Quiz: How well do you know N.C. voices and dialects?

NC State recently produced a quiz to see just how well people recognize and can locate various dialects from across this great state. (And we have our fair share of disparate dialects, to be sure!)

How well would you do with the quiz? Click here to take it.

Listen to representative voices from specific regions and guess where the speaker lives. Each audio clip tells a story of our state’s unique language tradition and conveys a sense of how dialects dynamically transmit the rich history and culture of our state.

For the record, I got 5 out of 6 right. ("Going to the races" tripped me up.) You can't see it, but I'm doing this right about now:

via GIPHY

The decline of Christmas tree sales

This Wall Street Journal piece is interesting on a couple of levels. One, it's about the sale of Christmas trees, which is vital to N.C.'s economy. Secondly, it references research being conducted at N.C. State University, where they are attempting to create the "perfect Christmas tree."

As sales of live trees decline, Christmas tree growers nationwide are increasingly turning to research and marketing to develop and promote the perfect holiday decoration.

In a greenhouse at North Carolina State University, Christmas tree geneticist John Frampton, tests DNA and blends characteristics of trees from around the world in search of the perfect Christmas tree. "We're trying to find a tree that grows faster, is better quality and has pest resistance," he said.

While about 40 percent of US households, or about 37 million of 94 million homes, bought live Christmas trees in 1991, that percentage declined to 23 percent, or 27 million of 118 million homes, last year, according to the National Christmas Tree Association, a trade group.

The reason is partly demographic. Many baby boomers stop buying live trees as they get older. Many people in their 30s and 40s never developed the habit, having grown up in split households or sometimes with artificial trees.

"I don't want to be all doom and gloom because nobody wants to hear that," said Rick Dungey, spokesman for the National Christmas Tree Association. "But we as an industry have some big challenges."

And when consumers do buy real trees in today's tough economy, they're opting for shorter, less expensive ones -- often four feet or smaller -- which are less profitable for growers.

At the same time, sales of artificial trees made in China have skyrocketed, thanks to quality improvements and other demographic shifts, as many city dwellers opt against the hassle of hauling, maintaining and recycling a live tree.

Consumers will spend about $1.01 billion on artificial trees this year, compared to $984 million on real trees, according to a recent Nielsen survey conducted for the American Christmas Tree Association, which represents artificial tree retailers.

To combat the tough headwinds, growers are putting more of their own money into Christmas tree marketing and research, often on their own farms.

Christmas tree growers are a diffuse bunch, ranging from Pacific Northwest magnates to mom-and-pop shops in the Carolinas. But the growers surveyed by the National Christmas Tree Association said they were willing to pay a 15-cent tax per tree for a coordinated marketing and research program, similar to "Got milk?" for the dairy industry.

...

For the famous Scotty McCreery, the OBX is where it's at

Garner's Scotty McCreery is big time. He has the No. 1 country album in America, and last night he sang the national anthem before Game 1 of the World Series.

But he's a North Carolinian through and through. He tuned up for the World Series by singing the anthem at a recent N.C. State football game, and he also recently spoke with Fox News about his favorite vacation destination, the Outer Banks.

Outer Banks, North Carolina is where I spent a lot of my summers growing up. I’ve got a seashell on the top of my dresser to remind me of some of the good times. I think there’s actually a picture in a magazine recently of me, my sister, and my mom and there’s a rainbow behind us in Outer Banks. We’d go down to Jockey’s Ridge, which is a 100-foot tall dune and eat at a lot of cool places.

...

Fox411: You seem to know the Outer Banks intimately, what activities do you recommend?

McCreery: There’s always a lot of stuff to do. We never went hang gliding. We wanted to do that off Jockey’s Ridge but I think I was a little too scared to do that. But we’re always in the ocean and hanging out.

Fox411: Family seems to be a crucial element for a vacation at Outer Banks for you.

McCreery: My grandma used to have this little place, we called it “the tin can.” She had a little camper type thing and we’d go there for the summers and hang out. It’s not one of those commercial beaches where there are tall buildings behind the beach. It’s just a nice place with cottages, sand and water. The family has been split apart and on different sides of the country. So it’ll be nice to get together and we’ll be heading to the Outer Banks enjoying ourselves, bring the fishing pole and have a good time.

...

Hardee's embraces N.C. college football

Yes, it has morphed into somewhat of a tacky, sexist company, but ya gotta hand it to Hardee's. The North Carolina-born restaurant is celebrating the just-started 2011 college football season across the state with a special promotion.

