Football, football, football

College football season starts tonight, LSU at Mississippi State. Then next Thursday night, New Orleans at Indianapolis in the NFL … three nights later, New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys.
I like September a lot.

Pittsboro Place: We’ll take it

A crowd of protesters crowded Town Hall in Pittsboro Monday night to speak out against Pittsboro Place, the proposed 1.3 million-square-feet mega-mall and residential area that would provide an economic jolt to the growing Chatham County town.

The protesters were heard loud and clear, and in the end the Town Board voted to approve half of the proposed development, allowing for much of the commercial property but nixing much of the residential plans.

According to Tuesday’s story in The Herald, the development’s director, Bill Jackson, was somewhat OK with the decision, saying he was ready to get started. But before he does so … I’d like to ask him to consider Sanford.

Unlike Pittsboro, I think Sanford is capable of supporting this proposed retail monster. If it were to go up along U.S. 1 (say … the area where 1 will meet the upcoming 421 Bypass), then you would get shoppers from Raleigh, Southern Pines, Fayetteville AND Pittsboro if it offers what people can’t get nearby.

Think about it … the current location in Pittsboro is less than 20 minutes from South Point, the large mall/movie theater/food court located on the southern end of Durham. My wife and I drive to South Point because of Nordstrom and the Apple iStore there, and that’s a half hour for us.

I understand Pittsboro residents’ concerns, and I’m not faulting them for standing up for what they believe in. They want to preserve the town’s small-town atmosphere. I think Sanford wants the same, but if you’re already tearing down land for a shiny new bypass, why not make it a little more worth the trouble.

I’m sure there are flaws in my plan. But as a Sanford resident, I would love to have access to a mall where I don’t have to drive a half-hour to get there. I’m sure Pittsboro residents want the same thing … they’d just rather it be 15 minutes away and not in their backyards.

A nod to my wife: Mike returns

Tiger mascot, Mike, arives at LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Mike the Tiger spent his first day at his new home on Sunday.
The new LSU mascot arrived and made himself at home after a plane flight from ng ordeal, the tiger is here,” said Michael Ruffner, LSU vice chancellor of communications.
“It could not have gone better,” Ruffner said of the plane trip and the subsequent Acadian Ambulance ride. “Everything was flawless.”
The 2-year-old, male Bengal tiger will now undergo a two-week quarantine or “acclimation” process with the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine before the tiger officially becomes Mike VI.
The quarantine is a health and safety precaution.
The tiger came from Great Cats of Indiana, a nonprofit, large-animal rescue facility.
The tiger’s arrival was delayed about a week because of fears that Hurricane Dean could have hit Louisiana, Ruffner said.
That delay and the two-week quarantine could be the difference in whether the tiger is prepared for an introduction at LSU’s home football opener against Virginia Tech in 13 days — Sept. 8.
Ruffner said Mike’s veterinarian, David Baker, and his team will decide when the tiger is ready to meet fans. The vet school will release more information Monday, he said.
“It’s an exotic animal and temperamental, so all sorts of things could be bothersome to it,” Ruffner said. “It’s hard to predict how long it’ll take to get acclimated to the noise and crowds.
“We all have to be patient,” he said.
LSU continues to receive complaint calls from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. LSU maintains that the tiger will receive the best care with its elaborate habitat and outstanding veterinary care, Ruffner said.
The tiger’s predecessor, Mike V, died in May of renal failure at LSU at age 17.

Note: She’s from SOUTH Carolina

I’d make fun of this, but personally, I agree with her. If we and South Africa did get together, more U.S. American children kids would be able to read a map.

The ballad of Dr. Powerful

Edited Monday

Sanford’s very own Dr. Powerful released its first CD with a label this week, “DayDipSnake” and tonight, they’re playing their first show since the release in Durham.

The band consists of G. Murray Anderson, D. Wayne Robinson, A. Rouse and, of course, E. Watkins. (use of first names is forbidden in Dr. Powerful), and their MySpace page can be found here.

Here’s a recent review of the band from the Nashville scene (full article here).

DR. POWERFUL This week, Murfreesboro’s Grand Palace Records issues one of the most solid releases available thus far on the small imprint: Daydripsnake, the full-length debut from Sanford, N.C.-based Dr. Powerful. Recalling many of the hallmarks of mid-’90s indie rock luminaries such as Unwound, Drive Like Jehu and, most notably, drummer Eddie Watkins’ old band Polvo, Dr. Powerful layer guitars and the occasional synthesizer into a sprawling mess of intricate melodies that seesaw between shrill dissonance and taut harmonies. But rather than simply replicate the successes of their drummer’s old band, the good Dr. manage not to sound dated by infusing a fair amount of pop sensibility into their jackhammer approach with unabashedly big choruses.

I haven’t heard the whole album yet (they won’t just GIVE me a copy) but so far, my personal favorites: “Gotta Get That Fixed” and “OldNewLittleYellowDifferent.”

New blog: my boss

Sanford Herald Publisher Bill Horner III has created his own home on the Web, and today, he’s ready to officially launch it.
You’ll find “B3″ at http://bhorner3.wordpress.com. He’s already got a ton of content on it, and I’m looking forward to reading it (and I’m not just “saying” that to get a raise … although …).

