjoy a night of stand-up comedy, live skits, improv, and music, along with a performance by the Hunnie Dipz Dancers. 8 p.m. $15. Skandalos, 5317 E. Independence Blvd. 704-890-0771.Touch One Tuesdays (weekly event)See Charlotte’s gifted poets perform—and if you have the courage, join them onstage—during this open mic event. Presented by Touch One Productions. Hosted by Filmore and music by DJ Flemingo. 9 p.m. $10. Wine-Up....

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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Today is the first day of fall--autumn if you're proper--and it feels like it. Great weather. No more unbearable Southern summer heat. Cool nights so you can sleep with your bedroom windows open. Beautiful to see leaves changing colors (though dreadful to have to rake them). Fairs and festivals going on every week. Carowinds turns into SCarowinds. Renaissance Festival runs for seven weekends. High school, college, and professional football in full...

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Voters Have a Choice On Sunday

A voter information and candidate forum called "Your Voice. Your Vote." is being presented by the Charlotte Area Association of Black Journalists this Sunday at the Levine Museum of the New South (I'm prez of CAABJ). Just last night, the Barack Obama campaign announced a "Change We Need Rally with Barack Obama" for the same date and time as YVYV and will be taking place only a few blocks away downtown. I can honestly say that my organization,...

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Jada Pinkett Smith to Film New Show Here

Jada Pinkett Smith will star in and executive produce a new TNT drama called Time Heals. According to reports, Pinkett Smith will play "Nancy Hawthorne, a strong but caring director of nursing at Charlotte Mercy Hospital in North Carolina, a single mother who always puts the pain of others first."I can't say that the initial information for the show sounds interesting, but it would be cool to have a show produced here. TV critics are comparing it...

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Let Them Have Football

A city the size of Charlotte should have a major college football team. The only college football we have is Johnson C. Smith. And while the JCSU Golden Bulls often field a strong squad and get great support from alumni, they play in the CIAA. UNC Charlotte, our largest college by far with more than 23,000 students, got one step closer to its efforts to start a team. UNCC Chancellor Philip Dubois announced his recommendation this morning that the...

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'Real World' Coming

If you're looking for a new career opportunity, say as a future D-list actor, cheap calendar model, or traveling nightclub party host, here's your chance. YOU could live here! ... For a few months.MTV has begun casting calls for The Real World 22 and they'll be in Charlotte this Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Fox & Hound in uptown, 330 N. Tryon St.Click here for casting detail...

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Michelle Obama in Charlotte Tomorrow

Michelle Obama will attend an economic round-table for working women in Charlotte at McGlohon Theatre. Doors will open at 9 a.m. Tickets are free, but required and can be picked up at the Obama campaign Charlotte office, 1523 Elizabeth Ave., 704-333-7694. McGlohon Theatre is located at Spirit Square, 345 N. College S...

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Events for the Week: September 15-21

Note: If I learn of more events, I’ll update this post throughout the week.Tuesday, September 16Tone X and Friends (weekly event)Enjoy a night of stand-up comedy, live skits, improv, and music, along with a performance by the Hunnie Dipz Dancers. 8 p.m. $15. Skandalos, 5317 E. Independence Blvd. 704-890-0771.Touch One Tuesdays (weekly event)See Charlotte’s gifted poets perform—and if you have the courage, join them onstage—during this open mic event. Presented by Touch One Productions. Hosted by Filmore and music by DJ Flemingo. 9 p.m. $10. Wine-Up....

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Help Out the Red Cross

The American Red Cross is providing relief for the victims of Hurricane Ike as well as those who've experienced flooding in the Charlotte area. Visit www.redcrosshelps.org, the website of the Greater Carolinas chapter, to see how you can hel...

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A Little Bit of Musiq

Here's a short video excerpt of Musiq Soulchild's performance at Amos' Southend Friday. ...

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Some Free Stuff Today and Tomorrow

Impending Hurricane Ike has sent gas prices skyrocketing today. I'm sure you're just as ticked as I am. During times like this, you could use some free stuff.The Blumenthal Performing Arts Center is offering a buy-one-get-one-free sale of balcony level tickets to many of its upcoming shows. But the offer is for today only. Shows on sale include Traces, Chicago, Rent, Soweto Gospel Choir, Mother Load, Janice Ian, Savion Glover, Charlotte Symphony's George Goes Gershwin, Richie Havens, Jose Parcel Ballet Flamenco, and many others. A limited number...

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Register to Vote at DTLR

DTLR, the urban fashion store where you can usually here hip-hop music exuding from when you pass it in the mall, is holding voter registration drives at its many locations, including Charlotte. Dates and times are below. When Nelly was in town last week performing his free Myspace concert, while rocking a "Respect My Vote" tank top he summed it up best: "In 2008, if you're 18 and older and not registered to vote then you're a f-ing idiot!"DTLR...

