Mountain Aid 2009 offers camping and music at Shakori Hills

I’m giving you a little over a week to plan for a weekend event that I predict will be the most fun and the best value: Mountain Aid 2009.

The weekend concert at Shakori Hills aims to bring awareness to mountaintop removal and creating a clean energy future. Gates open at noon Friday June 19 and the two-day series climaxes with Donna the Buffalo. Then you can wake up in your tent Sunday morning and leave.

If you haven’t been to the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival in Chatham County before, then Mountain Aid is a good way to ease yourself into it. You can camp on the beautiful grounds (the Shakori Hills festival farm is a little less than an hour from downtown Raleigh and Durham) and take turns dancing to about a dozen bands over the course of the two day event.

I’m a big fan of Shakori Hills after camping out there for the spring grassroots festival.

Tickets for Mountain Aid 2009 are $22.50 in advance or $30 at the gate. There’s a $10 tent camping fee, but I highly recommend spending the extra dough to spend some time out in the woods. Kids 12 and under are free. The money will benefit “Pennies for Promise.” Here’s an explanation of the campaign:

To build a new school for the children of Marsh Fork Elementary. Located in Raleigh County, West Virginia, the school is threatened daily by a 2.8 billion gallon coal sludge impoundment in the hills above them.

Here are a few bits of advice if you plan to camp there:

* Bring closed-toe shoes. There’s a gravel road and rocks in the campsite. It gets very dark at night. You’ll thank me later.

* Bring a cooler of beer if you plan to drink. Coolers are allowed and you’ll be happy you brought your own.

* Bring bug spray and have your camping partner check you for ticks often. Trust me on this one.

Finally, the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival happens twice a year. Tickets for the fall festival go on sale June 22 and are $20 cheaper if you buy them early, so it might be worth marking your calendar if you plan to buy a festival pass this year.

Eight things to do in the Triangle on Memorial Day weekend

It’s Memorial Day weekend! I’ll be celebrating my birthday, but I realize we can’t all be lucky enough to have birthdays to celebrate this weekend. So, here’s a list of things to do around the Triangle …

SATURDAY

* The Taste of Durham is from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

* Here’s a different way to Go Green … do it with Drag Bingo. What? That doesn’t even make sense, but it sounds fun, doesn’t it? “Go Green Drag Bingo” happens at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Durham Armory.

* If you’re sick of pretending to be Tony Hawk, ditch your Playstation and see some real skaters. Cary is hosting its “Spring SK8 Contest” from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and its “Spring BMX Contest” from noon to 10 p.m. at SK8 Cary (the Cary skate park). It’s free to watch. Here are the details on what to expect.

* Tour the Triangle Brewing Company. The brewery will offer tours Saturday starting at 1:30 p.m.

SUNDAY

* The Modern Scene ADF Block Party is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Peabody Place in downtown Durham. It’s free and features food, games, giveaways and a cash bar. (Yikes. This block party is Sunday, May 31.)

* Watch belly dancers and learn how to cook Lebanese food. The 11^th annual Lebanese Festival is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday in the Kerr Scott Building at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. In addition to dancing and cooking demos, you can also load up on Middle Eastern food and goods. Admission is $2.

ALL WEEKEND LONG

* If you want to get away from the Triangle without leaving, then you could explore some country roads. Indy writer Grayson Currin has a cool article about his recent backroads adventure.

* Rent a boat. There are several city lakes in the Triangle with boat rentals. I only have experience with Lake Johnson in Raleigh. They’ll be open from 6 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. this weekend, including Memorial Day. They have paddle boats, kayaks, canoes, jon boats and sailboats for rent.

* Go to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and watch the ACC Baseball Championship Tournament.

As always add your suggestions in the comments section.

Blow bubbles or march to protest Prop 8 in downtown Raleigh this weekend

Whether you’re in the mood for whimsy or revolt, there are a two different but interesting events happening in downtown Raleigh this weekend that you might want to check out.

If you want to have plain, good ol’ fashioned fun, then you should head to the Bubble Blast that I’m organizing with Brandy. We’re going to stand in front of the Brewery on Hillsborough Street and blow bubbles at passers-by. It’s that simple, and you can help. Meet us out there at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, grab a bottle of bubbles and start blowing. You can RSVP here (if you’re on facebook). Bonus points for anyone who brings big bubble wands, bubble guns or other bubble blowing accessories.

