Legacy Center Update #2

Just wanted to give an update on whats going on with the Legacy Center project. Today was Commitment Sunday where we committed to giving a certain amount of money to the project over the next 3 years. We also had Family Fest which was basically like a homecoming and fall festival in one. We had hamburgers and hot dogs inside while all the fun stuff was outside. There were big slides, a Worb water walking station, horse-drawn carriage rides, caricatures, funnel cakes, and cotton candy. We even had Wool E. Bull from the Durham Bulls and Stormy from the Carolina Hurricanes there joining in all the fun. I had a blast! I really hope Grey Stone will do this every year. It was awesome!

On a more serious note, tomorrow is a make-or-break day of sorts for the project. At tomorrow night's city council meeting, our pastor will make a presentation to the council in support of closing Warner Street. This is huge because the street basically needs to be permanently  closed in order for the Legacy Center to be built according to plan. Today in church, they were asking for as many people to come to the meeting as possible to show public support for this. After the presentation, our pastor will ask those in agreement to stand and show support.

I hate it like everything but it looks like I won't be able to make it there to the meeting. I normally have English class at this time, and contemplating missing it, but I know school comes first. I will get my mom to tape it and I'm looking to see if they stream the meetings online or something. I really hope things will go well with all this.

What A Game

Pic I took of the NCSU band forming "State" on the field.

During the half, they did "Thriller" (including the dance). Pretty awesome!

As you probably know by now, NC State pulled off a great win against rival Florida State. In case you missed it, here's a little recap: the Pack scored the first TD, but then the 'Noles came back and tied it all up. FSU would tack on two more TDs off Wolfpack miscues, making it 21-7 at the half. I was sitting right under Vaughn Towers, so I had a view of the whole stadium and the parking lot. It was so ridiculous to see some Wolfpack "fans" leaving the stadium and heading to their cars after the first half. Come on, people!

Back to the game, NCSU came back with a vengence, scoring two TDs of their own to tie it at 21. FSU scored a field goal to make it 24-21, but the pack were not done yet. After converting a couple 3rd downs, State had the ball on the FSU 1 yard line and, on 4th down got the TD on a pass play, making it 28-24 Pack. The 'Noles still had time and drove the ball all the way down to the NCSU 4 yard line, where FSU QB Christian Ponder fumbled and the 'Pack recovered, sealing the deal 28-24.

Man, what a game! This is by far the best game of the season for the team. It was so much fun to go and be apart of it. I think I just got my first taste of dealing with the "Cardiac Pack". Hopefully NC State can keep it going. GO PACK! 

What's The Point?

I saw this pic on Twitter and had to give it my Oops Award for the week. Take a look...

Seriously, what's the point? I mean, if you're going to have an iPod Touch on display, why not allow customers to touch them? I can understand why they would have them under security but this is the first time I have ever seen something like this.

The Big Game

Tomorrow night is the big game between NC State and Florida State. Both teams come into the game with good records; State at 2-1 in the ACC and 5-2 overall (tied for 2nd in the Atlantic division) while the Seminoles are a perfect 4-0 in the ACC and 6-1 overall (1st in the Atlantic division). Hopefully that will change after tomorrow night's game. And just to let you know how big this game is, I didn't even get a ticket in the first lotteries and had to stand in a long line outside of Reynolds Coliseum today to get a ticket. Luckily I did get one so I'll be there. T

he seats are not in the student section but I really didn't care just as long as I'm there. Plus, I'm excited because this means I don't have to hear that annoying guy on the mic chanting and all that crap. He's like the "leader" of the student section and he is so annoying! Anyway, I get to go, that's all that matters. In addition to the fight for 1st place, it's a big rivalry game, so it'll be good. Make sure you watch the game tomorrow night at 7pm on ESPN. 

GO PACK!

'Canes Slump

Remember this?

Yea, that was just 4 years ago, and look where the 'Canes are now: losing their home opener to the Capitals tonight 3-0. Now, I know the Caps are normally a great team, but the 'Canes really should protect home ice. Hopefully they can turn things around.

Great Time At The Fair

Pic I took from the midway of the fireworks

I went to the State Fair again on Saturday and had a great time. Of course, I ate a lot, including my Italian sausage from McBride's and a piece of apple pie from Smitty's Apples. I also tried some new and somewhat crazy things. First, I tried deep fried Chips Ahoy cookies which tasted just like the deep fried cookie dough (but I like the cookie dough better).

