Six to receive top N.C. award

Six North Carolinians will be honored with the highest civilian award the state bestows in a ceremony at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh Thursday, says the AP.

Among those receiving the North Carolina Award are Winston-Salem attorney Mike Leonard, High Point poet and author Carole Boston Weatherford, Greenville artist and teacher Robert Ebendorf, and Asheville painter and sculptor Donald Sultan.

Also being recognized are Margaret S. Newman of Winston-Salem, chairman of the board of directors of the N.C. Center for Nonprofits, and F. Ivy Carroll, a scientist in the field of medicinal chemistry.

The North Carolina Awards were created by the General Assembly in 1961 and have been presented annually since 1964. It recognizes contributions to the state and nation in fine arts, literature, public service and science.

ASU looking to move up in the football world

Appalachian State is one of (if not the) most successful and consistent college football programs in the state. The Mountaineers may soon see how they can fare against the big boys on a full-time basis.

The school, known for its stunning upset of Michigan in 2007 and its three straight national titles last decade, announced Thursday it will evaluate shifting from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Bowl Subdivision [says the AP].

The feasibility study could take up to a year.

“With the changing Division I landscape and the unprecedented success that our football program has enjoyed on and off the field in recent years, the time is right to analyze all of our options as a Division I athletics department and football program,” athletic director Charlie Cobb said.

Appalachian State joins fellow Southern Conference member Georgia Southern and Montana in beginning discussions about moving to the FBS.

Quick hits: N.C. Zoo is great, and UNC still wants to do some doctorin' in the west

National organization calls N.C. Zoo one of the best in the world

"A national organization says the North Carolina Zoo is one of the best in the world," according to the AP.

"Association of Zoos & Aquariums CEO Jim Maddy says the zoo near Asheboro meets the group's highest standards.

"Maddy praised the zoo after announcing his organization has again awarded accreditation to the facility.

"The zoo has been accredited since 1984. Every five years, zoos and aquariums have to undergo a rigorous application process if they want to remain accredited. The process includes a detailed inspection and a formal hearing. ..."


UNC again pushing western medical training

"The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is again pushing plans to open a branch campus of its medical school to train doctors in Charlotte," according to the AP.

"The Charlotte Observer reported the new proposal to train doctors in Charlotte and Asheville is a scaled down version of the plan offered two years ago that failed to win legislative approval.

"UNC-Chapel Hill had proposed training 50 doctors in Charlotte and 20 in Asheville in 2008. The new plan calls for a dozen students to train in Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte starting in 2013. Eight doctors would train at Mission Health System in Asheville. ..."

Gazetteer fun: D-F

The highly entertaining and educational North Carolina Gazetteer has been updated for the first time since it was first published in 1968. (Kudos to Michael Hill at the N.C. Office of Archives and History for undertaking the updating of William Powell's monumental publication.)

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, D, E and F. (Click here to see A, B & C.) There are some 2,ooo-plus listings in the Gazetteer, so feel free to search for your own faves.

Day Book, community in n(orth)e(ast) Yancey County on Jacks Creek. Alt. 2,350. Post office est. about 1815 and named for a book in which names were recorded of settlers moving west. Another version of the traditional origin of the name is that it came from a time book kept for employees of a local lumber company.


Eupeptic Springs, community an former resort (1860s-1870s), n(orth)w(est) Iredell County. Known as Powder Springs prior to development as a resort by Dr. John Ford, who renamed it Eupeptic (good digestion).


Fayette County was formed in July 1784 when an act of the General Assembly divided Cumberland County into Fayette and Moore Counties. It was intended to honor Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834), who visited the United States that year. Fayette County retained the courthouse in Fayetteville. In October of the same year, the act was amended to retain the name Cumberland for the county.

The North Carolina Gazetteer is published by UNC Press. To order one, click here.

Mayberry among TV's most memorable fake towns

The entertainment blog romow has a list of the 11 most memorable "TV Cities that Don't Exist," which includes good ol' Mayberry.

