The calendars are available in the “Calendars” tab found at the top of the page at Gogoraleigh. Scroll down to “Carolina Railhawks Soccer 2012” and select your desired format.

The parade will be aired from 11am to 1pm. While NBC is the more prominent network covering the event, HGTV (TWC Channels 1350 and 350) blows NBC’s coverage away year after year. Not only is their commentary about the craft of each float superb, they also show the marching bands for more then 5 seconds each.

Take a look at the Broughton Band during their first pass of the Raleigh Christmas Parade six weeks ago:

1. RDU Terminal 2 Phase II Opens
2. Scotty McCreery Wins American Idol
3. Raleigh Hosts NHL All-Star Game
4. Business and Building Losses – This is the first year in the blogging era when significant losses impacted Raleigh, losing several people, buildings, businesses, and identities: Lorenzo Charles, John Baker, Bart Ritner, Jolly’s Jewelers (130 years old), Tyler House, Fosters/Nelsons, “Hudson” Belk, Wachovia, Restoration Hardware, Blockbuster Video (most stores), Amedeo’s North, Borders, Cold Krispy Kreme in City Plaza, Chockey’s, Duck & Dumpling, The Diner; The Brewery, The Ballantines building in Cameron Village, 1720 Canterbury Drive, The Green House and Jackpot Bar; 
5. Tornado Rips Through Downtown Raleigh
6. Local Election Yields Landslide Wins for Non-Conservatives
7. Triangle Expressway Opens as NC’s First Toll Road
8. Rembrandt Exhibit Opens at NCMA
9. Food Truck Rules Change for Downtown Raleigh
10. Webb Simpson Finishes Second in PGA Earnings
11. Jeff Skinner Wins Calder Trophy
12. Duke’s Kyrie Irving Selected #1 in NBA Draft
13. WRAL Dismisses Pam Saulsby, Hires Jackie Hyland
14. NCSU Fires Lowe, Hires Gottfried
15. Coach K Sets NCAA Men’s Basketball Division I Wins Record
16. Canes Fire Paul Maurice, Hire Kirk Muller
17. Mayor Charles Meeker Retires
18. Cameron Village Chick-Fil-A Breaks Ground
19. Stall, Ward, Skinner Named to NHL All-Star Team
20. GoLive Attempts To Unite Triangle Transit
21. Glenwood South Hampton Inn Breaks Ground
22. Edison Complex Redesigned
23. Bobcats/Canes Swap Exhibition Games, Bobcats Cancel Game
24. RBC Center Gets New, Red Lower Level Seats
25. The Umstead Wins AAA Five Diamond Award
26. Ed Mitchell Leaves The Pit
27. ACC Expands to Include Syracuse and Pittsburgh
28. Verizon LTE Service Launches in Triangle
29. Rocky Top Hospitality Closes Red Room, Bogart’s, Michael Dean’s, opens Cantina South, Tribeca Tavern
30. Tommy Bahama Store Opens in Crabtree
31. Gonza Tacos y Taquila Opens
32. City Council Endorses Light Rail Plan
33. Meat House Opens in Quail Corners
34. Renaissance North Hills Wins AAA Four Diamond, Best Marriott Award
35. Mandolin Opens to Rave Reviews
36. Green Square Complex Opens
37. Fai Thai Opens, Abruptly Closes
38. First Night Brings Ferris Wheel to Fayetteville Street
39. Raleigh Restaurants Featured on LudoBites TV Show
40. 96 Rock Changes Format

Note: the new CD coming September 6 will be a Black Francis solo CD with songs by him and Reid Paley. It will be named Paley & Francis.

Built as a celebration of the Carolinas, Carowinds offered just the basics typically offered by a regional amusement park. Even with the acquisition by the Taft Corporation and later Paramount, the park remained the bastard child to siblings Kings Dominion, Great America, Kings Island, and Canada’s Wonderland. In 2006, however, the parks were all purchased by Cedar Fair, the operator of Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio), the coaster capital of the world. Cedar Fair acquisition isn’t always a blessing, as the company disbanded a nice Geauga Lake park in Aurora, OH. Rides from that park were sent to the remaining parks, including Carowinds. Luckily, though, Carowinds was the recipient of intense attention from Cedar Fair, and the park now stands as a peer to Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens, and Six Flags Over Georgia. In fact, the park has some advantages over each of those listed.

The Day Unfolded: Dry

My family spent the day at Carowinds on Friday (7/2/11) and had a fantastic time. The park was only moderately crowded, and aside from a couple of 30-minute queues, all rides were 5-minute waits. The park personnel were very attentive and professional, but what struck me was the clientele. It was almost exclusively nice, clean families that were identical to the class of people we saw at Disney’s Magic Kingdom three years ago.

