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Oct
11

Philip Rivers Featured in SI

rivers This week’s (hideous) issue of Sports Illustrated features an article on former NCSU quarterback Philip Rivers. The man is burning it up in the fantasy leagues, but in the real NFL, Rivers is on a team that isn’t getting the job done. It’s a noteworthy dichotomy, and is the subject of the article on page 46.

Oct
10

Jim Gaffigan Coming to DPAC

America’s top touring comedian, Jim Gaffigan , is finally coming to the Triangle! The performance will be Saturday, March 16 at the DPAC in Durham. No info is available from the DPAC site… yet.

Aug
27

WUNC to Broadcast “Carmina Burana” Tonight

From the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra:

Due to a change in programming, the North Carolina Symphony’s performance of “Carmina Burana” will be broadcast tonight on WUNC 91.5FM, beginning at 10pm . The program was previously limited to online streaming only.

The broadcast features North Carolina Symphony Music Director Grant Llewellyn leading the North Carolina Master Chorale and renowned guest artists in two choral highlights.

Poulenc: Gloria

Orff: Carmina Burana

Composed by Carl Orff beginning in 1935, Carmina Burana is based on 24 poems found in the medieval collection of the same name. The often-quoted composition has taken a unique place in popular culture, a musical Canterbury Tales that covers a wide range of topics: the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the ephemeral nature of life, the joy of the return of spring and the pleasures and perils of drinking, gluttony, gambling and lust, to name a small few.

“It is incredibly evocative, incredibly powerful at some moments and poignant at others,” says Llewellyn of this tour-de-force. “There’s a reason it has endured and people love to hear it. It’s a piece I enthusiastically conduct.”

The concert, which also includes Francis Poulenc’s Gloria—“a joyous hymn to the glory of God,” in the composer’s words—was performed live in Raleigh’s Meymandi Concert Hall as part of the Duke Medicine Classical Series Raleigh on Friday and Saturday, May 11-12, 2012.

Legendary broadcaster David Hartman hosts tonight’s exhilarating concert program. Listeners are also treated to special access to content not available to concertgoers, including interviews with musicians and soloists and insights into some of the finest compositions ever written.

The program will stream online at wunc.org throughout the week. To stream the broadcast and see the latest details on upcoming Symphony programs on WUNC 91.5FM, visit www.wunc.org/programs/north-carolina-symphony-concert-series .

Jul
20

Matisse Exhibit Opens at Gallery C

The Garden in Spring Today Gallery C opened a Henri Matisse exhibit that features 13 graphic works spanning the period between 1937-1958. The exhibit runs thru September 4.

Jul
20

Lincoln Theatre Announces Slate of Big Shows

Recently the Lincoln Theatre announced a nice group of shows to their late Summer/Fall lineup:

…and others!

Jul
20

Nickelback Cancels Raleigh Concert

Well thank the Lord! WRAL is reporting that Nickelback has canceled their July 27 show at Walnut Creek due to “unforeseen circumstances”. I wonder if “nobody bought tickets” was a circumstance that anyone predicted?

It’s been a tough go lately for Nickelback. The band’s widely protested appearance on Thanksgiving Day at halftime in Detroit was soundly booed on national TV (see below). They got publicly slammed by the Black Keys, and have evolved into the most hated band in America. Somehow the radio stations still are getting the message, though.

Jun
25

Afghan Whigs Coming to Cat’s Cradle

AfghanWhigs The reunited Afghan Whigs are hitting the road in the second half of the summer. On Sunday, October 21 the tour finds its way to Carrboro’s Cat’s Cradle. Tickets go on sale this Friday (6/29).

Jun
22

Download the Hurricanes ‘13 Calendar to Your Devices

image Canes hockey fans who like electronic calendars rejoice! I’ve uploaded the 2012-2013 Carolina Hurricanes schedule in .CSV, .ICS, and Google Calendar formats. This way you can easily port the schedule over to your Android phone, iPhone, Blackberry, Google Calendar, Outlook, and more!