The Andy Griffith Show could rightly be called the most successful spin-off of all time. In the slow-paced, fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina, Sheriff Andy Taylor serves as a straight and narrow policeman who breaks up moonshine distilleries and other crooked operations. Mayberry, which could be any non-urban part of North Carolina, is the epitome of relaxed southern living where community and non-violent mediation matter most.

Of course, we could remind the folks at romow that Mayberry is basically a real place called Mount Airy. But we'll let it slide.

Among the other choices are Springfield ("The Simpsons"), South Park, Colo. ("South Park"), Hazzard County, Ga. ("Dukes of Hazzard") and Quahog, R.I. ("Family Guy"), among others.

The uncertain future of N.C.'s wild horses

North Carolina has long been proud of the wild horses that roam our coast. (We even promote a link to the Shackleford Banks horse foundation under our links section.) But these animals face an uncertain future because of tourism, according to the AP.

On a stretch of barrier island without paved roads, some of the last wild horses in the eastern United States are seeing their world get smaller each year.

A boom in vacation homes in the last 25 years in this remote place has seen the descendants of colonial Spanish mustangs confined to a 7,500-acre sanctuary on the northern tip of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. And now the herd itself may shrink along with its habitat.

A plan backed by the federal government would see the herd reduced from about 115 horses today to no more than 60 in a bid to stop the animals, designated North Carolina’s state horse this year, from competing with federally protected birds for increasingly hard-to-come-by resources.

The Fish and Wildlife Service says the plan will reduce harmful behavior by a species it considers a nuisance. But residents who rely on the horses to bring in tourist dollars or who simply cherish the mustangs as a symbol of the country’s spirit worry it could bring about the collapse of the herd through hereditary diseases and other complications of a shallow gene pool.

“The American wild horse is disappearing from our country,” said Karen McCalpin, executive director of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, a nonprofit group that manages the herd. “To me, they’re as much a symbol of freedom as the bald eagle.” ...

Thousands of mustangs once roamed the Outer Banks, descendants of horses brought during an ill-fated Spanish colonial mission in the 1520s. But Highway 12 has been steadily moving north through the barrier islands, reaching Corolla in the 1980s and bringing rapid development with it.

Huge, brightly painted vacation homes now line the road, and even pop up behind the dunes on Corolla’s beach, accessible only by vehicles with four-wheel drive. Once the paved road ends, there’s no development except vacation homes, some as big as mansions. ...

The horses around Corolla are in a unique situation. Unlike their counterparts farther south in Shackleford Banks, the mustangs don’t have any kind of federal protection.

In fact, on its website, the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge describes the animals as something of a pest: “The Fish and Wildlife Service considers the horses to be nonnative, feral animals and not a natural component of the barrier island ecosystem,” it reads. “These animals compete with native wildlife species for food and fresh water.”

The management plan calls for the size of the herd to be kept at 60, meaning horses in excess of that number would have to be captured and put up for adoption to new homes off the island, while remaining mares would be treated with contraceptive medication to stop them from becoming pregnant. ...

Wilmington-based 'One Tree Hill' enjoys record season premiere

“'One Tree Hill' started its eighth season Tuesday night, but it’s not getting old with viewers. The show helped The CW score its best Tuesday in a year," says the Star-News.

According to The CW, the made-in-Wilmington drama posted the network’s largest audience (2.2 million viewers) in its new 8-9 p.m. Tuesday lead-off position since Oct. 20, 2009.

The show premiere was watched by 10 percent more viewers than the season seven finale, which aired in May. ...

In the coveted 18-34-year-old female demographic, the show scored No. 1 in its time slot in markets including New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Cleveland.

We'll see if it can keep up the momentum. The premiere featured several twists that you normally expect for a season finale, not a premiere. There's also a "are they dead or alive?" storyline that could work well or, if dragged out, could state that the show has finally jumped the shark. Let's hope not.

Gazetteer fun: A-C

The highly entertaining and educational North Carolina Gazetteer has been updated for the first time since it was first published in 1968. (Kudos to Michael Hill at the N.C. Office of Archives and History for undertaking the updating of William Powell's monumental publication.)

