Friday, June 29, 2012

U.S. News & World Report - American Tobacco Campus

"For decades, the skeleton of the once great American Tobacco Company sat vacant in downtown Durham, N.C., a nostalgic but sometimes painful reminder of the institution that was once the nucleus of a thriving southern city and the icon of a multibillion-dollar industry...[Michael Goodmon, vice president of real estate at Capitol Broadcasting Company] saw potential in the old American Tobacco campus. Past the broken windows and unruly grounds, he envisioned the re-emergence of a bustling center of commerce and the possibility for American Tobacco to once again be the nucleus of the surrounding community."

- Redevelopment Projects Give Historical Icons a Second Life, U.S. News & World Report

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

MTV - The Old Ceremony

“'It does seem kind of like a downer as a title,' the Old Ceremony vocalist-guitarist Django Haskins says of naming the rock group’s new album Fairytales and Other Forms of Suicide. 'The overall upshot, lyrically, though, is a positive one.' The record, he explains, shares many themes with the song of the same name. Specifically, the track is meant to encourage listeners to let go of not only the childhood fairytales they grew up with but 'fairytales about love, life, death and everything else,' according to the singer...As heady as all of this is, it makes for an ornate song, built from expertly textured baritone guitars, violin and percussion, teetering between tension and release."

- The Old Ceremony Want to Let Go With “Fairytales and Other Forms of Suicide", MTV

Serious Eats - Durham Food Trucks

"It seems like wherever you go in the Triangle these days, there's gourmet food just around the corner (or, in this case, parked right on it)...Looking for a cool treat after a trip to the farmer's market, The Parlour was there to scoop us up some ice cream love. We didn't have to search far for late-night comfort food, either: KoKyu had us covered with their Korean BBQ sliders and duck fat tots. We'll save you the history lesson, but suffice it to say that over the past 4 years, the food truck scene in the Triangle has exploded. Since The Cookery opened in 2011, new trucks have been sprouting up so quickly that it's getting hard to keep track of them all."

- North Carolina: Our 8 Favorite Food Trucks in the Triangle, Serious Eats

Garden & Gun - Fullsteam Brewery

"Born when a Fullsteam brewer livened up a can of Bud with a handful of fresh window-box herbs, Summer Basil gets its unusual lemon-pepper aroma from six pounds of basil per batch, fresh from local farms."

- Dixie Southern Brews, Garden & Gun

Monday, June 25, 2012

Felt & Wire - Shed Letterpress

"The expanse of rattan from Shed Letterpress above makes me feel relaxed, retro and resort-y. Thank you, Sarah Almond, for letterpress printing this card. And for blind debossing the wood texture on your business card."

- Our roundup of pleasing thank-you cards, Felt & Wire

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Fast Company - Durham's Tech Scene

"Durham’s innovation scene is kindled by tech giants like IBM, Lenovo, and about 140 other companies with stakes in the ground at the 7,000-acre Research Triangle Park. It’s an unincorporated area, a swath of land belonging to no municipality, dedicated to R&D. Its secret sauce is a steady stream of computer science graduates from nearby Duke University, NCSU, and UNC-Chapel Hill, making the area a tech recruiting oasis, an electromagnet for technology companies in the American South, and a place prominent U.S. startups like Airbnb choose to outsource their design and development."

- 15 Tech Scenes In Places You'd Never Think To Look, Fast Company

Garden & Gun - Fullsteam Brewery

"Cutting-edge even in craft beer–besotted North Carolina, Fullsteam uses local crops in “plow-to-pint” beers like a corn grits cream ale and—the standout—Carver, made with sweet potatoes."

- Wild Brew, Garden & Gun

ColorLines - Mobile Homecoming Project

"In April of 2009, Alexis Pauline Gumbs and her partner Julia Wallace sat in a small conference room in Durham, N.C. Both were Southern-born, twentysomething activists with academic training...They were at a larger annual gathering of labor and human rights organizers, and around them sat over a dozen women, all of them self-identified black lesbians, and each one at least 20 years older. The workshop session was led by Mandy Carter, a longtime LGBT activist, and Carter wanted to share only one thing: stories...The idea turned into the Mobile Homecoming Project, a multimedia storytelling project to uncover hidden histories. Gumbs and Wallace scour their networks to find older members of the black LGBT community, record them on video or podcasts, and sometimes host screening events that bring together people from all ages."

- A New LGBT Politics Seeks To Marry Issues, Not Just People, ColorLines

MetroNC - Outdoor Dining: Vin Rouge, L'Uva, Tobacco Road

"In Durham, several restaurants offer quaint patio seating, but my favorite is Vin Rouge. Another Giorgios res­taurant, the French brass­erie has a charming terrace off to the side that’s the ideal setting for an early evening dinner or Sunday afternoon brunch...Following the success of Revolution, Jim Anile opened his second Triangle restaurant, L’Uva, in the American Tobacco Complex featuring a small but lovely outdoor seating area facing the little canal. Open for lunch, dinner and now brunch, L’Uva is a great spot to venture for a low-key lunch or a romantic dinner...For ample sunlight and free baseball, all while enjoying your lunch (or dinner), head to nearby Tobacco Road behind the Durham Bulls stadium."

- Al Fresco In The Triangle: Area Restaurants And Outdoor Dining, MetroNC

TIME - Duke University Behavioral Economist Dan Ariely

"Behavioral economist Dan Ariely, who teaches at Duke University, is known as one of the most original designers of experiments in social science. Not surprisingly, the best-selling author’s creativity is evident throughout his latest book, The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty. A lively tour through the impulses that cause many of us to cheat, the book offers especially keen insights into the ways in which we cut corners while still thinking of ourselves as moral people."

