Ginny from the Blog

Did you believe in Santa when you were a kid? One of my co-workers blogged today about how HER PARENTS NEVER LET HER BELIEVE IN SANTA. Of course, I had to tell her the story about how I found out there was no such thing as Santa. You see, around age 6 I became skeptical about the existence of this jolly, gift-giving fellow. So on Christmas Eve, I plopped my pillow and blanket down in front of my parent’s bedroom door and slept on the floor.

I was convinced I wouldn’t get any presents from “Santa” because there is no way they would be able to open the door and walk out to the living room without waking me up. Well, I must have slept like a rock that night because the next morning I woke up and my stocking was full. After that, my belief in Santa was reaffirmed. Of course my belief would eventually be shattered when I found all of the ornaments I left for Santa (along with some of my childhood teeth) in my mom’s sock drawer.

Anyway, I bring up these holiday memories because I’m really jazzed about this project that the talented Page Crawford is working on. She’s putting together a 23-minute holiday television show on NBC17 featuring photos and videos of Triangle residents. But in order for her to create the show, she needs stuff to fill it with. That’s where I’m hoping some of my Triangle readers can help out.

Do you have any photos or video clips from your family’s holiday celebrations that you’d love to appear on air? Page is piecing together all sorts of content. So if you’ve got an old video clip of your child screaming because she got a Tickle Me Elmo doll that one year it was really hot, send it Page’s way. She’ll even take photos of your kids crying when they met Santa for the first time or videos of your over-the-top yard decorations.

I’ll keep you posted on what day the special will air. But in the meantime, if you’d like to have some of your memories possibly appear on TV, you can submit them here. Please only submit stuff if you live in the Triangle though. Page is trying to fill the show with lots of local stuff.

I’m going to see if my mom has any funny and/or embarrassing childhood Christmas photos that she can dig up so I can share them on my blog. I’ll keep you posted.

So what happens when two famous political analysts (one who’s conservative, the other a liberal) come together to talk about the presidential campaign in front of an audience filled with Tar Heels? You get some laughs, some claps and maybe a boo or two.

David Brooks (conservative columnist for the NYT) and E.J. Dionne Jr. (liberal columnist for the Washington Post) met on stage at UNC’s Memorial Hall Tuesday night to discuss the presidential campaign. For a political news junkie like myself, it was 90 minutes of heaven.

Brooks opened with a surefire technique to endear himself to a Tar Heel audience: Insult Duke. “You guys are just like Dookies, only less stuck up,” he said, garnering applause and cheers from the nearly-filled auditorium.

It’s easy to get hung up in the media’s horserace coverage of political campaigns. So it’s refreshing to hear two intelligent analysts with mostly diverging opinions discuss aspects of the McCain/Obama race that can’t be covered in a sound bite.

Interesting observations (I took notes so all quotes are within a word or two of accuracy):

On McCain picking Sarah Palin:

*Brooks (the conservative): At the end of four years Sen. Joe Biden will still be the right pick for Obama. But with regards to McCain choosing Palin: “To be honest, I don’t know. I frankly don’t know if she’s going to be good or not. I’ve never met her I don’t know the character of the woman.”

*Dionne (the liberal): “Sarah Palin is clearly the most qualified person ever chosen for vice president,” he said, resulting in laughter from the audience and then adding “your laughter is my point.” He takes issue with: the lack of media interviews the campaign has granted so far and that McCain only met her (once or twice) before choosing her. He also is concerned about her lack of foreign policy experience. He said liberals will make a big mistake, however, if they “make a culture war” out of her selection by touting her as a small town American who shoots guns.

On the role of the Internet and technology in the campaign:

Brooks complained that technology (namely the ability to record video with small cameras and the use of blogs) actually make campaigns less transparent. He recalled the days when journalists used to rub elbows with candidates and chat informally on the campaign buses.

But with every move being recorded these days he added: “The candidate can not afford to unwind and open up … It has had this perverse effect of making campaigns less transparent.”

He added that the Obama campaign is particularly bad about this.

Strengths of McCain/Obama:

Brooks said McCain’s strength is that he has “incredible moral intuition” while Obama has incredible perception. He offered this anecdote, which happened before Obama announced his candidacy for president:

Brooks (the conservative) wrote a column criticizing the Republicans for spending too much. To make himself feel better for critiquing the party he said he threw in a couple sentences that said Democrats were guilty of overspending too. The next day, Obama sent Brooks an e-mail saying something to the effect of: “That’s fine if you want to criticize the Democrats, but you know you just added those two sentences to make yourself feel better.” Talk about perceptive, Brooks said.