Without a doubt, the gogoraleigh Hurricanes Calendar is the best on the web. Not only is the complete calendar available, but also a home-only version is available. For each event, the teams playing in the event are listed in 3-digit codes, so the entire event is easy to see on devices that can’t display wide paragraphs. Additionally, the game locations are listed, so on excellent phones one can tap the location field and see a map to the arena. This is perfect if you are going to the game in an away city!

Finally, with the synced versions of the calendar, game time changes and television information are automatically updated as the information becomes available.

Android/Google Calendar Users

If you already subscribe to last year’s Carolina Hurricanes schedule feeds, you don’t need to make any changes. The new events now automatically appear in the feed. For those just getting started with this highly efficient method of scheduling, consult the calendars at the gogoraleigh Calendars’ page:

iPhone/Blackberry/Outlook/Palm Users

  • Create a new folder in your in Outlook calendar (Canes13, for example). Use the File | Import and Export… to import from “another program or file”, then “Comma Separated File (Windows)”. This will set up the schedule in your new sub-calendar where you can make whatever changes you want.
  • iPhone Users – You are done. Now you can view the Canes’ schedule as its own sub-calender or as a part of all calendars.
  • When you are happy with the way the subcalendar looks, change the calendar view to “Events” (instead of 7-day or 31-Day or whatever view you’re using). “Select All” from the list, and drag them over to your main “Calendar” (The Treo and other Palm Handhelds only sync to the main calendar – time for Palm to get with the program on that one!). If you want to keep your sub-calendar intact, use Ctrl-drag instead of plain drag. That will create a copy of each event to the main Calendar and keep the Canes13 calendar in place. Sync your handheld to copy the events to the handheld.
  • CSV Files. (right click on the link and “Save As…”)

canes_list canes_event

iCal Users

There are two options:

  • Use iCalTextImport to import the .CSV version (linked above) of the schedule.
  • Download the .ics files and import them into iCal.
    • Hurricanes Schedule (Complete) – .ics file (version: 6/22/12)

Notes

Calendars are apt to change, so check back occasionally for updates. To determine the version of your schedule, open the note associated with any event, and look for the version number. If your calendar is older than those listed above, simply delete the events in Outlook in your old one and import the events of the newer file. Google Calendar is dynamically up-to-date. Use at your own risk. I do not accept responsibility for any consequences resulting from errors in the schedule.

Jun
17

Webb Simpson Wins U.S. Open

78993898_CL_2012_PGA_TOUR With what is likely the top athletic achievement by a Raleigh native, Webb Simpson came from behind to win the U.S. Open today. Congrats, Webb!

Jun
13

Drum Corps International Returning to Triangle

crownbeat After a long, 6-year hiatus, Drum Corps International (DCI)  corps will be marching again in the Triangle. CrownBEAT features eight corps, including last year’s #8, #9, and #12 finalists. The event will be Monday, July 30, at the Durham County Stadium.Tickets range from $18 to $35. Here is the lineup for CrownBEAT (in reverse order of appearance):

  • Boston Crusaders Boston, MA
  • Blue Knights Denver, CO
  • Spirit of Atlanta Atlanta, GA
  • The Academy Tempe, AZ
  • Pacific Crest Diamond Bar, CA
  • Colts Dubuque, IA
  • Teal Sound Jacksonville, FL
  • Mandarins Sacramento, CA

Additionally, drum corps fans will be happy to learn that the movie theaters at North Hills, Brier Creek, and Crossroads will be hosting “ Drum Corps at the Movies: 2012 DCI Tour Premiere ”. The show is a season kick-off where the Blue Stars, Bluecoats, Cadets, Carolina Crown, Cavaliers, and Phantom Regiment will be previewing their 2012 shows. Tickets are $15 for this showing.

Jun
11

Josh Hamilton Featured in S.I.

joshhamilton Today’s issue of Sports Illustrated features another appearance by Raleigh native Josh Hamilton. In the issue’s feature article, the Texas Rangers star’s struggle with fame and expectations. The article begins on page 36 with this passage:

Josh Hamilton has outsized talents and grand plans for the free-agent windfall coming his way. But the Rangers’ centerfielder also feels pressure to be larger than life. Through his faith, his family and a more studious approach to the game, he’s learning bigger isn’t always better.

