Why I have no faith in T.J. Yates

This may seem like a strange thing to post after UNC just upset Miami, but stick with me. The Tar Heels have an amazing defense and they are the only reason we win these games. Two of the touchdowns were on interception returns.

The running game is also very impressive: Ryan Houston played great today without Shaun Draughn to help out. Receivers have also gotten involved in the running game, which has been very productive.

But the quarterback, T.J. Yates, is mediocre at best. Yates will never win a game for the Tar Heels, he will only lose them. Best case scenario: he does just enough not to screw it up for Carolina.

I've spent many Saturday afternoons complaining about the awful throws Yates throws, so today I decided to keep track. I kept a list of all the bad throws Yates made today. I wasn't overly critical. If the receiver had a legitimate chance at the ball, I gave Yates the benefit.

Here's what I found. Yates threw 10 awful passes. That doesn't sound like a whole lot, but here is the key: six of those were on third down.

The key to an offense is ball control and how they convert on third downs. With a run-based offense like UNC's, you will get into third-and-mediums or third-and-longs fairly often. Yates showed over and over again that he cannot consistently make the throw to get the first down.

In most of those third downs, the receiver was either past the first down or very close to it. In the first three series, Yates overthrew one receiver, underthrew another and threw one behind a reciever on third down to force punts.

In one series, Yates overthrew his buddy Zack Pianalto twice, on second and third downs inside the 10 yard line.

In the third quarter, Yates underthrew a receiver on second down and overthrew a receiver on third down in the same series.

He did have a pretty good day today. He threw for 213 yards and no interceptions. But he completed just barely over 50 percent of his passes. And when it comes down to it, I don't want the ball in his hands if we have to make a last second drive.

Yates isn't an awful quarterback, but he's not a good quarterback. He's mediocre at best and you need better than that if you want to become a top-notch football program.

Richard Sine: "Close the J-Schools"

Richard Sine over at Huffington Post made a bold statement on his blog today: all journalism schools should close their doors. Hmmm...interesting. Let's read on. 

Shocking news from the halls of academia: Forbes reported earlier this year that enrollment in graduate journalism schools is booming. These kids are paying upwards of $70,000 (the cost of Columbia's J-School, including living expenses) for a ghost's chance of landing a job, at pitiful pay, in an industry that is rapidly collapsing. What's going to be the next hot field in graduate study? Blacksmithing? Bloodletting? Steamship design?

I don't meant to offend anyone from the noble field of steamship design, where there is actually a lot to learn. Journalism is not a profession like engineering, medicine or even law. You can pick up most media skills on the job, or with a few hours of instruction. If you screw up, nobody dies, and nothing collapses. This is why so many — perhaps most — journalism pros have built successful careers without touching J-school, and why many of them considered a J-degree a dubious credential even in the field's heyday.

OK, fair enough. I completely agree that journalism graduate school is not always worth it. I can't think of anything with journalism that I would want to do that would require me to go get a master's degree other than than boost my ego. Journalism is a skilled based industry: either you know how to write, report, edit, take pictures and design pages, or you don't. The end. 

But I think Sine's argument is a little too vague and alarmist. First, journalism school doesn't imply graduate school. I have a bachelor's degree from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Sine makes it sound like the only way to get a degree in journalism is to pay $70,000 to go to graduate school. Not true. I went to a state college and got a great liberal arts education that was focused around journalism. I don't feel like I wasted a bit of my (and my parents) money. 

Is it possible that I could have skipped journalism school and been just as good of a writer? Maybe. But there are definitely perks to getting the education. As Sine said, much of what journalists learn can be picked up in the field. But does anyone really want to hire someone who is going to have to learn on the job? That means mistakes, corrections to publish, possible libel suits and possible damage to the publication's reputation. Why do you think you need a journalism degree to even get in the door?

UNC-CH has a very experience-based J-school. I had classes where I covered a beat, created and designed a magazine, wrote columns and published an online newspaper. This gave me the chance to make mistakes and learn from them without having to worry about whether I would keep my job or how much ad revenue the publication was going to lose. All I had to worry about was my grade. 

I also learned a lot from talking with my professors, who Sine described as "old-media refugees who made the desperate leap onto J-school faculties in response to buyouts or layoffs." Sure, this is true for many professors. But does that mean that the wisdom they've gained and the experiences they've had won't help me when I'm looking for a job or working at a paper? Sine says that these "old-media refugees" can't even help students get connections in the journalism world. I beg to differ. In my job search, my most promising leads have come from former professors who hear about job openings around the state. They're still well connected. 