For those unfamiliar with the book, it is quite simply a listing of place names in North Carolina. Some are well-known, most are not; some are funny, some are sad and some are just ... quirky. It's a must-have for natives and "furriners" alike.

We figured we would highlight some of our favorites from the book every now and then. This first version will look at random listings that begin with letters, A, B and C. There
are some 2,ooo-plus listings in the Gazetteer, so feel free to search for your own faves.

Enjoy!

Aho, community in s(outhern) Watauga County near the heads of Stony Branch, Moore Branch, and Buffalo Creek. It is said that a group of men gathered to select a name for the community but, being unable to agree on a name, decided that that next word spoken by any one of them would be accepted. After a long silence, B. B. Dougherty arose, stretched, and said "Aho!"


Bloodrun Creek, rises in w(estern) Chatham County and flows s(outh)w(est) into Brush Creek. Local tradition says that a "hot skirmish" occurred between small bands of Whigs and Tories during the Revolutionary War. Each side, not wishing to reveal its losses, buried its dead secretly. One of the sites selected as a burying ground was near the small stream, and it was given its present name to commemorate the shedding of blood in the battle.


Chicamacomico, the name given to three communities on n(orthern) part of Outer Banks, e(astern) Dare County, s(outh) of Pea Island: formerly North Rodanthe, South Rodanthe, and Clarks, now known as Rodanthe, Waves, and Salvo.

The North Carolina Gazetteer is published by UNC Press. To order one, click here.

Happy 75th birthday, Blue Ridge Parkway!

"The Blue Ridge Parkway is throwing a celebration for its 75th birthday," says the AP.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue and the principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians were slated to attend a kickoff ceremony Friday morning for the parkway’s anniversary festival. The ceremony takes place at the parkway’s Cumberland Knob Recreation Area in North Carolina near the Virginia border.

The weekend festival will feature music, crafts and other activities at Cumberland Knob and the Blue Ridge Music Center in Virginia.

Road construction began Sept. 11, 1935. It now covers 469 miles from the edge of Shenandoah National Park south to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

There also will be a remembrance Saturday for the 2001 terror attacks.

Image from cakecentral.

ENC tourism up

People sure hit the beaches this summer.

As summer fades to fall, midyear lodging numbers confirm reports from area coastal towns that summer 2010 was an improvement over the previous year.

“I think overall we had a pretty good summer,” said Surf City Mayor Zander Guy. “The day tripper business has been tremendous this year.” ...

Whether they came for the day or overnight, Crystal Coast Tourism Authority Executive Director Carol Lohr said visitors also made a strong appearance along the Carteret County’s beaches and at area attractions.

“I think we’re seeing a bit of a turn in the economy,” she said. “We had perfect beach weather, which is always good, and I think people wanted to get out and spend time together with their family. We’re a good value for the dollar.”

Lohr said the Crystal Coast may have also seen some visitors over the summer who came here instead of the Gulf of Mexico due to the oil spill.

According to the July 2010 Monthly Lodging Report conducted by Smith Travel Research, the latest numbers show an upward swing in occupancy, good news for tourism in North Carolina.

Statewide, hotel/motel occupancy increased 9.8 percent in July 2010, compared to July 2009. When looking at the Eastern region, which includes Lenoir, Greene and Jones, as well as Carteret, there was a 10-percent gain in occupancy rates when comparing July 2009 to July 2010. ...

Quick hits: Reflecting on 'Oz' in Beech Mountain, and Brevard is super cool

Old Land of Oz park gears up for annual festival

"When you drive up the steep, winding roads of this small town, past its ski slopes and under a bright green bridge, you'll see an old white farmhouse and a massive pair of ruby slippers. Suddenly, you know you're not in Kansas anymore," writes the News & Observer.

"At its debut in 1970, this was a cutting-edge theme park built in part to keep ski workers employed from June through October. The Land of Oz has been closed 30 years and is a desolate remnant of the magical retreat it was.

"But the park makes an annual comeback during the first weekend of October, when several thousand flock to the Autumn at Oz party. The two-day event started 17 years ago as a small reunion for former park employees such as Andy Harkins, 57, who was a Tin Man in 1971. It grew to more than 8,500 last year. ..."


