MC Hawking finally gets his wish

Jesse Helms represented the ugliest parts of my adopted home state’s history. The only thing sad about his death is that it did not occur several decades earlier.
(Thanks to LGM for the links to Mother Jones and Salon.)

NCDOT WTF SNAFU

Personally, I’d have loved to have one of those tags.
(Thanks to Ed Cone for the tip.)

Sorry About Dresden live at dotmatrix project

Sorry About Dresden played the inaugural dotmatrix project show in Greensboro in April. Because of a babysitter snafu, I missed it. Fortunately, I now have a taste of the experience, thanks to the live recording  that Sean’s made available on Amie Street (a terrific source for independent music). The early bird gets it cheap (currently [...]

Why I voted for Barack Obama

I voted for Barack Obama in the North Carolina primary today. Not because I have been swept away by Obamania. To the contrary, I’m not at all convinced of Obama’s virtues.
I am, however, absolutely convinced of Hillary Clinton’s vices.
Barack Obama is not the progressive that some of his supporters naively imagine, let alone the leftist [...]

Max Weber in Mayberry

Max Weber, the towering figure of modern sociological theory, was born 144 years ago today. It turns out that 104 years ago, while in the U.S. to attend a scholarly conference in connection with the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, Weber and his wife visited their cousins in Mt Airy, North Carolina.

Sorry About Dresden headline inaugural Dotmatrix music show

Sorry About Dresden are a band I discovered haphazardly a few months ago. I had no idea that they were from nearby Chapel Hill.
Now, thanks to local music impresario Sean Coon, I’ll get the chance to see Sorry About Dresden, along with opening act The Radials, live in the nice intimate setting of Greensboro’s Green [...]

More Bryson City scenes

Tuckaseegee River debris

Just outside Bryson City, NC

Roadside attractions

Scenes from my vacation in the Smoky Mountains.

Demons defeat Devils

Deacs down Dook. w00t!