Heath Shuler-rama Party

Do you feel an emptiness in your life? A void deep within your soul that you desperately try to fill with sex, drugs and money?

Well, I can't help you.

But I can take your mind off the spiritual angst, at least for an evening, by inviting you to a house party. Let's celebrate like it's 1999 - and pretend we still have a president that can speak in coherent sentences.

The theme I've chosen* is: "Heath Shuler-rama" As in Heath Shuler, candidate for congress in NC District 11.

• The date will be this Tuesday, October 3rd @ 7:00pm - 9ish
• The location will be at my home in West Asheville. If you'd like to come, please RSVP to brainshrub - at - gmail.com. I will then email you directions.
• This will be a BBQ. I'll provide meat, buns and condiments - you bring a side-dish and beer.

FAQ:

Wait a second, I know you Paul... you are not a big fan of Heath Shuler. Why are you throwing a house party for him?

Because someone from his campaign asked politely and I feel like having a party. Just because I probably won't vote for the guy does not mean I'm not a dedicated Democrat.

Will Heath Shuler be there?

I've invited him, but I doubt it.

I see this will be a BBQ; but I'm a vegetarian (Vegan / freegan / I only eat dirt and insects) will you have anything that meets my dietary restrictions?

I'll buy a pack of veggie-burgers, but other than that you are on your own.

What is the purpose of this event?

My event will not be the only House Party for Shuler. (Although it will be the most fun.) The Shuler staff have asked people across NC district 11 to host simultaneous house parties. The goal is to promote Shuler for Congress, perhaps raise a bit of money and encourage people to volunteer for the campaign.

How many people will be at this event?

I'm planning to keep it small: Under a dozen or so. But if it blows all out of proportion I won't get upset.

Will there be any celebrities, prizes and/or activities at this party?

Yes!

1. You will meet "Scooter the Cat" who is pictured in the banner of Brainshrub.com.
2. You will get to see the blue bath-robe that I wear when writing most of these posts. (Including this one.)
3. You will marvel at the HUGE Amazing Potato Gun that a friend and I built in college.
4. A twister game and chess set will be available. Both are clothing-optional. :)
5. I have a cardboard cut-out of Kerry in my basement that will be given away as a prize to the person who can hit it with a football from 100 feet.... or at least comes closest!
6. And more!

I'm scared of mimes and clowns.

This will be no mimes, clowns or Republicans at this event.

* To be clear: while I was asked to host this party on a particular date and time by a Shuler organizer, this event is my own creature.

This was originally posted at: Brainshrub.com

Anyone need Indigo Girls tixs?

I have two extra. They are the $22.50 seats. Section EE, Row E, Seats 3 & 4. Concert is Saturday, Sept. 30, at 7:30 p.m. at McCormick Field. If you buy tixs, you get to sit with me AND check out lots of cute lesbian chicks!

E-mail me at janusatannefittenglenndotcom if you're interested.

Blind Date with Poetry + Courtyard Gallery Open Mike

Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe
Tonight, July 27, 6:30 PM.
free to the public.

Blind Date with Poetry with host Matt Moon.

Courtyard Gallery & Studio Open Mike

Thursday nights
9 PM-12 midnight
Downtown Asheville

Free to Public

Pure Energy: bells, bowls and didge

Okay, is it "open mic" or "open mike"? I've seen the term represented both ways.

If you've missed the Beanstreet open mic events of previous years, then head on down to Walnut Street for a free-for-all of lyrics and poetry and eclectic vibes at Courtyard Gallery & Studio. Can't find the gallery? Find your way to Scully's and follow the steps downstairs or take a walk down Carolina Lane and look for the sign pointing you to a weekly event featuring singer/songwriters, poets and writers. The open mic is hosted by Jarrett Leone (pictured playing the didge). Also, check out their podcasts, "True Home," on Apple iTunes. Copy this address into your podcast application: http://www.webpasties.com/podcast-8670-930.xml

[cross posted from 1000blacklines]

Richmond Hill Disc Golf Update

If you've been watching the Richmond debacle unfold, you'll know that the planned uberpark has been scuttled following incompetent construction operations. Before the clearcutting there was one of the loveliest disc golf courses in the nation there. And we DG afficianados were promised two courses on the site to replace the one destroyed by the construction plans. Now? It's up to the disc golf community to communicate our need for ringing chains and rad hyzer skip aces.