Redesign: Day 3

Fewer stories on the front does not mean fewer stories in the newspaper.
I’ve had one reader call me to tell me we don’t look like a “newspaper” anymore. Actually, I take it as a compliment.
You read constantly about newspapers losing readers. You hear they’re going extinct.
To answer this, newspapers have to think a little differently.
We can no longer be everything to everybody … but we can be dedicated to local news. You’re not going to buy The Sanford Herald to find out about a missing woman in California. You’ll buy us to find out about what’s going on in our area.
We’ll leave it to the thousands of cable news networks, national newspapers and Internet sites to keep you informed on Paris Hilton’s latest club incident. But if Paris ever gets spotted at Local Joe’s in Downtown Sanford, then you’ll probably see it in our paper.
As for the not looking like a newspaper, I think we still look like a newspaper … just not like everybody else.
And what’s wrong with that?

Mentioned in a blog

The Herald’s redesign has been featured at www.visualeditors.com.
Click here for their blog on our new layout. It includes a short introduction, some page examples (before and after) and a short interview with me.

Redesign: Day 1

Well, here it is. I’ve sort of said what I’ve had to say about it in previous blogs and in this week’s paper. I’m pasting what I wrote for Tuesday’s paper below. As always, comments and feedback are appreciated.

There’s definitely a change

By BILLY LIGGETT
bliggett@sanfordherald.com

The headline has special meaning to me. It’s the first words I heard after showing off the first rough drafts of our redesign during a read ers forum we hosted back in the spring.
Yes, there’s definitely a change, and we hope it’s one that you approve of.
We at The Herald announced in April that we were going to redesign our newspaper, changing not only the look, but the feel and the focus of our daily product.
We want to look more pro fessional. We want to be more relevant. We want to be more local. It started by us going page by page through our paper and pointing out the things that didn’t serve our readers well.
We noticed features like our comics and Dear Abby weren’t always in the same place. We noticed we used entirely too much national and world news … too much for a local newspaper our size. We noticed little cos metic things that we didn’t like … just nobody decided to change them over the years.
The result? We feel like we’re presenting a newspaper that’s easier to read, easier to follow and more informative to people in Lee, Chatham, Moore and Harnett counties.
You’ll see my face on Page 2A beginning tomorrow and throughout the week pointing out some of the subtle chang es. The first one I’ll point out today is our “C” section, Carolina. You’re used to see ing it just on Wednesdays and Sundays, but now it’s a daily feature. Inside Carolina, you’ll find all the features in one place (including the introduc tion of Sudoku, the popular numbers game on C4).
With all this “newness” will come a bump here and there.
Today won’t be perfect, but it’s a great start, we feel.
E-mail your comments or suggestions to me at bliggett@sanfordherald.com.
I’m extremely interested in hearing what you have to say about what we feel is an improved product.

Movie Reviews: ‘Superbad’ and ‘High School Musical 2′

That’s right, I’m reviewing two movies about the same subject (the end of high school), but beyond that, couldn’t be more different if one of them was a Caribbean vacation and the other was a gym sock.
The shocking part of all of this is … I liked both of them. Go figure.

SUPERBAD

There are more F-bombs than “Scarface” (they’ve counted). There is more mention of body parts (the private kind) than any film ever (they’ve probably counted). There’s a dance scene about half-way through this movie that will probably make you sick.
All of that said, this movie has a heart.
Yes, it’s hilarious … I haven’t laughed this hard since “Borat,” which I think made me pull a gut muscle. Yes, it’s crude and it’s probably not for everybody.
But the body part jokes, the sex talk … it’s how most teenage boys talk to each other. The relationship between Jonah Hill and Michael Cera’s characters (shown) is like the relationship I had with my best friend in college.
And the film’s heart is about how these boys are dealing with going to separate colleges. The buddy relationship they’ve known for years is about to end, and this movie revolves around their last “hurrah” … getting into a party and getting the girls of their dreams.
There’s a hilarious subplot between two cops, a boy named McLovin and their joyride. But you’ve seen the commercials.
I loved this movie, and I’m sure I’ll see it again and again … not just for the humor, but for the memories. Well, not the dance scene memory …
Grade: **** 1/2
(four and a half stars out of 5)

High School Musical 2

Take Superbad and stick it through the Disney grinder. Beat away the humor and anything that resembles real life. Add a few Gap commercials and throw in a boatload of sugar.
That’s this movie — a Disney-produced film that’s designed to make millions of teenage boys and girls (and preteens … and kindergarteners) want to buy stuff.
I watched this movie on the Disney channel, of course, Saturday night, and I made fun of just about everything I saw to my wife. A dance off between baseball teams breaks out in the middle of a game. Yes, a dance off.
It gets worse.
But, between all the fluff and stuff that would make most 31-year-old men beg for Sportscenter … I found a movie that does what it’s meant to do, and does it well. It entertains kids.
I’ll be a parent some day, and I’d rather my children love something like this than video games where they get to kill cops. I’d rather my little girl own a High School Musical 8 DVD than most of the other nonsense out there.
It’s clean fun. And actually, the kids aren’t bad performers. The lead guy, Teeny McSteamypants I think it is … has talent. So does his girlfriend and the surrounding characters. They’ll all do well in life until they hit their Britney/Lindsay stage. I suppose Disney does that to you.
So despite the fact that this movie isn’t for me, I appreciate it.
Grade: ** 1/2
(two and a half stars out of 5)

OTHER MOVIES I’VE REVIEWED:
Superbad: **** 1/2
The Simpsons Movie: **** 1/2
Harry Potter (Phoenix): ****
High School Musical: ** 1/2
Transformers: *