1063 Dr. Cupcake

1063 Dr. Cupcake

(CHARLOTTE, NC) -- The Democratic national convention is coming to this fake city and people who still believe their votes count are getting busy.

Charlotte was built on the backs of slaves, run by King Cotton and Prince Tobacco.  The plantations and farms and auction barns of yore have given way to the puny wannabe skyline. And the plantation owners and farmers now have suits and run gluttonous banks that --like cotton and tobacco and slavery-- are too big to fail but do, anyway.

Their buildings are overlooked by the Lord Highest Bank of America Building, all 871 feet of it.  For perspective that's about 100 feet shorter than the Eiffel Tower and around the same height as the undistinguished and easy-to-miss CitySpyer Center on 56th Street in New York.

Onto this movie set will come thousands of supporters of President Obama who will cram into the TimeWarner Cable Arena, a basketball venue that looks like a huge clock that was knocked off a huge mantle and landed on its face. It is home to the hapless and hopeless Bobcats of the NBA, M. Jordan, prop.

In the midst of all of this, there is at least one bright spot, Dr. Cupcake, aka Michelle Wilson, aka Chelly.

What do you do with a PhD in an ... um ... fast moving field like anthropology?  The answer is either teach or find a real job.  And Dr. Wilson has, for the moment chosen the latter.

She bakes and sells retail and wholesale vegan relatively healthy cupcakes. A thing of beauty that won't hurt you if you don't overdo it.  And she's taking her show on the road to the convention, joining other pro-Obama merchants of health outside Mr. Jordan's Fallen Clock Arena.  It’s a short road. Chelly’s is based nearby.

She calls herself a "southern hippie." Hence everything in her baked goods is local.  Very 1960s.  Very American Dreamy.  Food with a mission.  

Attending the convention is a waste of time.  But come to Charlotte for the cupcakes.  They're worth the trip.

Want to hone your sugar craving skills?  Click here.

(Additional reporting by Dianne Thompson Stanciel in Charlotte)

Shrapnel:

--Where's Pat Robertson when you need him?  God is using "Isaac" to disrupt and visiting fear and shortness on the Teajadist Party Convention, as Katrina did to New Orleans.  Not a peep from the guy who keeps getting messages from the throne.

--Why some of the smart money is shorting the already bloated Apple stock even after Samsung was forced to drop major bucks for patent infringements:  If you think the engineers at Google, Verizon, T-Mobil, ATT and Sprint are going to sit still and pay the "apple tax," think again.  It won't be long until they come up with workarounds and find other sweet revenge.

--New info on why Generation Goofy is Generation Goofy.  A new study from a Duke University team operating in Australia says prolonged marijuana use leads to lower IQ test results.  The study compared scores from the same people at ages 13 and 38.


I'm Wes Richards.  My opinions are my own but you're welcome to them. (R)
Please address comments to wesrichards@gmail.com
(C) WJR 2012