Anyway, back to connecting the Triangle. One of the perks of living in communities rich with univerisities is the opportunity to see distinguished speakers for free. Although such lectures are not always well-advertised off campus. So you may have to do a little homework.

Duke University recently launched this comprehensive calendar. Does anyone know of any simialr resources for the area’s other universities?

If you’re looking for some restaurants to try out, your best bet might be to explore the Durham food blog scene. Every time I catch up on these in my reader, I’m always left hungry and eager to head over to the Bull City for a meal.

On the Carpe Durham blog, you can see mouth-watering inspiring photos of the scallion pancake, beef congee and the spicy dry bean curd with shredded pork ordered off the “secret menu” at China Palace, aka Magic Palace.

On Delicious Durham, you can find out whether the famous Nana’s really lives up to its reputation. You can also find out how to put local peaches to tasty use by following Kelly’s peach crisp recipe or find out how you can blend your own peanut sauce to pour over stewed collards or as a standard satay sauce.

Over at Eat at Joe’s! you can vote on the best place to grab a burger in Durham. Or save the Google map he created highlighting the “Ethnic Grocery Trail.”

But wait, there’s more.

The Newlyfeds, a Durham couple with a passion for cooking who explore Durham’s dining scene, explain why you just have to go to Chubby’s Tacos on Ninth Street.

Another Durham couple reviews two downtown establishments, the newly-opened Five Points Cafe and Rue Cler on their blog: CookingEatingDurham.

And you must check out Lenore’s blog called Eclectic Glob of Tangential Verbosity. It’s not a straight food blog, but as an epicurean, you can always count on Lenore to post beautiful pictures and descriptions of her frequent dinners out (all these photos are courtesy of Lenore’s Flickr). Here’s a sample from her latest post on Serena Restaurant and Bar:

I ordered the gnocci, which I’d been looking forward to after examining their menu on-line about a week ago. It had applewood smoked bacon, dried cherries, loads of garlic, spinach, a thin slice of parmesan and potato gnocci pasta. It came with a piece of garlic bread. It sounds perfect, right?

Find out if the gnocci was a delicious as it sounds.

I’m sure there are several other Durham & Triangle-area food blogs, if you know of some that I’ve left out, please clue me in.

Raleigh will be named the second best city in America to live, work and play in the July issue of Kiplinger (a personal finance magazine that has a whole section on its website dedicated to the best of just about everything a Kiplinger reader might be interested in). The issue hits newsstands June 10, but you can read the article online now.

It’s always awesome when some place in the Triangle is highlighted as a top place to be. But there are a few things about Kiplinger’s latest declaration that really irk me.

If you read the article closely, you’ll see that technically Raleigh and the “larger surrounding areas” are ranked No. 2 on the list. It’s a fact that becomes obvious only if you notice that the article posts population as 995,662 (U.S. Census estimates for 2006 put Raleigh’s population at 356,321). But really, the whole article focuses on how rad Raleigh is. It doesn’t talk about the merits of Durham, which also boasts a large creative class population (a key criteria the authors said they used to develop their rankings) or make mention of the charms of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Instead, the only other Triangle spot that gets a shout out is Cary.

It goes on to call Raleigh Times the “unofficial cultural epicenter of the new Raleigh” (wonder what the gentlemen running the New Raleigh blog think of that). The article goes on to say:

… (Raleigh Times) sits on a corner of Fayetteville Street, which is the keystone of Raleigh’s Livable Streets project, a plan to bring urban living to a city that languished as its suburbs and exurbs flourished. The bar, which offers 50 Belgian beers, attracts the young and old, hipsters and preppies, plus folks from the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University and Duke University.

First of all, Raleigh Times is not on the corner of Fayetteville Street. It is firmly planted mid block on Hargett Street. I take issue with this only because the Christian Science Reading Room is on that street corner and there is a clearly a huge difference between what’s serve at the Times versus what’s preached at the reading room. Don’t get me wrong, as a former newspaper reporter and beer lover, I love me some Raleigh Times, I just wish the article didn’t use the Times as a crutch for making a greater point about Fayetteville Street.

It’s easy to find flaws when news organizations start making lists of top places. Just look at the scathing comments people posted after CNN Money declared Durham No. 12 on a list of 100 best places to “live and launch” (because you know the Bull City is just a gang-ridden place where you’ll get mugged on the street corner *insert HUGE does of sarcasm here*). And I can empathize with the challenges a reporter faces in trying to capture the feel of an entire community based on a brief visit. I’ve been trying to do that for the community section of the various MyNC.com sites, and it’s not easy.