Also, Columbia University doesn't exactly represent the average journalism graduate program. The University of California-Berkeley offers their graduate program for exactly $0.00 for in-state students. For out-0f-state students, a whopping $14,694. My alma mater? An unbelievable $4,198 for in-state and $10,417 for out-of-state. Sine should do a little more research before he starts throwing out wild claims. 

Finally, I'm tired of the alarmist doomsday statements that many journalists are making about the industry ("...an industry that is rapidly collapsing. What's going to be the next hot field in graduate study? Blacksmithing? Bloodletting? Steamship design?") I've said it many times before and I'll say it again: journalism is not dying, it's changing. Major newspapers are dying, huge media corporations are dying, but the industry is not. My guess is that journalism is going to move to a more community focus and/or online. I especially think it's interesting that he would claim journalism is dying on HuffPo, a new media giant that might as well be the poster boy for the future of journalism. 

Journalism schools are preparing for the shift in the industry. Everyone's not just sitting back praying that newspapers will just start thriving again. I took a blogging and social media class on top of creating an online newspaper while in school. Many new classes are being offered that aim to teach students about new media or new skills that could become valuable in this new era of journalism. Anyone interested in getting into journalism would be much better off with this type of education.

Hookah Bliss on the ropes

When I first learned of N.C.'s smoking ban, I was really excited. I was so tired of going to crowded bars that allowed smoking where I felt like I couldn't even breathe (cough Goodfellows). But then I visited one of my favorite bars on Franklin Street, Hookah Bliss, where I saw posters all over the walls calling on customers to fight the ban. 

Adam Bliss opened up Hookah Bliss a couple of summers ago down on West Franklin and the place has taken off. It had a great vibe, quality shisha and a knowledgeable and friendly owner in Bliss. My friends and I took to it and it quickly became one of our favorite hang outs. 

Unfortunately, the N.C. smoking ban means that his business will become illegal when the law goes into effect in January. 

But something is wrong here. The law makes an exception for "private clubs" and "cigar bars," but no one else. Why these two? Well according to Bliss (and I agree) it's because the rich, white legislators like to go there and they don't want to see their favorite pastime put out of business. But where does this leave the hookah bars? 

It makes no sense that this ban should put them out of business. The purpose of the regulation is to protect people from second hand smoke in public places, like bars and restaurants. I'm pretty sure if you're going into Hookah Bliss, you're OK with second hand smoke. The reason you go there is to smoke or hang out with friends who are going to smoke. Obviously people in there don't care about second hand smoke, just like the patrons of cigar bars. 

Bliss and other hookah bar owners are working to figure out where to go from here, but it looks like one of my favorite hang outs is doomed. Maybe he'll keep the bar open there. I sure hope so. 

The Daily Tar Heel put together a nice little video about the issue, which is what reminded me of this. You can check that out below. 

If you're in Chapel Hill, make sure to stop by Hookah Bliss before January and do what you can to support them. 

Banned Bliss from The Daily Tar Heel on Vimeo.

"When it all, yeah, all falls down..." UPDATED

I haven't been totally into what's going on around the world for the last few days because of a much needed visit up north, but I just can't help but think that all the crap that has happened this week is a definite sign of the apocalypse.

First, this whole crazy thing in Iran. Not only was the election controversial, but then you have the killing of Neda that was caught on video (which wasn't the Basij's fault, but apparently a master plot by the CIA according to the Iranian ambassador to Mexico).

Then you have the deaths of Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett, which, while sad, were not entirely unexpected. But then we see two beloved fifty-year-olds leave us: Billy Mays and Michael Jackson. You may think it's weird for me to put those two on the same level, but let's be honest, over the last few years, who would you rather see on TV? I love me some Jackson 5 and "Billie Jean" era MJ, but anything after he turned into a white woman child molester kind of turns me off. And who doesn't love OxiClean? 

Anyway, I guess I'll give the latter two a tiny tribute by posting some of their best work right here on my prestigious Web site. I know they would want it that way. 

ADDENDUM: Last night, I forgot about a couple of other things that have happened recently that have really make me wonder "What the hell is going on??" 

The Varsity Theatre, a Franklin Street and UNC-Chapel Hill staple, went dark this weekend. I was in D.C. so I wasn't even able to catch a last minute movie during it's last weekend. Owner Bruce Stone cited various reasons for closing the movie house, but the bottom line was that it was no longer making money and with this economy it didn't look like things were going to get better. If there is a silver lining it's that the Chelsea, also owned by Stone, will remain open as of now. But, as Jordan Lawrence over at the Daily Tar Heel Blog said, "the Chelsea is an ugly little runt of a theater in a shopping center far off campus and it doesn’t have anything like the history of the deceased Varsity. But it’s got free parking, and that’s enough to bring in the kind of business needed to stay alive."