We got a late start, knowing that we were staying until the park’s 10pm closing time. Luckily we had some steeply discounted coupons a friend gave us, or else we would have had to pay $53/person at the gate. Tickets in advance (online) are only $42, so clearly it would behoove visitors to spend a little bit of time online buying tickets in advance. Our discounted tickets were only $30, so we got a very slow burn thru our day at only $3/hr. Still, even $5.20/hr is worth the fun we had.

One big advantage Carowinds and Kings Dominion (KD) have over Busch Gardens (BGW) and Six Flags (SFoG) is their in-house water parks. Admission is included in the park admission, so we always take in bathing suits, towels, and a change of clothes to Carowinds and KD. Each has rentable lockers ($10/d small, $18/d large) and adequate locker rooms for changing. (BGW and SFoG both offer water parks, but they are not on-site and are a separate ticket)

Our plan worked well. We decided to hit the slower rides and warm up first, go to the rapids ride where we would get wet, go to the water park, change, and hit the rest of the park for the evening. Because Carowinds is the flattest, most walkable, and smallest of the parks mentioned, it was easy for us to cover all of the park’s sections numerous times.

We started at Planet Snoopy, the children’s section of the park which offers a wide variety of rides. The Flying Ace Aerial Chase (video) was first, the only children’s inverted coaster in this part of the country. It was a great warm up, though a bit rough entering its last descent. On to the Woodstock Express (formerly Scooby Doo Rollercoaster) (video), which is identical to the one at KD. It may be a junior coaster, but it still has to be one of the most fun around with its surprising airtime offered. The trains used have very little leg room, so if you have long legs you might be uncomfortable. Unfortunately we skipped the Woodstock Gliders, one of the best flat rides ever made.

Next up was the County Fair section which has seen many changes through the years. We started with Thunder Road (video), the classic wooden out-and-back coaster. The park has been restoring the track and parts of the structure over the past 3 years, but still, this coaster is an mess as it is one of the roughest coasters I’ve ever ridden. We opted out of the Southern Star (Pirate ship that goes upside down) (video) and did one of my all-time favorites, the bumper cars.

The big ride of this section is a true gem in this part of the country: The Afterburn (video). Formerly known as the Top Gun, the Afterburn is an inverted coaster by B&M, resembling BGW’s Alpengeist (video). However while Afterburn has a shorter lift hill and reaches speeds 10-15mph slower than Alpengeist, the layout is much more compact so those speeds and altitudes aren’t really needed. The Afterburn essentially incorporates all of the elements that Alpengiest has, but is way, WAY smoother. My 9-year old daughter liked it so much that she rode it five times.

Before the arrival of the Intimidator, Afterburn was the park’s signature ride. However Afterburn hasn’t lost its personality, sporting a hilarious crew that pepped up riders and had them laughing even before the train left the station. It is rides like Afterburn that give a park personality and make people want to return.

Next we went to the Nighthawk (video), a flying coaster that was moved to Carowinds from Great America in 2002. The ride occupies much of the land that once was the park’s central lake, and stands with an awesome presence to visitors entering the park. While other rides had 5-10 minute queues, the Nighhawk had a 35-minute queue. Because of the ride’s design and numerous possible points of failure, turnover and output on this ride is terrible. It is the only flying coaster in our area and while I am glad I rode it, I thought it was a bit rough, I didn’t like relying completely on the shoulder restraints for suspending me 100 feet off the ground, and too much of the ride felt like I was going “backwards”. While this is a very good ride, I realized this isn’t my favorite style of coaster.

Next we hit the Carolina Skytower, a 320-foot high ring-cabin ride that slowly rotates up a pole, offering stunning views of the park as well as the Charlotte area. Most notably, the ride is air-conditioned. Nuff said. Nevertheless while up there, be sure to notice Charlotte’s skyline to the Northeast, and the towering, never completed hotel at the former PTL Heritage U.S.A. to the Southeast.

We were starving so we went to the burger joint formerly known as Stan Mikita’s at the base of The Hurler. While the burger was only adequate, I have to say that it was better than any burger I’ve gotten at Wendy’s in the last 10 years and it was decidedly better than the burger we got at Cosmic Ray’s in the Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland.

We Got Wet

Next we went on the Rip Roarin’ Rapids (video)which also has a slow turnover. Wait time in the middle of this 91-degree afternoon was 30-40 minutes. The line queue splits at one point, and you definitely want to take the line to the left, which was about 10 minutes faster than the right. This is one of those rapids rides with circular tubes and six seats strapped in. “You will get wet. You may get soaked” is their tagline, and it is accurate. Half of the boat’s riders will be doused and every rider’s shoes will be completely dunked, so plan accordingly.

Because the loading and unloading platforms are far away from each other, you will not be able to temporarily stow a bag near the ride’s exit. If you have large bags, put them in a locker at the park’s entrance (next door). For cell phones, I recommend bringing a large ziplock bag, and putting it in a plastic grocery back with a handle. You can then hang that bag from the post in the raft’s center. Any other plan is very risky as water damage may severely risk your phone’s well being and its warranty. This ride was well worth it, but it is not significantly different to the similar rides at KD and BGW.