Do you think it makes sense for the article to declare Raleigh No. 2 without giving additional props to the Triangle? And if you’ve been to Raleigh Times, would you go so far as calling it the “cultural epicenter” of downtown Raleigh?

What are three reasons why you love the Triangle (or greater Triangle area)?

As of today, nearly every McDonald’s in the Triangle and Fayetteville areas now serves “specialty coffees” for its customers, according to local spokespeople for the restaurant who sent out this press release today:

McDonald’s has taken strides to increase coffee and beverage options since the launch of its Premium Roast Coffee in 2006, and has continued their focus on providing customers’ the variety they want, with the introduction of the McCafe Specialty Coffees. … New coffees include: Lattes, Mochas and Cappuccinos in a variety of options and flavors, including Iced, Caramel and Vanilla, and Hot Chocolate. Most are available in three sizes – small (12 ounces), medium (18 ounces) and large (20 ounces). McDonald’s gives the customers a choice of whole, two percent, or non-fat milk. The new McCafe Specialty Coffees area available in approximately 95 percent of participating McDonald’s restaurants in the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville area.

Since I love a good cup of coffee, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to try a McDonald’s latte.

It’s Friday night, and I’m still sick. So instead of doing the usual dining out with friends, I’m at home trying to get better. If I could make it out tonight, I’d definitely be searching for some sushi. And that got me thinking: Where’s the best place to get sushi in the Triangle?

In Raleigh, I’ve tried Sushi Blues, Shaba Shabu, Sushi-Thai and Carolina Sushi and Roll. But I’m ready to branch out, so tell me where I should go (or avoid) when I get better.

Things are intense on the assignment desk right now. The scanners are abuzz with word of multiple wrecks around the triangle. Supposedly a several car pile up just occurred somewhere near 540 and I-40, and even more crashes are being reported. It seems most of the crashes are occurring on overpasses, particularly in the Durham area.

I hope if you’re reading this post it finds you safe. And if you must head out this morning, please be extra careful.

Did you see any of these crashes today or experience any close calls?

You must know by now that it briefly snowed in the Triangle yesterday. I admit I rushed out the building for lunch when I heard it was flurrying because I wanted to spy the snow. Seems fellow area bloggers couldn’t let the flurries fly by without a mention.

Check out this snowy roundup:

Barry at Dependable Erection reminded us of the January 2005 snowfall that brought the Triangle to a halt by linking to RaleighSkyline.com, which had some archived footage of that infamous snow day.

There was an oh so brief newsflash on Fallout Shelter about the flakes.

A photo of a Calvin and the Hobbes-esque snowman was posted by the law student behind Observations from the Shortbus.

We were reminded how much excitement a 10-minute snow can be for the kiddies by Valerie at We Loved Durham.

And absent.canadian has been reminding us all week of what real snow looks like. The Raleigh resident has returned to his roots for the holiday season, spending the past week or so in blustery Canada. A few days ago, he showed us what a real snow looks like. Yesterday he reminded us Triangle residents that we don’t know what cold really is. Today he shows us that it can always be worse because it’s minus 8-degrees at his folks’ house.

Elsewhere in the state (not exactly sure where) we got this 7-second video of a lot more snow, courtesy of 1000 Black Lines.

Let me know if I missed any other local snow references in the blogosphere. And tell me why you suppose us bloggers were so jazzed about the flurries?

It’s pretty easy to guess where I’ll be on New Year’s Day — on the couch recovering from the night before. And while I expect many other Triangle residents will be doing something similar, apparently some will be doing something a little more productive — running five miles while playing trivia.

That’s right, a little brain exercise to go along with the run. The Carolina Godiva Track Club is sponsoring the run through Duke Forest, which will feature trivia questions hollered out by host Owen Astrachan. The runner who gets the most right answers will win something, the News and Observer reports today.

And if thinking while running is more than you had in mind for your New Year’s Day, the N&O highlights some of the other active events going on in the Triangle:

• The 5K annual Resolution Run through N.C. State’s Centennial Campus sponsored by the N.C. Roadrunners Club
• The 38-mile bike ride around Jordan Lake sponsored by The Spin Cycle
• A hike around the Eno River State Park, an annual event put on by the Eno River Association

Do you have any New Year’s Day traditions? Or are you like me and usually spend it relaxing on the couch?