Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Curve Magazine - Toys 4 Tots at The Bar

"One of the most festive and fulfilling aspects of the holiday season, is that it is a reminder and an opportunity to give back. For lucky lesbian sin the North Carolina area, this year’s annual toy drive comes with drinks and dancing with Toys 4 Tots Marine gifting program. In it’s 22nd year, 2011’s event is being held at The Bar, Durham's LGBT neighborhood bar, but it originally started at Catherine Tillery's home. Tillery, a North Carolinian lesbian began this tradition by inviting her close friends over to her house the first Friday of each December to collect gifts for Toys 4 Tots... Over the years, the local lesbian Durham community came together to turn a house party into the lesbian event of the year."

- Lesbian Event Collects Hundreds of Gifts for Toys 4 Tots, Curve Magazine

EcoCentric - Fullsteam, Farm-Focused Brewing

"One of beer’s greatest attributes is the amazing variety of flavor that can be derived from four ingredients: grain malt (typically barley), hops, yeast and water. Even given this simplicity, microbrewers and enthusiasts – like their locavore cousins – are eager to have locally-sourced ingredients in the product. Such is the case for the recently released BSA Harvest from Notch Sessions Brewery, which features New England-raised grains. The same is true further south in Durham, NC, where Fullsteam puts out a seasonal craft beer employing many local ingredients, from yeast to sweet potatoes. In Fullsteam’s endeavor to promote “radical, farm-focused brewing,” a nearby farmer has set aside one acre dedicated to hop cultivation."

- Brewing Better Local Economies with American Craft Beer, EcoCentric

Monday, November 28, 2011

CNN - Bull Durham Chewing Tobacco and the Origins of the Bullpen

"[Atlanta Braves coach Bobby] Dews played with the Cardinals farm team. Just like his father, who played more than a decade in the minors, Dews dreamed of playing in the majors. He recalls a story about chewing tobacco that his father passed down that may shed light on the roots of that baseball tradition. "It was a couple years before I was born: around 1937 or '38, shortly after they built the old ballpark in Durham, North Carolina," Dews said. "My father was in the bullpen a lot. He was a catcher. The ballpark's right field wall backed up to the Bull Durham Tobacco Factory. Young ladies who lived near the stadium would flirt with the guys in the bullpen and occasionally throw 'em tobacco." Could that be where the term bullpen derived? Bull Durham chewing tobacco? The story sounds like good old-fashioned folklore. This is a story I've lived with. You hear stories in your family so much they become true."

- Chewing tobacco and a Major League dream, CNN

Washington Post - Artist Todd Drake at Duke University

"Artist Todd Drake [is] trying to build interfaith bridges by asking Muslims to turn the lens on themselves. Drake’s traveling exhibit, “Muslim Self Portraits,” started after he decided he needed to learn more about his Muslim neighbors. 'I just started cold-calling mosques,' Drake said during an exhibition of his work at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. 'I had an intuitive feeling that they would be interested in this project. I asked them to represent themselves, not to let me define them.'"

- Muslim self portraits defy stereotypes, The Washington Post

Monday, November 21, 2011

The Detroit News - Mike Posner

"Mike Posner is getting back to basics. The Southfield-bred pop/hip-hop singer...  made his name releasing his music for free on the Web... While that batch of songs wound up scoring him a record deal, it was made on the fly in his parents' basement and in his dorm room at Duke University. Conversely, the songs on "The Layover" were recorded all over the world, including sessions in Australia and Switzerland."

- Hip-hop singer's new mix has traveled the globe, The Detroit News

The Washington Post - Amazing Faiths Dinner Dialogue Day Concert

"Say the word “interfaith” and the next word to roll off the tongue is probably “dialogue.” It’s hard to think of one without the other. But college students know there are other ways to communicate, and music may be chief among them. Students from three North Carolina universities — Duke, North Carolina State and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill — on Wednesday (Nov. 16) hosted an interfaith concert they dubbed “Abraham Jam” in an attempt to “do interfaith” in a novel way. The two-hour concert at Duke featured three singer-songwriters — a Jew, a Muslim and a Christian — plucking their guitar strings onstage and crooning their way toward a new spirit of understanding."

Students ‘do interfaith’ through universal language of music, The Washington Post

Friday, November 18, 2011

Greenversations - Sustainable Durham

"Each time I visit downtown Durham, North Carolina, I am pleasantly surprised and impressed by the improvements and renovations... Durham isn’t stopping there. Through the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, the city is working with EPA, the US Department of Transportation (DOT), and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to create a more sustainable community... Durham will be the first community to implement and use EPA’s new tools and strategies."