Next up was the water park. While this water park is not as comprehensive as a dedicated water park experience (like Water Country, USA), it serves its purpose well. We started at the newer wave pool back next to the Thunder Road turn around. Wave pools usually only run for about 10 minutes, then there is a 15-20 minute break where the pumps do not run. The reason? The wave period will wear you down pretty fast. The experience is not replicating the ocean’s action. It is more like swimming on the high seas where the waves don’t curl. I love the experience, but worry that the 6 lifeguards onhand are not adequate for the mass of humanity in the pool. Always be on the lookout in these situations for people who are struggling to swim!

We moved on to the lazy river which was  great fun. The circuit takes 5 minutes to complete, so it isn’t a big lazy river nor is there any real theming, but it seemed like a better experience than the one at KD. We moved over to Pipeline Peak, a spaghetti collection of closed tube waterslides. Two tubes are two-man raft rides that launch halfway up the tower and the other two are single person, high-velocity tubes from the top of the tower. We thoroughly enjoyed the raft tubes, but the single person tubes were terrible (unless you like seams whipping your back, banging your head, and giving you an enema.) In addition, the climb to the top of the 80’ tower was not for the faint at heart.

Our most enjoyable experience in Pipeline Peak came with the Down Under Thunder, a, open tube family raft ride. The emphasis on this ride is on banking through tight turns. It doesn’t carry a lot of speed, but is simply fun!

We Dried Off

While my wife and daughter were dressing, I got in a couple of rides on The Intimidator (video), a year-old B&M hypercoaster that is very similar to BGW’s Apollo’s Chariot (video). In all honesty, this is not only the park’s and the region’s best coaster, it is one of the nation’s best roller coasters. If you read coaster publications very much, you’ll realize that there is a bias by critics against southern coasters. For example, last year’s Golden Ticket Awards names the 12-year-old Apollo’s Chariot as the #4 coaster in the U.S. while the Intimidator ties for #21. Perhaps as more people ride this thing they will realize that while Apollo is a great coaster, The Intimidator is plainly a better coaster.

The Intimidator’s 74 degree first drop from the 232-foot high lift hill plunges riders over 80 mph, but that isn’t what makes this a great coaster; it’s the five peaks that follow. During the peaks there is a tremendous amount of sustained air time for riders, some instances lasting more than 3 seconds. The ride incorporates B&M’s new staggered 2×16 seating pattern, so even the middle riders get a fantastic heads-up view. The ride is ultra-smooth, as well. If it can hold up as well as Apollo’s Chariot has, then the Intimidator will be the better coaster of the two for many years to come.

The Intimidator has a very fast turnover rate, pushing a new set of 32 riders out of the station about every 45 seconds, so the line moves quickly. Unfortunately this is accomplished by a frenzied staff and announcer imploring people to MOVE. While this is most certainly part of the “pit crew” theming to the ride, it led to a very strong feeling that turnover rate is being championed over ride safety. I actually would like for the crew to slow things down just a bit because the unsettling crew running the ride takes some of the fun out it.

The sun set as we rode the Carolina Goldrusher (video), one of the park’s original rides. Turnover rate on this ride is excessively slow and the ride is a bit rough, but the underground helix and the fine del capo entering the musty mine shaft were fantastic.

Geauga Lake’s loss was Carowinds’ gain as the Head Spin found a new home at Carowinds as the Carolina Cobra (video). It’s a Vekoma boomerang shuttle coaster that features a loop and a boomerang, a nice nod back to the old White Lightning ride that used to stand nearby. The ride is very smooth and has some interesting, extremely comfortable restraints. As with all shuttles, it is still unsettling to hit that station platform going at top speed!

We then took on the Richochet (video), a great little wild mouse coaster. The lateral g’s around the unbanked hairpin turns are enormous fun, and the ride is ultra-smooth.

What is not ultra smooth is the Vortex (video), a B&M stand-up coaster that is another complete mess. Sixteen years ago this was a ride known for its smoothness, but now it is bad, especially in the middle third in the corkscrew. It was walk-on when we hit it, and we had noticed several empty trains running before us. Something needs to be done about this ride, because it is a bad ride sitting on prime real estate.

The two coasters we skipped were The Hurler (video) and The Carolina Cyclone (video) after hearing about rough they are. The Hurler was fantastic in 1994, but wear and tear on it, and the addition of trim brakes in the first curve have reportedly taken their toll. The Cyclone wasn’t great in 1994, as it was just another rough Arrow looper. Instead we went back to the Afterburn for three more goes.

From 9pm to 10pm the park features a nice Charlie Brown-themed LED light show back in the County Fair section. Programmed with the music, the lights in the trees dance to patriotic and dance music. It’s a super touch that brings that part of the park alive at night.

