Ginny from the Blog

As you may remember, my eyes were recently opened to the joys of Guitar Hero. I don’t own the game, so I either have to urge my friends to invite me over to play or go to Fox and Hound on a Sunday night (which I have done … once and it was only slightly embarrassing to play on stage in front of the preppy patrons).

I would hardly consider myself an addict. I can’t even get through an entire song on hard. I have friends who I thought were pretty brilliant at the game, but none of them can even come close to the mastery of Raleigh teen Blake Peebles.

Blake counts himself among the top 10 Guitar Hero players in the world. He loves the game so much that he was able to work out a deal with his parents. He’s tutored at home now so he can spend more time playing video games. The News and Observer wrote an article about him.

Blake seems happy with his home school arrangement, as you would expect from a teenager who is allowed to stay up into the wee hours to play video games. Sometimes, when Mike heads to the gym before 5 a.m., his son is still playing video games. Blake calls it working “the late shift.”

He didn’t enjoy school, he says, and especially didn’t like the rules associated with attending the Christian academy. Shaggy hair is more his style.

He’s good at video games. “I wasn’t really good at anything else that I liked.”

I caught up with Blake during the Raleigh Wide Open celebration two weeks ago. He was playing Rock Band at the booth next to ours, so I pulled him aside for an interview.

Before you judge Blake or his parents for letting him drop out of school to be homeschooled, listen to what he has to say. And read the N&O article for more insight into how he’s doing.

Thoughts?

My friends know that I rarely go anywhere without my camera. I’ve learned the hard way that if you leave it at home you will miss the photographic moments that will never repeat themselves. For me, this realization came when I was at Snoopy’s hot dog stand in Raleigh one Saturday afternoon and a limo pulled up. Out stepped a bride and groom in their frilly and formal glory. They were there to order a hotdog because that’s where the met. But alas, I was without my camera.

So when a friend invited me to participate in a friendly photo competition with the promise of a gallery viewing at the end, I couldn’t resist.  Stan at Crocker’s Mark Gallery in Raleigh agreed to open up his gallery walls to 50 entrants from the Raleigh Flickr group. For some of us, it was the first opportunity we’ve ever had to see our work hanging in a gallery.

The contest rules were simple. Any photo shot anywhere between Aug. 1 and Sept. 1, 2008 was eligible. With such broad guidelines, you can imagine how diverse the entries were (everything from a controversial close-up of a penis to serene nature scenes).

The show opened on First Friday and runs through the end of December. If you’d like to see my photo (it’s the one the guy below is looking at) and the other interesting and well-composed shots, stop by the gallery.

The gallery is open from 11 to 2 p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. It stays open till 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and on Saturdays you can pop by from 1 to 4 p.m., so says the gallery’s website.

A lot of the photos are for sale (mine’s not, but if someone made and offer, I’d probably sell it to you). So please check it out and support local photographers.

While wandering around downtown Raleigh during this weekend’s Raleigh Wide Open celebration, I couldn’t help but think that the Capital City has arrived. With the opening of the city’s new $221 million convention center (sorry, I can’t stop dropping that dollar figure) the celebration felt like a debutante ball for Raleigh.

Can you believe that since the beginning of 2006, 53 bars, restaurants and nightclubs have opened in downtown Raleigh? That’s according to the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, which tracks that sort of thing.

Here are the highlights from Raleigh Wide Open:

*Convention Center Opening.

The public got to see what its tax dollars went toward. Residents and out-of-towners alike wandered around the massive exhibition hall and roamed the other rooms and halls. The International Festival shared the hall with local businesses, providing an eclectic mashup that featured everything from Henna tattoos to free Segway demos.

*Street Festival

Fayetteville Street and several of her arteries were lined with vendors selling everything from deep-fried corn to wooden lawn ornaments. Parents pushed kids in strollers, a small circus train pulled families around and a mime entertained passers-by.

*Live Music

Ok, I admit I barely caught any of the bands, so I can’t offer any solid reviews. But Foreigner’s Lou Gramm seemed a hit with the crowd he drew Saturday night. And Chuck Berry’s almost rained-out performance received a favorable review.

*Parade

I’m a sucker for a cliche parade, and Saturday’s march down Fayetteville Street didn’t disappoint. The parade was incredibly short, featuring all the local news stations, a couple politicians, one band and a few businesses and nonprofits.

