Categories
Weather

This week’s weather

Foggy start to the week. Then, say goodbye to the 70s (for now).
Here’s the breakdown via the NWS:

Today: Widespread dense fog before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 74. East wind between 3 and 5 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 48. Light east wind.

Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 63. East wind between 5 and 7 mph.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47. Northeast wind between 5 and 8 mph.

Wednesday: A slight chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 59. Northeast wind between 6 and 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Wednesday Night: A chance of rain. Cloudy, with a low around 46. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Thursday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45.

Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 64.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45.

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 64.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 65.

Categories
Miscellany

UNC will revamp Citizen Soldier program

UNC has announced a restructuring of its Citizen Soldier program. Here’s the release:

Goodale to lead Citizen-Soldier program restructuring focusing on behavioral health

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is significantly restructuring the Citizen-Soldier Support Program to focus primarily on the behavioral health needs of returning combat veterans and their families.

Bob Goodale, a retired grocery executive and state commerce official, will lead these efforts as director of the Citizen-Soldier Support Program, based in the University’s Howard Odum Institute for Research in Social Science. He has directed the Citizen-Soldier program’s behavioral health initiative since 2007.

Categories
Weather

How much rain?

A lot. The lave levels have jumped in the past couple of days.
Here’s the official word from OWASA:

Water supply and rain update from OWASA

As of this morning, our reservoirs are 83% full, up from 67% full on Tuesday.

University Lake is now full. The much larger Cane Creek Reservoir, our primary water source, is about four feet below full after rising almost three feet since Tuesday.

At our Jones Ferry Road Water Treatment Plant in Carrboro, we recorded 5.3 inches of rain from Wednesday through this morning. Rainfall totaled 5.95 inches at our Cane Creek Reservoir.

Based on average drinking water demand of 7.53 million gallons per day in the last month, the supply in our reservoirs could last about 13 months assuming no further rain.
Our Water Watch data is updated every weekday on our website, www.owasa.org.

Categories
Arts & Music

Advance Notice: The Week in Concerts 11/9-15

Consider me your new social secretary, here to sift through the week in music so you don’t have to, providing pithy commentary where absolutely necessary and rants/raves wherever else.

Mon – 11/9

  • Alela Diane / Marissa Nadler @ The ArtsCenter in Carrboro – Alela Diane’s music may be California neu-folk, but it’s inspired by the oldest ilk of balladic warbling and amorous waltzing.  The songs are not sickly sweet, so much as old, weary, idyllic.  Her dulcet tones and gentle fingerpicking will make you want to run through fields, start muttering stanzas about “brambles” and fall in love just so you can break it off and go weep on some mountainside (or maybe that’s just me). These and other visions just $10 and as a bonus the lovely Marissa Nadler opens.
  • The Blakes / The Jackets @ Local 506 – Given The Blakes mix of Strokes-esque pop hooks with rattling garage rock, it’s a pity this brother duo hasn’t had more traction.  Their self-titled debut has been in my regular rotation off and on for two years, thanks to bouncy rockers like “Don’t Bother Me” and “Two Times.” Cough up the $8, it’s bound to be a good time.
  • Blind Pilot  / The Low Anthem @ Cat’s Cradle – I confess I don’t really care about Blind Pilot, but I do love (love.) The Low Anthem.  These kids went from recycle crew to wildly popular featured artists at the Newport Folk Fest all in one year thanks to the strength of 2008’s Oh My God, Charlie Darwin.  Buy it, or at least download “Charlie Darwin.” Seriously, oh my god, $10 adv / $12 day of the show.

Monday is hard.

Wed – 11/11

  • Jackson Browne @ DPAC – Hey look, it’s Jackson Browne, oh yeah and it’s $30, $40, or $55.
  • Chris Knight @ Lincoln Theatre – Little known, but much respected Kentucky songwriter flaunts his roots for $14 adv / $17 day of the show.

Thurs – 11/12

  • Lake Inferior / Honored Guests / Gift Horse @ Local 506 – Release show for a new 10″ from Lake Inferior. Get into the show and pick up a copy, all for $7.