Capping the day off is the 10pm fireworks show from behind the Hurler. The fireworks were not quite as good as the N.C. State Fair’s nightly showing, and they were not launched quite high enough, but nevertheless they are a fantastic touch for a great day at a quickly improving park.

We had a long, enjoyable day and my only regret is not drinking enough water. Remember that EVERY food stand has free cups of water. There are also water fountains at most bathrooms, so be sure to stay ahead of dehydration in the park.

Cedar Fair has done a remarkable job with the park. The food is adequate, the bathrooms were as clean as a nice fast-food restaurant, the employees were excellent, and the ride selection is excellent. I also like the bright color schemes they have chosen for the coasters, fences, and benches.

How They Stack Up

For those of us in the Triangle, we have three major parks from which to choose, and while Kings Dominion still probably rates out as the overall #1, I think Carowinds is a fairly close second now. Carowinds only has 10 coasters to KD’s 13, does not have a log flume, and has a smaller water park than Kings Dominion. Kings Dominion has a varied coaster selection (three launchers, an indoor coaster, the Avalanche, and the stunt coaster) while Carowinds offers a flying coaster, a shuttle coaster, an excellent B&M inverted coaster, and the region’s best overall coaster. King’s Dominion’s layout has gone array, with their enormous entry plaza going to waste and operational facility sitting on prime real estate, the water park has the stretch back over 0.6miles from the front gate.

The park that has me worried is Busch Gardens. While the park is still beautiful, has Apollo’s Chariot, The Alpengeist, The Loch Ness Monster (one of the best coasters Arrow ever made), the Griffon, DaVinci’s Cradle, and Escape from Pompeii, our last trip found the park sorely lacking everywhere else. The children’s area is for very small children, and with the Big Bad Wolf gone, there are very few rides that someone between the ages of 5 and 13 can enjoy. The gondola ride is gone, and walking the park is treacherous.

BGW is owned by The Blackstone Group (the Sea World people), so they have no interest in sustaining the Anheuser-Busch personality of the park. The monorail and beer tour are gone, and at least for now, the Clydesdales are still there. The park still has its awful log flume, and it sustains the longest ride lines of any attraction in the park. The Festhaus is still neat, and there is still a decent wildlife reserve portion to this park, but honestly, coasters are king in the industry these days. This park has four that are among the best in their classes, but is that enough quantity to draw people to a town which is seeing its Historic traffic fading?

* * *

So if you are interested in taking a trip from Raleigh, here is how it all breaks down (3 stars=best of the group, 1 star=worst of the group):

Of course, this comes on the heels of yesterday’s news about tiered data pricing Verizon will roll out on July 7. Those plans are rumored to offer 2GB/mo for $30, 5GB/mo for $50, and 10GB/mo for $80.

Therefore, if your are interested in getting an LTE phone on Verizon (like the Samsung Droid Charge, the HTC Thunderbolt, and the LG Revolution), it might be wise to make a move soon.

If you are interested in a new Android phone, you can always check out gogoraleigh’s Ultimate U.S. Android Phone Spreadsheet. It sorts out the carrier and pricing information for 44 Android phones that are either currently or soon-to-be available.

In a press release

Each year AAA awards Four and Five Diamond ratings to the finest hotels in the nation. The Resnaissance joins this list of Four Diamond hotels in North Carolina:

• ASHEVILLE:  1900 Inn on Montford (2009), Albemarle Inn (2003), Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville (2009), Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park (2010), Inn on Biltmore Estate (2001), The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa (2001),
• BOONE – Lovill House Inn (1997), 
• CASHIERS – Innisfree Inn By-The-Lake (1994)
• CHAPEL HILL – Carolina Inn (1997), The Siena Hotel (1996)
• CHARLOTTE – Hilton Charlotte Center City (2007), Marriott Charlotte SouthPark (1989), Omni Charlotte Hotel (2001), The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Charlotte (2003), The Duke Mansion Historic Inn & Meeting Place (2005), The Westin Charlotte (2004)
• DURHAM – Arrowhead Inn Bed and Breakfast (2003), Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club (2000)
• GREENSBORO – Grandover Resort & Conference Center Golf & Spa (1999), O. Henry Hotel – (1999), Proximity Hotel (2008)
• HIGHLANDS – Old Edwards Inn and Spa (2005)
• LAKE TOXAWAY – Greystone Inn (1986)
• PINEHURST – Holly Inn (2002), The Carolina Hotel (1982)
• WILMINGTON – Graystone Inn (1999), The Verandas (2002)

The state has three Five Diamond Award winners:

• CARY – The Umstead Hotel and Spa (2007)
• CHARLOTTE – The Ritz-Carlton (2010)
• FEARRINGTON VILLAGE – The Fearrington House Inn (1994)

itunes

NOTE: The deal window has closed, and app is back to its $2.99 price.