Finally, in world news, what the hell is going on down in Honduras?? Maybe it's my naivete of international politics, but this came out of nowhere! 

Pictures!!

Good news, everyone! All of my pictures should now be up on Facebook! I know, get excited. Not all of them have captions, but I can add those later. Enjoy! I'm going to start working on video now....

And way to go UNC baseball! Staying alive in the College World Series!

Apparently UNC loves me

So thanks to a tip from my lovely girlfriend, I found out that the UNC-Chapel Hill website has a picture of me for their header. If it doesn't come up the first time, just keep refreshing it. It's a great picture of me marching down South Rd. during Fall Fest. I'm rocking my aviators and Terrass is in the background. It's pretty sweet. I wonder how long it will stay up there. My 15 minutes of fame??? We'll see. I guess my university does care about me some.

What is my UNC degree really worth?

A degree from UNC-Chapel Hill is prestigious. The school one of the best public universities in the nation. When you graduate from this institution, you feel like you have really accomplished something and worked hard for a valuable degree. 

I was sure that this was all true until I was shown the worst paper I've ever seen in my entire life. 

Chris, on his first day back from Chapel Hill happened to be in Davis Library when he saw a paper sitting beside one of the computers. He brought it back to Eve's apartment with him and we took a look at it. I honestly couldn't believe what I was reading. I just knew it had to be a joke. 

No joke. Janet Cooke overcame all odds and managed to write the worst paper I've ever seen for her Poli150 class. I'm not really sure where to start. First, the font seems well above the standard 12 pt. The spacing looks more like triple rather than double. The margins are questionable. But let's put that all aside right now and focus on the content. 

As far as I can tell, the paper is comparing two articles, one by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the other by  Susan Rice, the US Ambassador to the United Nations. I say "as far as I can tell" because the introduction might as well have been written by a 10-year-old just learning English. Here's a taste:

Author and politician Condoleezza Rice "The Promise of Democratic Peace" and author Susan Rice "Beyond Democratic Peace" both believe that the platform outlined by democracy is the fundamental aspect to rebuild the US's crumbling economy. Condoleezza Rice thinks the best way to secure democratic nations and to support the democratic institutions within the nations, while Susan Rice critiques Condoleezza of her methods to ensure democratic peace. Although their arguments equally parallel and contrast, could it be possible that there is another way to go about democratic peace.

There is nothing of substance in that entire paragraph. And it just gets worse. Not only does she fail to make any concrete point throughout the entire essay, she has a complete disregard for basic grammatical rules: "On the other hand, a financially and stable economy is willing and able to help falling states does." "This could possibly be considered Susan Rice's strongest point, however, at the same time could room for questioning her judgment." "Condoleezza Rice and Susan RIce emphasized the importance of the democratic foundation, nevertheless, they both contrast each other as to concluding should immediately be done."

I can't make this up. The whole paper is like that. Now it would be one thing if this paper had been given the failing grade it deserved. But no. Despite notes like "What?" and "Did you read the articles?" this joke of a professor professor or -- more likely -- TA gave this paper a 70. Are you serious? Not only is that a passing grade, that's a C-. How can you read this paper and believe that it is worth anything more than a 10? 

Janet Cooke is a sophomore which means that she has passed four semesters of college at UNC with, I assume, that type of work. Unless something changes (or people start giving her the grades she deserves) she is going to graduate with the same Carolina degree that I should be getting soon. That sure seems to take away some of the value, doesn't it? I can't help but be a little upset. 

At first I wasn't sure whether I wanted to post the paper and its author's name on this Web site. But if Janet Cooke is willing to put her name on this garbage, turn it into a professor and then to leave it in a public place, she should face the consequences. In a perfect world, she would see this post or her friends would all make fun of her for it and she would make a change for the better. Either that or drop out of school. 

Either way, you can download and read the entire paper here [pdf]. Please, especially if you graduated from or are attending Carolina, please try not to cry.

Questioning the Bible

I've always loved a good conspiracy or the debunking of long-held myths and beliefs. That's why I watch "Mythbusters," read a couple books on the JFK conspiracy, tore through Dan Brown's books "Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons," and why I'm going to see the movie of the latter tonight. So it's awesome to me that someone right here at my own (now former) university is doing work just like the fictional Robert Langdon and digging deeper into the truth of the Bible. 

UNC-Chapel Hill religious studies professor Bart Ehrman is profiled in an article on CNN.com today, where he talks about his new book, "Jesus, Interrupted" and his transition from an evangelical Christian to a "happy agnostic." This guy is a big name in the religious world, appearing on various TV shows, including stuff on the History Channel and Discovery Channel and, if I'm not mistaken, a couple appearances on the "Colbert Report." 

