Barack Obama Rally, Plus Sarah Palin and Huckabee in Raleigh

Upon entering Halifax Mall in downtown Raleigh, the first thing I noticed were the security check-point they had up, which seemed very minimal compared to airport security. Of course, they needed to keep it simple to maintain the crowds. And crowds there were! From the video you can slightly see the crowds, but it felt like thousands upon thousands were in attendance for the Sen. Barack Obama campaign rally.

Also in Raleigh today was former Republican Presidential nominee, Mike Huckabee. He was only here for a brief while at the Raleigh Victory Office, but he's scheduled to make an appearance at 4:00 PM at the Charlotte Victory Office. He's also supposed to pop in for a 4:30 PM appearance at Hef's Bar & Grill Restaurant.

And some new information that was just reported by Charlotte Observer, Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is scheduled to make an appearance at an hour-long event this coming Saturday night, November 1st. Any further details, such as location and whatnot, are not available yet.

Gotta love to have everyone wanting a piece of North Carolina! ;)

Here's more information about Mike Huckabee's locations:

Wednesday October 29th, 2008

Charlotte Victory Office
4:00 PM
1515 Mockingbird Lane Suite 218
Charlotte, NC 28209
(704) 910-0696

Hef's Bar and Grill Restaurant
4:30 PM
1600 E Woodlawn Road
Charlotte, NC 28209
(704) 523-1008

Oh, and sorry for the shaky camera work. Between them not allowing tripods into the rally and the strong winds... it made camera work a nightmare (not to repeatedly mention the fact that there was no way to get a good, clear shot of Sen. Barack Obama).

Brad Cooper's Indictment

I know, I'm a good twelve hours or so late with this news, but chances are... some of you may not have heard of this yet either!

On Monday, October 27th, Brad Cooper was indicted for first-degree murder of his wife, Nancy Cooper. In the early morning on July 12th, Nancy Cooper was said to have gone jogging through the suburbs of Cary. Later in the morning, a man walking his dog discovered her body in a storm pond in the neighborhood. The investigation has been going on for three months with much speculation pointing to husband, Brad Cooper.

You can catch the full story over at WRAL!

NCScoop's NC State Fair Adventure!

Earlier this week, I had to do my annual ritual of going to the North Carolina State Fair on their can donation day. Usually, its one of the most crowded days out of the fair, but it really didn't feel as crowded as it usually does. I'll blame the economy for that. The fair was actually more pleasant for me with less people there; less elbow bumping and crowd swimming! It could be one of my best fair experiences to date!

Anyway, the fair had all the usual rides, vendors, and concessions... but some concessions received some new goodies I had never seen before there. Two of the things I sampled while there were the fried mac and cheese - which was rather bland and boring tasting - and the fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich; that was the real winner! If you only limit yourself to one fried delicacy, you should definitely make the fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich your pick!

Food within the fair ranged in price. If you're an avid hunter for the cheapest dishes, than just be patient and you'll find the stuff you're looking for that is almost affordable. Its a fair though, so you can't expect finding a dollar hotdog anyway. As for the rides... they were overpriced, as usual. I really think that they should continue doing the $25 unlimited ride pass for next year, but expand it to the ENTIRE duration of the fair instead of only on the preview day.

With each year I get older, the more and more I like the Village of Yesteryear. All of the craftsmanship vendors, olden-day North Carolina living, a peaceful garden area, and free hush puppies at the mill -- there's no wonder that this place is growing on me! Definitely make sure to check out the Village of Yesteryear when you make it to the fair.

Be sure to go to the fair soon though, since this coming Sunday on October 26th will mark the last day of the 2008 North Carolina State Fair.

You may have heard the music pieced into the video adventure. The band is named Grand Piano Falling and they are a local alternative rock band right out of Raleigh! I've been fans of theirs for nearly three years now and I definitely suggest for you all to give them a listen!

Craftland @ The Scrap Exchange

There are some who already may know of The Scrap Exchange, and then there are others who -- like me a few weeks ago -- have no idea what The Scrap Exchange is. That's where I'll be starting off first!