Brevard a 'cool' small town
"If the notion of town-wide square dances with an old-time caller sounds appealing, then Brevard is your kind of place," says Budget Travel.

"Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains 45 minutes south of Asheville, the redbrick town is an outpost of authentic Appalachia. Every Tuesday night in summer, locals block off Main Street, a bluegrass band strikes up, and everyone lets loose. Longtime Atlanta resident Ginger Lipscomb, 64, is one of many who were drawn by Brevard's history. She first came in 2005 to visit friends. 'Then I started annoying them because I wanted to come every weekend.' Lipscomb now runs Stones Jewelry Store out of a century-old storefront.

"Across town, patrons head to 68-year-old Rocky's Soda Shop for chocolate malts or to the 1934 Co-Ed Cinema, complete with a gleaming marquee and ornate ticket booth, for first-run films. At day's end, there's no better spot to relax in the cool mountain air than the porch of 149-year-old Red House Inn, just one more historic—and homey—side of Brevard. ..."

Fall color guess: Above average color this year

The good folks at Ashvegas have a post about a Western Carolina University professor who predicts above-average fall foliage color in the mountains this year.

Apparently the extremely-hot temps this year is good news ... in a sense that the leaf colors should be vibrant.

Visitors to Western North Carolina’s mountains can look forward to a vibrant display of color this autumn, predicts Kathy Gould Mathews, Western Carolina University’s fearless fall foliage forecaster.

That’s because weather conditions during the spring and summer point to an above-average fall color show, said Mathews, WCU associate professor of biology specializing in plant systematics.

“It’s been a hot year in North Carolina, with above-average temperatures this summer. Rainfall has been slightly less than average during the spring and summer. These are two factors I look at when thinking about the timing and quality of fall leaf color change in the mountains,” Mathews said.

“While your garden may not have fared so well because of the soaring temperatures in June and July, the well-established trees and shrubs of our forests do not appear to have been adversely affected. All of which should lead to very nice color change this October,” she said.

Mathews believes that the formation of ample yellow, orange and red pigments in the leaves seems to correlate with dry weather throughout the year. The drier the climate, the more brilliant the fall leaves tend to be, she said.

“I predict this fall color change will be variable throughout the Southern mountains, but on the whole we should expect to see rich and attractive color change this season.,” she said.

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?

Great news for turtles and rare birds

The National Park Service says the 2010 breeding season has broken records for rare sea turtles and birds along North Carolina's Cape Hatteras National Seashore, according to the Associated Press.

The park service says 147 sea turtle nests have been recorded, the most ever at Hatteras. There's also a record number of piping plover and oystercatcher chicks surviving long enough to fly.

A coalition of environmental groups says the numbers are thanks largely to a rule adopted in 2008 that restricts off-road vehicles in nesting areas. ...

N.C. Zoo -- the world's largest -- looking into expansion

From News 14 Carolina:

The world's largest acreage of zoo is located in the heart of the Piedmont Triad and soon the North Carolina Zoo could see some big changes.

Over the last three days, the city and county government met with members of the zoo staff and a New York based consulting firm to discuss the the wildlife center's future. Already the North Carolina Zoo is unique both in size and layout.

“North Carolina Zoological Park is now the largest zoological facility acreage in the world at 2,100 acres," said N.C. Zoo Director Dr. David Jones.

The 1,500 acre main site houses an African and North American exhibit and takes tourist nearly half a day to explore. Now the zoo is looking into opening an Asian exhibit which could keep visitors around a little longer.

"If they had another exhibit it would probably either take the whole day or you could spread it up and spend the night here and you know enjoy this area too," said visitor Megan Hendricks.

Which is exactly why the group decided to bring in an outside consulting firm to help decide if the expanding the zoo is worth the money. 273 acres of adjacent land owned by the zoo society, that could potentially house a new hotel and conference center for the additional visitors. ...

If the zoo expands, so could current and future highway access to the site. Funds for the study were provided by local tourism development authority, the city, county, the economic development corporation, and the zoo. The consulting firm will now develop a comprehensive report on the potential for the Asian region and rough plans for it's design.