It's an well written article about an interesting guy. Maybe I'll go back to school and get another major.... Ok, maybe not. But I do think I might be picking up one or two of his books over the next few weeks. You know, a little light summer reading about destroying the foundations of the Holy Bible. 

Pomp and Uncertain Circumstances

That's it. Dozens of essays, countless exams and quite a few parties later, I'm done with college. Where have the four years gone? It still hasn't really hit me. Even when I was standing in Kenan Stadium at the large commencement ceremony, it just felt like I was just at some random event. But at about 8 p.m. on Sunday, after all my family had gone and I was alone in the apartment again, I had my first minor panic moment. I sat down on the couch and the first thing I thought was, "What now?" 

But I've gotten over that and it's starting to feel like just another summer. A good number of my friends are in town (minus one who I really wish was in town) and the past few days have been spent hanging out, eating and drinking a little. Sure, I should probably start looking at jobs soon, but not yet. I've had an interview and there's another opportunity coming up at the end of the month, but other than that I'm not worried. I'll start looking more, but right now I'm going to enjoy myself. I'll be working the rest of my life, I might as well enjoy my last summer.

That's why I'm going to Europe in just under two weeks. My friend Thomas and I will be flying into Frankfurt, Germany, and traveling to Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, Florence, Switzerland and Munich, and probably some other random places in between. We haven't exactly decided if we're bringing my old laptop or not, but I'm going to find someway to keep this blog updated, much like I did during my road trip last summer. And we got a Flip video camera, which means you'll be finding some fun and interesting videos. 

Until then, I'll continue to update the blog, probably more often than I have in the past since I'm nowhere near as busy anymore. 

So this is it. I'm no longer a poor college student but unemployed. Good times....

Speaking of graduation, the large ceremony in Kenan was great. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was better than I ever could have imagined (despite the diss from News 14 Carolina: "One local college has an important speaker at their ceremony today. Oprah will be speaking at Duke"). I was expecting a very somber and serious speech, but instead got one that included jokes, Archbishop Tutu laughing at himself, and the words "orgy" and "scintillating." He had everyone in the stadium laughing. He even fit in a jab at Michigan State and the Tar Heels winning the basketball national championship. Check out the video below for the highlights.  

Bring it on, real world.

Some people never learn

At least it wasn't UNC students this time.

Our good friends at Youth for Western Civilization decided to bring another esteemed speaker to our campus after the Tom Tancredo debacle, Virgil Goode. You would think that people would learn from the first group of protesters and find a way to peacefully debate this close-minded speaker. Maybe we'd get a chance to clear our name and show that UNC can protest intelligently. Then I saw this headline: "University officials: Six people arrested in protest." Great.

I was happy to read on Friday that the protesters were not part of the UNC community. They were just some punks from Raleigh, Orange County and Carrboro. Making us look bad....

Even though it was nice to see that they had nothing to do with UNC, in light of the Tancredo incident and all the blame that was placed on Students for a Democratic Society, any protests at UNC make us look like a bunch of closed-minded liberals. So do us a favor, crazy people that have no relationship to UNC: stay the hell home.

And just to update the Tancredo incident, Haley Koch, who just so happened to be on the cover of a magazine I produced for my Magazine Editing class, was arrested Thursday by CHPD for her involvement in the protest last week. They are not messing around!

Feeding the fire

I'm sure by now that most everyone reading this post has heard about the recent protest at UNC that turned violent and ended in a blur of pepper spray and tasers flying in the air. If you haven't, read here. Basically, a student group called Youth for Western Civilization invited former Republican U.S. Representative from Colorado Tom Tancredo to speak out against illegal immigration. When he got there to speak, hundreds of protesters were yelling at him, waving sings in front of him, calling him a "racist" and "white supremecist" and everything else you can imagine. DPS officers had to use pepper spray and shoot some tasers in the air to hold the protesters back. Tancredo couldn't even speak because someone broke a window in the room and he didn't feel safe.

I don't know much about the Youth of Western Civilization group, but I have done some research on Tancredo and I can't say that I'm his biggest fan. But all the protestors suceeded in doing Tuesday is make our university look like a bunch of assholes and make a crazy conservative guy look like a victim. Youth for Western Civilization gets all kinds of free publicity because the "crazy liberals" at UNC broke up their event.

I respect the right to protest just as much as I respect his right to speak, but there are right ways and wrong ways to protest. The right way to protest is to hold a seperate event at the exact same time that stresses the opposite opinion, like the Dance Party for Diversity that happened in the Pit at the same time. Another way to challenge an unpopular speaker is to listen to what he/she has to say and then ask him challenging questions. Not only does it make us look more intelligent and respectful, but it could catch him off guard and make him look like an idiot.