According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses employ over half of the private sector employees, produce 13X more patents per employee than large firms, and hire 40% of tech workers. Small businesses have generated 64% of new jobs over the past 15 years. Given that the GDP has been below its 30 year average for each of the last 4 years (an unprecedented dubious run in the modern era), it seems the key to job creation in this country is getting small businesses going. That cannot happen while banks are still sitting on cash.

While the Small Business Jobs Act has released some money into the private sector, it is largely an operation of the SBA and not by private sector lenders. Small businesses are still having an extremely difficult time securing funding for expansion and innovation, and business startups are extremely rare. Beyond small businesses, loans for new cars and for houses are still extremely difficult to secure even for those with excellent credit. The SBA can only back but so many cupcake shops. Private sector lending has to be in place.

“Investing in education” is, indeed, important for the long term outlook of America. However we have a short term problem that badly needs the correct solution. Releasing hundreds of thousands of “certified” factory trainees in this job market will only lead to huge increases of laborers seeking higher wages from jobs that aren’t there.

The president’s implication is that America has a talent shortage. In fact, there is a glut of unemployed talent. Where we need help is getting the banks to move their cash. Perhaps an increase of the Prime Rate would help. When banks can only get 4.5% on housing loans, they probably don’t have the incentive that they would have if they could get 7.5% or 8% on that money. Additionally the government needs to acknowledge these two rules of labor: 1) people create jobs and 2) they want to create jobs. The dirty truth to this, though, is that only certain people are the ones that create jobs. America’s economic woes will best vanish when those people have an easier time creating jobs. Burdening these people is only a recipe for a second dip. Trickle Down Economics is real, and what we are currently experiencing is Trickle Down Misery. As long as those who create jobs are miserable and lack confidence, those who don’t create jobs will suffer.

These are real issues. My stock broker has been fervent over the last 10 years about staying the course with the Long Term portfolio. When the Dow 30 closed at 6,547, a 54% drop over a 16-month period, in February of 2009, I continued to get letters about “staying the course”. Since that point the Dow 30 has returned to the 12,000 level, and much money has been made by savvy investors. Last week, however, I got a phone call requesting a meeting. It seems that there is an extremely strong feeling that the market is about to lose significant value again, and he advised pulling some money out of the market. “A 10% drop wouldn’t be surprising at all”. So why all the fuss on a long term portfolio if it’s much less that what we’ve just been through? (After all, I have to pay taxes on the profits from those shares). The scary factor here is that a quick recovery is not foreseen. When StayTheCoursers are scared, it’s time for us to be.

The problem, as it pertains to Raleigh, is that we just aren’t seeing a fertile new business market. The Downturn has changed us to a Derntown. While the economic malaise has eased pressure on the Teardown and Sprawl controversies, it also has severely hampered the downtown renaissance. Banks are simply not lending for creative projects, new restaurants, and construction of new housing options like we need them to. There is little interesting to cover with this blog when that is the case. It isn’t just this site, too. Only rarely do other local blogs present information that is even remotely interesting these days. The blogs need an economic revival, the local businesses need it, and the people need it.

Local governments can only improve the situation somewhat. We need cash we need it now. With a Jobs Commission that consists of only one person from the banking sector, is it any wonder that Washington doesn’t get it? As long as the president presses buttons that don’t solve our acute short and medium term problems, we should continue expect private enterprise to be short on Hope.

A crowd of around 8,000 was on hand last night at the RBC Center to watch as garnernorthcarolina–native Scotty McCreery was named the American Idol for Season 10. Congratulations to Scotty! I had a chance to be in that crowd and saw the event from an unexpected perspective.

As is evident in the video, the crowd went nuts when Scotty’s name was announced. As you watch the video, however, note the general amount of noise in the room as Ryan is leading up to the pause, then notice the total silence as the Idol monotone sound effect is finally heard. With 8,000 waiting with baited breath, all it took was the “Sss” sound by Ryan Seacrest to send the room into a frenzy. We never even heard “cotty McCreery”. This was a special aspect of the evening that local news outlets have missed. Here are a few other points:

Production

The RBC Center staff welcomed the crowd with a lower level of security than we typically see at NCSU and Hurricanes events. As the crowds filed in ushers guided people sequentially filling each lower level section in order to get the best flying camera shots on the national television production. A few concession stands were open selling basic concessions including beer, however probably 70% of the crowd was under 21 years of age.

With the hockey season over, the RBC Center floor has no ice and the hockey walls have been removed. Therefore we got the unusual view of an empty, gray arena floor that was dotted with a few chairs and a boom camera. Sections 106 thru 117 of seating were completely empty, so the empty seats and empty floor presented some odd acoustical problems for the RBC Center’s presentation on the scoreboard video screens. The audio was loud, but somewhat shrill and echoing, so the sound quality would have been much better in my den. However the crowd on hand cheered at the exact times the crowd in Los Angeles did, so it made the event unexpectedly come to life.

