Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / May 6, 1999, edition 1 / Page 4
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Page 4 The Banner Features May 6,1999 Xcapades: A great place to take a first date By Dm Martin staff Writer So after a night at Xcapades all I can say is ‘bahama-ma-blue-balls- guhga-fuhga.’ Granted, it wasn’t the best strip club I’ve ever been to, but the girls are all so nice, and we all know that personality goes a long way. For all the males out there, you’d like it even if you were blind. For all the females, well, you might like it too. The rules and regulations boil down to three stipulations. Danc ers must have a $510 license for each year that they dance. Second, Buncombe County has an ordi nance which says that the bottom apparel stays on. Last, but defi nitely not least, patrons cannot touch the dancers in any way, shape or form. From time to time, rowdy rednecks have gotten a little grope in, but to no avail. The Xcapades dancers do not go that far and the customer is not always right. In the last two years there have only been three arrests at Xcapades, which were all outside. The QJ attributed this low sparring num ber to behavioral modification. In other words, the guys do not fight because they want to continue to see the dancing ladies, and see they do. Xcapades has a total of 21 dancers with anywhere from six to nine on weeknights and nine to 15 on weekends. Of course, all the dancers have the patented leg-on-the-shoulder move down pat and can thrust and thrive with rather magical appeal. How ever, once you start to talk with them, you’ll see that nine out of 10 ladies justwanttogiveyoualapdance. Lap dances go for $10, $20, or $30, de pending on how close you want to be with your temporarysignificant other. For those patrons that are a little more ambitious, shower dances are availableaswell. On average, a shower dance will go for about $50 a pop and doesn’t include a towel. Scarlet, one of the lovely ladies of the night, claim.s that she brings home around $800 per week, which entails four nights of taking it off for the boys. The average weekly income ranges from $500 to $1,500, de pending on the frivolity of the dancer. Now, I know most of you ladies are thinking, “How the hell did I end up in this job? It’s time to dance!” However, before you begin an illus trious career in the titillating world of topless dancing, consider how accu rately you can thrust your pelvis. The only reason I mention this is because guys know when you are faking the shake. Xcapades has been a topless club for five years. The present manager, Darryl Callahan, is a sincerely nice guy. He is more than accommodat ing to his customers, but his dancers always come first. He hasn’t had to throw many people out, but he’s not afraid to draw the line if one of those pesky drunken rednecks starts both ering a dancer. Not only is Xcapades a topless bar, but it’s also an “Exotic Entertain ment Sports Complex.” There’s no membership required, but the com plex does include pool tables and several televisions at the bar to cap ture your attention while changing that $20 bill into all ones. Suprisingly enough, the bathrooms were ex tremely clean. Most of the rhythmically-charmed thumpers of the entertainment com plex are in their early twenties, al though there is one dancer who is close to 50. When I asked Bobbi, a kinder, gender, blonde entertainer, if the mid-40-year-old still had the goods, she emphatically replied, “Oh, yeah!” This just goes to show that if you have enough money and plastic byproducts, then you can dance until that feisty feeling leaves you. So the overall verdict: I’d recom mend Xcapades for the first date. There’s no need to take life seriously enough to get embarrassed by going to a strip club. Besides, it would probably go down as your most suc- cessflil first date ever (no pun in tended). If you go on Monday night there’s cheap Icehouse Light. Who are you trying to kid? Everybody loves sex, or else films such as “No Slim Dickins Here” wouldn’t be so popular. Besides, no one would be reading this if it wasn’t for the fulfill ing act of procreation. So I say strip down those superficial walls and call it how it really is. You most likely won’t come back after the first time anyway, unless you want to see the mystical motions of the 40- plus dancer. If you’ve seen the pearl, then staring at the shell becomes bor ing rather quickly. Ifyoudogo, make sure you bring two things. You defi nitely want to have a lot of ones because not tipping a dancer is worse than not tipping your waiter. If you’re not going to tip, then don’t bother going. Also, don’t forget a friend so you’re not the sketchy per vert sitting