Fri – 11/13

  • Alejandro Escovedo / Lambchop @ Reynolds Theatre $28, $22, $5 for Duke Students
  • Eileen Jewell / Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles @ Berkeley Café $10 adv / $12 day of the show
  • Minus the Bear / The Temper Trap / Twin Tigers @ Cat’s Cradle $18 adv / $20 day of the show
  • The Travelin’ McCoury’s @ Pine Cone $21-$23 Pine Cone members; $23-$25 general public

Fri/Sat – 11/13-14

  • The 5th Annual Black Beard’s Lost Weekend @ The Cave $7 each night – Purportedly, “a filthy, primal garage rock festival of the lowest and most repugnant order,” this thrashing in Chapel Hill’s oldest tavern features (if their names are to be believed) a riotous lineup.   Friday night, Pinche Gringo and the Lonesome Chihuahuas, Satan’s Youth Ministers, The Humms, and Trashcans take the cave.  Thursday, Dirty Little Heaters, The Electric Cycles, Nervous Habits, Rough Hands, and Thee Crucials, round out the calamity.  I can’t vouch to the quality of any of these bands, but I doubt they’d want me to.  Just $7 each night to lose your weekend.

Sat – 11/14

  • Dan Auerbach / Jessica Lee Mayfield / Justin Townes Earl @ Cat’s Cradle – Taking a step out from under The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach comes to lambaste the Cradle with his own brand of dirty spook rock.  For his gritty grooves, you’ll have the pleasure of waiting through honky-tonk charmer Justin Townes Earl and indie folk maiden Jessica Lee Mayfield.  It’s not a bad package deal for $20.
  • Fin Fang Foom / Ben Davis and the Jetts / Maple Stave @  Local 506 – Scrappy, locals Fin Fang Foom and Ben Davies and the Jetts, are throwing a joint release party, probably so they can fight over who has the more bad ass new record.  We’re in for that kind of duel. $Free. Need I say more?

Sun – 11/15

  • Langhorne Slim / Dawes @ Cat’s Cradle – Should you find yourself restless Sunday evening, there’s hardly a better place to wander than in earshot of  Langhorne Slim.   Although, a friend tells me his new record, Be Set Free, amounts to a disappointingly overwrought polishing and repackaging of his old shtick, that old shtick is pretty fertile ground.   Whatever qualms the new record may or may not warrant, it’s doubtful the live show has lost the rambunctious spirit that gave Slim and his cohort street cred in the first place.  Catch them setting ’em up and knocking ’em down again for just $13 adv / $15 day of the show.
  • Joshua Radin / The Watson Twins / The Kins @ Lincoln Theatre – Australian pretty boy brothers, then creepy close (aka twin) harmonies, and then probably a lot of crying. I mean that in the nicest way possible.  $16 adv / $18 day of the show
  • Hallelujah the Hills / Anders Parker @ Local 506 $8
Categories
Miscellany

New Broadcasting Tower

It’s a big day for WXYC today; the University radio station just switched broadcasting towers. The new tower is located in Chatham county and now provides 1200 watts where the old was only 400. I tuned in just after the switch to catch the dj on air play by request, appropriately, Radio Silence by Thomas Dolby from the release The Golden Age of Wireless. Congratulations WXYC!

Categories
Arts & Music

DSI High School Improv

Celebration of youth in comedy (or something like that). Here’s the release:

DSI Comedy Theater Showcases Next Generation of Comics
DSI Trained High School Improv Group Giuseppe and Teams from
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools Perform in November

CARRBORO, NC –DSI Comedy Theater will give audiences a chance to take a peek at the next generation of comedians over two Fridays in November as the theater showcases high school teams from Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools and the DSI Comedy Theater trained high school team, Giuseppe. Giuseppe will perform Friday, November 13 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10. Chapel Hill-Carrboro School’s High School Improv Teams will perform Friday, November 20 at 7:30 p.m. DSI Comedy Theater is located at 200 N. Greensboro Street, in the Carr Mill Mall between Elmo’s and Southern Rail. More information on DSI Comedy Theater is available online: www.DSIcomedy.com.

Giuseppe is a team of regional high school students who auditioned at DSI Comedy Theater. They are coached by DSI Theater Manager and Instructor Kit FitzSimons and perform professional grade improv. Giuseppe’s members are from East Chapel Hill High School and Cedar Ridge High School. The team rehearses once a week and performs once a month. The teams from Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools are student-run and self-directed ensembles that perform both at school and at DSI Comedy Theater.

“While DSI showcases the best comics and rising talent in the country,” explains DSI Executive Producer Zach Ward, “We are also work hard to support the next generation of comics.” Ward adds, “How are we supporting the next generation of comics? By creating them… While our high school students gain awesome performance skills, they also gain confidence and healthy self-esteem.”

Categories
Weather

This weeks’ weather

Via the NWS:

Today: A chance of drizzle before 11am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 58. North wind between 8 and 10 mph.