That report should be completed by the end of November.

Fantasia suicide scare

From the Charlotte Observer:

"American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino - who has recently been accused of making a sex tape with a married man - was hospitalized Monday night after overdosing on aspirin and a sleep aid, according to a police report and her manager.

Barrino was taken to Carolinas Medical Center-Pineville just before 9 p.m., according to a police report.

The incident happened in the Glynmoor Lakes community in Piper Glen in south Charlotte, where Barrino lives with members of her extended family.

The police report classified the incident as a suicide attempt, but a statement by her agent, Brian Dickens, stopped short of that. In the statement, Dickens described Barrino's injuries as non-life-threatening.

Quick hits: Fantasia in affair scandal, and N.C. tuitions are favorable

Fantasia accused of affair with married man

"A North Carolina woman is alleging that 'American Idol' winner Fantasia Barrino engaged in an affair with her husband, and says in court documents that the pair 'recorded' their sexual encounters," according to CNN.com.

"Paula Cook, who separated from her husband, Antwaun Cook, in June, filed the documents -- seeking child custody, alimony and other monetary support -- Wednesday in Mecklenburg County District Court.

"The documents allege Antwaun Cook began the affair with Barrino, 26, in August 2009 after the pair met at a Charlotte-area T-Mobile store where Cook is employed.

"Barrino -- the 2004 winner of the popular Fox show and an eight-time Grammy nominee -- treated Cook to a lavish lifestyle over the course of their affair, flying him to Atlanta, Georgia; Miami, Florida; New York; Los Angeles, California; and Barbados, the documents allege.

"The pair 'have at times recorded their illicit sexual activity,' according to the documents. ..."

S.C. colleges have highest tuition in the South

"An education group says South Carolina's public colleges charge the highest tuition among 16 Southern states," according to the AP.

"The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Sunday that median tuition at South Carolina 4-year public schools was $8,400 for the 2008-09 school year. That compares with $4,174 in North Carolina and $4,032 in Georgia.

"The figures were reported by the Southern Regional Education Board. The board says part of the reason for the high tuition is because state lawmakers do not fund South Carolina public colleges at the same level as North Carolina and Georgia.

"State funding at South Carolina colleges was about $4,800 a student in 2008-09. That compared with more than $11,500 per student in North Carolina and about $7,800 per student in Georgia. ..."

NYT Mag: Dale Jr. 'wanted to get out from under being Dale Earnhardt's son'

The New York Times Magazine has a very intriguing profile on NASCAR racer and product pitchman Dale Earnhardt Jr. The piece, "In the Name of the Father," written by Pat Jordan, basically asks, "Can Dale Earnhardt Jr. Outrace His Father's Influence?"

The short answer, upon reading the piece, is that Little E has struggled mightily to do that -- with little to show for it. He does, however, keep trying. To his credit, "Junior" attempts to keep some semblance of normalcy in his life -- which is tough with 3-4 PR people around him at almost all times.

“He is very, very introverted,” a publicist says [begins the article]. “He lives alone. He plays video games by himself eight hours at a clip. He’s a multimillionaire, yet he lived alone for months in a 20-by-20 garage loft.”

The 35-year-old Earnhardt "has been the most famous driver in Nascar, and most beloved by fans, over the past eight years, and yet he has almost vanished from sight in Nascar winner circles. He has not won at Nascar’s top level since 2008. Last year, his worst ever, he finished 25th out of 72 Nascar drivers in the final standings — a sad comedown for a driver who was once a kind of Elvis of his sport, the winner of 15 races in his first five full seasons, starting in 2000. So this season would seem to be pivotal for Earnhardt, because it may well determine whether he reclaims his position as Nascar royalty — his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., was one of Nascar’s greatest drivers — or sink for good into midpack anonymity, grinding out one frustrating race after another as he pushes 40, the equivalent of Elvis as a second-rate Vegas lounge crooner."

Here are some more of the highlights from the article (which you can read by clicking above).