American Idol sent Matt Rogers, a Season 3 Idol contestant, to be the Master of Ceremonies. Matt’s banter with the crowd and crew during commercials was refreshing. One of the biggest responses of the night came when he noted that the cameraman was on the floor of The Pit the night of April 4, 1983.

The highlight of Rogers’ duties came at the end of the night. Swarming with elated fans, Matt was pictured on the video boards holding and kissing a cardboard cutout of Scotty. If only National had time to show that hilarious moment.

Timing

Rogers also alerted the crowd to times that National was possibly going to cut to Raleigh, and kept us apprised of the finale’s timing difficulties. One of the planned acts for the show was to include live interviews from both Lauren’s and Scotty’s home crowds, but these segments were cut due to overruns. During one of the TV show’s acts, the Raleigh crowd was told to be silent as Rogers and the production crew blocked a revised Raleigh cut, however that segment was cut, too.

We can’t understand how a 2 hour production runs so long that acts are cut. There were no free-form blocks in the acts outside of Ryan Seacrest’s introductions. All of the musical performances were preblocked with the lighting crews, and all of the video packages are all a finite length.

As the Raleigh segment was cut, we noticed Ryan Seacrest blowing through the introduction of performances and even wondered if the abbreviated performance of “Dream On” by Steven Tyler was a late change. It seemed to be the only act in the second hour with flexibility, as production crews could not cut Lady Gaga’s song or that dreadful Spiderman performance.

Ratings Behemoth

Early numbers are in and it appears that last night’s finale drew 29.3 million viewers, so it will likely be the #2 watched television show of 2011, falling second only to the Super Bowl. For reference, the NCAA National Championship Football and Basketball games drew 15 million and 12 million, respectively. Dancing With The Stars’ Finale drew 21 million.

Garnernorthcarolina

It was an exceptional night for the town of Garnernorthcarolina, as Scotty calls it. The Blue Crew of Scotty’s high school friends completely filled section 119 and did a good job of cheering on the rest of the crowd. The Wave even made an appearance during one of the show’s final commercial breaks.

Choral Directors

One of the great moments of the show was the introduction of Lauren and Scotty’s most influential teachers. Not only did the two get invited to the AI Finals, they were acknowledged on international television and given new Ford cars. Garner High School choral director Meredith Clayton was stunned and elated as one of her greatest moments as a teacher got even better.

I’m here to say that any male at Garner High School who isn’t in that woman’s program is a complete idiot. She is adorable and added to the fantastic presentation of this area. Oh, and she’s probably a pretty good choral teacher; it’s in her pedigree. (Clayton’s mother was Clay Aiken’s choral teacher.)

Something In The Water?

Raleigh native and Broadway star Lauren Kennedy was ecstatic watching the American Idols finale. She even went to Twitter wondering if there is something in the water in North Carolina given, yet another, American Idol impact performer. Clay Aiken, Fantasia Barrino, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Bucky Covington, and Anoop Desai were all sensational on the show, but Scotty is the area’s first champion. Kennedy’s point makes one wonder if the area has even more to give in future seasons…

I Saw It Coming

The reason I took my family to the RBC Center last night is because I had a strong inclination that Scotty was going to win. Scotty never gave me “WOW” moments like other contestants did, however winning Idol depends on getting votes, and getting them from the people who vote. A lot more goes into this equation that simply soaring vocals. One of the interesting facets to Dentistry is getting a sense of the buzz in the general population. After the last 5 seasons, I think that American Idol has become something that is largely determined by middle-aged, strong Christian women who would like to lose 20-50 pounds. This demographic has been right on par with who wins in each of the last 5 seasons. The result is a clean-cut, somewhat talented singer who doesn’t show off. Let’s look at those last 5 seasons:

Jordin Sparks vs. Blake Lewis – Jordin Sparks is an All-American type woman with a great voice. Blake Lewis is a good singer, but his beat-boxing, rap-leaning music did not resonate with the demographic. Had Lewis been a more of a smiling pop singer, he could have won.

David Cook vs. David Archuletta – At first one would think that the devout Christianity of Archuletta would excite the demographic, but that isn’t what totally excites them. They actually like rock-leaning pop music over vanilla pop.

Kris Allen vs. Adam Lambert – No one will argue that Adam Lambert doesn’t have a phenomenal voice, however he was too flamboyant and screamed too much to overcome that smile that the demographic loves.

Lee Dewyze vs. Crystal Bowersox – Crystal was the one that blew everyone’s doors off in Season 9. However when it came down to two, the grunginess of Crystal didn’t excite the demographic as much as Lee’s moderate pop and smiling eyes.