I also tried the Krispy Kreme burger and it was awesome! I got it plain (no ketchup, etc.) because I was afraid it would ruin the taste. I just wanted to taste the doughnuts and burger themselves. It was the first time I have not put ketchup on a burger but I managed. Later that evening, I went to the Darius Rucker concert, which was worth every penny I paid for it. Security people even let you go down to the front, take a quick picture, then go back. However, near the end, I guess they gave up on sending people back because they let us stay down in the front. I got some really good pics of the concert.

I have to say, the only drawback of the whole thing was the parking! I ended up parking in a field off Edwards Mill Road about 2 miles from the fairgrounds and rode a shuttle. Having the shuttle did make it easier because it dropped you off and picked you up right at the gate, but going through the traffic to find a place to park was kind of a hassle. Oh, one more thing: I rode a couple rides, including Fighter; the one I really wanted to ride this year.

That was the ride where there's only two of its kind in the world and one was at the fair this year. It's basically a cross between the Spider/Octopus, Scrambler, and Swing rides and it was very cool! Word of advice, though, if you get a little scared while riding it, don't close your eyes. If you do that, it'll will feel like you are almost going upside down. I learned that when I rode it Saturday. Everyone is right: it doesn't look all that bad, but it is pretty fierce once you actually experience it.

Even though I came up empty handed again with the photo competition, I still had an amazing time at the fair. I ate some great food, saw an awesome concert, and rode some cool rides. I'm already looking forward to next year!

No Crying In Laser Tag

Dang, it's only Monday and I've already got two Oops Award winners. The first one can be found here and this one is just plain stupid. Pop star Justin Bieber is now under a police investigation for allegedly assaulting a 12-year-old in a Vancouver laser tag facility. I found two similar but conflicting stories from Billboard and Rolling Stone. Billboard says the 12-year-old got into the path of Bieber and was hit while the two were avoiding from being tagged. On the flip side, Rolling Stone reports that the boy was being aggressive to Bieber during the game, repeatedly calling him names, including "faggot." However, I did see that this was not the cause of the confrontation. I read from Fox News that the kid's friends cornered Bieber during the game and he hit the boy as he was trying to get away, but did check to see if the boy was okay and explained what happened in the lobby afterwards. 

According to the Rolling Stone article, the police have concluded preliminarily that Bieber was not at fault for the incident, but I think it's mighty convenient that the 12-year-old's dad is a lawyer. That's probably why cops were called anyway. Seriously? What do you expect if you're playing laser tag? I don't think I've been involved in a laser tag game quite this competitive, but I do know it could get like this. I think the 12-year-old (and his parents) need to just need to move on. Below is a vid of a "Today Show" report on the incident. Check out what was said at the end...

Mediocre Photos = Blue Ribbons?

When I went to the State Fair yesterday, I got to see my photo on display in the Scott Building. I was, once again, very disappointed in how things turned out. I had already figured I didn't win anything since I didn't get a call, but it's even more disappointing when that finally becomes reality. Last year, I was just happy that my picture was simply recognized and displayed but, this year, I would have been happier had I actually won something for it. Heck, they didn't even have those little ribbon things on our pictures with the year on them acknowledging your photo was displayed.

The "winner" of the competition had an alright picture, but there were many more (including mine) that would have been better. Their picture was of a man in a retro car. The one thing I liked about it was the perspective it was taken from, but I thought the focus was off. I don't know if it was an effect or what, but the picture looked almost like it was a little blurry.

You know, I am actually pretty frustrated with the competition this year for a couple of reasons: first off, the people working at the competition site were not as friendly at all compared to last year. Second, I wish to goodness the judges would provide us with some kind of feedback on our pictures so we know things they are looking for. Seriously, how hard is it to provide us with some kind of feedback on our photos? Word of advice: if you ever plan to enter the photo competition at the fair, make sure you picture a mediocre picture to use if you want to win. Coming Soon: side by side look at my pic and the winner's pic.

State Fair Part I

This is a picture of a deep fried honey bun

from Google Images.

This is my first in two posts I will have about my experiences at the 2010 NC State Fair. I went with my mom today and we had a pretty good time. The food was amazing like always! I had my traditional Italian sausage and fries from McBride's food stand.

Later on, I had a treat from last year: deep fried cookie dough. I did try the deep fried honey bun like I had planned and it wasn't half bad. They use those huge honey buns and cover it with batter, then top it with powdered sugar. It was very good, but I only ate about half of it. I thought about trying the Krispy Kreme burger, but I decided to wait until I go again this Saturday.