I love blowing bubbles. I bought some for my birthday party this spring, but no one blew any with me. Not to be let down, I tossed them in my bag and carried them around with me, periodically spreading bubble love to strangers.

Turns out Brandy loves blowing bubbles too. She suggested we get a bunch of peeps together so we could shower bubbles on the city. I thought it was a great idea. So, if you are reading my blog and you can make it to Raleigh at 4 p.m. Friday, bring your lungs and be prepared to blow (yeah, I said that). The Bubble Blast is not sponsored by anyone. It’s just me and Brandy trying to have some fun on a Friday afternoon.

OK. Time to put your serious face on.

Local organizers have announced plans for a downtown rally to join the national protest against Proposition 8.

The protest starts at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Halifax Mall in downtown Raleigh, the spot where president-elect wooed thousands of supporters just before the election. Speakers include former U.S. Senate candidate Jim Neal; Jimmy Creech, the former pastor who lost his post in a church after performingd a civil union, and “One Tree Hill” star Sophia Bush.

The facebook invite has more than 500 RSVPs already. Check it out for more information.

I know the differences in these events are stark, but I want to make sure you have plenty to do this weekend. Let me know if there are other Triangle events we should be checking out this weekend.

There’s nothing like some free James Taylor for lunch

I think there’s a law that says if you live in North Carolina, you must be a James Taylor fan. So the folks pulling the strings behind the Barack Obama campaign were pretty smart to snag the Carolina Crooner for five free concerts throughout the Tar Heel state given how much of a battleground state it has become.

He performed for free Tuesday in downtown Raleigh’s Moore Square during a lunchtime political rally. It may have been the first time a concert in Moore Square featured political paraphernalia instead of Bud Light.

Here’s a video I made for 30THREADS that includes some of Taylor’s Obama freestyling. I was able to record a few of his songs from the media risers as well. I posted those on 30THREADS.

And, for the record, if John McCain’s campaign organizes any free concerts in downtown Raleigh, you better believe I will totally be there with my camera in hand.

If you were at the concert and posted any pictures or video online, feel free to share links to in in the comments section.

Check out tonight’s local Democratic and Republican vice president debate watch parties

Tonight’s a big night in the political world. Vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin square off in their first (and only) debate.

If you plan to watch, then I want to encourage you to get a little interactive with me.

I will be at Raleighwood (a local theater that is hosting a Republican watch party for the debate) livestreaming the party on 30THREADS.

My co-worker, Wayne Sutton, will be at Galaxy Cinema in Cary, which is hosting a Democratic watch party. He will also be livestreaming on 30THREADS.

So here’s what you can do. Turn the debate on your TV. Then log onto 30THREADS.com/debate where there will be two video players. One will feature the livestream from the Democratic watch party and the other will show the Republican side.

The idea is you can see how folks on both side of the political spectrum are reacting the debate. Won’t it be amusing to see if a theater full of Democrats are booing when Palin makes an awkwardly-worded point while a theater full of Republicans cheer her on (if they cheer her on)?

Barring no unforeseen technical difficulties (we’ve never done anything like this before, so who knows what will happen), it will definitely be a unique way to watch the debate.

I hope you’ll join us. We’ll also have chat rooms set up below the videos so that you can offer your two cents. So if you’re watching the debate at home and want to vent (NO MATTER WHAT SIDE YOU’RE CHEERING FOR) this will be a cool place for you to do it.

Looking forward to chatting with you all tonight. The livestreaming starts around 8:30 p.m. but the debate is scheduled for 9 p.m. Feel free to give my employer some love and watch it on NBC17 (sorry shameless plug, but they are the ones who are allowing me to livestream all of this).

Chat with you later.

So who’s the better candidate, Obama or McCain?

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?

I’ll be live blogging Durham election results tonight

I’ll be live blogging from the Durham County Courthouse starting at approximately 6:45 p.m. tonight. That’s where candidates for Durham’s public offices traditionally gather to watch the returns come in.