Every Tuesday this season, Hardee's restaurants statewide will offer a 5-piece Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders(TM) combo meal for the reduced price of $5, a savings of over $2.

More than 230 Hardee's restaurants statewide will participate in "Team Tender Tuesdays." The promotion begins Tuesday, Sept. 6 and runs the duration of the 2011 regular football season, according to a press release.

Fans throughout North Carolina are encouraged to take advantage of "Team Tender Tuesdays," whether cheering for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, the East Carolina University Pirates, the North Carolina State University Wolfpack or the Appalachian State University Mountaineers. (What? No Duke? No Wake Forest?)

In addition to "Team Tender Tuesdays," Hardee's will sponsor on-field promotions at three games during the season. At each game a fan will be given the chance to kick a field goal at halftime. If the kick is good, every fan in the stadium will receive a coupon for a free Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender(TM) Wrapper.

"Hardee's was born in North Carolina and we recognize the big role college sports play in the lives of many of our customers here," said Jerry Allsbrook, chief marketing officer for Boddie-Noell Enterprises, the largest Hardee's franchisee in North Carolina and the U.S. "We're looking forward to continuing our tradition of supporting North Carolina's love of football with our 'Team Tender Tuesdays' and on-field kick promotions."

Hardee's Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders are fresh, all-white-meat chicken tenders, hand-dipped in eggs and buttermilk and lightly breaded. The Tenders were added to the menu last year and were introduced to Hardee's by Boddie-Noell who first developed the menu item in the company's North Carolina test kitchens. The 5-piece Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders combo meal includes Natural-Cut French Fries and a beverage. ...

Dr. Beach likes Hatteras

The beach at Cape Hatteras was named the fifth-best beach in the country in an annual survey by Florida International University professor (and NCSU graduate) Steven Leatherman, who is also known by the friendly nickname "Dr. Beach."

Leatherman ranks beaches on 250 criteria, including the look and feel of the sand, water quality, weather, facilities and crowds. A top score is 250.

Leatherman described the beach at Cape Hatteras as "providing some of the best board surfing along the East Coast, as well as the most famous lighthouse in the United States, Cape Hatteras attracts beachgoers to its historic fishing villages."

The best beach in the country is Sarasota's Siesta Beach. ...

San Diego's Coronado Beach was runner-up. Rounding out the top 10 were No. 3, Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii; No. 4, Main Beach, East Hampton, N.Y.; No. 5, Cape Hatteras in North Carolina; No. 6, St. George Island State Park, Florida Panhandle; No. 7, Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, S.C.; No. 8, Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.; No. 9, Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii, and No. 10, Cape Florida State Park near Miami.

A No. 1 spot on the popular list annual typically brings a 15-to-20-percent boost in visitors for the beach destinations.

Gazetteer fun: P-R

My apologies for not doing this in a while. Quite honestly, it just slipped my mind.

The highly entertaining and educational North Carolina Gazetteer was recently updated for the first time since it was first published in 1968.

We figured we would highlight some of our favorites from the book every now and then. This version will look at random listings that begin with letters, P, Q and R. (Click here to see some older versions.) There are some 2,ooo-plus listings in the Gazetteer, so feel free to search for your own faves.

Pinch Gut Branch*, rises in e[astern] Surry County and flows s[outh]e[ast] into Stokes County, where it enters Big Creek. Said to have been named by Saura Indians in the vicinity who almost starved because of the scarcity of game.

Quail Roost, community in n[orthern] Durham County. Named for a former hunting club there acquired in 1925 by George Watts Hill of Durham, who turned it into a dairy farm. In 1963 the farm was given to the state of North Carolina by Hill. The large house is used as a conference center by the University of North Carolina; North Carolina State University makes use of the surrounding land, designated as Hill Forest.

Relief, community in w[estern] Mitchell County on Toe River. Alt. 2,092. Named for the patent medicine Hart's Relief, a popular product with a high alcoholic content sold at John Peterson's store there after about 1870.

*There are at least seven Pinch Gut/Pinchgut locations in the state, including Pinch Gut Creek in Anson County, Pinchgut Branch in Duplin County and Pinchgut Creek in Caldwell County, which has the distinction of being named by the same person who named another nearby creek "Coldass."

I - for one -- refuse to believe this

There's a gradual shift toward a less distinctive regional accent, and our vowel sounds are leading the way, says the News & Observer.

