A Rainy Day in NC

Just thought I would try a new way to reaching out to the Public, and I think this will be a very effective tool..Here at this site, I will tell people about events happening in the Triangle and also give you some of my opinions on political and social issues, both relevant to our community and our world.

For starters, I have to commend the folks at Durham's new Public Access channel...I think we will be seeing some very innovative program coming out of this area very soon and I look forward to doing my part in this effort. The open house was relaxing and fun, and it was good seeing associates like Nia and several of her youth, Michelle Gonzalez of See Saw Studios, Morgan Diamond of Self-Help, City Councilman Mike Woodward, Solomon Burnette and others at this event.

Yesterday was fun as well, I really enjoyed checking out the performance of One Human Family at the Baha'i Center located in the Parkwood neighborhood of Durham. It was a very enlightening concert and the guest conductor also gave great insights into the history of Gospel Music and Spiritual in America in addition to the group putting together a fine show. I also stopped by later that evening to a new restaurant in the American Tobacco District, Cuban Revolution...I have been to this new restaurant a few times now and have been impressed by the staff and their menu, plus it's kinda of unique seeing a film about Che Guevara running on a fairly regular basis.........When I talked to the owner he said he was from Rhode Island but his wife is from Tampa and that is where the affinity apparently for the Cuban culture comes from.....

Speaking of Cuban Revolution, I also learned that one of their bartenders is organizing a trip to the Bahamas on a Party Boat in October around Halloween...This sounds like a fun outing and as I learn more details I will spread the word to my fans and supporters.......Who knows the Minister of Culture himself may decide to take this trip....By the way, the Bahamas has always been on my list of places I want to visit plus the Minister of Culture needs to do some more traveling these days...I definitely want to visit some of the countries that also have Ministries of Culture, so you know Australia, Scotland, Brazil, and China are on my wish list of places to visit in the near future.

On the Political side, I see that a new Surgeon General has been nominated, and like many of Obama's previous nominees, she is definitely an advocate of the working class.....The Surgeon General nominee Regina M. Benjamin is already seen as a leader in the fight to close the various gaps in health care, and has already shown her mettle of leadership in places like Birmingham and New Orlenas. I have also been impressed by the answers that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has been giving to the Senate...You can definitely tell that this woman of class has been an advocate for working class people and will continue to be such an advocate on the Supreme Court. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am glad to see a shift in what was for me becoming too much of a right-wing, reactionary kind of leanings when the past administration was in office.........I know a lot of folks are expecting immediate turnaround in our economy and our society, but like in all things, what took several years to ruin and destroy can't be rebuilt in a matter of days,. or for that matter, even months...It's gonna to take a while for us to correct this mess, but I am optimistic that it can be done......

And I already see a bright future on the Horizon for Durham, I think if you come downtown on a weekend now you already see a marked contrast to past years with activities happening on a regular basis at various venues like the Carolina Theatre, the new Performing Arts Center, The Durham Arts Council, Pinhook, and other venues, even some that are slightly away from Downtown like the Hayti Heritage Center and the various venues that are on both Duke and North Carolina Central University.........

Oh well, I'm bout to bounce for now and getting ready to head back to work at Measurement Inc. but I will be giving you various thoughts on a regular basis.........

By the way, I know on Facebook, I told folks I was looking for stories about the old clubs here in Durham, as well as the old Theatres that used to exist here.....I'm still looking for that information, so if you have any stories about those that existed over the last few years please share.........