Krispy Kreme Challenge 2012
[singlepic id=7291 w=320 h=240 float=right]The premise sounds simple - run from the belltower at NC State to the Krispy Kreme eat a dozen doughnuts and return in under an hour. Approximate distance 5 miles give or take. This isn't the first time we're been to or participated in the challenge and while it is much harder than it sounds - it is likely the most fun race in Raleigh. Congrats to Mark, EdG, Eileen/iLean, BobG 11.75, Zach, Nick, Lisa, Bentley, the rest of the DC crew and anyone else I may have missed that we saw. Special congrats to those runners ...
Rembrandt in America at the NC Museum of Art
The Rembrandt in America exhibit at the NC Museum of Art uses the slogan "You know the name. Now find out why." And much in the same way that I had heard of Genghis Khan I could have told you very little about our other museum guest in the city. Namely he may have been French (not true) and he didn't have a Ninja Turtle named after him (this one is true). Rembrandt in America is the largest collection of Rembrandt paintings ever presented in an American exhibition and the first major exhibition to explore in depth the collecting history of ...
Genghis Khan at NC Museum of Natural Sciences
[singlepic id=7209 w=320 h=240 float=right]The name Genghis Khan is probably a familiar one even if you don't know who he was exactly. Before going to the exhibit at the NC Museum of Natural Science I had a very vague idea of who Genghis Khan was and something of a concept of who he was historically but knew very little about the role he played in history. Genghis Khan is famous as the ruthless Mongol warlord who conquered half the known world. Under his rule, the Mongol Empire grew to be four times the size of the Roman Empire at its largest ...
| BobG on Our float needs a theme… | I drive a Dodge Stratus !!! | [READ MORE] |
| Anthony on Guess (Photo from BobG) | I assume you are speaking from personal experience? | [READ MORE] |
| BobG on Guess (Photo from BobG) | that's cuz when idiots get locked up there, they're gonna yell "DAMN!" | [READ MORE] |
| Nick on Guess (Photo from BobG) | Well I would have never guessed that. It really does look like a dam though. | [READ MORE] |
| BobG on Guess (Photo from BobG) | Wow that took a while. (yes, thats what she said...) This is from the 10th floor of the current Wake Co ... | [READ MORE] |
- Raleigh Ness Monster
(30%, 18 Votes) - Jameson
(23%, 14 Votes) - S.S. Minnow
(16%, 10 Votes) - Puff
(8%, 5 Votes) - Killian
(5%, 3 Votes) - Momar
(5%, 3 Votes) - “Zu” (symbol of chaos)
(5%, 3 Votes) - Drakkar
(3%, 2 Votes) - Beamish
(2%, 1 Votes) - Longship Ewing
(2%, 1 Votes) - Smaug
(2%, 1 Votes) - Cadillac aka Caddy
(0%, 0 Votes) - Sea Stallion
(0%, 0 Votes)
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We have less than 1 day, 15 hours and 30 minutes before our ship sails in Raleigh’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. We’ve prepared the vessel, gathered provisions and donned stealthy disguises. We are ready!
Unfortunately our poor dragon is stuck without a name and we need your help. Please vote in the poll on the right for your favorite name for the dragon that adorns the bow of our mighty ship.
The ship will be christened by by Pope BobG IV and myself (an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church Monastery) at sunrise on the day of the parade with PBR in the name that is chosen here. If you figure out how to do it vote as often as you like.
Please feel free to share this poll with whoever you like and remind everyone you know of the parade this Saturday at noon.
Editor’s note: Someone from uspto.gov really likes the name Jameson for our dragon.
“go infinity agus ina dhiaidh”
It’s finally Friday and we’ve reached the final float in our countdown to 2011′s parade festivities. This float had an Apollo-esque rocket and a Delta IV Heavy styled rocket and promoted the use of Green Tang – something that would later be our undoing. The build materials were large cardboard tubes and featured a flashing nose cone and real smoke coming out of the back of the rear rocket. The rockets were identified with our group name SPACE IRELAND in large letters and covered in Guinness and Tang sponsorship logos.
This experience was defined by not only the parade but what happened after. Several of us were forcibly abducted by aliens. I’ve heard stories. I’ve seen pictures. I recall bits and pieces but not much. That being said I won’t report here on things that are largely hearsay and speculation. The parties involved know who they are and likely have equally vague recollections of the day’s events.
On another note I am sad to say that we learned after the parade that we did not create the drink of beer combined with Tang aka the “Official Drink of the Irish Astronaut.” I was watching Married with Children a short time later and saw the same mixture being called a “Bundy Mimosa.” Like most of the really great ideas we’ve come up with while drinking I am glad I don’t have to take credit for that one and wish I could give a couple back.
Overall it was a great parade and it inspired an even greater road trip.
Making your way in the parade today takes everything you’ve got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
How do you follow a successful television series? A spin-off of course! We spun off our Gilligan’s Island expedition into Cheers and built the bar right on the float. This was a fine moment in parade history as Sammy, Norm, Cliff, Woody, Carla and Diana all made their way down Fayetteville Street.
The float was built largely from pieces acquired from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and was designed with ease of use in mind. The sign was one of the marquee features (as signs should be) and was one of the harder build pieces on the float – curving the corners was a pain.
The costumes on this float were great and the non-stop screams of “NORM!” made the parade all the more enjoyable.
The gallery after the jump shows both the float parade ready and several behind the scenes images of the build team getting the float assembled. This is rare footage because we typically forget to take pictures while we are building the float.
2008 ushered in a new era for the float design and the build team. We had abandoned ARTMUSIClife as a ‘theme’ but wanted to float again. We found ourselves sitting outside of Napper Tandy’s (or was it Ri Ra) on an unusually warm Sunday afternoon at the Parade fundraiser and discussed the need for a ‘real’ or ‘better’ theme for our efforts. Somewhere around a second or third pint of Guinness the brain trust that was present determined “Gilligan’s Island” or rather “Save Gilligan’s Island” was our next float concept.
The story was going to be simple – we were concerned that high definition TV was going to take Gilligan’s Island off the air. I am guessing our parade ‘protest’ wouldn’t have changed things if the show was really going to disappear but details like that are largely ignored. No one gets closer to the float that 20ft anyway is what we always claim. So we built the S.S. Minnow and a Tiki bar in the style of Gilligan’s Island and planned to set sail on the parade route. Encouraging all that saw us to Save Gilligan’s Island – we even created a small website for the event.
We had most of the characters from the cast but as luck would have it one that decided to become particularly relevant the week before the parade. Dawn Wells, the actress who played Mary Ann was arrested on charges of marijuana possession. The focus went from the dangers of losing a classic to rescuing one of America’s sweethearts. We rolled with the punches and our two Mary Anns on the float donned handcuffs for the occasion. This resulted in several concerned parade goers inquiring about the purchase of illicit substances from the Mary Anns.
We survived another year and in the process learned a lot about the design of a wood and cardboard based float. This was our most elaborate and durable design to date and incorporated a one person boat with a full-size tiki bar. It was definitely a departure from where we had been previously and a sign of more elaborate designs yet to come.
