Come party with Mountain Xpress!

Gingerbread Structures

Evidently no one except me, the Lally clan, and those who live on the street where it happens knows about the annual Halloween night Jack-o-lanterns in Kenilworth. But the Annual National Gingerbread House competition and display at the Grove Park Inn is probably more heard-of and seen-of. Check it out, free except possible parking ordeal, and ongoing until January 11th.


(Oh, and I have a little gallery over at Liminal Screeds.)

Open house: Dancing Dragonfly Pottery

My friend, Troy Amastar, one of the finest potters in town, is holding an open house at her Dancing Dragonfly Pottery studio over the next two weekends. Buy local for Christmas and help a fine struggling artist:



Says Troy:

"Dancing Dragonfly Pottery Holiday Open Studio Sat and Sun Dec 6-7 and 13-14 10am-6pm

Come enjoy the warmth of a wood stove, hot apple cider and light eats in my beautiful timber, straw and earthen studio, quiet country roads and relaxed shopping while you support a local craft business. There will be NEW WORK and ALL 2nds will be 25% off! Just 20 minutes NW of downtown Asheville.

Directions:

From I-240 Asheville, take I-26N toward Weaverville. Take the New Stock Rd Exit and L off the ramp. Ends at a T. Go L onto Monticello which also ends at a T. My blue pottery studio signs begin here. Go R onto River Rd (251 and also known as Old Marshall Hwy) and go approx. 1 mile to 1st L. Take Fletcher Martin Rd across the river and go another approx mile to 2nd L. Turn onto Jenkins Valley Rd and then another EMMEDIATE LEFT onto Curtis Miles. Go to top of hill and take 1st R onto dirt Haney Rd. My driveway is .03 miles on R with sign at end of the driveway.

For directions from where you live go to: ddpottery.com or info call: 828-683-3405

CAN"T COME? Check out my revamped website where you can order on line! I have tried to make it more user friendly and added more photos and a few new items! Tell me what you think! Easy shopping in a few clicks and delivered to your door!"

Cheers,
Heather
Chasing the Bread Truck

Vote for Honeywear

Here's the story:

A baby-sling company founded by two Asheville-area moms is one of five finalists in the running for a $100,000 prize in a small-business contest sponsored by Forbes.com.

Kristin Keliher, 34, and Christen Ward, 30, started Honeywear Inc. after being unable to find baby carriers made in the U.S. out of organic cotton. More info: honeywear.net; vote for them at Forbes.com's “Boost Your Business 2008” contest.

Support this local company. Go here to vote now.

The voting process is tedious. It requires several steps to verify your vote. But it's worth it.

Happy Turkey Day!

Free Parking Thanksgiving and Friday

According to the C-T, downtown parking is free Thursday (Thanksgiving) and Friday.

Parking decks, however, will charge "holiday rates."

More here.

Coming Down the Blog Pike

Folks, just wanted to give y'all a couple of heads up regarding some bloggy goodness coming soon.

First, the 2008 BlogAsheville Award party poster submission party was a huge success! Hoorah, we win! =) With that in mind, I'd like to open up submissions for the new BlogAsheville header. You can post them here if you have the privileges, or email them to me, and I'll get em up for you (please note: they need to be a minimum of 1000pixels in width)! Let the games begin!

Second, and I will actually start a thread for this later in the week, i would like to have a Suggested Eats list on the Blogasheville sidebar, this will be limited to a certain number of suggestions, say 20 at anytime, and the stipulations are that the food has to be good and they will need to have a website, or a link to a food review (say a xpress one!)

Third, Gordon Smith and I were tossing around the idea of actually having paid advertisements on BlogAsheville, now before you run screaming out of the room, to run us out of town, hear me out! The idea is to pick a local charity - MANNA food bank or the like - and sponsor them for say six months, any local business who would make a donation to that charity would get front advertisement space on BlogAsheville for the donated period, say 1 month or 2. In this way, we can continue our community building, help out our fellow Ashevillians, and provide a unique opportunity for some local businesses to advertise by donating.

Love to hear what you think about these ideas, please leave comments below.

I remain, as ever, as before, yours in Blogdom

Uptown

Pardon Our Progress

Please pardon our mess while we work out the new BlogAsheville Template!

News from my life in cake!

Hello all you beautiful bloggers:
Guess what?
Guess.
I got a cake shop.
225 Haywood Road, in East-West Asheville.
Hell yes!
I'm thinking we'll have a little open house/cake shop-warming party on December 6th, and a grand opening, new menu and cafe hours launch in January.
Thanks for all the love and support... I can't do any of this without y'all. (who else would eat all this cake?)

