Lady Cats Battle In Dance Team Bracket

The Lady Cats are competing in NBA.com's Dance Team Bracket. They're currently in the third round and are taking on the New Jersey Nets Dancers. You can vote for this round beginning today at 2 p.m. In an NCAA Tournament-style bracket, that pits NBA dance teams from the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference, the Lady Cats have beat the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons dancers in the first two rounds (click here for the full bracket)....

READ FULL STORY

Dale Jr. Has Another New Product

I just saw this TV commercial for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s new motorcycle figurine collection. When it first came on, I thought actual motorcycles were being sold. But these models are about eight inches long. Dale Jr. continues to be the ultimate product endorser ("The Future of Dale Jr.'s Camaro?") and it seems like I'm seeing him in more commercials and advertisements than ever ("Dale Jr.'s Got Bank").NASCAR is hurting from the economy, but Jr.'s not. Some of the other race car drivers, who win far more races than Jr., have to be ticked. I can't...

READ FULL STORY

Events for the Week: March 30-April 5

Your best weekly list for parties, nightlife, social, and cultural events in Charlotte. This isn’t intended to be a complete list of what’s going on, but instead are the events GPT recommends. More events may be added throughout the week.Tuesday, March 31Charlotte Bobcats vs. Los Angeles LakersThis will likely be the Bobcats’ seventh sellout of the season when Kobe and company come to town. The ‘Cats won the first match-up this season in L.A. and now their playoff hopes are on the line. 7 p.m. $10-$300. Time Warner Cable Arena, 333 E. Trade St....

READ FULL STORY

Mike Epps: Coming Back Friday After Next?

I just talked to a friend of mine who went to the Mike Epps and Friends show last night at Ovens Auditorium and she says all hell almost broke loose when it was announced that Epps wouldn't be performing at the eight o'clock show. Apparently it had been around 10 p.m. when it was announced that Epps, who is the reason the show was sold out, wouldn't be taking the stage. Folks started booing and someone threw a beer on the stage. Then when people...

READ FULL STORY

30 Days of Service for Volunteer Month

In recognition of National Volunteer Month, Leadership Charlotte is coordinating "30 Days of Service" with volunteer projects each day between April 1-30 around Charlotte. The projects range from working in Crisis Assistance Ministry's Free Store to delivering meals for Friendship Trays to helping out Teen Court with the Assistance League of Charlotte. This is a great opportunity for you to get involved in the community and you have more than 30 projects to choose from. Most of them only require about four hours of your time so it's no reason...

READ FULL STORY

A Lot On Curry's Plate

Davidson basketball star Stephen Curry appeared on ESPN's Pardon The Interruption yesterday, and even though the nation's top scorer isn't playing in the NCAA Tournament, where we'd all prefer to see him, there's no other college basketball player getting as much media attention right now. You can find stories about Curry in the sports section of just about every major newspaper this weekend and he's all over the 'net. The sports world is anxiously awaiting his decision as to whether he'll return for his senior season at Davidson or enter this...

READ FULL STORY

Gotta Love Leilani

Leilani Munter appears on the cover of the April issue of Lake Norman Magazine and she's hotter than asphalt on a racetrack in August. The 33-year-old race car driver competes in the ARAC and Indy Lights series and lives in Cornelius. Yes, the Danica Patrick comparisons happen all the time. And don't forget about Ashley Force. There are only a handful of drivers in stock car racing and most of them are hot. Man Law? Read more about Munter on ThatsRacin.com....

READ FULL STORY

Events for the Week: March 23-29

Your best weekly list for parties, nightlife, social, and cultural events in Charlotte. If I learn of more events, I’ll update this post throughout the week.Wednesday, March 25Pop Life (weekly event)It’s the most popular social networking event on a Wednesday night. Starts after work but often runs past midnight. Music by select DJs. At tonight’s edition, Flawless Make Up will be offering beauty services. Sponsored by Creative Loafing and The Sol Kitchen. 6 p.m. Free. Apostrophe Lounge, 1440 S. Tryon St. www.apostrophelounge.com.Neo Soul Listening...

READ FULL STORY

Watch 'Oprah' Today and Tomorrow

Today's episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show features comedian and radio personality Steve Harvey discussing his new book, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. This episode was taped nearly a month ago and was the reason Harvey skipped on coming to Charlotte during CIAA Week. When his radio show broadcast live from the convention center, Bill Bellamy filled in for him (and was just as funny).Tomorrow's episode of the big O is about "extreme life extension" and features techniques and treatments that some believe will allow them to live to be 100 years...

READ FULL STORY

RushmoreDrive Adds 'Vibe'

RushmoreDrive.com announced today that it has reached an agreement to deliver site and Web search results for Vibe.com, the website for Vibe magazine. RushmoreDrive, a Charlotte-based company that launched a year ago, replaces Google as Vibe's search engine. RushmoreDrive is billed as the first-of-its-kind search engine for the black community, and it was launched essentially to take a chunk out of Google's dominance over Internet search engines....