The Scrap Exchange is a creative reuse facility that houses hundreds of unique reuse materials that have either been donated to The Scrap Exchange, or one of their many volunteers have brought into the facility. The facility is located right on the edge of downtown Durham, very fitting for a street with various art galleries and stores.

The materials in the facility range from things like chemical beakers, to balls of yarn. The purpose of the facility is to redirect "junk" from going to the junk yards to The Scrap Exchange where people are encouraged to purchase these random objects to use in artistic projects -- or whatever you want to use them for. Its another form of traditional recycling, but with an artsy twist.

To show off their recycling creativity, The Scrap Exchange and the NC Triangle Etsy Street Team have teamed up to bring to the public the 5th annual Craftland event.

Craftland is a three-month long art show held in The Scrap Exchange's Green Gallery. The show features environmentally friendly purses, dolls, drawings, lamps, mittens, and various others products created by artists from all around the area. All items on display are available for purchase and are aimed to be the perfect, most environmentally-conscious gift you can give someone this Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or any other holiday you do or don't celebrate.

Craftland is running from October 17th through January 5th. There are two more grand opening receptions to be held on November 21st and December 19th in The Scrap Exchange, both from 6PM-9PM.

Will to Power Film Debut

Recently, the The School of Communication Arts hosted a film debut screening of Will to Power. The film stars some Hollywood familiars such as David Rountree (xXx: State of the Union), Kiko Ellsworth (Heroes: Going Postal), Jerry Mathers (Leave it to Beaver), Jonathan Breck (Jeepers Creepers 1 & 2, W.) and Kathy Lamkin (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, No Country for Old Men).

A little excerpt about the movie:

“Will to Power’s” story is a psychological thriller of intrigue, betrayal and dark ambition set in North Carolina. Demers comments, “No one under 18 years of age will be allowed into the theatre without their parent in attendance.” Further Demers adds, “You will need to see “Will to Power” as it addresses some very social issues, with dark elements. And points what can happen with the abuse of drugs and alcohol among college age students." David Rountree, states, “I wanted my first script and my first directorial debut to be in North Carolina. Great talent in front of and behind the camera. With all the locations this is a great state to make a movie.”

With this film's completion, it adds another film under North Carolina's belt. Not many people know, but North Carolina has been at the number 3 spot of annual films produced in the state out of the whole country for the past twenty years. With notable films such as Junebug, 28 Days, Hannibal, Nights in Rodanthe, The Last of the Mohicans, Patch Adams, Hounddog, Idlewild, Leatherheads, Cabin Fever 1 & 2, and of course Bull Durham, its no real surprise that North Carolina has stayed at the top of the list.

In recent times, North Carolina has been gaining on NY's film productions and has even surpassed their annual total. Its no surprise though, with such vast filming locations such as the beach, the mountains, the city, and the countryside. If that isn't a big enough reason why people bring their films to North Carolina, then maybe its the incentives that the state offers to productions.

North Carolina's State Fair is Here!

Technically, I lied. As I'm writing this, the gates haven't opened yet. But come 3:00 PM later on today (Oct. 16th), the gates will swing open and all kinds of people from the state (and maybe further) will shuffle on in during a crowded frenzy. We can't escape the crowds... however, we can escape the driving crowds!

This year, I'm a huge supporter for the Park-and-Ride system that the North Carolina State Fair has this time around. With the addition of a new weekend Park-and-Ride lot in Garner, an expanded bus line from Durham's DATA buses, and with a North Raleigh and Cary lot from CAT, there are plenty of options to get you to and from the North Carolina State Fair. Even Amtrak's Carolinian's train is making a special stop right in front of the State Fair at Blue Ridge Road.

You can get all the info needed by going to North Carolina State Fair's transportation page.

Another thing worth mentioning is something that could make this year's fair profitable to you. The North Carolina Department of State Treasurer will have a booth open for the entire length of the fair that will be used to find unclaimed property for North Carolina citizens.

If you feel that you may have some unclaimed wages, utility deposits, bank accounts, etc., then you may want to check out the booth.

For more information, you can check out NC Cash.