*The Beer Tent

I can’t believe the beer tasting wasn’t better advertised. Tucked beside the Wachovia building on Hargett Street was a tent filled with more than a dozen brewers from around the country. Ten dollars bought you a sample glass and a hole-punch card that allowed you eight samples. But most pourers weren’t stamping the cards, so the samples flowed.

Check out more of my pics.

I must complain about one small, petty thing. On Saturday afternoon I tried to go into the Marriott to show my friend the fancy lobby. But we were stopped by two bodyguards who looked like they should be looking out for Brittney Spears and not us Raleigh lovers. They told us only guests were allowed (even though I clearly wasn’t a guest when I toured the hotel a couple weeks ago).

Now I completely understand that they probably didn’t want a bunch of drunk people wandering around their halls, dirtying up their bathrooms and the like. But the city contributed $20 million in taxes to help foster the construction of the hotel. So I think that’s enough of a taxpayer contribution to allow the public inside for a quick tour. I’m only slightly bitter though.

What was your favorite part of Raleigh Wide Open (or any complaints that can be used for improvement next year)?

Tomorrow is a big day for downtown Raleigh. The $221 million convention center officially opens. A noon ribbon-cutting starts things off, followed by two days of celebration with Raleigh Wide Open. Check out the full list of free events, which includes a Chuck Berry concert and more.

I’ll pretty much be living downtown for the next two days because I don’t want to miss a thing. If you’re going to check out the convention center this weekend, be sure to stop by the 30THREADS/MyNC.com booths. They’ll be in front of the motorcoaches parked in the 150,000 square-foot exhibit hall.

But if you’re stuck at work tomorrow and can’t see the ribbon cutting, don’t worry, we’re bringing it to you. We’ll be live streaming the event at noon tomorrow on the 30THREADS live page. We’ll also be providing updates throughout the afternoon.

Then on Saturday, I’ll be back again in the morning and early afternoon. So stop by and say hello. Don’t be a stranger.

I’ve been honing my thrift shopping skills since fourth grade, when I used to pick through the boxes of a corner store thrift shop in Chicago looking for something trendy that I could afford with money I earned from doing household chores and from our regular summer lemonade stands.

In high school, we had about 50 minutes to leave campus and scarf down lunch somewhere (because eating in the cafeteria at a school that opens its campus at lunch was so uncool). During my freshman year, when I had yet to make friends with anyone who could drive, my friends and I would occasionally walk to the Rescue Mission and Bargain Box to shop instead of eat.

So I was a little disappointed in myself when my best friend asked me where the good thrift shops were around here. I told her about my personal favorite, Thrift World in Durham (pictured above). In Raleigh, I’ve been to the Goodwill on Hargett Street and Cause for Paws on South Saunders Street.

As for vintage shops, I’ve been to Time after Time on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. Dolly’s Vintage in Durham’s Brightleaf Square. And Vintage Nation (anyone know if this place still open, BTW? It has looked closed the past couple times I’ve passed by) and Father & Son Antiques. I would recommend all of these places in a heartbeat as they are reasonably priced and have eclectic selections.

(I snagged this 101 Dalmations dress at Vintage Nation for $20 earlier this summer).

There’s also Everything But Grannies Panties in Durham, which I haven’t been to in years. It’s not the best place to snag clothes, but if you’re looking for some awesome kitsch and aren’t clausterphobic, then go get lost inside (although maybe it’s not open anymore either).

So please help me beef up my Triangle thrift shopping skills. Tell me all the thrift shops I must visit and why (do they have crazy kitsch, cheap retro clothes, more modern, trendy stuff?). And let me know which ones aren’t worth my time.

So I was dog sitting a couple of weeks ago and I took the pooches for a walk at Raleigh’s Lions Park. It’s there that I happened upon a BMX track. I thought it was strange that a track would be allowed at a city park in these litigious times. But there it was. For the next few days I walked the dogs past the track, and finally managed to catch some BMX racers.

Pardon the shaky camera, but I was holding onto the leashes for two dogs who weren’t as interested in the race as I was.

So it turns out the track is run by Capital City BMX Association, a volunteer organization made up of the parents of local riders and adults who race at Lion’s Park. It looks like this may be the only BMX track in the Triangle (correct me if you know of others).

Coincidentally, I’ve received several e-mails in the past couple weeks from the Amerian Bicycle Association saying BMX racing made its Olympic debut this year. I watched some of it on TV last week and it was a little exciting, especially when riders fell. I couldn’t help but think how disappointing it would be to make it all the way to the Olympics and then fall of your bike. Or worse, have the rider next to you knock you over on their way down.