Right now, we look like a bunch of hypocrites. We supposedly open minded liberals shut down free speech of a conservative person. Way to give conservatives justification for what they already think of this campus.

I'm glad that the Young Democrats and Chancellor Holden Thorpe have spoken out against this protest, but that only does so much. People are going to remember this. All we can do now is make sure it never happens again. Protest intelligently.

Photo credit: Daily Tar Heel, Ariana van den Akker

WE DID IT!!!

So this is a week late. I know that. It's taken me this long to get back acclimated to that little thing I forgot about for three weeks called school. And on top of that, I've been battling some insane illness that has had me by the throat for over a week now. I just hacked up a lung while I wrote that sentence.

But you know what, none of that matters, because WE DID IT!!! Yeah, I can say "we" because I was there. I was part of the support staff, however minor my role was. I was with them in Greensboro, in Memphis (barbecue...) and in Motown. I was there when LSU tied the game up in the second half and it looks like the dream run would be cut short. I was there when we rolled the Zags. I was there when Blake Griffin realized that he alone can't handle the Tar Heels. I was there when the Wildcats were tamed and sent back to Philly. And I was there when Ty Lawson got a record-breaking eight steals; when the Heels broke the record for points scored in the first half of any NCAA championship game; when Bobby made a wide-open lay-up in the final minutes of the game; when Coach Roy Williams called a time out with one minute to play to put in the third string; when Tyler Hansbrough bear-hugged the entire bench; when over 60,000 people dressed in green and white were silenced. I was there when the UNC Tar Heels won their fifth NCAA championship!!

And it was awesome.

I don't get emotional over much, but Carolina basketball does it to me. Before the tournament started, I watched a recap of the 2005 season when the Heels won the championship. I got a little teary when Sean May pulled down that last rebound. But for about 39 minutes Monday night, I held my composure. I didn't want to get excited to early. But when Coach Roy called that time out, it was all over. The water works started and I couldn't help it. By the end of the game I could barely play "Carolina Victory" because I was choked up. You can hear the tubas playing it in the broadcast of the game, but I promise you I wasn't the loud one.

I watched a replay of the game just last night and got choked up. I just can't help it. I feel some special attachment to these guys because we were freshman together. I spent my whole college career watching Danny, Bobby, Marcus, Cope and Tyler grow up and improve. I was there when they lost a heart-breaker to Georgetown in the Elite Eight in 2007. I watched them fall apart against Kansas in the Final Four last year. Then I saw all of them come back for one more year. Tyler wanted a ring. And, man, it felt so good to see him get it.

Back at the band hotel, fans were still waiting to see us when we arrived at sometime after two in the morning. We had a "champagne" toast, where the band director really made it all sink in. He said, "Since 1793, three students have worn a mascot uniform when the Tar Heels won a championship. Thirty-six students were in cheerleading outfits when a national championship was won, and 87 band members. Welcome to an elite group. Cheers."

On the plane the next day, the boys and Coach Roy were tired. I heard they didn't sleep all night because they had to be on the CBS Early Show. But they were happier than I've ever seen them. Coach Roy came onto that plane clutching the trophy like someone was going to steal it from him.

Maybe it's because I'm getting ready to graduate and this chapter of my life is ending, but there was something special about this team, this group of seniors and this season that I will remember for the rest of my life. Alumni now say can say that they were there in '82 with Jordan, or '93 with Vince Carter, or '57 with Rosenbluth.

But now I can say I was there in '09 with Tyler, Bobby, Danny, Marcus and all the boys.

Way to go Tar Heels!

Tuesday Guilty Pleasure

So I know this is going up a little late, but I think you'll excuse me since I just got back from Detriot a few hours ago. Oh what a trip it was, but more about that later.

This week's guilty pleasure is slightly different. This really isn't something that I should be ashamed for liking, but I really like it way to much. I'm not going to lie, when I saw this Monday night I shed a few tears. That may sound weird, but I'm a die hard Tar Heel and I just can't help it.

So without further adieu, here is Luther Vandross singing the basketball classic and tournament staple, "One Shining Moment."



I don't care how cheesy that song is, it's the best part of March Madness. I got choked up again. Why you got to do that to me, Luther??

The North Carolina Tar Heels are the 2009 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!! Man that sounds good!

Roy Williams in his underwear

Four days and seemingly 20 pounds later, I'm back from Memphis! It's great to be back home, but it's going to be a short day. Since the Heels took care of business against Oklahoma, they are the East Regional champions and will be heading to the Final Four in Detroit!! And guess what? I'll be there with them! We fly out on Wednesday (so soon!) and, if all goes well, we'll be coming back late Tuesday. Look for more blog posts this week about the Motor City. Along those lines, I have more pictures and stories from the last two days in Memphis that I will post here soon.