Scotty McCreery vs. Lauren “Alaina” – (Lauren’s last name is not Alaina, btw) Season 10 featured an accurate singer with low, but narrow range winning over a beautiful voice that needs more seasoning. That’s not what swayed the vote at all, though. Genre was a wash as both singers exclusively sang Country songs. Scotty has a big smile and never projected a cocky demeanor. That’s difficult to overcome, even for a really good voice. Lauren was my family’s early pick based on who would get the cascading loser votes, however that was based on Scotty finishing around 5th. In the end it appears that Scotty is the only person that Lauren could not beat. Match Lauren against any of the other 11 final contestants, and The Demographic picks her every single time.

The Judges

So, the demographic I mentioned seems to be the set that is most likely to pick the winner, but they are swayable each year, and this was no exception. In each of the last 4 finals, the judges have unofficially anointed the better voice as the winner. However in each of those nights, we’ve seen a huge backlash. This season the backlash was exacerbated by the show’s emphasis on Lauren’s vocal injury in rehearsal.  The result was: people who would have voted for Scotty 10X voted 150X. This is exactly the case with someone I know, and I’ll venture to say those numbers were repeated throughout The Demographic.

Lauren’s Future

We did some digging and found where Lauren Alaina lives. It’s at the dead end of a country road near Chattanooga. Sounds like the beginning of a country song, doesn’t it. Lauren’s family has obviously struggled financially and it is great to see Lauren get this chance. She has been gifted with an excellent voice and has noticeably improved as a performer over the last 3 months. Lauren had serious confidence issues in the first half of the competition, and learning more about her background helped to explain this. She still needs to perform past the first two rows of the auditorium and she still needs to work on hitting the climax of a song correctly. I have complete confidence this will come with more training and maturity, and fully see Lauren Alaina having an excellent career in Nashville along the lines of Lee Ann Womack or LeAnn Rimes.

Scotty’s Future

The one overriding question in the American Idol aftermath is whether Scotty can overcome the Idol Curse. Of the nine Idols, only Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood have been able to advance their career’s beyond “Idol Winner” status. Scotty has a very decent chance of being the third, not because of his talents per se, but rather because of the market.

Country music used to be only popular in rural areas and the South. However since Garth Brooks’ breakthrough, the genre has steadily seen growth in other areas of the country and social strata. With Rock being as dead as it has ever been and stations like G105 forcing Lady Gaga and Kanye West into pop radio, a very serious backlash is about to occur. Teens are quickly turning toward Country music in droves, and there really is no end in sight.

Scotty’s new single, “I Love You This Big” was released this morning, and the producers have done a sensational job of capturing the powerful portions of his voice. The song will be a hit this Summer in Country radio. Scotty is hitting the wave at the perfect time, as there aren’t any big teen country singers right now. Paired with good songs (and that has been a problem for so many Idols), Scotty can be the next Idol to break through.

The Others

This year’s show produced an extremely good group of finalist. James Durbin is quite likely to have success in the dormant Rock realm, Pia is likely to be a hit in Adult Contemporary, and the sky is the limit for Casey and Haley. Casey is enormously talented and keeping him focused will be a key while Haley showed with her version of Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” that she doesn’t have to shout to be outstanding. Paul McDonald and Jacob Lusk are a couple of others who, if matched with the right songwriters, could also see good careers. We’ll see.

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It’s crazy that we are even talking about this. Two months ago many of us thought we had an versatile, typical young country voice on our hands. Now here we are talking about Scotty McCreery being the next in a long list of Springtime major, national successes in the Triangle area. The Idols tour comes to the RBC Center on July 27, and you can expect one of the longest ovations in that building’s impressive history when McCreery takes the stage.

Over the past 50 years, the area has had a local competitor in a large-scale national event during 36 of the past 50 Springs, and 22 of the past 24. The only down years since 1962 have been 1962*, 1965, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1996, and 2007.

Click after the break for the detailed events per year since 1962

• 1962: *Wake Forest in Final Four (6-yrs after their move from the town of Wake Forest)
• 1963: Duke in the Final Four
• 1964: Duke in the Final Four
• 1966: Duke in the Final Four
• 1967: UNC in the Final Four
• 1968: UNC in the Final Four
• 1969: UNC in the Final Four
• 1972: UNC in the Final Four
• 1974: NCSU National Champions
• 1977: UNC in Championship Game
• 1978: Duke in Championship Game
• 1981: UNC in Championship Game
• 1982: UNC National Champions
• 1983: NCSU National Champions
• 1986: Duke in Final Four
• 1988: Duke in the Final Four
• 1989: Duke in the Final Four
• 1990: Duke in Championship Game
• 1991: UNC and Duke in the Final Four, Duke National Champions
• 1992: Duke National Champions
• 1993: UNC National Champions
• 1994: Duke in Championship Game, UNC Women National Champions
• 1995: UNC in the Final Four
• 1997: UNC in the Final Four
• 1998: UNC in the Final Four
• 1999: Duke in Championship Game
• 2000: UNC in the Final Four
• 2001: Duke National Champions
• 2002: Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals
• 2003: Clay Aiken in American Idol Finals
• 2004: Duke in the Final Four, High Point’s Fantasia Barrino wins American Idol
• 2005: UNC National Champions
• 2006: Carolina Hurricanes Stanley Cup Champions
• 2008: UNC in Final Four, Kristi Yamaguchi wins Dancing With The Stars
• 2009: UNC National Champions, Carolina Hurricanes in Stanley Cup Final Four
• 2010: Duke National Champions
• 2011: Scotty McCreery in American Idol Semifinals