Speaking of that, I will be going this Saturday (I'm so lucky) and will be taking in all the great food and rides again. The day will be capped off by the Darius Rucker concert at the Dorton Arena. I've gotten so where, each year I go to the fair, I see one of the Dorton Arena concerts. There have been having some pretty good acts come through there in the past years (and the tickets are dirt cheap) so I try to take advantage of this when I can.

I did ride a ride too. I rode the Super Himalaya which is like the traditional Himalaya rides you see all the time. It didn't go backwards (which I love) but it did go really fast (which I also love). It actually went faster and lasted longer than any of the Himalaya-like rides at the fair. It was awesome! I also wanted to ride Fighter which is a new ride and one of only two in the world. When I got to it, though, it looked like they were testing it or somethiing because nobody was on it and they were inspecting it or something. Hopefully I'll be able to Saturday.

Can't Believe It

I couldn't wait until Friday to post this Oops Award winner. I wanted to see when the new NCAA basketball game would be coming out because I hadn't seen anything about it. I later found out that EA Sports will not be having the game this year. They say that licensing talks with the NCAA have stalled, much like what happened with rival 2K Sports two years ago. Of course, we all know that 2K decided to permanently bench their college basketball game series. I'll tell you, if EA decides to do the same thing, I may just quit buying games from them. I'm serious! I like FIFA, Madden, and NCAA Football but I have to have NCAA Basketball. I've always been more of a college basketball fan anyway, so this would be terrible for me. I do have NCAA Basketball '10, but that will get outdated after a while and will no longer be any fun.

This will be the first year without a new NCAA basketball game, and I am not very happy about that at all! I really hope they create a new NCAA basketball game and not bench the series completely. If they do bench the series, I'll probably just stop buying their games and find some others to buy; even though I know it wouldn't matter to them. I never thought I would give an Oops Award to EA Sports, but I did. Good job guys for getting my Oops Award for the week.

A Big 'Pinhead'

On Thursday's episode of ABC's "The View" Fox News host, Bill O'Reilly, addressed the upcoming election and promoted his new book, Pinheads and Patriots. In his conversation, he talked about the proposed mosque in New York, but his comments didn't sit so well with co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar. Watch what happened...

Photo Competition Update

Well, it looks like I've come up empty-handed once again with the photo competition. As of tonight, I have not recieved a call or email, so I presume I didn't win anything. I think they would contact you if you won something and not let you figure it for yourself by going to the fair but, who knows? I guess I'll find out officially when I go this Sunday.

On a more positive note, I will get to go to the fair at least twice this year and will get to see Darius Rucker in concert. In fact, his concert is just the first in a string of events I'm going to over the next several months. I have a concert or event I'm going to every month from October to February. It's crazy! When I go on Sunday, I'll try to Tweet from my phone the official results of the competition, so make sure you're keeping up with me on Twitter.

Photo Competition Update

Today is the day that judging begins on the photo competition. I took my photo over to the fairgrounds Friday and I hope things will turn out okay with it. I did see one guy bring in his picture and it was awesome. Let me put it this way, if he's in the amateur category, I'm doomed! Oh well, I gave it my best shot, so we'll see what happens.

At least this go-round, I'll know the results if I don't receive a call by Wednesday. Regardless of whether I win anything or not, my photo will still be on display throughout the fair so, if you're going, make sure you check it out in the Scott Building. I will update you guys here and on Twitter once I know the results.

FORE

Oh, mini golf: who could live without it? I'm sure the bicyclist in this vid will never like it again...

The Brickyard Preachers

An interesting site to see at almost any college are the preachers who stand out in a popular hang out place and preach to students. We have our own preachers in the Brickyard who are out there almost every day (or at least every time I pass through). Some do a good job in getting the Good News out, but others not so much. One famous preacher is Gary Birdsong, or the "Brickyard Preacher" as we like to call him. This guy is a fundamentalist Christian who takes an accusatory approach to lead others to Christ. In other words, he basically has that "everyone is going to Hell" mentality . I believe that he even yelled "You're going to Hell" to those who would walk by him and didn't stop to listen to him! He better hope he's never out there and says that to me if I pass by him. I'll say, "Actually, I am because I'm a Christian."

Just today, I witnessed another preacher who took almost the exact same approach. I think this guy, though, my have taken the cake. I was sitting on the picnic tables outside the Atrium listening to what this guy was saying. One thing that stuck out was his comments on going to football games. He said, "if you go to football games, you must repent." Are you kidding me? I have never heard that before in my life. I know a ton of Christian friends who go to football games. Heck, even Campus Crusade goes and tailgates at all the home football games here. He mentioned that we must repent if we've ever watched MTV or channels like it. Now, I know that's probably not the best channel to watch, but the fact of the matter is that I bet even Christians watch it anyway.