in the corner by himself, Wolfe house seeks volunteers By Beth Hoyle staff Writer The Thomas Wolfe Memorial, nesded among the bminesses ofdowntown Asheville, is looking for volunteers. “A lot of the visitor service that has worked here in the past has depended on volimteers,” said Kim Hewitt, a historical interpreter who acts as the assistant manager at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial. Until a few years ago, the staff of the memorial was very small, and volunteers were required to do frontline work, according to Hewitt. Thevolunteers dropped firam seven to two due to the 1998 fire, according to Hewitt “Due to the fire, our visitation has dropped tremendously,” said Hewitt “It has started to pick dp a litde more as more people are vacation ing, but the faa that the house itself is closed has had a negative effea on our visitation.” The house is closed due to the damage inside and insurance problems that was caused by the fire. The memorial lost only about 15 percent of the artifacts that were in the house during the fire. The main damage was in the entirely burned dining room. Other damage came firom smoke and vrater, according to Hewitt. The visitor center contains some artiiacts that were not harmed in the fire. As more damaged artifacts are restored, they will also be put on display in the visitor center. “We definitely will reopen (the house),” said Hewitt. “We don’t have a definite date set yet, and that is partly because we are still waiting for m PHOTO BY PATRICIA GONZALEZ-DEAVENPORT , The Thomas Wolfe Memorial wants volunteers to help give tours of the outside of the house. the final plans from the architect We hope to get the plans sometime this summer, and at that pointi think thestatewillprobablysetatime line goal.” Hewitt said she does not expea that the house vwU be ready to reopen before the year 2001. The tours are now held outdoors, going around the house, and still focus on Wolfe’s childhood. Special programs have also been developed. Starting at 2 p.m., tours of downtown Asheville are given with a focus on the downtown that Wolfe would have known. Also a program is presented at the visitor center concerning the changes of household appliances at the turn of the century in the aftemoons. “Over the course of the summer, we hope to see visitation increase, and we want two or three volunteers to tty out this summer,” said Hewitt. Those who want to volunteer do not have to have bacl^ound knowledge ofThomas Wolfe. “What’s really important is diat they like to talk to people because that would be the main work that they would be doing.” “It is also important that they (those wanting to volunteer) are interested in a museimi and historic site atmosphere,” said Hewitt. The information that would be required to nm the tours for the house and work the visitor center sales desk is provided to the volimteer. Volimteers are trained by watching others give tours and by reading a basic training packet as well as other materials given to them. Being a volimteer “really gives you a better understanding of people,” said Hewitt. “It is a really good way to leam how to deal with different kinds of people.” Volunteering also helps one feel as ifhe/she is giving something back to the community. Volunteer applications can be picked up at the Thomas Wolfe visitor center. Volunteers are needed for the weekdays, for three or more hours at a time. ‘Pushing’ merely OK By Wendi Williams staff Writer John Cusak and Billy Bob Thornton star in Mike Newell’s latest film from 20th Century Fox, “Pushing Tin.” Newell is also known for his direction of “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Donnie Brasco.” “Pushing Tin” follows the lives of two New York City air traffic controllers in a testosterone-filled battle of wits and egos that only ends hetause the jno.yk ends. The opening ;scprie.s reveal the heart- pounding, fast-paced w,Qj:ld.o£TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control). This central control area is responsible for the three major airports in New York City, Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark, as well as approximately 47 other smaller airports. One of the controllers boasts that they have more lives in their hands in a single shift than a surgeon will have in an entire career. In other words, they get as much “tin” lined up in order to “push” as many planes through as possible to keep the flights on schedule, and to avoid mid-air collisions. The film is billed as a comedy, but it has a very serious storyline, with occasional comic relief Cusak plays the big-shot controller, Nick “the Zone” Falzone, who cannot allow himself to be wrong. His ego couldn’t handle it and neither could