In all regards Paul was a tough act to follow, and leaves behind a soulful legacy of discernment. He despised television and fast food, never listened to commercial radio, and was generally suspicious of the corporate world, but was never self-righteous or prudish. He basically loved to challenge himself, and found every aspect of life worth examining. Descending rivers with close friends became a spiritual calling and a pursuit that he found to be true. His death is not to be compared with those of the inexperienced or the foolish, nor was it the result of a dreadful miscalculation brought on by a driving ego. Paul was simply pursuing his dream and it delivered him to this place, a beautiful jungle river in rural South America and the company of friends. A hero’s death.

Sanderson students the mid 80’s knew and liked Paul, though he really came out of his shell at UNC. Just before beginning college, I got to know Paul through family friends. Before long it seemed that everywhere I turned, a friend of mine knew him. He had a funny dichotomy of a quiet manner, yet very talkative when the right button got pushed.

Paul’s family and friends have started the Paul Horner Foundation. It aims to further the spirit of Paul by identifying and nurturing a Wake County public school student each year who wishes to engage in an unusual endeavor which might not necessarily be encouraged by his peers or the society around him. The Foundation believes it important to support young people who pursue uncommon goals in a spirit of kindness and individuality. The Foundation will fund a full scholarship to allow this young person, via a summer experience, to pursue an uncommon dream and thereby inspire those around him.

The application deadline for this year’s experience is April 30.

JAGERMEISTER STAGE:
Jager Band – 1:45
Red Fang – 2:35
Kingdom of Sorrow – 3:35
Unearth – 4:35
Trivium – 5:40
EXTREME STAGE:
Straight Line Stitch – 2:05
All Shall Perish – 3:05
Suicide Silence – 4:05
Machinehead – 5:05
ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAIN STAGE:
In Flames – 6:25
Megadeth – 7:15
Godsmack – 8:30
Disturbed – 9:55

Tickets are on sale now. No word yet about family discounts for this show.

Murph’s transition into Managing Editor, along with Tim Stevens’ new role as Editor-in-Chief, comes after a large series of transitions at Engadget this year. In early February AOL, Engadget’s parent company, purchased the Huffington Post, and has executed a massive reorganization that resulted in the departures of several Engadget personalities. However a new day means a new era, and Stevens and Murph have a full cupboard and numerous opportunities at their disposal. Hopefully Murph’s more prominent role on the site and the engadget podcast will mean better exposure for the RTP area in the San Francisco heavy world of tech journalism. This could get very interesting…

Other events include the Raleigh White Trash parade (featuring the area’s largest motorcycle gangs and best strippers), the induction of the first class of the ACC referee Hall of Fame, and SPARKGarbage, a celebration of what we can do with garbage when we really put our minds to it. Citizens are invited to SPARKGarbage’s keynote event on Fayetteville Street where the world’s largest puzzle event will attempt to reassemble shredded documents from Governor Easley’s office.

Time Warner Cable customers will enjoy an entire week of garbage programming on Local Access TV, best viewed with the Scientific Atlanta Explorer HDC8300, the biggest piece of garbage to ever hit the consumer market. The week will conclude with a motivational State of the Garbage speech by Raleigh Mayor, Charles Meeker.

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Thanks for reading this year’s April Fools edition of Gogoraleigh!

Landers is the source reportedly aiding the News & Observer’s investigation into a local serial rapist, but she declined comment. A source was, however, able to hack her computer and obtain the accompanying photograph.

Buyers of the new cars will get two levels of tax rebates. The lower level, simple car brings a $500 rebate, while the deluxe model featuring box planters on the car’s corners, features a $2,000 rebate. The program begins as soon as the cars are available to the public.

Today the couple gave birth to their first child, the ultimate ITB baby. Her name is Lacy Daniels Broughton. Not even the school board can screw this one up.

He later explained,“Obviously people have a real thirst for traffic reports, but we go a step further. We’re going to bring traffic reports 24/7 from other cities. If you want to see what traffic is like on the Minneapolis I-35 at midnight, we’ve got you covered! It’s our way of connecting the world, and showing how powerful cable TV can be in enriching our lives. With Oprah going off the air, what could be more exciting in the afternoon than following the traffic problems in Phoenix from right here in Raleigh?"