But that's not what I want to talk about now.

Despite the fact that one of my favorite people is sharing the stage with one of the people I despise the most and that the argument that Coach K has sold out to American Express has kinda lost some credibility, this commercial is absolutely amazing!



First, I can't believe that they got Coach Williams to do this commercial in his underwear. At first I didn't think it was him but just a really good look alike. But then I knew that the rest of the coaches were real and it just had to be him. Then, the fact that they got Roy and Coach K to do the commercial together is great. And, of course, Bob Knight is a wack-job and just completely makes this commercial. And just watch Pitino bang those drums in the back. Classic!!

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On an unrelated note, Chris, Benji and I have decided to create a new blog called "Perpetual Bacchanals." (If you don't know what that word means, don't worry, I didn't either. Thanks, online dictionary!) It is a comedy blog (hopefully) that will detail life after college without a job in a terrible job market. Should be a good time! Feel free to laugh at our strife.

Dancing in Memphis, Day 2

I've seen ducks and I've eaten ribs. Check and check. I'm going to keep this post brief because I need to go to bed so that I can get up to go to Graceland, but I just had to share some things with you.

First, the marching of the ducks. This video isn't great (my poor digital camera) but you get the idea.



Then, earlier in the day, I got to go see the boys practice before their game tomorrow against Gonzaga. They looked good and had some fun. Marcus Ginyard stood with the press people and took pictures the whole time and Ty Lawson just stood at half court with coach most of the time.



Then, to top it all off, I got me some Rendezvous Ribs. The place is hidden down a back alley right by our hotel. It seems like a complete hole in the wall, but we all know that the best food comes in places like that. Our massive party of 23 was shoved in the back of the waiting area behind this divider with a sign that said "Private Party." That didn't bother me any. The tables had pitchers of sweet tea and water. I was all set.

Here's a look at what I ate this evening: a full rack of ribs with some beans and slaw. Mmmm mmmm.



And, finally, a trip to Memphis is nothing without a walk down Beale Street. We hit it earlier in the day on the way to the arena, but you have to see it at night. One great thing about Memphis: no open container laws. But since the athletic department is paying for me to be here, I'm not allowed to drink. I have to come back....



We did decide to go to B.B. King's blues club on Beale and enjoyed the awesome house band that was playing. We also got to watch dook get destroyed. Memphis lost too, but people didn't seem to be paying much attention to that in the bar. I guess basketball isn't quite as serious here as it is back home.

Now to bed. Tomorrow we're up early to get over to Graceland. Then, tomorrow night, it's game time.

Go Heels!!

Dancing in Memphis

Graceland, blues, ribs and Mark Cohn. Welcome to Memphis!

After a nice drubbing of Radford University and sneaking past the pesky LSU Tigers, the UNC Tar Heels have made it to the Sweet 16. And I'm right along here with them.

We are in a ridiculously nice hotel, the Peabody, that has a unnecessarily large TV for such a small room. But the best part is the fountain. And the ducks. If you don't know anything about it, the Peabody is famous for the duck march, where the Peabody ducks march into the fountain in the middle of the lobby and hang out for the day. Then at the end they march back out. I can't wait to see it. Oh, and be sure pictures will go up.

But first on the to-do list is to enjoy what some call the best ribs in the country at Rendezvous Ribs, which is apparently right across the street from here. Then onto the blues clubs on Beale Street. And maybe a little trip to Graceland. I'm in Memphis, I figure I'll make the most of it.

Our first game is Friday night, so until then I'm a free man in the heart of Memphis. Go Heels!



Side note, this is one of my favorite photos from last weekend. Dook played Texas right after our game and the Texas cheerleaders took advantage of our "friendly" rivalry by involving us in the cheers. I'm also pretty sure that AJ stole this sign from the cheerleaders. Oh well.

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Some other fun information:

Here's a great article on the newspaper industry. Some government officials are thinking about making newspapers nonprofits to save them some money. But that would mean that they can't be involved in political issues, like endorsing a candidate.

I also decided to set up some YouTube playlists so you can check out all the videos that I post on the site. I have a general one and one specially made for the Tuesday Guilty Pleasure series.

March Madness!!!

March is my favorite time of year. Spring is coming, school is wrapping up, baseball has started and, most importantly, it's tournament time.

