60 Margaret Severin-Hansen, a principal ballerina with Carolina Ballet, and other dancers talk about fairy tale fantasies, reality's thorns and what they'd ask of a fairy godmother. www.newsobserver.com/1068548 A video backdrop was the most telling aspect of Radiohead's performance at Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre: Five screens projected a close-up, largely black-and-white image of each band member. www.newsobserver.com/1068924 Recently, Dr. Henry Vanderbilt Johnson Jr. shared a story with me about an unsung little moment in our state's civil rights history: a cafe brawl in Engelhard, a fishing village in Hyde County. The story, which I have edited for length, comes from a memoir that he is writing about growing up in Engelhard and his career. www.newsobserver.com/1068560 As Peru rides a tourism wave propelled by a strong economy and favorable exchange rates for bargain-minded Americans, it is poised to become the new "it" spot on the international surfing circuit. www.newsobserver.com/1068549 Charles Bronson offed my father. He hid a bomb inside a bottle of red wine, and when it exploded, he gave my old man everlasting life. For this, I am eternally grateful. www.newsobserver.com/1068552 During the Age of Jim Crow, African-American giants W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) and Paul Robeson (1898-1976) anguished over the fate of millions of working class blacks, including convict-lease prisoners, sharecroppers and indigent laborers. www.newsobserver.com/1068586 Bitters, long an accent in many a good cocktail, have recently moved to the main stage as Triangle mixologists have begun making their own. www.newsobserver.com/1068584 The man behind the president's speeches was called his "thinking machine" and his "writing machine" and, not least of all, his "lying machine." www.newsobserver.com/1068579 What would you get if you crossed "The Golden Girls" with "Fried Green Tomatoes" and put it on stage? www.newsobserver.com/1068594 So much of Madonna's mastery and mystique is predicated on being at the forefront of emerging musical styles while pushing the envelope of social discourse. www.newsobserver.com/1068602 For the past two decades, bluegrass has enjoyed its share of fine young pickers. Nickel Creek's Chris Thile, banjo whiz Ryan Holladay, the four sibling members of Cherryholmes and Alison Krauss come to mind. www.newsobserver.com/1068604 "Rainbow People," the title tune on Steve Turre's new HighNote album, is a perfect piece for his dark tone and hard-bop style. With a repeated bass pattern, minor-key and modal chords in the piano and a longing melody full of held notes, it establishes a mood of intrigue. www.newsobserver.com/1068605 It was the kind of offer that most Hollywood A-listers would jump at: a chance to work with Wong Kar-Wai, the critically acclaimed Hong Kong director of "In the Mood for Love" and "Chungking Express." But the woman that Wong wanted wouldn't call him back. www.newsobserver.com/1068607 One of the great -- and sadly rare -- pleasures of reading fiction comes when we recognize our lives in the actions and decisions of fictional characters. www.newsobserver.com/1068568 The building on Central Avenue has housed the chamber of commerce, a drive-in mortuary and a bordello. Now, it will do time memorializing Al Capone, Owen "Owney" Madden, Lucky Luciano and other gangsters. www.newsobserver.com/1068596 Places to go, things to see across North Carolina this week. www.newsobserver.com/1068562 When an airline denies you a seat you've reserved because it has oversold the flight, it typically offers you a voucher for the inconvenience. But there are two things you need to know: Under U.S. Department of Transportation rules, you are entitled to insist on money instead, and as of May 19, airlines must pay you up to twice as much as previously required. www.newsobserver.com/1068588 Two books show women with children doing it their own way. www.newsobserver.com/1068555 Cox Mountain Trail is one of two "mountain" hikes in the Triangle (the other is Occoneechee Mountain just upstream in Hillsborough) and it's hard to tell whether the trail embraces its mountainness or eschews it. Nearly all of the climb up this 732-foot dome is along the mountain's steep, eastern face abutting the Eno River. www.newsobserver.com/1068557 A euro was worth $1.25 when I moved to Paris in 2004. Now it's more like $1.60. So am I happy I don't live in Paris anymore? Not at all. But I'm much more careful with my money when I pass through. www.newsobserver.com/1068572 