From an email:

"As the Chairperson of the WNC Disc Golf Club, I would like to thank you for all of your support and patience with the developments at the Richmond Hill Park. The club has been an integral part in developing disc golf in Asheville. We have had one of the most challenging wooded courses in the country, some amazing PDGA events and our parties aren't so bad either. All of this would not have happened without the involvement of our community.

THANK YOU!!!

Now we need your help again...

October 8th will be your chance to show Parks & Rec. and the city of Asheville how important disc golf is to you. We will be gathering at the New Richmond Hill Course at 2PM to demonstrate how large our disc golf community has become over the years. This is a quiet demonstration of our strong community. We encourage you to make signs to express your opinions and there will be a petition passed around to collect signatures of those who support disc golf in Asheville.

Also, during this time WNCDGC board members will be hosting Parks & Rec., certain environmental agency representatives and concerned citizens on a walkthrough of the new course. This is per the request of Asheville city council. We are very happy to oblige and to have the opportunity to show more people this amazing sport.

So, bring your family, friends and fellow disc golfers and lets show Asheville that disc golf is here to stay."

Grove Park Planet

grove park planet, originally uploaded by mygothlaundry.

Not to overinflate the Grove Park's already enormous sense of self or anything, but sometimes they do loom over Planet Asheville. ;-) Click through and look at this big (click on all sizes to see it large) for a Little Prince view of downtown, a-floatin' in space.

Make one of your own with these handy instructions!

The littlest militiaman

At a Civil War "encampment" at Vance Birthplace.

John Cowan, in black and white

Imperial release

It was the beer event of the year in Ashvegas and no, it wasn't the Brewgrass Festival. It was Sunday's sale of an extremely limited number of bottles of beer produced by Highland Brewing Co.
Highland brewed the beer to say farewell to its revered beer-making operation on Biltmore Avenue, a location that seemed to imbue the beer brewed there with magical qualities. OK, that's over the top, but Highland holds a special place in our heart because the brewery and its owner, Oscar Wong, have put Ashvegas on the map when it comes to hand-crafted beer.

So on a gray and rainy Sunday morning, 300 to 400 people stood in line shortly before noon at Highland's warehouse and brewing location in east Ashvegas. A feeling of tired excitement (tired because most folks had been partying at Brewgrass all day Saturday) filled the air as people clutched the $60 they prepard to hand over for the drink.

Check out Ashvegas for the rest of the story.

Asheville by the Numbers

Miles of sidewalk the City of Asheville is responsible for: 133

Miles of street the City of Asheville is responsible for: 385

Miles of lines in the City of Asheville's water system: 1,400

Number of building permit applications processed by Asheville in 2005: 2,189

Number of emergency medical or fire service calls responded to in 2005: 14,000

Number of trash containers the city emptied every week: 28,814

Number of City of Asheville water customers: 50,000

Asheville's nighttime population (the number of people who live inside the city limits): 68,889* [2000 census data]

Number of calls for police service responded to in 2005: 100,000

Asheville's daytime population (the number of people in the city during the day for work, recreation, shopping, access to services, etc.): 102,472

The Rules

originally uploaded by Shades1979.

Is it just me, or do only Asheville Festies have the "No Frisbees" rule?

Drinking Liberally Tonight!

A friendly, short reminder this will be
Sent 'long via e-mail, posted on some blogs
About this thing called Drinking Liberally
On Thursday nights, umm... Heck with it - 6:00 AM is too early for iambic pentameter, I haven't had my first cup of coffee yet, and I don't own a rhyming dictionary...

Anyway, tonight's the night! Come join us at the Asheville Brewing Company @ 77 Coxe Ave. from 7:00 to 10:00 pm for another edition of Drinking Liberally, where the left-leaning of WNC come to pound a few pints and let off some steam.

See you tonight!
syntax (co-host)

Please Join Us Saturday for . . .

Alas dear BlogAshevillians, it seems that our attempt to outdo the local BrewGrass festival is not meeting with the enthusiasm that we had hoped for. Frank & I thought that our decision to provide a case of Miller beer and sing the entire Carter Family Songbook in drag at our less than tidy country home would blow that event out of the water but sadly, no.