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Wachovia Makes Women's List

Wachovia Corp. made Pink magazine’s second annual list of Top Companies for Women in the ladies mag's September/October issue. I would've put the Charlotte-based company at the top of the list with my own unscientific research. Everywhere I go around Charlotte I meet lots of women who are employed by either Wachovia or Bank of America (apparently Wachovia treats its women better). They're half the reason after-work networking events are so popular...

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Events for the Week: September 8-14

Note: If I learn of more events, I’ll update this post throughout the week.Wednesday, September 10Wine Day WednesdaysStop by the Village at SouthPark and enjoy some new wines while listening to music. A portion of proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society. 5 p.m. Free. Corner of Sharon Road and Morrison Boulevard (in front of M5). www.elevatecharlotte.com.A Westside Story Afterwork EventEnjoy music, drinks, and a soul food buffet at this networking event held at a historic African-American club. Special invited guests include Kim Best and...

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Hilarious Barack Obama Parody

Occasionally I'll blog about something that's not specifically related to Charlotte. I was just watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and saw one of the funniest political parodies I've ever seen. The episode was a rerun, but I didn't see it when it originally aired about a week and a half ago.This is a parody of the biographical video of Barack Obama that aired the night he gave his presidential nomination acceptance speech in Denver. It presents him as Simba from The Lion King, along with a few other characters from pop culture and history.It...

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Random Notes From Nelly's Myspace Concert

Nelly was in Charlotte Thursday night performing live at the Neighborhood Theatre in a special Myspace concert. Fans lined up hours before the doors opened to get into the free show. Me, I watched it live online and actually enjoyed the experience. Great camera views made me feel as if I was there (while glancing periodically at my TV to watch my South Carolina Gamecocks play on ESPN).The day of the show, Myspace's homepage was dedicated to Nelly's...

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Marion Jones Is Out of the Slammer

Former Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones was released from federal prison yesterday. Jones, who first gained notoriety as a track star at the University of North Carolina, served most of her six-month sentence for lying under oath about her steroid use. Rather than clearing her name, as she and so many athletes under steroid suspicion claim they will do, Jones eventually admitted to using "The Clear." You all probably remember her tearful public apology last year before she went into the big house. I wonder what it was like for her watching...

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The Observer Loves the Panthers

I was scanning The Charlotte Observer online this morning as I do each day (please buy the print paper, though--they need it) when I went to the Carolina Panthers section. It suddenly occurred to me that almost every one of the 13 stories that linked from that page were overly positive and overly optimistic about the kind of season the Panthers will have.Before you think that I'm a big cynic or hater, let me tell you that I'm a Panthers fan. I grew...

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Pop Life Returns In Two Weeks

This is the third week in a row with no Pop Life, since organizers Creative Loafing and The Sol Kitchen severed ties with Loft 1523. Wednesday nights haven't been the same since.Well, according to Carlton Hargro, editor of Creative Loafing, Charlotte's alternative weekly newspaper, Pop Life will return September 17 at the newly opened Apostrophe Lounge, 1440 S. Tryon St., in South End (across the street from Amos' Southend). It'll be the same formula: 6 p.m.-until and free admission. But it'll be interesting to see what vibe the popular weekly...

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Poker Dealers Should Be Worried

PokerTek is growing. The Matthews-based company builds automated poker tables, and I've received two press releases in the past week about casinos that have begun using the tables. Last week, Trump Plaza in Atlantic City began holding tournaments on its 12 PokerPro tables, PokerTek's flagship model.I had the privilege of visiting PokerTek's office about two years ago and playing a round of Texas Hold 'Em on one of the automated tables. I don't have...

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Anthony Hamilton's 'Cool'

Here's Anthony Hamilton's first single from his upcoming album, The Point Of It All. The song is called "Cool" and features David Banner.If you want to keep up with what the Charlotte native is doing, join the "I Love Anthony Hamilton" group on Facebook. His publicist says he'll be starting a promo tour in October and you'll soon be able to find a list of dates and cities ther...

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Events for the Week: September 2-7

Note: If I learn of more events, I’ll update this post throughout the week.Tuesday, September 2Touch One TuesdaysSee Charlotte’s gifted poets perform—and you have the courage, join them onstage—during this open mic event. Presented by Touch One Productions. Hosted by Filmore and music by DJ Flemingo. 9 p.m. $10. Wine-Up. 3306 N. Davidson St. (NoDa). www.wine-up.com.Tone X and Friends (weekly event)Enjoy a night of stand-up comedy, live skits, improv, and music, along with a performance by the Hunnie Dipz Dancers. 8 p.m. $15. Skandalos, 5317 E....

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