School of Communication Arts - Site Update

Viddler:

YouTube:



First, just want to mention that I'll still be uploading all videos up onto NCScoop's YouTube page (and the less popular MySpace page).

In regards to the upcoming open lecture/ seminar at the School of Communication Arts, Jim Laing will be speaking about audio, video, and computer media and how they all relate to one another. It'll be a great event to attend if you're interested or already involved in the media realm.

Here's a little excerpt from the School of Communication Arts in regards to Jim Laing:

"School of Communication Arts would like to present Jim Laing in the theater on Monday, October 13th at 1:30pm.

Jim Laing owns JL Media Services and graduated from Boston College with a Masters in Computer Science. He will be speaking about the importance of merging the ever-changing world of computers to the audio/video production realm.

Mr. Laing has worked in video and audio production for fifteen years and is a consultant in the Triangle area with clients who include; Glaxo, IBM, Duke and UNC-TV.

Also a musician, Jim plays in two local bands Back Sense, and TMC, his unique insights will give students tips and trends about the industry and a history lesson on how the two mediums converged in his career."

RDU - Terminal 2 Tour

Raleigh-Durham International Airport is officially opening up Terminal 2 (formally Terminal C) on the morning of Sunday, Oct. 26th. On the night of Oct. 25th, the existing Terminal C will close down permanently to continue on with Phase 2 of the project to fully complete Terminal 2 in the winter of 2011. Once Terminal 2 is fully completed, the terminal will reach a size of 900,000 sq. ft., which is three times the size of what used to be of Terminal C.

Some amenities that Terminal 2 will have once Phase 1 opens:

- 25 specialty shops and restaurants, including 42nd St. Oyster Bar, Carolina Ale House and California Pizza Kitchen!

- 2 moving walkways

- 19 boarding gates; 3 of which are for international use

- reclining chairs

- 500,000 sq. ft.

- 7 security check points

- a duty free shop

- a pre-security restaurant (first at RDU)

- 2 island check-in areas

- 40 self check-in kiosks

- 20% of all seating will have electrical and USB outlets at the seat itself

Some amenities that Terminal 2 will have once Phase 2 opens (2011):

- 17 more specialty shops and restaurants

- 13 more gates

- 1 more island check-in area

- 3 more security check-points

On Saturday, Oct. 11th, there will be an open house of the new terminal from 10:00 AM till 4:00 PM. All are invited! Its a family friendly event with activities to keep both young and old entertained, so bring out the entire family!

North Carolina's State Fair is Coming...!

Whether you fear it or love it, the North Carolina State Fair is coming. In ten days from now, you'll be able to experience all of the turkey legs, fried "creations", interesting locals, and exhilarating rides to your heart's content! The festivities kick off on Thursday, October 16th and end on Sunday, October 26th.

No matter what your race, religion, age, gender, sexual preference, social stance, or political stance, I whole-heartily believe that the State Fair is the one event that nearly every state shares in bringing everyone together. Its that one event that you may not want to go to, but you have to go to at least for one night.

Like every year at the State Fair, they have a music line-up with some names you may recognize. One of the names not appearing is county fair queen Jessica Simpson. Sad day.

Josh Turner Thursday, Oct. 16

Jason Aldean Friday, Oct. 17

Toby Mac Saturday, Oct. 18

Lady Antebellum & Heidi Newfield Sunday, Oct. 19

Bobby Flay Monday, Oct. 20

Bucky Covington Tuesday, Oct. 21

Rodney Atkins Wednesday, Oct. 22

Mario Thursday, Oct. 23

Skillet & Leeland Friday, Oct. 24

Joe Nichols Saturday, Oct. 25

Montgomery Gentry Sunday, Oct. 26

If you're wanting to check out more information on the State Fair, then you can check them out on their official website.

Revolver's Trunk Sale!

Revolver Consignment Botique is having a trunk sale on Friday, Oct. 2nd from 6PM to 10PM. The trunk sale will be featuring clothing and accessories from local artists Lauren Smith of LLLavender clothing and Jill Heffinger's jewlerly line. Its all part of First Friday!

Revolver is located at 124 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh, NC! If you'd like to get in contact with them, you can reach them at (919) 834-3053.


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