We are currently in consultation over an alternate plan and will keep you posted. Enjoy the day and we hope to see y'all soon.

Love & Kisses,
Jim & Frank

Good Lord It's Been Dead Around Here

What are y'all up to?

Coming to Jim's on Saturday?

I've been doing this.

Drinking Liberally: "Announcement"

This week, once again, time has sneaked up on us here @ Asheville DL HQ, and before anyone had a chance to sit down and declare "I'm going to write a DL announcement!", Thursday had already tapped us on the right shoulder while standing to our left and said "Peek-A-Boo!"

So, we're going to have to go with a more generic announcement this week, similar to the generic "blue label" kinds of things that one would find on the shelves of some grocery stores. Here goes:

While the regulars know the deal, here's a quick rundown for everyone: tonight and every Thursday night is our weekly Drinking Liberally meeting! The place is the Asheville Brewing Company, 77 Coxe Ave. in Downtown Asheville, a quick walk downhill from the bus terminal, about 1/2 block north of Hilliard Ave. The festivities begin @ 7:00 and continue on until 10:00 (sometimes later if the spirits move us, or if we don't have to get up the next morning). Everyone's welcome, regardless of which side of the fence you're on. If you're a regular, we'd love to see you! If you're a lurker who's even the least bit curious as to what we're about, we'd love to meet you!

See you tonight!

syntax (Co-host, Asheville Drinking Liberally)

Feeling Uncultured? Go To the Symphony!

This weekend would be particularly good time to check out the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, especially since one of the works on Saturday's program is a piece that saw its world premiere here in Asheville back in 1948!

From the ASO's website:

Suite for Toy Piano

(1948) (orch. Harrison, 1963)

John Cage was born in Los Angeles, California, on 5 September 1912, and died in New York on 12 August 1992. The first performance of the Suite for Toy Piano took place on 20 August 1948 at Black Mountain College, North Carolina. Approximate performance time is eight minutes.

John Cage, America's most famous avant-garde composer, wrote his Suite for Toy Piano in 1948, the first year he taught at Black Mountain College. In an interview, Cage spoke of the unique informal collaborative atmosphere he viewed as a key to the magic of Black Mountain College:

What was important it seems to me about Black Mountain was the dining hall, because everyone had breakfast, lunch and dinner together. And the classes were less important than the meals. Because people lingered over the meals and it was there that the conversations took place. Every time that it's attempted to make Black Mountain over again, it's not understood that that all the meals should be shared by all of the people. But that I think was the secret of the success of Black Mountain.

In addition to his teaching, Cage organized multi-media "Happenings" at Black Mountain, in collaboration with such artists as the dancer Merce Cunningham and visual artist Robert Rauschenberg.

Also on the program is Beethoven's Concerto for Piano No. 4 in G Major and Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra. (Interesting side note: one of the last pieces that Bartók composed, Piano Concerto No. 3, was written in part while he was staying at the Grove Park Inn!)

For more information, check their website @ http://www.ashevillesymphony.org/ or call 828-254-7046. (Also, if you're curious as to what the hell a piece written for toy piano sounds like, there's a streaming MP3 of a 1999 performance of Cage's Suite for Toy Piano by pianist Margaret Leng Tan available here.)

Rebelles revue

Loved the Rebelles at the Lexington Ave. Arts fest over the weekend.

Hot Chicks at The Mountain State Fair

Well, what expression would you make if you were trapped in a small glass box with 15 people?

Slideshow here.

Drinking Liberally: What's That Smell?

There's something in the air, and if you step outside this morning you can probably catch a faint whiff of it; it'll definitely get a little stronger and more pungent the closer we come to Autumn...

According to several news organizations that were desperate for something to fill up two minutes of broadcast time, Labor Day was the "official" start of the election season. Never mind the fact that everyone's been working behind the scenes, pounding the pavement, riling up the blogosphere, raising money and awareness, and working their tails off for at least a year now to prepare for this, the home stretch.

Yes... re-election politics are in the air, as evidenced by the plethora of lies and distortions spread by the folks at Taylor for Congress, the counterattacks from the Shuler camp, the DCCC's saturation of local airwaves, the impending RNC ads that are supposed to launch in October... not to mention the many examples of smear ads from other districts around the country that are floating around the Series of Tubes. Heck, thanks to sites like YouTube and more readily available equipment and software, everyday people are sidestepping McCain-Feingold and entering the fray, making and uploading their own DIY political ads!