The brackets are official, now it's time for the fun part. I've already filled out three different brackets with random -- and often unexpected -- upsets all over the place. But, of course, the big winner is always the same: UNC all the way. And I'm not alone. Four out of the five talking heads on ESPN picked Carolina to win it all. I hope it doesn't jinx us.

Over the next three weeks Carolina will fight for their sixth national championship and guess what? Your faithful blogger will be there every step of the way. That's right, I'll be traveling with the band as far as the team goes. So don't be surprised when this blog becomes a sports blog.

I'll be sure to take my camera and document everything that I can. First game is on Thursday against Radford. Unfortunately it's only in Greensboro, so no exciting traveling. But if we get to the Sweet Sixteen we'll be in Memphis, Tenn.

I'm so excited I have chills. Go Tar Heels!

In other news, the "About Us" page of the Carrboro Commons has been updated with the new staff members. Check out my picture and the corny bio that I wrote myself.

The Campaign for Hallie Lipsey: EXPOSED

After a long week of waiting, I finally received an e-mail from the Hallie Lipsey for Student Body President campaign. In this e-mail, I learned how a simple joke turned into a campus-wide phenomenon, garnering more votes for Hallie Lipsey than any other write-in candidate. The conspirators kept their identities under wraps so that even Lipsey wasn't sure about who was behind the sign, flyers and Facebook group. Until now.



In a CoreyInscoe.com exclusive (haha, I always wanted to say that), I present you with the full story behind the Hallie Lipsey for SBP campaign as told by one of the masterminds, Nick.
(I omitted last names to keep the conspirators shrouded in just a bit of mystery. I don't want to spoil all the fun.)

My name is Nick. My co-conspirators are Jon, Manu, Johnna, Elizabeth, and Lionel. We are the Committee to Re-Elect Hallie Lipsey. I promised you I'd tell you the story of this prank, but I'm worried that it's not nearly as interesting as it might seem.

About a month ago, Jon and I were standing in the Pit, being barraged by campaign slogans, when inspiration struck. For weeks, we'd braved the slings and arrows of campaign season, annoyed by promises of Alpine Bagel in Davis and flat rate taxi services.

At the same time, I'd been searching for a good way to prank our dear friend Hallie. One of our running jokes was to mock Hallie's uncanny resemblance to J.J. Raynor by calling her "J.J." in public places. (Mind you, this wasn't just us, either. People have had 2-minute conversations with J.J. thinking she was Hallie, and vice-versa.)

In a moment of clarity, it struck. "Jon," I said. "Re-elect Hallie Lipsey for SBP." The wheels had been set in motion. We drafted four friends into the conspiracy, and began our work.

I spent the next weekend working on the flyers, while deep in the heart of Raleigh, my co-conspirators had begun work on the sign. They purchased two pieces of plywood, the largest available at Lowe's, and began devising the campaign promises that would become the centerpiece of our project.

We drove the sign back to Chapel Hill, and stored it in Jon's house, waiting for the moment to strike. That moment came on the night of Wednesday, February 4th. Our operation took place in two phases. First, at about 10:30 p.m., two of our members printed about fifty of our flyers, and distributed them throughout campus. Meanwhile, two others put the finishing touches on the sign. Finally, at just before one in the morning, we set out to bring the sign to campus.



It was here that we struck a serious problem. We no longer had access to the mini-van in which we had transported the sign to Chapel Hill and it was far too large to fit into any of the cars to which we had access. We quickly decided that the only way to get the sign where we needed it to go was to carry it to campus.

According to Google Maps, our trek was 1.7 miles. It seemed longer.

We began walking, giant sign in tow, down MLK Avenue. It wasn't fifteen minutes before we saw the familiar blue and white lights of a police cruiser. "What are you folks up to this evening?" he inquired. "We're working on a project, officer," replied Manu. The officer evidently thought that we had stolen the sign from somewhere. Upon realizing that our sign was not really something that anyone would want to steal, he let us go.

The officer's was only the first of several sidelong glances that we received as we carried the sign through downtown Chapel Hill. About two hours later, we arrived in the Pit, propped up the sign, and ran.



You probably know the rest of the story. Hallie saw the sign, and rushed to us with wild accusations. She knew we'd done it, but had no proof. We relied on this uncertainty over the ensuing days.

That Friday, we saw your blog post. We'd been planning another phase of the plan, but it was the tangible excitement over the campaign that truly convinced us to kick the campaign up a notch. That's when Heels for Hallie, the Facebook group was started.

At the moment we sent out the first invitations, the campaign was out of our control. The enthusiasm for the Lipsey campaign was shared by people who had never even heard of Hallie. It took on a life of its own, and that life was fleshed out on election day, when Hallie received 75 votes, including the vote of one Ms. Hallie Sarah Lipsey.