And...guess what else?
Short Street Cakes was featured in the new issue of Verve Magazine- and there's even a little shout-out to BlogAsheville! You can read about it here.
Thanks for reading, and I can't wait to see you in the new year, in the new spot!
As usual, stay tuned to my life in cake for news, updates, recipes, and cake porn.
xo
jodi
my life in cake

First Annual Vance Holiday Craft Explosion!!!

The Vance Holiday Craft Explosion will be held Sunday, November 23rd from noon-5pm in the gym at Vance Elementary. The event will be right off the lower parking lot on Clinton Avenue, but there is plenty of parking all around.

There will be a great collection of vendors including:
Crankypants Knits
Quilt Baby
Cozy Blue
Faerie Made Soap
Roly Poly Crafts
Slaphappy!
Dogwood Digs
Spotted Dog Farm
Amy Tepper
Jeribella
Folksy Fleece Critters

and more!

There will also be a yummilicious bake sale and silent auction.

Get a jump on your holiday shopping and support Vance Elementary and local artists at the same time! What could be finer?


-------------------------------------
Ya'll head on down, and fella bloggers, could you help spread the word about this?

Thank you!

Blue Ridge Computer Recycling is not closed

I Love Blue Ridge Computer Recycling. Need a spare laptop adapter? Your CD drive bonk out and don'twant to spend more than about 10 bucks? They have all kinds of stuff (including laptops, monitors..) - I picked up two new pwr adapter replacements for lost ones and a nice clean desk chair the other day and got change back on a 20.

Evidently there have been rumors (started, it is rumored, by another *cough* new *cough cough...ahem* computer recycling/used reseller in the area) that BRCR went outta business. 

 

They haven't

Bouncing Ball: Benefit for the Haywood Road Market Co-op

From an email I got:

Bouncing Ball: Benefit for the Haywood Road Market Co-op
Time: November 22, 2008 at 7pm
Location: West Asheville
Organized By: Haywood Road Co-op

Event Description:
Four Haywood Road establishments are teaming up for the Bouncing Ball -- a night of dining and entertainment. For $25 you can bounce down Haywood Road to:
· West End Bakery, where you can enjoy a delicious dinner provided by The Admiral, Sunny Point, Lucky Otter, Burgermeister and other local restaurants.
· Westville Pub, where you can dance the night away to local favorites Firecracker Jazz Band, Snake Oil Medicine Show, Dehlia Low, and Woody Pines.
· Wright Creative Building, where you can boogie down with The Admiral's DJ Filth, DJ Marley Carroll, and DJ Drew.
· Haywood Road Market Co-op, where you can taste fine wine and bid on great auction items.

Funds will be used to benefit the growth and sustainability of the Haywood Road Market Co-op. We're encouraging people to buy tickets in advance at the Westville Pub, West End Bakery, and the Haywood Road Co-op or by contacting Jill at 828-280-5134 or jfromew( ) hotmail.com. Child care will be provided at Casa Dei Bambini from 6:30-11:30pm; $5 per child and space is limited, so call 828-215-2468 to reserve a spot.

ESPN at UNCA Tuesday

From a UNCA press release:

UNC Asheville is proud to welcome ESPN to our campus. The men’s basketball team is part of a historic promotion, ESPN’s 24 Hours of Hoops, with basketball games going on across the country. One of those games will take place tomorrow afternoon at Justice Center when our Bulldogs host Liberty University in a Big South Conference contest. We are expecting an unusual amount of community support for this event.

The game's at 2 p.m. at the Justice Center on campus. Tickets are still available for the game and can be purchased by calling 251-6904 or bought online at www.uncabulldogs.com.

More here.

Free (ish) Comedy Monday evening

Volvo Rents is is sponsoring an evening of comedy at the Diana Wortham Theater Monday the 17th. Here's the link from AC-T with details - this is a family-friendly event which is for the benefit of Manna Food Bank.
Admission is three non-perishable food items. Seating is limited, so please call (828) 654-8118 to reserve your seat.

Local Medford book author at Malaprop's

BlogAsheville's Cecil Bothwell has written a book about the Bobby Medford case. He'll appear at Malaprop's on Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. to sign and speak.