So picture this. In the meeting room, many of the candidates stand around and wait for the returns to be streamed onto a screen. Soon it becomes apparent who has won and who has lost, so the winning and losing candidates are often finding out their fate while standing beside each other. It’s an interesting dynamic.

So hopefully the candidates for Durham County Commission, District Attorney and School Board will be gathered there and I’ll be able to tell you about their interactions through the live blog.  You’ll also be able to pose questions or post comments on the blog.

So check it out tonight, starting around 7 p.m. at MyNC.com

Go vote. No excuses. Just go.

If you live in North Carolina or Indiana and you haven’t already voted, go do it now. Log off your computer, step away from the Internets, leave work unfinished and go.

Your intentions may be good. You may say, “hey, I’ll do it at lunch.” But then lunch rolls around and your boss comes in and wants more of your energy, so lunch turns into after work. Then maybe you roll up to your polling place after work and there’s a line and you’re like: “Forget this line crap, I have stuff to do at home and my one little vote won’t make a difference anyway.” No. None of that. Unacceptable. Go vote. Now.

Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and so long as you’re in line by 7:30 p.m. you’ll be able to cast a ballot. Click here to find your polling place in North Carolina and here to find it in Indiana.

OK. Now that we got that PSA out of the way, tell me about your voting experience. Was your poll super busy? Were the poll workers happy and sweet or tired and mean? Did you run into any long lost neighbors? Score a hot date? Fill me in.

I met Jimmy Carter at Wal-Mart today

I found myself in a Super Wal-Mart today for the first time in more than six months. I wasn’t there to pick up some cheap bread, deodorant or Tupperware though. I was there to see former president Jimmy Carter. No Joke. Carter was signing copies of his latest book “A Remarkable Mother.” I picked up a copy for $15.97 (a decent discount from the $22.95 suggested retail price) and stood in the long line, already more than 200 people deep an hour before the signing was scheduled to start. I met some nice folks who held my place while I went around to scope out the scene and interview some people. You can read the story I wrote and watch the video I made for MyNC.com here.

Carter was sitting behind a plastic folding table in the little room where they keep the restrooms. If you’re even remotely familiar with the layout of a Super Wal-Mart (I am b/c that was one of the only places to hang out after 9 p.m. in my hometown) picture this: The line stretched from the restrooms, down the aisle between the baby clothes and the regular kids clothes, then down the long aisle that separates the grocery section from the rest of the store and then all the way across the front of the store.

Event staff made sure everyone had their books turned to the cover page and handed out book signing instructions indicating that the president would not be personalizing books. The closer we got to the president, we were warned by the Secret Service not to shake his hand and that we couldn’t take pictures until after our books were signed. As I appraoched the president, it was a blur. A woman took my books from my hand, the president asked the little girl in front of me her name while he signed my book, he looked up at me and smiled and then slid my book down the table to another woman who handed it to me.I guess I should have been better prepared. I should have said: Obama or Clinton (he told the media yesterday that he would make his pick public soon). But it went so fast, and I really wanted a cool picture. I was ushered behind a chain and told I had 10 seconds to snap a shot. I tried to get a couple, but people kept stepping in front of the president. Then I was told I HAD TO LEAVE. I told the guy I didn’t even get a pic of the prez (which I hadn’t) so I pretended like I was leaving and then turned around and snapped this pic: If you’re like me, you probably think it’s strange that Carter was signing books at Super Wal-Mart (he was at the Sam’s Club in Durham on Thursday). The News and Observer explains why:

But organizers said Carter, a prolific author of more than 20 books, usually tries to fit in at least one Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club into his book tours. The former peanut farmer was buddies with the late Sam Walton, Wal-Mart’s founder.

So what do you think about Carter coming to Wal-Mart? Does it make sense since he used to be buds with Sam Walton? Or should he avoid helping out the mega chain?

Three reasons I love the Triangle (in pictures)

1. Because it’s entirely possible to go to a fashion show based on the theme of using plastic bags. This show was at the Whole Foods in Raleigh on Earth Day.

2. Because Durham residents are so passionate about local politics that they will go to great lengths to display their support.

3. Because you can go to a wine fest one weekend (this pic was taken at the Great Grapes! fest in Cary last Saturday), then go to the World Beer Festival the following weekend (I’ll be at the Raleigh event from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday).

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