And that's the story. I told you it wasn't that interesting.

I have to disagree: that story is amazing. I can just imagine them lugging that massive sign all the way down Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

So there you have it. I guess we can officially close the books on the Hallie Lipsey saga. I have to say, I'm going to miss it. The campaign brought this site more hits than it has ever seen and it got my photo published in the Daily Tar Heel. It was great to have so many people tell me that they had found the blog, or, even better, that they had read my post and voted for Hallie.

I would like to thank Nick and the gang one last time for the amazing prank that created such a stir at UNC. I raise my glass to you.

Photos courtesy of Campaign for Hallie Lipsey

Hallie Lipsey got more votes than your mom...and other stuff

I just woke up from a 12-hour slumber. Not because I'm terribly lazy and have nothing to do today, but because I was on my feet for 24 hours as a part of UNC Dance Marathon.

The marathon raised almost $400,000 for the North Carolina Children's Hospital. It was my first time ever dancing and I'm so glad that I finally did. Not only was it tons of fun to dance around for hours, walk around Kenan Stadium and watch the sunrise, and even learn how to juggle, but it was such a great emotional moment when families came to talk about their experiences and when they announced how much was raised. I would do it again in a second for that feeling at the end. I really wish I had gotten involved with the marathon earlier.

Now let me catch you up on what's been happening since the last time I posted.

If you happened to miss it, the Daily Tar Heel published a little insert (featuring my picture) about the write-in candidates and how they did this year. Our own Hallie Lipsey got a grand total of 75 votes, more than twice the number that Tyler Hansbrough got. I consider that a victory! I still haven't heard back from the Hallie Lipsey campaign so I can't tel you that story, but I'm still working on finding everything out.

Oh, and in case you didn't hear (and have been living under a rock!) Jasmine Jones made a huge comeback (thanks in large part to the endorsement by all the other candidates) to beat Thomas Edwards in the run-off by a mere 200 votes. Congrats, Jasmine!

And finally, some news about the Carrboro Kid Camp!! The post I wrote about Marianne's camp was picked up by 30Threads, a website that highlights 30 threads from the Triangle area. I met the "thread spinners" last year and registered my blog then, but never thought that I would actually get picked up. Thanks, Ginny!


Along the same lines, the second issue of the Carrboro Commons was posted on Wednesday! You can check out my article on the kid camp here. There's some great stuff in the issue, so be sure to look around and read some of the other articles.

Now time to enjoy the rest of my Sunday.

Hallie Lipsey for SBP Part III: The Results

When I walked through the Pit on Wednesday, Hallie Lipsey's sign was on its side propped up against a tree. I thought about setting it back up, but decided against it. For one, I was already 10 minutes late for my 10 a.m. English class. But I also realized that there was no point. It was over. For five of the seven candidates (yes, I counted right) Wednesday meant the end of weeks of long and hard work. Maybe not so long and hard in Lipsey's case, but it was tough nonetheless.

Despite the valiant effort that the Hallie Lipsey for SBP group and I put forth over the last few days, our beloved candidate didn't make it to the run-off. In a record turnout election, Thomas Edwards and Jasmine Jones recieved the most votes and will run in a run-off election next Tuesday.

Despite my harsh words and general loathing of Edwards, he managed to garner a whopping 41% of the vote, a good 20% more than Jones.

So what happened with out beloved Lipsey? That's what I've been working to find out. I've asked people at the Daily Tar Heel and scoured the UNC Board of Elections website looking for clues about the results for the write-in candidate. I'm not even sure if they count write-in votes, but I sure hope they do. With some of the candidates recieving just over 400 votes, Lipsey couldn't have been far behind.

Several people talked to me about the blog on Wednesday and many more told me that they voted for Lipsey. The Facebook group had about 130 members last time I checked. Of course that doesn't really mean anything. There's no telling how many people in the group actually voted for her.If you have any inside information about the actual results for Hallie, I would love to have it.

I've been e-mailing back and forth with the "campaign manager" for Lipsey and he or she or they are working to find some exact numbers. As of now, the geniuses behind this campaign are keeping their identity hidden, but I have been promised a revelation sometime next week. I'll post the story as soon as I find out something.

I appreciate everyone who took the time to vote for Lipsey on Tuesday. I hope that you know your vote wasn't a waste. In my four years here I have never seen a write-in candidate that caused such a stir as Hallie did. That's something to be proud of.

But I ask you now to do your civic duty and vote for one of the run-off candidates on Tuesday and make your voice heard. And don't just vote based on a DTH endorsement or large multi-colored signs and obnoxious chants. Check out the platforms and don't get caught up in empty promises. Think about what the candidates can realistically accomplish.