Cross-posted from Bothwell's Blog:

In a region with a reputation for crooked lawmen, Bobby Medford is that
rare exception: caught and convicted. He was dealt a fifteen year sentence in
the federal prison system for conspiracy, extortion, money laundering, mail
fraud and illegal gambling. But that’s just part of his story. Bounty hunter,
debt collector and addict, he left behind a trail strewn with guns, drugs,
bodies and cash. Pure Bunkum offers a reporter’s-eye view of the way public
corruption proliferates, even when “everyone knows” what’s going on, told by an
award-winning journalist with an eye for the absurd.

Knitters' Night Out at the East Asheville Library

From Tammy at the Buncombe County Library. Looks like they need volunteers, too:

Knitty Gritty at the East Asheville Library
Thursday,November 13 at 6:30p.m.
East Asheville Library, 902 Tunnel Road

Know how to knit? Always wanted to learn?

New knitters and experts alike are welcome to join us for an evening of handicrafts at the East Asheville Library on Thursday, November 13 at 6:30pm. Bring your own needles and yarn and come sit a spell.

Crochet more your style? Come on over. There’s room for all sorts of crafty fun!

Knitters (and potential knitters) of all ages are welcome. No previous knitting experience necessary. Refreshments will be provided. For more information or if you'd like to help, call the East Asheville library at 250-4738 or email eastasheville.library@buncombecounty.org

Benefit Wine-Tasting and Silent Auction Nov. 13

From the C-T:

5th Annual Taste of Compassion

Coleman Place in the Chamber of Commerce building

5:30 p.m. Nov. 13

The wine tasting, sponsored by Mutual Distributing, will offer more than 30 selections from vineyards.

Guests may also purchase the wine they’ve sampled by the bottle or case, with all proceeds benefiting the lifesaving programs of Animal Compassion Network, the largest non-profit, safe-for-life animal welfare organization in WNC.

Gourmet vegetarian hors d’oeuvres and desserts, donated by area restaurants, complement each wine selection.

The event also features the Taste of Compassion Silent Auction. Local businesses and individuals have been extremely generous in donating exciting auction items this year including a Vintage Jaguar car, antique furniture, vacations, rounds of golf, shopping sprees, spa treatments and more.

Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door and are available at Pet Harmony,ACN’s pet store for rescued pets, at 803 Fairview Street, off Hendersonville Road, next to Province 620. Tickets are also available online at www.animalcompassionnetwork.org Credit and debit cards accepted.

All proceeds fund Animal Compassion Network’s Foster/Adoption Program, which transfers animals out of local shelters and places them in foster care until they are adopted into loving, responsible new homes. For more information, about Taste of Compassion please visit www.animalcompassionnetwork.org.

Happy Veteran's Day Asheville

The kids are off school for the second Tuesday in a row, which always puts a unique stamp on the day's scheduling, work, etc.

Over at Scrutiny Hooligans Arratik posted some good information on Veteran's Day, and gives a shout out to our troops.

I posted some pics of the Bledsoe Building Halloween Party on my family website.

My friend Jim is working his new blog at a good clip. Check out RagingSmurf.com if you are a .NET programmer, Google Maps mashup freak, or CSS/XHTML guru. Lots of good practical code and posts about random Asheville life.


I will be heading out to Washington State this Thanksgiving in my attempt to induce another tryptophan and red wine coma. Looking forward to seeing the fam.

What are your Thanksgiving plans?

my plan for i26, i240 and patton avenue

my plan for i26, i240 and patton avenue
Originally uploaded by zen

or draw your own here.

From a UNCA press release:

UNCA Amnesty International Human Rights Film Festival
Nov. 10 - 14
4:30 and 7:30 daily
free and open to the public

info: Mark Gibney, mgibney@unca.edu
Official website

Beginning on Monday November 10th and running through the 14th, Amnesty International at UNCA will host its fifth annual human rights film festival -- the largest of its kind in the Southeast. Over the course of this week two different films will be shown each day, one at 4:30 p.m. and the other at 7 p.m.

After each film, a community member, UNCA professor or student will lead a discussion about the topics presented in the movie. All films will be shown in Highsmith and all are free and open to the public.

