Encore Online - Your Alternative Voice In Wilmington NC

Cover Story : Christmas Merriment:

Posted in Cover Story | No Comments | Read More

Free Stuff and Contests

December concert contests:
win tickets to the SOAPBOX and the HOUSE OF BLUES in Myrtle Beach

By: encore Staff - November 24th, 2009
[ read more ]

encore Free Online Subscriptions

By: encore Staff - June 10th, 2009
[ read more ]

Half-Off Depot

Visit your favorite places in Wilmington at 50% off retail

By: encore Staff - November 13th, 2009
[ read more ]

Best of Downtown Holiday Decorations!

Every year the businesses and historic homes downtown go above and beyond to create a holiday atmosphere like no other. You can see the shop owners battling it out, singing ‘nothing’s gonna stop us,’ wishing for their very own Hollywood and magic mannequin to help them in the windows. This year since the voting, for the first time ever, will be don by the readers of encore Magazine.
By: encore Staff - November 29th, 2009
[ read more ]

Encore Exchange

ThanksGIVING:
Thanksgiving. It’s not a holiday where we necessarily celebrate our religious beliefs, or honor our armed services, or the Presidents or leaders of our past. It’s a day when we’re supposed to be celebrating a state of being, a small moment in our busy lives when we’re advised to pause, reflect and most of all to be grateful. The word “thanksgiving” (as a verb and not a noun) is a challenge in itself, although not designed to be challenging. It’s a challenge from our forefathers and mothers to do something. And as much as we’d like to ignore it, and eat our turkey and watch the Dallas Cowboys—or, heaven forbid, the Detroit Lions—play football, it’s a glaringly obvious charge for us all to give thanks. It’s a plead, it’s a call, it’s a prayer: Please, give thanks. And some of us do. For that one day.

By: Adrian Varnam - November 24th, 2009
[ read more ]

Opinion

A Walmart Thanksgiving:
It’s hard to pick out my favorite Thanksgiving. It’s easy to pick out my worst. I was happy to get some extra cash while doing a Walmart commercial a week before the big holiday. We were going to Spindale, North Carolina, a cozy old town tucked in the folds of the Piedmont. It was going to be a real feel-good story about how Spindale’s only employer, a 100-year-old yarn factory, was shutting down, going the way of the rest of the textile industry in the area. But Walmart, as part of its “Buy American” campaign, was going to keep the factory going by giving it a long-term contract. Walmart was saving the town.

By: The Cranky Foreigner - November 24th, 2009
[ read more ]

Constitution. Constituency. Conscience.
People complain that Mike McIntyre is a gutless obstructionist. Some say he’s not a Democrat; they say he’s a good ol’ boy that takes credit for pork projects benefitting our district, even though he has done nothing to actively oppose them on the House floor. They say his political opportunism will lead him to the GOP, but only after he wins re-election as a Democrat. Have they never read JFK’s book, Profiles in Courage?

By: Mark Basquill - November 24th, 2009
[ read more ]

Features

Live Local, Live Small:
This has been a tough year. With Thanksgiving coming, I have began to reflect upon the things for which I am the most thankful. I am very thankful for my father, our delightful pets and, of course, most of all, the love of my life: Jock Brandis. But when I get down to it, as a small-business owner, I am on my knees with gratitude that we still have the doors open in our family business.

By: Gwenyfar Rohler - November 24th, 2009
[ read more ]

Movie Reviews

New-Moon Muddle:
ATTENTION: Where is Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight’s former director), how much money does one have to pay her, and how can one convince her to fix the shambles that is current director, Chris Weitz’s, New Moon?

By: Lisa Huynh - November 24th, 2009
[ read more ]

Crowd-Pleasing Comedy:
When did the word “mainstream” become so filthy? It has so many nasty connotations in modern critical press. If critics want to destroy a movie’s credibility, they only have to drop it as an adjective. “Mainstream” became a dirty word, symbolic of a pander, streamlines format bereft of original thought—a dumbed-down concept, the sharp edges sanded down to dull corners.

By: Anghus - November 24th, 2009
[ read more ]

Art

The Board Life:
Before they met Jake Shelton and Todd Barber were just two skater boys terrorizing their respective neighborhoods by doing half-pipes on their homemade skateboards. Shelton was rolling around Hillsborough, North Carolina, while Barber scuffed his wheels on the other side of the world in Saudi Arabia. It would be decades until their boards would collide, creating a brand new artistic medium for Wilmington to feast upon.

By: Lauren Hodges - November 24th, 2009
[ read more ]

Books

Front and Center
One aspect of the holiday season that I loathe is the need society has to celebrate them all at once. It is impossible to buy a turkey without being poked by pointy-toe couture Christmas stockings, harassed by Chanukah paraphernalia or assaulted by festive 2010 note pads on which to jot those New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps many are feeling too threatened by the vicissitudes of their careers, too endangered by the uncertainties of the economy and too worried about the loss of vitality to slow down the pace. Thus, come Thanksgiving I want to travel to a place where the act of counting my blessings doesn’t include the anxious condition of gratitude.

By: Tiffanie Gabrielse - November 24th, 2009
[ read more ]

Quick Stats
Encore currently has 2 users online.