READ FULL STORY

Charlotte Rapper to Appear On '106 & Park'

Cutty Boi, an up-and-coming rapper from Charlotte, is scheduled to appear on BET's 106 & Park on April 1. He'll be performing during the show's "Wild Out Wednesdays" competition and his record label says he'll perform his song "Carolina Swag." Click here for more on the artist and to hear his musi...

READ FULL STORY

You Can Still Have Packer Guide You

March Madness officially kicks off today with the start of the NCAA basketball tournament. It's the greatest event (or series of events) in all of sports. From the first tip-off to when "One Shining Moment" will play three weeks from now--I love it! The first of today's 16 first-round games tips off at 12:20 p.m. on CBS. Employers please take note: You're not going to get much productivity out of your male (and some female) employees today and tomorrow. I remember in 2003, at my first job after college, bringing a portable TV to work and putting...

READ FULL STORY

Coming Back: Hom

According to a job posting yesterday on Craigslist for bartenders and servers, Hom nightclub is "reopening March 27 as an upscale urban R&B/hip-hop club." As you may recall, the once-popular, ultra-chic, three-level nightclub (Liv, Feast, Play) shut its doors at the end of January ("No Place for Hom"). It's no surprise to me that it would be reopening just two months later. There was just too much money invested in the place for it to sit. I'm trying to find out more details, such as what changes will be made, if there's new management, and...

READ FULL STORY

Fiddy Is Coming!

A simple message on Fall Out Boy's website has answered the question from my previous blog post. 50 Cent will be among the acts performing when the band's tour comes to the Queen City. "Looks like the lucky folks in Charlotte, NC are in for a treat! Fiddy will be on the Believers Never Die Part Deux tour on April 24th," is the message just posted on FOB's official site, FriendsOrEnemies.com. ...

READ FULL STORY

Will 50 Cent Come to Charlotte?

Fall Out Boy announced yesterday that 50 Cent will perform on select dates during the band's "Believers Never Die Part Deux" tour. The tour kicks off April 3, and Fiddy's first appearance will be April 17 in Grand Prairie, Texas. Additional cities where 50 Cent will be performing will be announced on Fall Out Boy's website in the coming days. The tour comes to Bojangles' Coliseum on April 24. It would be great if 50 came here because, to my knowledge,...

READ FULL STORY

Events for the Week: March 16-22

Your best weekly list for parties, nightlife, social, and cultural events in Charlotte. If I learn of more events, I’ll update this post throughout the week.Tuesday, March 17Happy St. Patrick’s Day!St. Paddy’s Day Specials at BlueIf you’re barhopping along College Street, stop in for some drink specials. $3 Guinness, $6 Luck of the Irishtini, $6 Irish coffee, as well as 2 for $10 appetizers (in the bar 5-7 p.m.) 5 p.m. Free. Blue Restaurant and Bar, 214 N. Tryon St. (corner of Fifth and College streets). www.bluecharlotte.com.Tone-X and Friends...

READ FULL STORY

The Curious Case of Ben Bernanke

I'm a Sunday news show fanatic. There's not much I enjoy more on the Sabbath day than catching episodes of Meet the Press in the morning and 60 Minutes in the evening (I managed to squeeze in church today, too). And I just saw one of the best interviews ever on 60 Minutes--a profile of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that took up more than half of the hour-long show. Correspondent Scott Pelley and the CBS News team demonstrated journalism at its best. And as is pointed out, this was the first time the fed chairman had ever done a television...

READ FULL STORY

See the Speed at Home

You probably didn't know Charlotte had a professional indoor football team. Well, the Carolina Speed play their home opener tomorrow night against the Columbus Lions, and they're coming off a season-opening win last Saturday against the defending champion Florence Phantoms. The Speed are in their third season as part of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA), but this is their first season playing in Charlotte after the new owner moved...

READ FULL STORY

One 'Richgirl' Is From Gastonia

I attended the Teen Summit last evening, a forum for local tweens and teens put on a few times a year by Girl Talk Foundation, Inc. The nonprofit organization is led by Power 98's Janine Davis and they provide programs and outreach to young girls to help build self-esteem and educate them on how to deal with the challenges they face during this very influential time in their lives. The Teen Summit is open to both boys and girls and this edition...

READ FULL STORY

St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival Rescheduled

Because of the wet and chilly forecast for this weekend, the annual Charlotte St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Charlotte Goes Green Festival have been rescheduled from this Saturday and will be held on Saturday, March 21. We've gone from a sunny high of 83 degrees yesterday to a rainy high of 41 forecast for Saturday--ridiculous this weather of ours. Event organizers promise all of the same bells and whistles for the festival and parade, which drew...

READ FULL STORY

BofA Is Officially Number One

According to a new study by SNL Financial, Bank of America is now the largest U.S. bank, ranked by assets. The Charlotte-based bank has total assets of almost $2.5 trillion. Before the recent acquisition of Merrill Lynch, BofA would have been ranked third. Even though the Merrill Lynch deal has proved to be an ongoing headache as New York's attorney general has led an investigation into the massive executive bonuses ML dished out, at least we can...

READ FULL STORY

YouTube's Next Dancing Star?

