I am driven by the same goal in life as most people, to write a celebrity diet book. However, my culinary standards are low. I tend to munch on sunset servings of lunch-box-du-jour, pizza froid in the morning and a bag of honey roasted peanuts every time I fill up the gas tank. It’s been […]
John Valentine
Bio: John Valentine lives in Hillsborough, where he's written about life on and off the farm for more than two decades.Email: [email protected]
Posted inNews
Blowing in the wind
To every season, there is a power tool. Turn, turn, turn. And this season’s power tool is a six-horsepower, four-cycle, three-wheeled behemoth leaf blower, the Little Wonder. The repair guy said the engine’s perfect for a go-cart. You might say, “Isn’t that a bit much for a family of four?” Or, “What about the environment?” […]
Posted inArt
LitLocal: Leah Stewart
Leah Stewart tells some great stories. The daughter of an Air Force officer and an elementary school teacher, she’s already called half a dozen cities home. Presently, she’s bouncing back and forth between Tennessee and North Carolina, teaching at The University of the South, in Tennessee, and sharing her rural Orange County home with musician […]
Posted inArt
LitLocal: John Manuel
A pair of canoes, dwarfed by enormous bald cypress trees dripping Spanish moss, glide through a 3,000 acre swamp, sharing the space with beavers, otters, water lilies and cottonmouths. The cover shot of Durham writer John Manuel’s new book, The Natural Traveler Along North Carolina’s Coast, bids and entices the reader to enter a less […]
Posted inNews
Slightly injured
On a glorious late spring weekend, we van pooled 17 mostly blond, mostly pony-tailed 12-year-old girls to a soccer tournament Down East. Singing, laughing, talking make-up, tan lines, hair styles, even soccer strategies, these girls were at the top of their game. We hit Jacksonville ready to run the other teams off the fields, nervous, […]
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In zines
A major ‘zine party set for September is moving from the planning stage to a real mark-your-calendar deal. The Blotter is putting on “El Zineo Local ‘Zine Party” on Thursday, Sept. 11, at Durham’s Ringside. Publisher Marty Smith already has Praxis (pictured above), The Durham Skywriter, Triangle Free Press, and Urban Hiker coming over. And […]
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Saturation point
This didn’t happen to you. It was my nightmare. Oh sure it rained everywhere you were, too, last month. But it really rained where I was. Here’s my story: The alarm rang bright and early at 4 a.m. I was up to drive my wife to the airport. No problem, it just meant my day […]
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Swelter sports
Standing alone in an empty, late-night grocery store parking lot, a man decides to play a few rounds of “shopping cart golf.” The errand essentials–Gatorade, milk, Pop-Tarts, Motrin and sunscreen–safely tucked in the back seat, the man sizes up his putt, er, push. It’s a good 30 feet to the hole, er, cart-catching area. The […]
Posted inNews
Reading the jukebox
Which is more difficult? To write a good song or write a good short story? We could whine into the night about what the heck “good” means anyway. But honestly (and I know the same is true for you), I don’t care what you think. A good song can be poppy, deep, or obscure. I […]
Posted inNews
Timely questions
Are the chicken’s eggs organic if they’re getting coffee grounds (shade grown … ) in their compost breakfasts? What about Miracle Gro? Is everyone (secretly) using it now to boost their tomatoes? We’ve always said, “What goes around comes around.” Is that a good thing? I know what she means when she says JK, LOL, […]