Monday, November 10

4:30— No End In Sight-- gives a comprehensive look at the Bush Administration's conduct throughout the Iraq war and its occupation of the country, offering an inside look at actions taken by soldiers, contractors, and the administration in ways unknown by the general American public. Grotto

7:00 The U.S.A. v. Al-Arian­-- follows the story of Sami Al-Arian a university professor and pro-Palestinian civil rights activist who was arrested in Tampa, Florida, in February 2003 and charged with providing material support to a terror organization. The film is an intimate family portrait that documents the American-Muslim family Al-Arian's desperate attempt to fight terrorism charges leveled by the US Government. Grotto

Tuesday, November 11th

4:30-- Critical Condition-- deconstructs the health care crisis in America and lays out the human consequences of an increasingly expensive and inaccessible system. Grotto

7:00-- For the Bible Tells Me So-- reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that Church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based almost solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the Bible. Grotto

Wednesday, November 12th-

4:30-- To See if I'm Smiling-- presents the confessions of six young Israeli women who served in the West Bank. Grotto

7:00-- El Inmigrante -- examines the Mexican and American border crisis by telling the story of Eusebio de Haro a young Mexican migrant who was shot and killed during one of his journeys north. Grotto

Thursday, November 13th

4:30—War Dance -- follows the courageous efforts of northern Ugandan student from the Patongo refugee camp as they pour their hearts into winning an annual music competition. Grotto

7:00-- The Trials of Darryl Hunt-- a brutal rape/murder case and a wrongly convicted man, Darryl Hunt, who spent nearly twenty years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Both a social justice story and a personally driven narrative, the film chronicles this capital case from 1984 through 2004. Rm 104

Friday, November 14th

4:30 – The Dictator Hunter -- follows human rights lawyer Reed Brody over the course of two suspenseful years as he travels through Africa, Europe and the United States as he attempts to have Hissène Habré, the former leader of Chad, who is charged with killing thousands of his own countrymen in the 1980s brought to trial or extradited. Grotto

7:00—Persepolis-- animated feature is a poignant coming-of-age story of a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl that begins during the Islamic Revolution. Rooms 221-222

Obama Foreign Policy Panel Discussion at UNCA

From a UNCA press release:

Foreign Policy Panel Discussion
Monday, November 10
7:30 p.m.
Owen Conference Center (3rd floor Owen Hall), UNCA campus
Refreshments at 7

The World Affairs Council of Western North Carolina, the UNCA International Studies Program and the Leadership Asheville Forum present a panel discussion on the implications for American foreign policy of the election of Senator Obama.

Will American foreign policy change dramatically under the leadership of a new administration?

What is the likely reaction of the international community to the results of the election?

What are the most important global challenges that the new president will face?


These and other questions will be addressed by a panel of local and regional foreign policy experts including:

• Dr. George Peery, retired professor of Political Science, Mars Hill College (panel moderator)
• Dr. Sarah-Ann Smith, retired Foreign Service Officer and former President of the World Affairs Council of WNC
• Dr. Linda Cornett, Associate Professor of Political Science, UNCA
• Dr. Tom Sanders, retired International Studies Professor, instructor at the College for Seniors and former President of the World Affairs Council of WNC

Free to members of the World Affairs Council
$8 for non-members
Membership available at the presentation

Billy Bragg Loves Asheville

Joining the Asheville Orange Peel Fan Club (current members include David Byrne and Smashing Pumpkins) is the political English folk musician, Billy Bragg.

From his blog:

JFK airport is full of people wearing medals they won for completing the New York City marathon yesterday, looking tired but happy. After three weeks and nearly 3000 miles in our Econoline van, I feel the same, buoyed by the fact that the best show was saved until last.

Asheville is a town in the Appalachian Mountains renowned for its activism. Across the road from the Orange Peel, a huge hoarding keeps a toll of the cost of the Iraqi occupation in dollars as well as Iraqi and American lives. I’ve been here once before, five years ago on the Tell Us The Truth tour, and have a strong memory of a well attended after-show discussion at a nearby squatted community café with most of the audience and all of the artists.

This time I had a little longer to check the place out. We got to town around 3pm and I took a leisurely stroll in the afternoon sunshine down to the venue past shops selling second hand clothes and American folk art. We even found our first Indian restaurant of the tour. Joy.

The gig was highly charged from the start, the audience responding as if it were Saturday night, not Sunday. They pulled songs out of me that I hadn’t been playing thus far, including the first US performance of One Love/Drop the Debt, along with all the arm waving actions. They seemed to be all ages, from earnest young beardies to old whiskery wobblies, and they knew most of the words too. By the end my voice was hoarse and my fingertips sore, but we’d all had a great time.

(Hat tip to Ashvegas!)

River District Studio Stroll Saturday and Sunday

River District Studio Stroll
Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 8 and 9

(Cool new addition this year -- $5 trolley day-passes give you the option of taking the trolley through the district.)