Margaret Severin-Hansen, a principal ballerina with Carolina Ballet, and other dancers talk about fairy tale fantasies, reality's thorns and what they'd ask of a fairy godmother. www.newsobserver.com/1068548 A video backdrop was the most telling aspect of Radiohead's performance at Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre: Five screens projected a close-up, largely black-and-white image of each band member. www.newsobserver.com/1068924 Recently, Dr. Henry Vanderbilt Johnson Jr. shared a story with me about an unsung little moment in our state's civil rights history: a cafe brawl in Engelhard, a fishing village in Hyde County. The story, which I have edited for length, comes from a memoir that he is writing about growing up in Engelhard and his career. www.newsobserver.com/1068560 As Peru rides a tourism wave propelled by a strong economy and favorable exchange rates for bargain-minded Americans, it is poised to become the new "it" spot on the international surfing circuit. www.newsobserver.com/1068549 Charles Bronson offed my father. He hid a bomb inside a bottle of red wine, and when it exploded, he gave my old man everlasting life. For this, I am eternally grateful. www.newsobserver.com/1068552 During the Age of Jim Crow, African-American giants W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) and Paul Robeson (1898-1976) anguished over the fate of millions of working class blacks, including convict-lease prisoners, sharecroppers and indigent laborers. www.newsobserver.com/1068586 Bitters, long an accent in many a good cocktail, have recently moved to the main stage as Triangle mixologists have begun making their own. www.newsobserver.com/1068584 The man behind the president's speeches was called his "thinking machine" and his "writing machine" and, not least of all, his "lying machine." www.newsobserver.com/1068579 What would you get if you crossed "The Golden Girls" with "Fried Green Tomatoes" and put it on stage? www.newsobserver.com/1068594 So much of Madonna's mastery and mystique is predicated on being at the forefront of emerging musical styles while pushing the envelope of social discourse. www.newsobserver.com/1068602 For the past two decades, bluegrass has enjoyed its share of fine young pickers. Nickel Creek's Chris Thile, banjo whiz Ryan Holladay, the four sibling members of Cherryholmes and Alison Krauss come to mind. www.newsobserver.com/1068604 "Rainbow People," the title tune on Steve Turre's new HighNote album, is a perfect piece for his dark tone and hard-bop style. With a repeated bass pattern, minor-key and modal chords in the piano and a longing melody full of held notes, it establishes a mood of intrigue. www.newsobserver.com/1068605 It was the kind of offer that most Hollywood A-listers would jump at: a chance to work with Wong Kar-Wai, the critically acclaimed Hong Kong director of "In the Mood for Love" and "Chungking Express." But the woman that Wong wanted wouldn't call him back. www.newsobserver.com/1068607 One of the great -- and sadly rare -- pleasures of reading fiction comes when we recognize our lives in the actions and decisions of fictional characters. www.newsobserver.com/1068568 The building on Central Avenue has housed the chamber of commerce, a drive-in mortuary and a bordello. Now, it will do time memorializing Al Capone, Owen "Owney" Madden, Lucky Luciano and other gangsters. www.newsobserver.com/1068596 Places to go, things to see across North Carolina this week. www.newsobserver.com/1068562 When an airline denies you a seat you've reserved because it has oversold the flight, it typically offers you a voucher for the inconvenience. But there are two things you need to know: Under U.S. Department of Transportation rules, you are entitled to insist on money instead, and as of May 19, airlines must pay you up to twice as much as previously required. www.newsobserver.com/1068588 Two books show women with children doing it their own way. www.newsobserver.com/1068555 Cox Mountain Trail is one of two "mountain" hikes in the Triangle (the other is Occoneechee Mountain just upstream in Hillsborough) and it's hard to tell whether the trail embraces its mountainness or eschews it. Nearly all of the climb up this 732-foot dome is along the mountain's steep, eastern face abutting the Eno River. www.newsobserver.com/1068557 A euro was worth $1.25 when I moved to Paris in 2004. Now it's more like $1.60. So am I happy I don't live in Paris anymore? Not at all. But I'm much more careful with my money when I pass through. www.newsobserver.com/1068572