Jun
05

Bobcats/Heat Coming to PNC Arena

bobcats On Tuesday, October 23, your Charlotte Bobcats will come to Raleigh to play the Miami Heat in an exhibition matchup. Charlotte, coming off of the worst season in NBA history, will likely be on the way up. The team has the second overall pick in the NBA Draft on June 28, and the team is likely to make some roster moves over the summer. Additionally the team will have a new, yet-to-be-named, coach.

The Miami Heat are currently in the NBA’s Final Four, and are expecting Chris Bosh to return from injury soon. An exhibition game between the two was to occur before the current season, however all exhibition games as well as the first 16 regular season games were cancelled due to the lockout.

This should be an interesting event for many reasons. The Charlotte Bobcats are a certifiable train wreck. While owner Michael Jordan still seeks competence in something other than playing basketball, his team is is terrible shape, and a recovery any time soon is in doubt. The coaching search has become a disaster, too. So far the team has interviewed Nate McMillan, Jerry Sloan, Michael Malone, Stephen Silas, Nate Tibbetts, Dave Joerger, Mike Dunlap, and 3 other assistant coaches. An hour ago the Boston Herald posted that even Quin Snyder has been interviewed. I sent my resume to them as a joke, but now I wouldn’t be shocked if my phone rang today.

There is a terrible attitude on the team, too. After the final game of the season, cementing the team as the NBA’s Worst-Ever, Gerald Henderson was quoted as saying,”These last 10 games, we’ve really tried to get after it [and], compete.” Someone who makes over $2 million per year (with absolutely no financial investment) should work hard more than 15% of the time. This cancerous attitude will have to be addressed by the new coach.

While the team has the second overall pick, and will have to settle for someone other than Anthony Davis, the history of this team’s Draft Day decisions is laughable. Emeka Okafor, Adam Morrison, Brandan Wright, DJ Augustin…all top 10 draft picks, and none have lived up to that level of pick. Raymond Felton was a 5th overall pick, but the team let Felton go to free agency. It’s been a comedy of errors with Michael Jordan and talent scouting, and while the team is going to pick second, there is a decent chance they will botch the pick altogether. To add insult to injury, out of 60 draft picks, the Bobcats will only get to pick in the 31st slot after making the 2nd overall pick. So, the team will have to do much trading to change the tone on the bench.

Exhibition games are always a toss up. For sure the Heat will play players like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade for a little while; that is if they are still on the team. (The Heat is $8 million over the salary cap going into next season, and there has been talk of disbanding the mighty trio of James, Wade, and Bosh.)

So, it should be an interesting evening, to say the least! Tickets are in presale now. General Public sales begin tomorrow. Ticket prices range from $14 to $132.

May
16

Sun Sets on Miami

After 10 seasons the run is over for CSI: Miami. On Sunday CBS announced that the show would not be renewed. So, it is the end of an era for Emily Procter . The Raleigh native who made her first prime time splash on The West Wing, parlayed her success into the top female role on one of the most popular TV series in the last decade.

What’s next for Procter? Probably a lot of time with her 1-year old daughter. Apparently the news of the show’s cancellation wasn’t known to the cast before it was made public. So, many phone calls will likely take place with her manager over the next few weeks. Procter took to Twitter for this message to the fans:

To have driven recklessly in high heels and tight pants for 10 years has been more fun than I can say. To know that y’all have had fun with me makes me so happy. There are many things and many people that I will miss with this change but I know there is also beauty in the Impermanence of things. I want to send a big squeeze to all of you: full of love, appreciation and thanks.

Incidentally, the last time I talked to Emily I asked her how much of the show is actually filmed in Miami. Incredulous, she replied, “None.” Of course the scene bumps are filmed in Miami, but every scene with the talent is all Hollywood. It’s actually still surprising, however, because there are many scenes shot in marinas, in front of Miami -looking highrises, and the like that are on completely flat ground with nearly Floridian vegetation.

However if there is one thing that will stick with people about this show, it is the corny Carusso one liners:

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