Tonight: Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 40. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Tuesday: Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 67. Northwest wind between 3 and 11 mph.

Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 37. North wind between 7 and 10 mph becoming calm.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 61. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 38.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 64.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 38.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 37.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 64.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 41.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67.

Categories
Arts & Music

Carrboro in search of new Poet Laureate

This from the town:

The Carrboro Arts Committee is now accepting applications for the Town of Carrboro’s new Poet Laureate.
Deadline: November 22, 2009

• Applicants must have been a resident of Carrboro for at least one year.
• The Poet Laureate of Carrboro serves a one-year term., beginning with the announcement at the West End Poetry Festival in October.

Submit three poems (up to 2 pages in length/poem) following these guidelines:
1. Two copies of each poem
2. One copy with name, address, email, phone(s).
3. One copy with no identifying information – only the poem and title.
4. Poems can be of any style, but applicants should keep in mind that poems should be accessible to a wide family audience.
5. Include two copies of a statement (up to 2 pages in length) as to why you want to serve as Carrboro’s Poet Laureate, what role you see poetry playing in the community, and any ideas you might already have for increasing the awareness and appreciation of poetry. One with name, the other a blind copy.
6. Poet Laureate applications will be reviewed blindly by the members of the Arts Committee.
7. Applications will be accepted through November 22, 2009.
8. Applicants will be notified in January 2010.

Applications should be sent electronically as a WORD document, attached, as well as pasted into the body of the email to:

Kim Andrews (KAndrews@ci.carrboro.nc.us)

We will also accept applications at the Carrboro Film Festival on November 22nd at the Carrboro Century Center (electronic submission is also required)

Categories
Miscellany

Varsity to reopen

This from the new owners of the Varsity Theater:

THE CURTAIN WILL RISE AGAIN AT THE VARSITY THEATER

Franklin Street’s iconic Varsity Theatre, located at 123 E. Franklin Street, near the corner of Columbia, will reopen under new ownership in mid-November after extensive renovations including an upgraded lobby and concessions area and the addition of a children’s birthday party room. Chapel Hill residents Susan and Paul Shareshian have begun working to restore the theater to its former elegance. “We want to bring back the feeling of a classic old-time movie theater and also provide a clean and fun space—with excellent service and a customer-focused staff—where local residents can enjoy a movie at a reasonable price,” says Paul Shareshian.

The Varsity will show recently released and classic movies, with all tickets costing just $3. With reasonably priced concessions and a low ticket price, the Varsity will provide a great place for families and students. In addition to regular movie showings, the theater will be available for rental for children’s birthday parties, private screenings, lectures and corporate functions.

The Shareshians are working hard to complete the renovations and are planning for a late-November opening. “We see downtown Chapel Hill as an exciting destination,” says Susan Shareshian. “And we are thrilled to bring back the Varsity as another great place that’s part of the Chapel Hill experience. We have heard from so many people who are excited that the Varsity is reopening. And while everyone has a different favorite memory—the popcorn was delicious, the theater is in the heart of downtown, people saw their favorite classic movie there—all of the memories are positive.” With the Shareshians’ renovation of the movie house, all of the positive qualities that have always been associated with the Varsity will remain…and will be enhanced, for an even better experience.

More information is available on the theater’s website at www.varsityonfranklin.com as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

Categories
Arts & Music

Scrap wood at the ArtsCenter

Left over after this past weekend’s yard sale is a big pile of slightly used planks and boards and whatnot. This from new exec director Ed Camp:

We have a bunch of free wood and scrap lumber that we’d love to give to a good home. It’s mostly big pieces of plywood and some scraps of plywood sheets, but also includes some old flats used for sets. We tried this weekend at our Yard Sale to get rid of it, and have even called Habitat to come get it. No luck.

Some of it is located outside the building near the storage pods we were using for our big purge, but there are more pieces located inside that we’ll need to point out. It’s all free for the taking. We certainly hate to throw it away! There must be someone who can find a good use for it.

And, although totally unrelated, we also have 27 old computer monitors that are free. That is a different story!

Categories
Miscellany

Tree cutting at Horace Williams

Selective tree cutting to begin at the airport. This from Linda Convissor at UNC:

Dear Friends and Neighbors:

Over the next few days, the University will be doing tree maintenance at Horace Williams Airport. Because we prefer not to clear cut trees, we will be doing selective cutting. This work is directly at the western end of the runway and will not be visible from the street.

We would prefer not to have to cut any trees. However, while the airport remains open, we must maintain safety and that means removing trees that become too tall.

If you are a neighborhood or community group contact, please forward this to your group.