For the past seven years, Nascar fans have voted Earnhardt Jr. their favorite driver. He has appeared on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," hosted his own TV show, “Back in the Day,” and handed out an award at the Country Music Awards ceremony. He makes millions of dollars a year racing, and he earns another $10 million endorsing the likes of Adidas, Nationwide Insurance and Wrangler jeans, and for selling merchandise with his name, face, car number and signature on it. His crew chief, Lance McGrew, described him to me as “the Pied Piper of Nascar.” “If Dale’s not running good in a race, fans turn the channel. He’s Nascar’s most important marketing tool.” Mark Martin, Earnhardt’s racing teammate, told me, “Junior has the weight of Nascar world on his shoulders.”

...

His father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., grew up hardscrabble in Kannapolis, N.C., dropped out of school in ninth grade, married and had kids as a teenager and spent his early race years hustling odd jobs as a mechanic, welder, anything in order to put together a stake to keep his race cars running. He was an aggressive driver, one short step from a dirty driver. His fans called him the Man in Black, Big E, the Intimidator and Ironhead. He began his career in 1975 and was the last of a line of irascible, hard-nosed, old-timey drivers going back to moonshiners outrunning revenuers over mountain roads. Earnhardt Sr. was beloved because he started poor, like his fans, was ruthless on the track and a winner. Today many of the best Nascar drivers, like Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, are not Southerners at all (both are from California) and are clean-shaven, well-spoken men who never banged around dilapidated race cars on red clay tracks.

...

“It’s hard to maintain your cool dealin’ with three or four P.R. people [said Earnhardt]. People think I’m always pickin’ my next move. Hell, I have no marketing savvy. I just do what I’m told. It’s frustrating to hear I should decide whether I want to be a race-car driver or a marketing tool. In Nascar I have to be both.”

...

Nascar, like country music, likes to refer to itself as family, and in truth, it has always been dominated by families. ... Earnhardt Sr. had three families. He left his first two without much consideration. He let his first wife’s new husband adopt his son Kerry so he wouldn’t have to pay child support. His second wife struggled financially with Dale and Kelley until their house burned down and he reluctantly took in his two children when they were 10 and 12, respectively. There was tension from the very beginning between Earnhardt Jr. and his father’s third wife, Teresa. On top of that, Earnhardt Sr. was a strict, penurious and distant father. His son and Kelley had a 13-inch black-and-white TV for 15 years.

“My daddy never let us have friends over,” Earnhardt told me, “’cause he didn’t want them tearing up his new possessions. He never really did anything with me. He never told me things. We were raised by six or seven nannies. I always thought he felt I wasn’t much like him.” Kelley says that as a child, her brother was small, timid and sensitive. Kids bullied him. She tried to protect him. “We were as close as you could be,” Earnhardt said. “We still are.” He went on to say, “I feel like a child star protected by all these stage moms.”

...

Earnhardt is reclusive because beyond his own small world in Mooresville (what his publicist calls his playground), his life isn’t his own. It wasn’t his own when he was under the shadow of his father, and now he has found himself held hostage again, this time by Nascar. He’s too valuable for Nascar to be left on his own. So he’s constantly trailed and driven and steered this way and that by his handlers.

(Image from Mark Peterson/Redux for the New York Times)

Now promoting K-Swiss: Mr. Kenny Powers

No, Kenny Powers is not real. But this endorsement deal is. (BTW, NSFW, y'all.)

Kenny Powers Gets Signed By K-Swiss - watch more funny videos

From the AV Club: HBO’s Eastbound And Down officially returns on September 26, but for those who can’t wait until then to see what Kenny [expletive] Powers has been up to ..., this new Funny Or Die video offers some clues. In short, he’s doing what he does best—cashing in on his fame via an endorsement deal with K-Swiss. Oddly enough, the campaign is real: K-Swiss really did sign “Kenny Powers” to be the spokesperson for its Tubes training shoes, and soon enough you’ll be seeing his face in magazine ads, billboards, subway posters (as seen above), and commercial spots for TV and movie theaters.

Hey, Jack Kerouac

CNN.com recently did a story about the photographs of Allen Ginsberg, who captured the Beat Generation with his words and images.