- Why (Almost) All of Us Cheat and Steal, TIME

The New York Times - Sherry Trending in Durham

"In London, sherry bars have been the rage for five years or more. In New York, top sommeliers and wine geeks have gotten the bug, holding sherry dinners and trading rare bottles...Sherry has begun to insinuate itself in places like Toronto; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco; and Durham, N.C."

- In Spain, Sherry Producers Learn to Think Small, The New York Times

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Meetings Focus - Durham Meetings & Entertainment

"Three quarters of Research Triangle Park is within [Durham's] boundaries, and so is Duke University. This means about 4,000 tech, medical and education meetings find Durham’s side of The Triangle a great destination choice annually. 'Durham has a unique sense of place—not a typical city with a downtown district and lots of big buildings,' says Corey D. Bizzell, director of group sales and services for the Durham CVB. 'We are doing lots of revitalization, particularly of our former industrial areas like the Tobacco District, where groups now find great event spaces, restaurants and entertainment.'"

- The Tried-and-True Triangle, Meetings Focus

Meetings Focus - Durham, NC

"Group entertainment around The Triangle region can range from a night with the Durham Bulls in their 10,000-seat stadium to discovering the area’s foodie culture. From down-home Southern goodness to gourmet tidbits, groups can enjoy a variety of appetizing adventures in the area."

Tastes of the Triangle, Meetings Focus

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Clean Techies - Duke University

"As a leading university, Duke University also looks to take the lead when it comes to environmental stewardship by creating a number of sustainable initiatives throughout the campus. By raising environmental awareness among students, faculty, administration, and staff, as well as making the university itself much more sustainable and therefore more environmentally friendly, Duke University looks to remain at the head of the list of sustainable universities."

- Top Ten Sustainability Initiatives of Duke University, Clean Techies

Serious Eats - Old Havana Sandwich Shop

"Savor it plain, or spice it up with a dash of the shop's Papa Bull hot sauce. Oh, and there's lipstick on that pig: Old Havana uses only hormone- and antibiotic-free pork from local, pasture-raised pigs, so your conscience will be as tickled as your taste buds."


 - A Sandwich A Day: El Caney at Old Havana Sandwich Shop in Durham, NC, Serious Eats

Friday, June 8, 2012

The New York Times - Duke Campus Farm

"Grassy quadrangles are staples on most college campuses. But maybe all that soil can be put to a different use: a handful of colleges and universities have planted small student-run farms on formerly grassy areas in recent years...students at Duke University started the Duke Campus Farm in 2010, and much of what the farmers produce is served in Duke’s own dining halls."



- Farming on the Campus Quad, The New York Times

Broadway World - West Side Story at DPAC

"Everybody knows West Side Story. Even if you have never seen the show before, even if you haven’t seen the movie, you know West Side Story. The iconic show is so enmeshed in American culture that it is inescapable. For good reason, I might add. West Side Story is landmark theater, marking the genesis of the modern musical. And it’s at the Durham Performing Arts Center now."

- BWW Reviews: West Side Story Heats Up Durham, Broadway World

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Forbes - Coach K

"Leaders are measured not just on what they achieve personally but also on what the people they mentored go on to do as leaders in their own right. Sports provides many examples, one of the best is Duke’s head Coach Mike Krzyzewski...Coach K’s “coaching tree” has had numerous former players go on to become head coaches at NCAA Division I schools, including Amaker, Johnny Dawkins (Stanford), Mike Brey (Notre Dame) and Jeff Capel (former Oklahoma coach)."

- Duke's Coach K and Building a Leadership Legacy, Forbes

CityBizList - Durham, NC

"Baltimore, Philadelphia, Trenton, N.J., New York and Durham, N.C. are among the best, and most affordable, cities for singles, according to a ranking by Kiplinger magazine...North Carolina's Durham, with 53 percent of unmarried households and a date-night tab of $27.71, placed ninth on the list. It had a median household income of $50,889."

- Durham 9th Best City for Singles, CityBizList

Oxford American - Dame's Chicken and Waffles

"Eating chicken and waffles is like this: the sweet you want, the savory you want, all at once. Eating Dame’s chicken and waffles is like this: perfectly fried chicken. A light breading—flavorful, crispy. Underneath, a deep-pocketed Belgian waffle, warm in the center, sweet...The shmear acts as a lubricant between the chicken and the waffle, adding a layer of moisture that seeps down into the waffle’s pockets and coats the fried chicken. Sometimes flavored syrups are drizzled on top of the chicken."

- The Habit of Eating: Food & Culture in the South, Oxford American

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Country Living - Monuts Donuts

"To sate your sweet tooth in Durham, Ellie Snow, who writes about art, design, and handmade objects at Mint, recommends chasing down the bike that sells fresh, homemade doughnuts. The food trike she speaks of is Monuts Donuts, a bakery on wheels that specializes in unique flavor combinations, such as cranberry ginger, vegan toasted amaretto, and pumpkin chai — though it also offers a glazed option for purists."

- 50 Things to Do This Summer in 50 States, Country Living

The Escapist - Durham Geeks

"I always had a suspicion the area surrounding The Escapist offices was a Mecca for nerds, dorks and gamers, but now I know it's for real."

- Durham is One of America's Geekiest Cities, The Escapist

New York Post - Durham Food & Beverage Scene

"Entering Durham, you can’t miss the giant logos for old-timey tobacco brands — Lucky Strike, Chesterfield, Bull Durham — emblazoned on the smokestacks and brick walls of former tobacco factories and warehouses all over town...Tobacco may be dead in Durham, but the culinary and cocktail scenes are thriving."

- Tasting the Triangle, New York Post