If you want to check it out for yourself there are races scheduled for Sept. 7 and Sept. 14.

So anyone want to give BMX racing a try? I’m not sure my beach cruiser would do so well on the track.

I was wandering around downtown Raleigh Saturday afternoon and decided to pop into the newly opened “Raleigh Marriott City Center Hotel” (which no one will ever call it). It was built to complement the soon-to-open Convention Center.

I entered through the lobby, which is both elegant and modern.

Then I wandered back to the Posta Tuscan Grille and picked up a copy of the lunch and dinner menus. Lunch prices range from $5 soup or salad to $19 for Beef filet mignon sauteed in a balsamic vingear reduction. Most of the pizzas and pasta dishes cost $10. For dinner, appetizers start at $10 (for the eggplant parmigiana) and rise to $30 (for the bow tie pasta with fresh Maine Lobster). Dinner pizza and other pasta dishes range from $12 to $20.

Next I headed to the top floor to take in the view. Of course you can see the Convention Center:

And other downtown scenes from a different angle:

And, as you might expect, there’s a Starbucks, which is convienent for guests. But hopefully if you’re downtown looking for a cup of Joe you’ll shop local. If you want to see bigger versions of my pics, go here.

Workers were testing the LEDs that will back light the shimmer wall that adorns Raleigh’s new convention center on Monday night. They appeared to only be testing one panel, at least when I stopped. So I snapped the photo below.

The plan is to officially light up the entire waving Oak Tree on Sept. 5, when the convention center officially opens.

When fully lit, the wall can shimmer in tons of colors. They can even tailor the colors to match holidays (say green for St. Patrick’s Day) and special events (say red if the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup).

Here’s a sneak peak of a single panel.

Can you imagine how beautiful this will look when it’s all lit up?

You’ll be able to get more than a hot dog and bag of chips at a vending cart in downtown Raleigh this weekend.

If you’re drinking at one of the bars in the Glenwood South district Friday night, you’ll have a chance to take an alcohol breath test, but it’ll cost you.

Yes, for $5 you can take an alcohol breath test (the term “Breathalyzer is a brand name, or I would just say that instead) at a push cart. The cart will be set up by Alcohol Educators, Inc. The service will let drinkers determine their blood alcohol concentration to help them determine whether they should drive home or not. The company’s slogan is apparently “DWI = $10,000. Knowing what you’d blow = Priceless.”

My guess is there will be more than one group of buddies who stumble upon on the vending service and challenge each other to see who can blow the highest BAC. But who knows, maybe the service will discourage someone from driving home with a BAC over North Carolina’s 0.08 percent legal limit.

The cart will be on the corner of Glenwood and Johnston Avenues (the same corner where Bogart’s is located) from 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., according to a news release I read today. It won’t be there if there’s “inclimate weather” though.

Do you think this service will lead fewer people to drive home intoxicated or do you think it will spark more binge drinking among competitive friends?

I had Raleigh’s new shimmer wall on the brain when I walked past the Durham Performing Arts Center last week. The shimmer wall adorns the side of Raleigh’s new convention center, providing an artistic splash on the wall that covers the center’s air conditioning system. So, when I passed Durham’s new arts center last week, I was initially disappointed to see that the side of the center facing the American Tobacco complex was concrete and vacant.

I was prepared to suggest that the city (which funding the $44 million arts center) sponsor a mural contest, encouraging local artists to submit their designs, with the winning one being selected to cover the blah wall. But I contacted city spokeswoman Amy Blalock first to make sure the city wasn’t ahead of me, and it looks like the city already has a plan to hide the concrete. Here’s her e-mail response:

According to Alan (DeLisle, assistant city manager with the Office of Economic & Workforce Development) the South and West sides of the deck will be covered with long banners from the Broadway plays until the development occurs around the deck.  Eventually, the deck will be wrapped with development and you won’t be able to see the concrete.  In the meantime, the banners will cover the concrete.

I’m also excited about the Broadway shows that will be appearing at the Durham Performing Arts Center during it’s debut season. Among them are Rent, The Color Purple and Legally Blonde. The city’s huge downtown investment in this project is about to take off.

And while there are some naysayers who didn’t support the city’s decision to invest so many tax dollars into this project, now that the center is nearly complete, it would be lovely if Triangle folks would come together and support yet another Durham leap into the arts.