"[T]he beats arrived on the American art scene with an explosion of amphetamine-fueled creativity," says CNN."Their frank explorations of the twin taboos of sexuality and drugs helped to usher in the counterculture of the 1960s and, though their wild antics were the stuff of legend, they paid a heavy price.

"Jack Kerouac killed himself with alcohol, while William Burroughs killed his own wife in a drunken parlor game gone awry."

The first photo that pops up in the slideshow is of Kerouac. His On the Road is one of those seminal works that everyone who has ever been "searching" for anything has read. I first read the book as a college freshman (surprise!) and was shocked, somewhat, to see that Kerouac's main character references both Fayetteville and (here's the really surprising part) my hometown of Dunn.

In reality, Kerouac referencing anywhere in N.C. is not that surprising. After all, the writer lived for some time in Rocky Mount and made numerous treks there to visit family.

Raleigh's John J. Dorfner has written and studied about Kerouac's time in Rocky Mount-- called "Testament, Va., " in On the Road -- "the only time he used a fictitious name for a town in any of his books," wrote Dorfner back in '07 in the News & Observer.

Kerouac described America once as one big backyard, one he loved to wander in, from yard to yard, just seeing what everyone was doing, and to join the party that was going on. And the wild, sad, mystical book describing Kerouac and Neal Cassady -- a cowboy and a football player -- in an automobile cruising the highways, cities and towns of America in search of "it" actually started in Eastern North Carolina, in Rocky Mount. ...

Kerouac roared into Rocky Mount on a roadway of words -- by train, bus or a ride that he bummed along the way. During the late 1940s until 1956, Kerouac made extensive visits to Rocky Mount.

Kerouac visited North Carolina in June 1948 for the birth of his nephew, Paul Blake Jr. He joined his family during Christmas 1948, in a little white house on Tarboro Street, at the end of a dirt road in Edgecombe County, right across the Nash County line, the railroad tracks that separate the town. The city streets weren't paved in those days and Kerouac describes the muddy new Hudson pulling into his brother-in-law's front yard. ...

Cassady and crew pulled up on a snowy Christmas Eve 1948. Neal played jazz records and jumped around and had Kerouac's relatives concerned. But it was all straightened out and Jack and Neal left for their first venture on the road together, taking Kerouac's mother's load of furniture up to Paterson, N.J. Then they came straight back for her and the rest of the gang, Marylou and Ed.

Kerouac's sister moved from their home on Tarboro Street to the crossroads community of Big Easonburg Woods, five miles outside of Rocky Mount. The community is called West Mount now and hasn't changed much from when Kerouac started visiting in 1952. ...

Kerouac describes his life and times in Big Easonburg Woods in his novel "The Dharma Bums," written after the publishers told him that they wanted another "On the Road" type of book. "The Dharma Bums" explores Kerouac's leap into Buddhism; his West Coast mountain climbing with Japhy (Gary Snyder); and poetry adventures with Allen Ginsberg and "HOWL." In it, he devotes five or six chapters to describing his life in Big Easonburg. Kerouac's sister and brother-in-law rented a little cottage that Kerouac used for his retreat. He'd come there from places North, South, East and West and usually walked the three miles to his sister's house after being left off at the intersection of Little Easonburg and Halifax roads. He details this lonely walk, observing the farmhouses and tobacco fields covered in snow. Kerouac would live and sleep out on the back porch. This was his room. He would stay up late writing, either on his back porch or in the little kitchen. He wrote "Visions of Gerard" there, beginning right after Christmas 1955, taking over the little kitchen and writing all night long. He finished up during the first weeks of January 1956.

If you want more about Kerouac and Rocky Mount, be sure to visit Dorfner's article at Empirezine. The town provided Kerouac "with inspiration in-between his cross country journeys in the 1950's. It was a peaceful setting for the hurricane that was to become Jack Kerouac's life and times. Kerouac...if people heard of him at all...they'd associate it with the author of the 1957 novel On the Road, the story of one man's search for a place that, for him anyway, never existed."

(Photos from Empirezine)