"Language is always changing, always in flux," said Robin Dodsworth, an associate linguistics professor at N.C. State University. "Over time in Raleigh, the Southern variant is disappearing."

Apparently, this is a story about the South in general, not just Raleigh. I don't believe it.

Walt Wolfram, NCSU's William C. Friday distinguished professor of English linguistics, says the South isn't losing its identity in terms of speech - it's reconfiguring. The South, particularly in urban areas, has transformed itself during the past 30 years, Wolfram said. Cities have been more influenced by outsiders, and this vowel shift is partially a product of that change. And it's more subtle than natives might realize.

"If a Southern person goes north, people are still going to say you sound Southern," Wolfram said.

Miss N.C. wins talent portion

Congrats to Harnett County native and N.C. State graduate Adrienne Core, who won the talent portion of the Miss America competition on Wednesday night.

The Miss America pageant is Saturday in Las Vegas.

Lees-McRae and its North Carolina Building

Lees-McRae (at about 700 students) isn't the biggest college in North Carolina, but the school in Banner Elk may be in one of the prettiest settings.

We drove past LMC a few weeks ago, and it struck me how little I know about it. So I began reading up on it some. I discovered some interesting things, such as the existence of the Order of the Tower, some sort of society that meets in the campus landmark that was "originally built to distribute water to the campus. Once taken out of service, it was renovated to serve as a meeting place for the Order of the Tower. It currently houses the campus chimes."

Also, LMC, like my alma mater, has a gymnasium named for William Reynolds. LMC has an alum who has participated in a Tour de France. And -- presumably because of its location -- the school has buildings named for nearby states of Tennessee and Virginia.

But Lees-McRae also boasts North Carolina Building, described on the school's map as being in "the center of campus." The beautiful, stone building (pictured, via wikipedia) contains classrooms, a modern language laboratory, and faculty offices. "This structure, completed in 1922, is the first of the three permanent buildings planned by the Reverend Edgar Tufts founder of Lees-McRae."

This got me thinking: Do other schools have buildings/landmarks named for Our Great State? I know N.C. State has the Court of North Carolina ("Court of the Carolinas," as it is known) which was once home to a tree from all 100 counties in the state.

Any other schools that honor our state in a similar way?

Here's a shocker: N.C. ACC football teams not expected to do well

The media has made its preseason Atlantic Coast Conference picks, and the Hokies of Virginia Tech are the early favorites.

Not surprisingly, the four N.C. teams are not expected to compete for a division or conference title.*

Here are the preseason picks:

ACC Championship votes:

1. Virginia Tech (50)
2. Florida State (26)
3. Miami (10)
4. Georgia Tech (8)
5. (tie) Boston College and UNC (2)

Atlantic Division

1. Florida State (78)
2. Clemson (16)
3. Boston College (4)
4. NC State
5. Wake Forest
6. Maryland

Coastal Division

1. Virginia Tech (62)
2. Miami (20)
3. Georgia Tech (11)
4. North Carolina (5)
5. Duke
6. Virginia

*In all honesty, the goings-ons and uncertainty at UNC probably prevented the Heels from ranking higher.

It might get a wee bit windy around here ...

... at least according to hurricane researchers from N.C. State University, who, on Monday issued a prediction of "above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin in 2010."

Yikes.

The researchers, led by Lian Xie, professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, and Montserrat Fuentes, professor of statistics, forecast 15 to 18 named storms in the Atlantic basin, which includes the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea [says WRAL.com].

The 50-year average is nine to 11 named storms in the Atlantic.

Eight to 11 of the named storms could reach hurricane strength, the researchers said.

There is an 80 percent chance that one of the named storms will make landfall along the southeastern U.S. coast and a 70 percent chance that the storm will arrive as a hurricane, they said. ...

ACC Hall of Champions to open next year

I'm piecing this together, but from what I can tell (from here and here) construction is set to begin soon on the ACC's Hall of Champions in Greensboro.

The building will be more than 8,000 square feet in size and will be a "tribute to the Atlantic Coast Conference, its coaches and athletes."

The facility will be adjacent to the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.

DT, Laettner to college hoops Hall

The two greatest men's basketball players in ACC history are headed to the College Basketball Hall of Fame.

"Former NCAA champions Christian Laettner of Duke and David Thompson of N.C. State will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, which announced its eight-person 2010 class on Wednesday," says the News & Observer.

"Laettner led Duke to four Final Fours and NCAA championships in 1991 and 1992. He received national player of the year honors in 1992 and ranks third in Duke history in career points (2,460) and rebounds (1,149).

