From CNN iReport, the "pollen cloud" that hangs over the Southeast: Pollen season is unavoidable. Here in central North Carolina, the pollen count at the peak of pollen season is typically no higher than 1,500 grains per cubic meter. But on Tuesday, the pollen count in Raleigh was 3,524 grains per cubic meter. And Tuesday in Forsyth County? An astounding 9,632 grains … Read More
Catching Up On The Dead Pool
Both Peter Graves and Robert Culp died this month. I always got them confused anyway, and wouldn't be surprised if they were actually the same person.
A Poignant Reflection
Ted Kennedy sought health care reform all of his political life. A note by his grave from his son, Patrick Kennedy, reads "Dad, the unfinished business is done." [NOTE: Not to pick nits, but it's not done. It is, however, a good start]
All The Cool Kids Are Blogging About Alex Chilton, Who Died, But I Don’t Know Who He Is
or, more accurately, was.
Spooky-Dog
From Yes Weekly: Irreverence reigns supreme in Theatre Alliance’s Spooky Dog this weekend Theatre Alliance of Winston-Salem has scared up a treat for Saturday-morning television fans with its latest production, a staged reading of Spooky Dog and the Teenage Gang Mysteries, which opens Thursday for a limited engagement. Eric Pliner and Amy Rhodes’ ribald spoof takes its cue from one … Read More
Cable Snafu In NC Causes Kid’s Channel To Show Playboy Channel
Time Warner screwed up here in NC, according to USA Today: For two hours, some young viewers of children's programs in North Carolina also got a glimpse of the Playboy channel, the Charlotte Observer reports. An equipment glitch early Tuesday at Time Warner Cable beamed previews of adult shows on the Playboy channel into the right corner of the Kids on Demand and … Read More
Corey Haim Dead From PRESCRIPTION Drugs
I've taken prescribed medication. So has everybody else I've ever met in this world. And yet NONE of them managed to accidentally overdose themselves. Why is it that movie stars (and former movie stars) seem to lack the ability to take the prescribed dose? Are the instructions on the side of the bottle too complicated? Do they need seminars on how to take … Read More
Forget Someone?
Why, yes. The Academy "forgot"…. Farrah Fawcett (who was phenonmenal in Extremities)Bea ArthurRicardo Montelban…. Why weren't they included? Not an oversight. They just didn't make the cut: The In Memoriam segment can be the most moving part of the Oscar telecast. It’s also the toughest to produce. "It is the single most troubling element of the Oscar show every year," … Read More
Aftereffects of the Chilean Earthquake
Make no mistake — the Chilean earthquake was massive. It was over 500 times stronger than the eathquake that hit Haiti — the salient difference being that it hit out in the ocean, near — but not in 00 a region that has earthquake preparedness (building codes, etc). How massive was the Chilean quake? Well, it threw the Earth off … Read More
RIP Kathryn Grayson
The star of popular MGM musicals of the 1940s and '50s ("Anchors Aweigh," "Show Boat" and "Kiss Me Kate") used to make my ears bleed — especially when she sang with duets with Howard Kiel – but she was an icon in movie musicals. So she deserves her due credit. She died at age 88. (She was born, by the way, in … Read More
Thoughts On The Austin Texas Plane Guy
After reading his suicide note, conveniently posted online here (until it gets removed) it seems to me that this guy, while somewhat literate, simply isn't very smart. The suicide note (which I've copied and pasted below the fold in case it goes away from the original site) is one long screed — mostly anti-government, and in particular, anti-IRS (which would explain why … Read More
Forever Plaid: The Plug
From the Winston-Salem Journal: Tried and true colors – Nostalgia for a simpler time keeps crooners coming back for just one more performance By Mary Martin Niepold SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL Published: February 7, 2010 They've done it before. Audiences loved it, so Theatre Alliance will reprise one of its hit shows as a Valentine offering. Forever Plaid, a musical … Read More
Federal Judge Rules Forsyth County Prayers Are Unconstitutional
And indeed, they are unconstitutional: Federal District Court Judge James A. Beaty this morning ruled that Forsyth County is violating the U.S. Constitution by allowing prayers with sectarian references before meetings of the county board of commissioners. Beaty ordered the county to stop allowing prayers under its current policy, which had come under fire from those who said that the … Read More