He also said "if you sin, you will go to Hell." I interpreted what he said as, if you sin, you will go to Hell no questions asked. I don't believe that fully. True, God does not let sin into his Kingdom, but we all sin. It doesn't matter if we're born again Christians or Atheists, we all still sin. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And that is exactly why there is a religion called Christianity. Due to our sinful nature, God sent his only son Jesus to die on a cross for us. Additionally, when we sin, we can ask God for forgiveness and He will forgive us. Like I heard on K-LOVE the other day, when you repent, God will give you a second chance.

One of the biggest things that stuck out to me (in addition to the above) was that, "if you're a Christian, you do not sin." This is completely false! True, we all strive to not sin but we all do anyway (Romans 3:23). The only one without sin is God Himself, no one else! When He sent his son, Jesus, down to Earth, He led a perfect (sinless) life which no one in all of history can ever say they've done. That preacher is not honestly going to sit there and tell me he has never sinned in his life. Give me a break!

Unfortunately, the Christian religion is being plagued by people like these two. I'm sure his intentions were good, but he definitely needs some training on how to tell people about the Good News. Many Christians wonder why do people not join the religion. It's because of things like this. I know that if I wasn't a Christian and heard this kind of talk from preachers, I probably wouldn't want to be a Christian either. We all have to do a better job at spreading the Good News to those who don't believe it.

LCT 2010

I guess it's never too early to be talking about the Living Christmas Tree. Yep, it's that time again...can you believe it? This year's show is suppose to be like no other. Our worship pastor is reviving a LCT show from several years ago and is titling it "Christmas Reunion." The church is going to be decked out with decorations, limos, and maybe even race cars! 

The show will focus on a family who is holding a special reunion where this mysterious heirloom will finally be revealed after 125 years of secrecy. That's really all I'll tell you about the show. I don't want to give too much away! We have received our music, and it is filled with great songs. From classic holiday sing-a-longs and comical songs to very powerful tunes. It will be a Christmas show you won't want to miss!

Perfect No More

Yesterday was a tough one for Wolfpack football. The Pack fell to Virginia Tech after starting out with a big 17-0 lead on the Hokies. In the end, the second half perfomance for VT simply overshadowed the great start by State. Russell Wilson had kind of an off game (even though he escaped about 50 or so tackles) throwing three interceptions during the game.

In addition, the refs didn't help our cause at all (which is typical of any VT game). Although State has hit a bump in the road, they still have a great team and will definitely bounce back. I could go on and on about how much I can't stand Virginia Tech (and their fans) but I'm going to save that for it's own post. Stay tuned!

Big Game

Later on today (3:30pm on ABC), NC State will have its second big ACC test against Virginia Tech. Not only do the Hokies' fans travel well, it's Parent & Families Weekend here at State, and I'm sure tons of Wolfpack families won't miss this one. This marks the first time since I can remember that State is nationally ranked (#23 in the AP Poll) while Tech is not. It should be a classic game. I have always hated VT. I don't know why but I always have and always will. Kind of like with Duke but not quite as severe. Anyway, I will be going to the game (sitting right in the middle of the student section of course) so I will post again as soon as I can after the game with my own reaction and maybe even some pics as well. Oh yea, one more thing...GO PACK!

You're Fired

Popular CNN host, Rick Sanchez, was fired from CNN after making comments about Jews in the media. He made the comments on a Sirius radio show, calling "The Daily Show" host, John Stewart (who is Jewish), a "bigot" and suggesting that "everybody who runs CNN" is Jewish. As result, the news network fired Sanchez and thanked him for his years of service. CNN did not disclose if the firing was based off of his comments alone, but this is just the lastest in a series of controversial comments from Sanchez. He has also come under fire for calling President Obama a "cotton-picking president", misquoting Rush Limbaugh, and apparently not understanding the metric system.

When will people learn? I always kind of liked Rick Sanchez. In fact, I used to watch his show ("CNN Newsroom" later turned into "Rick's List") where he addressed some big topics for debate and opened them up to the nation to respond through social networks, calling it the "National Conversation." It was a pretty cool show to watch. It goes to show you that you really have to watch what you say nowadays; and that is why I give Rick Sanchez my Oops Award for the week.