- Science Wednesday: Durham’s Journey to Sustainability, Greenversations

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Times-News - Rockettes at DPAC

"Seeing The Radio City Rockettes’ Christmas Spectacular live was one of those “bucket list” items that I never thought I’d check off. But thanks to the touring production, which is performing live at the Durham Performing Arts Center, The American Tobacco District, 123 Vivian St., now through Nov. 27, others can mark it off their to-do lists, too, without having to travel to New York City... From the snow falling in the theater to streamers being shot out into the crowd, there’s enough going on to keep even the most active child (or adult) entertained... The entire time, I couldn’t stop smiling. The Radio City Rockettes’ Christmas Spectacular just has that sort of effect on audiences across the world. It’s a holiday tradition you don’t want to miss."

Rockettes serve up holiday cheer in Durham, Times-News

Sports Illustrated - Grant Hill Reflects on Coach K

"Thinking today of [Coach K's] intensity, his will to win, his drive, his passion and his incredible attention to detail throughout that drive to our first national championship gives me chills... His constructive criticism and his willingness to hold me accountable for the good and the bad was a vital part of my maturation... Coach profoundly encouraged me and implored me to overcome adversity and perform at the highest level I could against some of the best athletes in the sport. "

- Coach Krzyzewski had a powerful impact both on and off the court, SI.com

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Tech Journal South - Groundwork Labs

"It’s always good to get a second chance... The North Carolina Research Triangle had an accelerator, very recently, and it was successful, and it closed up shop, which caused a lot of disappointment and heartbreak within the startup community. But it’s important to note that while Groundwork Labs will fill the void left by Launchbox in the American Underground in Durham, it’s not a replacement. It’s something new, with new players, a new mission, and a new vision."

- New startup accelerator Groundwork Labs launching in Durham, Tech Journal South

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The New York Times - Coach Krzyzewski

"There are 902 reasons why Krzyzewski is poised to set the record for victories in men’s Division I college basketball, one for every game he has won in a five-decade career that began at Army in 1975 and includes four national championships in 31 seasons at Duke. But there are also a few consistent themes that have emerged during his years on the bench, from his motivational skills to his work ethic and, of course, his connection to Bob Knight. It is Knight, Krzyzewski’s coach at Army and his longtime mentor, whom Krzyzewski has tied atop the career victories list. That makes it all the more appropriate that Knight will be at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday to see Krzyzewski get his first chance to set the record, when No. 6 Duke faces Michigan State."

- Still Full of Fire, Duke's Krzyzewski Is Set to Break Record for Wins, The New York Times

Friday, November 11, 2011

Sports Illustrated - Blue Devils' Plumlee Brothers

"When Duke refers to its basketball family this year they'll probably be talking about the Plumlees. The Blue Devils have three Plumlee brothers on the team: Senior Miles and younger brothers Mason, a junior, and Marshall, a freshman. That's just the third time that's happened at a Division I school and the first time since the 1950s."

- Oh, brother! 3 Plumlees on Duke's front line, Sports Illustrated

Friday, November 4, 2011

The Herald - American Tobacco District

"More than 50 Rock Hill officials... visited Durham Wednesday to take notes. They're hoping to get some ideas about how to transform the former Rock Hill Printing and Finishing Co., known as the "Bleachery," from a pile of dirt and old buildings into what the American Tobacco District has become - a success story with a hefty economic impact."

- 50 Rock Hill Leaders tour Durham for growth ideas, The Herald

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

The Atlantic - Durham Tech Start-ups

"Silicon Valley is the tech Mecca of the world, but is there a Southern city that can potentially rival the San Francisco Bay Area?... Durham, N.C., a part of Research Triangle Park, also is full of success stories... "I think Durham is one big, Groupon-like success story away from a wave of coverage about how good the area is for tech companies," Madrigal writes."

- Can the South Ever 'Out Tech' Silicon Valley?, The Atlantic

Washington Post - Mike Krzyzewski

 "The always-busy Mike Krzyzewski has a lot on his plate — even for him. He’s trying to lead a young Duke team to a fourth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title, attempting to lead the U.S. national team to back-to-back Olympic gold medals and is on the verge of becoming the winningest men’s basketball coach in Division I history... For Krzyzewski, the inevitable march toward history isn’t about a specific number, but the company it puts him in."

- On verge of 903rd win, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski keeps march toward hoops history in perspective, Washington Post