+ Home + Cover Story + Blog + Letters + Opinion + Features + Save The World + Theatre + Film Reviews + Film Listings + Art + Gallery Listings + Music + CD Reviews + Music Calendar + Dining Review + Dining Guide + Recipes + Books + Creative Writing + Humor + Cultural Calendar + Cartoons + Best Of Wilmington + Business Profile + Pet of the Week + Classifieds + Advertise With Us + Online Edition + Archives + FREE Subscriptions	Cover Story : Christmas Merriment: Posted in Cover Story \| No Comments \| Read More Free Stuff and Contests December concert contests: win tickets to the SOAPBOX and the HOUSE OF BLUES in Myrtle Beach By: encore Staff - November 24th, 2009 [ read more ] encore Free Online Subscriptions Sign up to get encore delivered straight to your email every Wednesday! By: encore Staff - June 10th, 2009 [ read more ] Half-Off Depot Visit your favorite places in Wilmington at 50% off retail By: encore Staff - November 13th, 2009 [ read more ] Best of Downtown Holiday Decorations! Every year the businesses and historic homes downtown go above and beyond to create a holiday atmosphere like no other. You can see the shop owners battling it out, singing ‘nothing’s gonna stop us,’ wishing for their very own Hollywood and magic mannequin to help them in the windows. This year since the voting, for the first time ever, will be don by the readers of encore Magazine. By: encore Staff - November 29th, 2009 [ read more ] Encore Exchange ThanksGIVING: Thanksgiving. It’s not a holiday where we necessarily celebrate our religious beliefs, or honor our armed services, or the Presidents or leaders of our past. It’s a day when we’re supposed to be celebrating a state of being, a small moment in our busy lives when we’re advised to pause, reflect and most of all to be grateful. The word “thanksgiving” (as a verb and not a noun) is a challenge in itself, although not designed to be challenging. It’s a challenge from our forefathers and mothers to do something. And as much as we’d like to ignore it, and eat our turkey and watch the Dallas Cowboys—or, heaven forbid, the Detroit Lions—play football, it’s a glaringly obvious charge for us all to give thanks. It’s a plead, it’s a call, it’s a prayer: Please, give thanks. And some of us do. For that one day. By: Adrian Varnam - November 24th, 2009 [ read more ] Opinion A Walmart Thanksgiving: It’s hard to pick out my favorite Thanksgiving. It’s easy to pick out my worst. I was happy to get some extra cash while doing a Walmart commercial a week before the big holiday. We were going to Spindale, North Carolina, a cozy old town tucked in the folds of the Piedmont. It was going to be a real feel-good story about how Spindale’s only employer, a 100-year-old yarn factory, was shutting down, going the way of the rest of the textile industry in the area. But Walmart, as part of its “Buy American” campaign, was going to keep the factory going by giving it a long-term contract. Walmart was saving the town. By: The Cranky Foreigner - November 24th, 2009 [ read more ] Constitution. Constituency. Conscience. People complain that Mike McIntyre is a gutless obstructionist. Some say he’s not a Democrat; they say he’s a good ol’ boy that takes credit for pork projects benefitting our district, even though he has done nothing to actively oppose them on the House floor. They say his political opportunism will lead him to the GOP, but only after he wins re-election as a Democrat. Have they never read JFK’s book, Profiles in Courage? By: Mark Basquill - November 24th, 2009 [ read more ] Features Live Local, Live Small: This has been a tough year. With Thanksgiving coming, I have began to reflect upon the things for which I am the most thankful. I am very thankful for my father, our delightful pets and, of course, most of all, the love of my life: Jock Brandis. But when I get down to it, as a small-business owner, I am on my knees with gratitude that we still have the doors open in our family business. By: Gwenyfar Rohler - November 24th, 2009 [ read more ] Movie Reviews New-Moon Muddle: ATTENTION: Where is Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight’s former director), how much money does one have to pay her, and how can one convince her to fix the shambles that is current director, Chris Weitz’s, New Moon? By: Lisa Huynh - November 24th, 2009 [ read more ] Crowd-Pleasing Comedy: When did the word “mainstream” become so filthy? It has so many nasty connotations in modern critical press. If critics want to destroy a movie’s credibility, they only have to drop it as an adjective. “Mainstream” became a dirty word, symbolic of a pander, streamlines format bereft of original thought—a dumbed-down concept, the sharp edges sanded down to dull corners. By: Anghus - November 24th, 2009 [ read more ] Art The Board Life: Before they met Jake Shelton and Todd Barber were just two skater boys terrorizing their respective neighborhoods by doing half-pipes on their homemade skateboards. Shelton was rolling around Hillsborough, North Carolina, while Barber scuffed his wheels on the other side of the world in Saudi Arabia. It would be decades until their boards would collide, creating a brand new artistic medium for Wilmington to feast upon. By: Lauren Hodges - November 24th, 2009 [ read more ] Books Front and Center One aspect of the holiday season that I loathe is the need society has to celebrate them all at once. It is impossible to buy a turkey without being poked by pointy-toe couture Christmas stockings, harassed by Chanukah paraphernalia or assaulted by festive 2010 note pads on which to jot those New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps many are feeling too threatened by the vicissitudes of their careers, too endangered by the uncertainties of the economy and too worried about the loss of vitality to slow down the pace. Thus, come Thanksgiving I want to travel to a place where the act of counting my blessings doesn’t include the anxious condition of gratitude. By: Tiffanie Gabrielse - November 24th, 2009 [ read more ]	*Quick Stats* Encore currently has 2 users online.
encore stuff: CONTACT US \| ADVERTISING INFO \| ABOUT US \| WORK HERE \| ACCESSIBILITY POLICY FOLLOW US: TWITTER \| FACEBOOK \|