"He is the NCAA Tournament's career scoring leader with 407 points and made one of the most famous shots in NCAA history in overtime in a 1992 regional final to lift Duke to a 104-103 win over Kentucky.

"Thompson was one of the most athletic players in the history of the game and was named The Associated Press' national player of the year twice. He led N.C. State to the 1974 NCAA title and was selected as ACC player of the year in 1973, 1974 and 1975. He averaged 26.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game over his career.

"He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996."

Congrats to both.

Johnson, Wilson are NFL All-Pro selections

"Chris Johnson didn't get any votes for MVP. He didn't miss any for The Associated Press 2009 NFL All-Pro team," says the AP.

The 2,000-yard rusher from the Tennessee Titans (who played at East Carolina) was the only unanimous choice for the squad, which was announced Thursday. He's joined in the backfield by Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who won an unprecedented fourth Most Valuable Player Award last week, when only quarterbacks received votes.

"That'd be a good thing," said Johnson, who won the Offensive Player of the Year award Wednesday. "Because I feel like if you put a season out there, out of those dudes who got votes or the dudes who won, I wouldn't feel they had a better season than I had, and broke as many records in one season that I had."

Also named to the All-Pro team was former N.C. State player (and High Point native) and current Arizona Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson.

This is the first time that Wilson has been named to the NFL All-Pro team, and the first NC State player to be selected since Torry Holt in 2003. Wilson is the only member of the Cardinals represented on the first team [said GoPack.com].

During the 2009 season Wilson started all 16 games, while recording 74 tackles and a career-high five interceptions and 13 pass deflections. Wilson has been with the Cardinals for nine years since being drafted in the third round in 2001.

While having solid contributions as a rookie, Wilson took over the starting strong safety spot in his second year and has never relinquished it. Since coming into the league Wilson has recorded 686 tackles, 20.5 sacks and 23 interceptions.

Former Pirate Johnson named NFL Offensive Player of the Year

"That blur speeding away from opposing defenses and running off with The Associated Press 2009 NFL Offensive Player of the Year award is Chris Johnson," writes the AP's Barry Wilner.

Considered the fastest man in pro football, Johnson was uncatchable in setting a league mark for yards from scrimmage (2,509) and becoming the sixth player with a 2,000-yard rushing season. Johnson played in college at East Carolina.

He is the first NFL player to finish with at least 2,000 yards rushing and 500 receiving (503).

That earned the second-year pro 38 1/2 votes Wednesday from a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL. Johnson easily beat New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, who received nine votes.

"I kind of realize what I did and I feel like I had a dream season," said Johnson, who scored 16 touchdowns (14 rushing), second to Minnesota's Adrian Peterson, and tied the NFL mark with six consecutive games rushing for at least 125 yards.

Also in the running was League MVP Peyton Manning, who received 1.5 votes, and former N.C. State and current San Diego Charger QB Philip Rivers, who got a vote.

Happy holidays, Nawth Cackylacky!

As we're approaching the end of the year, we're beginning to see lots of holiday-themed e-cards. Below are a few that I've received and wanted to share. If you have any that you've received that are N.C.-related, feel free to email me at collards12@yahoo.com and I'll post them. (And please don't solicit your own organization or business.)

From the Blowing Rock Visitors Center:





From N.C. State University:




From the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS) at NCSU:



Hopefully there will be more to come!

Quick hits: Tupelo Honey plans second joint, and the American chestnut makes a comeback

Tupelo Honey plans second Asheville restaurant
"Tupelo Honey Café plans to open a second Asheville location by early next year," says the Citizen-Times.

"The popular downtown eatery will open a larger restaurant in the former Stir Fry Café building at 1829 Hendersonville Road in south Asheville by mid January or early February, owner Steve Frabitore said.

"The original restaurant at 12 College St. will remain, he said.

" 'You will walk in and immediately recognize that it’s Tupelo Honey Café,' Frabitore said of the new site. ..."


Altered chestnut trees succeed
"In stands of tiny trees in North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia blooms the hope of restoring a mighty giant, as scientists try to bring back the American chestnut from near extinction.

"Five hundred blight-resistant American chestnut saplings are thriving a year after they were planted in three national forests, a milestone in the long-term effort to re-establish the tree in its native habitat," says the N&O. "Reviving the chestnut, decimated by a fungus, would reverse one of the worst ecological disasters in the nation's history, reviving a major source of food and lumber that forest animals and humans have missed for more than a century.