What exactly do politics smell like? It's subjective, all in the olfactories of the beholder... I seem to remember a "Bloom County" strip years ago where Berkeley Breathed likened the smell of politics to dirty socks.

Anyway, wouldn't you rather enjoy the aroma of hops, malts and specialized yeasts from a pint of handcrafted beer instead? Or maybe the smell of victory from beating the level 5 elevator round on the Donkey Kong machine? Then come on out to the Asheville Brewing Company on Coxe Ave. tonight from 7:00 to 10:00 for another exciting episode of Drinking Liberally! There are lots of things going on, plenty of exciting news breaking daily, and plenty of spleen to vent in the process.

Everyone's welcome, and we'd love to see you!

syntax (co-host, Asheville Drinking Liberally)

Flirt

Pose

Meet Trace. She's got an attitude, but she's gorgeous. Deadly combination.

WARNING: Post Contains Political Bias

The fam and I just got back from the parade at the Hendersonville Apple Festival. Both Charles Taylor and Heath Shuler paraded--appropriately separated by a long line of marching bands, cheesy floats, dancing girls, and classic cars.

I must say that Charlie looked pretty healthy striding along in his cowboy hat. He did have car support, which I was happy about as I don't wish heat stroke on anyone, particularly overweight old guys already suffering from blood flow restrictions.

Heath had a much larger group of supporters walking with him and no car support. But after years of sweating it out on the gridiron, there's no way he'd need wheels.
Heath's the one in the yellow shirt (which was a great move, whoever in the campaign came up with it. Heath stands out anyway because of his stature and good looks, but the bright yellow made him even easier to spot than usual).

Because I was breaking up a fist fight between two small children (mine), I didn't see Heath until he was past me, but once I spotted him, E-spouse and I started whooping and hollering and yelling his name (he gave me a bit of a quizzical look. Yeah, Heath, I was the crazy chick in the pink baseball hat jumping up and down).

I was nervous that making such a scene might get us beat up, but, in actuality, several other people near us starting yelling their support as well.

Then the lady standing next to E-spouse said: "He doesn't even need yelling. He's gonna win, no problem."

Here's hoping she's psychic.

'The Empty Aquarium'

From the Asheville Vaudeville show in Pritchard Park this past weekend.

A Small Tasteful Affair

On Saturday, September 23, Frank Parker & Jim Jenkins will be hosting the blogger elite of Asheville at our summer home in the mountains of Weaverville for an afternoon and evening and who knows perhaps even late night of food, drink and casual conversation.

Last year we gave in to our baser instincts and hosted a loud, raucous BBQ and Freedom March replete with grilled dead animals, cheap beer and rock & roll music.

Not this year, bub! Get those ball gowns cleaned and spruce up that tux. Extend those pinkies and look down that nose. This is gonna be some high class shit right here.

More details as we get closer to the event, but mark your calendars and e-mail me for directions.

Shindig player

Ashevegas Outlaw

Hendersonville Apple Festival

At the Apple Festival they have the best ride EVER in which you plop your kids into painted 50 gallon oil drums that have been laid on their sides and fitted with wheels (and holes for the kids, and presumably seats, although maybe not) and then the kids are towed around in circles on the street for a surprisingly long time by a madly grinning older gentleman in a FREAKING ORNITHOPTER! With an NC license plate that says DaVinci One.

Oh, and you can get apples too. And apple slushies, and apple ice cream and caramel apples and peanut butter apples and pretty much all the stuff you could ever think of to fulfill your appleish needs. It is fun. The police car from Mayberry is there, right near the Dunk a Cop booth, and the Republican Party booth and the Democratic Party booth are situated sensibly far away from one another. At the Democratic booth you can even get a free balloon, and, since this is WNC, there are, of course, cloggers. More pictures, should you be so inclined, here.

BOOM!

Or roar, or something like that. Between about 4:15 and 4:30am this morning, there have been three huge explosive reports ringing through the mountains, and it was most certainly not lightning. Anyone hear the same or have any scoops as to what's booming? Wild speculation is welcome.