Info from the official website:

Twice a year Asheville’s River Arts District opens to the public for two days of festivities known as the STUDIO STROLL.

During the Studio Stroll, now in its 15th year, artists of the River Arts District welcome you into their studios to talk with them, see their latest artwork, watch demonstrations, and experience for yourself the magic hidden inside the time-worn factories and warehouses along the French Broad River.

The Studio Stroll is free and open to the public. Most studios are within walking distance of each other, and there is plenty of free parking. Arrive early and stay for lunch at any of our neighborhood eateries including Clingman Cafe, Twelve Bones Smokehouse, Twin Cousins Kitchen and Greene’s Mini Mart. Go home with new ideas, gifts for friends and even something special for you.

PDF link with map and trolley stops.

Official website.

Comic Potential at Asheville High

Tonight and Tomorrow night, November 7th and 8th, 2008 at 7:30pm
Asheville High Arts Theater
Tickets $4 for students, $6 for adults

Comic Potential is set in "the foreseeable future when everything has changed except human nature". Fax machines are obsolete (they "went out twenty years ago") and androids (actoids, actually) have largely replaced actors.

The play opens in a television studio, where a programme is being put together -- a weepy soap opera. All the actors are, in fact, actoids -- and technically they aren't performing at the highest level. It is a hospital scene, and the doctor is "replacing its As with Us" (i.e. he wants to umputate rather than amputate his patient's limb) and there is a nurse laughing most inappropriately.

The TV programme is being overseen by Chandler Tate (who prefers to be called Chance), a washed-up American film director, now reduced to putting together such third-rate, low-budget shows. His support crew consists of a pair of [computer technicians], Prim and Trudi. To this mix is added Adam Trainsmith, a young, idealistic writer (and fan of Chandler's old film comedies) who happens to be the nephew of Lester Trainsmith, the media mogul who also owns this TV company.

It is Adam who discovers the talents of the laughing nurse-actoid. Her name -- or her identification number -- is JC-F31-333, but she winds up being called Jacie Triplethree. And it turns out she has moved a bit beyond her basic actoid programme. She doesn't understand it herself -- she thinks it is a programming fault -- but she couldn't help laughing during the earlier scene. In fact, she is taking on some very human features.

Jacie is able to learn, and Adam teaches her a thing or two about acting -- comedy in particular. She shows remarkable comic potential, and soon enough Adam has conceived a show for her to star in. The interfering hands of the extremely unpleasant Regional Director Carla Pepperbloom (a typical TV executive), threaten to ruin the project, but Adam and Jacie soldier on. They also fall in love. Complications and comedy abound. From wheelchair-bound Lester Trainsmith, who doesn't like to speak for himself, to Jacie's adventures in the real world as she and Adam flee the studio there are many fine scenes here. Ayckbourn delivers broad farce here, but he also shows a light, poignant touch. Naïve Jacie learns quickly but takes things very literally. Ayckbourn uses this very effectively, never going just for the simplest laughs but really developing a rich character here.

Comic Potential is very nicely developed, and Ayckbourn builds it up very effectively. Life cleverly imitates art here, but realism also always keeps idealism in check. Love and art are presented as the complex things they are, with no trite, easy answers offered. And Ayckbourn presents both hilarious farce and clever dialogue, nicely combining the two in this poignant and very entertaining piece.

Your Help Is Requested

If you see anyone walking around with Gordon's yellow Scrutiny Hooligan bag, please beat their behind, someone took it out of his car, and it has his computer in it.

Thank you,

BlogAsheville Admin

Discount Deal for Cat Owners at the Humane Alliance

From the Buncombe County News:

Do You Have a Male Cat? Get Him Neutered for Only $20!

Get your male cat neutered and a rabies vaccination for only $20 on November 14th ONLY
at the Humane Alliance Spay/Neuter Clinic. What a DEAL!

Call for an appointment and directions -- 252-2079.

*******

Humane Alliance
25 Heritage Dr., Asheville (directions)

BTW neuter surgery alone (no rabies shot) for a male cat is ordinarily $35 at the Humane Alliance and probably $50 or more at most local vets. Savings through this offer is probably $50 or more.

Election Day Local Twitter Coverage From Mountain X

Use Twitter?

Check out Election Day tweets from Mountain Xpress including updates about lines at Asheville polling places.

Wally Bowen on NPR

In case you missed it this morning, Wally Bowen of the Mountain Area Information Network (MAIN) was featured on NPR's Morning Edition in a report about the upcoming FCC vote on white space broadband.

Click here to listen.