"The cutting-edge genetic research that offers the promise of a blight-resistant hybrid could, if successful, also be used to stop the damage to U.S. forests by other exotic pests, such as bark beetles, the woolly adelgid and Dutch elm disease.

" 'If it works, there is a long line of similar ecological problems that are waiting for similar kinds of solutions,' said Ron Sederoff, a professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at N.C. State. 'There are 100 different threatened trees in our American forest, and each one has a disease or a pest that potentially could do as much damage as the blight did to the American chestnut.' ..."

The quintessential N.C. snapshot

I know there are some folks who have no qualms about reading a book time and time and time again. I tend to be very accomplishment oriented when it comes to reading; I take great pride in "checking a book off" my imaginary list.

However, there are two books that I will periodically pull off the shelf and dive right into. (Well, three, if you count The Good Book.) I consider these two books to be my all-time favorites; they never get old.

One is Pat Conroy's The Lords of Discipline. I first read it in college, which is the perfect time for a book that explores a young man's experiences at that same age. (It's also nice to be reading it while not in college at a military academy.) I could relate to the protagonist, despite the many differences between my life and his. But there is just something magical about this book; it doesn't hurt that Charleston is a quite magical place in and of itself.

I also have very little in common with the protagonist of my other favorite book, the late Tim McLaurin's Keeper of the Moon. Actually, the protagonist is McLaurin himself, as Keeper is a memoir, a look at "A Southern Boyhood." I'm sure I'm biased about this book; McLaurin was a teacher of mine at State. (I can't call him a "professor" as that sounds a bit too pretentious for a guy who was a soda truck driver; a Marine; a Peace Corps volunteer; a snake handler; and a carnie.)

Still, I've yet to find a book that paints the perfect Eastern North Carolina picture as Keeper does. I may not have lived the hardscrabble life that the McLaurin clan did, but I can sure feel the hard dirt beneath my feet, or smell the honeysuckle, or taste the raw milk straight from the cow while reading this fantastic story.

One passage, in particular, always stands out to me. It's from the beginning of the book, as McLaurin is describing a typical Southern summer. The page is marked in my copy of Keeper of the Moon so that I can always return; returning to this page, in some strange way, returns me to my own childhood.

If indeed there exists a physical heaven, I hope it is patterned after North Carolina between the summer hours of six and eight a.m. The haunting call of doves, leaves jeweled with dew, the glint of sun in oak branches, robins and roosters in duet, fog -- something eternal exists in those minutes that a person carries in memory for life.

(Photo of McLaurin from the Independent Weekly)

Dr. Beach loves Cape Hatteras

Not sure how on Earth I missed this. (I mean, I look forward to the wacky Dr. Beach's Best Beach list every year!)

Dr. Stephen Leatherman, aka "Dr. Beach," released a couple weeks ago his latest top 10 list of the best American beaches. Making the top 10 was Cape Hatteras, last year's runner-up.

The best beach was Hanalei, on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. (The beach photo ain't Hanalei, but it IS Kauai.

Here is the list of top 10 beaches for 2009 Dr. Beach --- that would be N.C. State graduate Dr. Beach, thank you very much.

1. Hanalei Beach, Kauai, Hawaii

2. Siesta Beach, Sarasota, Fla.

3. Coopers Beach, Southampton, N.Y.

4. Coronado Beach, San Diego

5. Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii

6. Main Beach, East Hampton, N.Y.

7. Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks, N.C.

8. Cape Florida State Park, Key Biscayne, Fla.

9. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.

10. Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, S.C.

Six more inducted into N.C. Sports Hall of Fame

The N.C. Sports Hall of Fame (based at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh) recently added a half-dozen new deserving members.

"John Swofford, ACC commissioner since 1997 and a former quarterback at North Carolina, is in the class. Also in the class are Appalachian State head football coach Jerry Moore, North Carolina women's basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell and former East Carolina and Wake Forest men's basketball coach Dave Odom," said WRAL.

"Former North Carolina State running back and Canadian Football League star Willie Burden, and veteran golfer Roger Watson are also inductees."

The News & Observer's Caulton Tudor writes today that it's only a matter of time before Carolina Hurricanes legends Ron Francis and Glenn Wesley are added.

"Nowhere to be found is anyone with a hockey background. That should change soon," writes Tudor. "Under the 10-year state residency rule for non-North Carolina natives, former Carolina Hurricanes stars and current employees Ron Francis and Glen Wesley will be eligible for consideration in the 2010 voting."