If you have a talent, there's perhaps no better place these days to display it than on YouTube. Former Lady Cats (Charlotte Bobcats) dancer Ana Ogbueze has taken her moves to the tube. She's recently posted a series of videos of her performing original choreography, such as this video below of her dancing to Lady Gaga's "Starstruck." GPT approves. I think what Ogbueze should do next is put together a group of dancers and audition for America's Best Dance Crew.Click here to see more of her video...

READ FULL STORY

Events for the Week: March 9-15

Your best weekly list for parties, nightlife, social, and cultural events in Charlotte. If I learn of more events, I’ll update this post throughout the week.Tuesday, March 10Tone-X and FriendsCome laugh at the jokes and skits by Power 98’s Tone-X, Chris “Funnyman” Robinson, and other comedians. Music by DJ Stacey Blackman. 8 p.m. $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Skandalos, 5317 E. Independence Blvd. www.myspace.com/tonexandfriends.Wednesday, March 11Pink Slip Networking Party 2Charlotte Center City Partners is coordinating its second networking...

READ FULL STORY

Charlotte Mans Up

Sperling's BestPlaces, the popular city data analyzing firm, has released its list of "America's Manliest Cities," with Charlotte ranking second.The 50 largest metropolitan areas had their manliness determined by such criteria as the number of major league sports teams, popularity of tools and hardware, frequency of monster truck rallies, how many American-made cars were driven in the city, the number of sports bars and barbecue restaurants, and level of salty snacks consumption (snack food company Mars Inc. commissioned the study). Nashville...

READ FULL STORY

Tweeting for a Job?

You may now be able to put your addiction to Twitter to work for you--literally. A Charlotte-based company recently launched TweetMyJobs.com, hoping to capitalize on the growing popularity of Twitter and people's increasing needs to find work. It's a free service and fairly easy process: you sign into your Twitter account (or sign up if you don't have one), subscribe to TweetMyJobs job channel by the city and job type you want to follow, and you'll...

READ FULL STORY

The Other 'J. Holiday' Is At Pop Life Tonight

As you'll notice in my Events for the Week, J. Holiday will be at Pop Life tonight at Apostrophe Lounge. The news has been buzzing through email and Facebook all day about the free event. But I just wanted to clear up any potential confusion. At Pop Life tonight will be J. Holiday the singer. I'm J. Holliday the blogger. He spells Holiday with one "L"; I spell Holliday with two L's (because the Ladies Love cool J). And J. Holliday (Jarvis Holliday)...

READ FULL STORY

Opportunity to Go to Grad School for Free

Wake Forest University is offering fellowships in its Master of Art in Management program, providing a full scholarship and stipend to promote diversity. Here's a description of the fellowship:The Master of Art in Management program is designed specifically for liberal arts majors only. The MA degree program is a 10 month intense study of the basic functional areas of business. After graduation and working for approximately two years, all MA graduates are eligible to apply to Wake Forest as part of the MA/MBA joint degree program and get the MBA...

READ FULL STORY

Events for the Week: March 2-8

Your best weekly list for parties, nightlife, social, and cultural events in Charlotte. If I learn of more events, I’ll update this post throughout the week.Wednesday, March 4Pop Life (weekly event)It’s the most popular social networking event on a Wednesday night. Starts after work but often runs past midnight. This edition will be a listening party for R&B singer J. Holiday, who will be stopping by. Sponsored by Creative Loafing and The Sol Kitchen. 6 p.m. Free. Apostrophe Lounge, 1440 S. Tryon St. (South End). www.apostrophelounge.com.Afterwork...

READ FULL STORY

Scenes From CIAA Week

The CIAA basketball tournament has packed up and left Charlotte, leaving behind Johnson C. Smith University as winners of the men's and women's championships, and thousands of locals and visitors resting up from several days of partying. (I'm sure today's snow day was welcomed by many who got the day off from work.) I didn't manage to make it to any basketball games (shame on me), but below is a glimpse of what I experienced throughout the week.You can see more photos on Charlotte magazine's Spotted sit...

READ FULL STORY

MTV Follows the Jonas Brothers to Charlotte

The Jonas Brothers were jet-setting across the country over the weekend, stopping in several cities for their "Theater Invasion Tour." The three brothers were promoting their new movie, Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience, and on Saturday the quick-stops tour brought them to the Regal Stonecrest theater where they surprised hundreds of screaming young fans. Charlotte isn't foreign to them because it's their father's hometown.MTV was along for the ride. See video belo...

READ FULL STORY

Happy Snow Day!

My backyard is a winter wonderland. Is this Charlotte or Minneapoli...

READ FULL STORY

Random Notes From T.I. and Young Jeezy Concert

If you're a fan of Southern hip-hop, then Bojangles' Coliseum (formerly Cricket Arena) is where you needed to be Thursday night. T.I. and Young Jeezy co-headlined a concert that also featured surprised sets by Pastor Troy and Young Buck. The only opening acts that were actually on the bill were the GS Boys (of "Stanky Legg" fame), Charlotte native Young S.Dub, and Columbia, SC rapper Lil Ru.Here's a rundown of what I observed, along with a little video footage.The concert started at 7:30, but it was evident that a lot of people don't care to see...

READ FULL STORY