his job. Thornton is the mysterious new comer at TRACON, Russell Bell, who brings with him the reputation of being crazy enough to let a 747 fly right over his head just to experience the turbulence. The macho rivalry starts with their jobs and continues with their wives. Cusak has an affair with Thornton’s wife, Mary (Angelina Jolie), and nearly loses his own wife, Connie (Cate Blanchett), because of it. It takes a bomb threat in the control room and the need to land a lot of planes in a very short amount of time to bring the two rivals down to the same level. The two are forced to work as a team, against both of their better judgments, to keep thousands of people alive. It comes down to the wire to save the passengers, or save themselves. Their ultimate bonding experience hap pens when Thornton gets Cusak out on the runway to experience a little 747 turbulence of his own. The acting in this film was very well done, especially by Thornton and Cusak. The two veteran actors brought a lot into an otherwise lifeless plot. Too much time was spent on the effects of the affair between Cusak andjolie, and not enough time on the actual conflicts encountered at TRACON. Glen and Les Charles, who wrote and produced “Taxi” and co-cteated “Cheers,” wrote the story. Unfortunately, “Push ing Tin” doesn’t live ud to the legacy ths writers have set as a precedent. Don’t write this movie off just yet. It is worth going to see, but don’t expect much more than good acting and a couple of oversized egos. No Soup Nazi at The Noodle Shop By Erica Shusha staff Writer The Noodle Shop, located in ;downtown Asheville, serves up fresh tand healthy authentic Northwest- Tern Chinese food, from wonton soup with edible wood-fungus to ginger and scallion shrimp, i If it is time to satisfy your taste Ibuds with the most authentic Chi- Inese food around while eating in a vfriendly relaxing environment. The jNoodle Shop definitely fulfills with jtheir tasty selections. " “We’ve only been open for less C than four months, and our business !is doing spectacular,” said Jing -Wang, owner ofThe Noodle Soup. - “I wanted to open an authentic -Chinese restaurant, unlike the fa- Review miliar Americanized Chinese res taurants, in order to introduce some real Chinese cooking,” said Wang. Wang previously worked at the family-run business at China Inn on Biltmore Avenue and jumped at the chance to open The Noodle Shop downtown in the location formerly known as Burgermisters. “The Noodle Shop is unlike any other restaurant around, the clos est comparison resides in Atlanta,” said Wang. “I wanted to serve the Asheville area this food where normally only the big cities cook up authentic food, but even still, this is my own creation,” said Wang. The Noodle Shop is a family-run business, according to Wang. The Noodle Shop serves noodle bowls from Szechwan to Sandong while choosing vegetable or chicken stock for your base. In addition, you have the choice of a variety of noodles: angel hair; linguine; fettuccine; or rice noodles. “Be}ide the noodle bowls, we serve rice platters with either brown rice or streamed rice,” said Wang. The Noodle Shop’s rice platters range from spinach tofu to baby bok choy with ginger and garlic sauce. “We even created the soup, The Asheville Noodle, with chicken, beef, shrimp, crabmeat, carrot, radish, napa, cilantro and spin ach,” said Wang. The Noodle Shop also serves a wide selection of different appe tizers daily, from the popular spring rolls to spicy and sour napa and Chinese pancakes. The Noodle Shop brews pre mium teas like black, jasmine and ginseng tea from Wang’s home town. To display Wang’s great taste in food and decorating The Noodle Shop serves their noodle soups in huge handmade pottery bowls, while your tea brews in small in dividual teapots. “We appeal greatly to the health nuts in Asheville,” said Wang. “All of our food is MSG free, only two selections on the menu are made with corn starch and we never use canned vegetables; they’re always fresh. “Our food doesn’t use any sauces, that’s Northeastern Chinese,” said Wang. “In our rice platters, we only use salt, sugar and soy sauce, nothing else.” The Noodle Shop’s prices range from $4.95 to $12.95, and they offer daily specials. Lunch hours are Tuesday to Friday 11:30a.m. to 2:30p.m., and din ners hours are Monday to Thurs day 5 p.m. to 9:30p.m. Open Friday and Satur day from 5 p.m. to 10:30p.m, closed Sunday. PHOTO BY TRAVIS BARKEP The Noodle Shop, located in downtown Asheville, offers authentic Chinese cuisine.
University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper
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May 6, 1999, edition 1
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