Sometimes it takes a few times hearing a song on the radio to realize it’s a cover, and then a few more listens to place the original. At least remember enough of the original music to do a proper internet search. Such as this new Weeknd song, where I finally pinpointed the original back to…
Enter the Wu-Tang Name Generators
“Swingin’ through your town like your neighborhood Spider-Man.” What an exceptional line from Inspectah Deck’s Protect Ya Neck verse off the Wu-Tang Clan’s first studio album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Thirty-six Chambers is still a great album that I keep on rotation on my discontinued iPod Nano. The razor beats, the crazy skits, the…
Quick Guide to Elk Watching in North Carolina
If elk are “large North American deer,” and watching is “close, continuous observation for the purpose of seeing or discovering something.” Then elk watching “is the close, continuous observation to see large North American deer.” Sure, that works for me. Elk watching can be a great and easy excursion into western North Carolina (NC). In…
Christmas in Lake July
Annie Lennox’s kind voice is the first thing callers hear when they call the main line to Lake July, North Carolina city hall. Of course, not the famous Scottish-born Annie Lennox. Who fronted The Eurythmics, sang No More “I Love You’s,” and was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in…
My Ideal Burke County Day
There could be many ingredients in cooking up your ideal day. Hopefully, elements like the what, with whom, and where will harmoniously blend together to become your perfect conception. For example, it could be tailgating in Boone for an AppState football game. Hanging around a pool with friends on a hot summer day. Or watching…
Why Am I Walking The Shire?
Just imagine accompanying Sam and Frodo through the Shire. Ducking and dodging the Nazul on your way to meet Gandalf in Bree. Before the quest to Mount Doom in Mordor to destroy the One Ring. Well, hold that thought for a few paragraphs. Whoever said you stop growing as an adult is absolutely right but…
The Piedmont Outdoor Trail Commentator (POTC)
We North Carolinians should be familiar with our State’s nicknames: The Tar Heel State and the Old North State. But what about the Great Trails State? “Naw, I’m not familiar with that one. What‘s that?” said James. What’s the Great Trails State?” asked Mary. Since you asked, Mary and James. The most common North Carolina…
Once a Wild Turkey Gobbled
It was by lamplight that Michael Deal awoke. The first drab damn thing the college student sees is a table lamp without a nightshade, standing on the floor a few feet from where he’s sitting. The place (wherever he is) would be pitch darkness if not for the slight radiance from the bare light bulb….
A Trip to Lake July, Not the City
Shortly after the 2020 United State Census, one of those real estate personal finance travel guide eCommerce websites released a report they harshly called “The 100 quickest dying cities in America.” The study looked at municipal population change from their 2010 Census count to their current. Boring! Someone from the website crunched the population change…
Will of the Wilderness
The most epic and legendary hero ever is Will of the Wilderness, the label the Duhart Kingdom gave him. Since his arrival to dominion; he’s grappled with human-eating giants in the Magic Mountains, he rode leviathans like boards in the Narrow Sea, and pulled a star from the dark night and gifted the villages with…