Duke visit recap

the ubiquitous old school O's hat, cooling out in Durham (say like Will Ferrell's Neil Diamond in storytellers would)

I had a great trip down to Duke University in Durham, NC recently, where I visited my sister. We went out last Wednesday and Thursday nights, and fun was had by all.

Seton Hall vs. Duke 11/16 @ Cameron Indoor Stadium

Wednesday night we took in the Seton Hall/Duke game. I'll be writing some of my observations of the game soon. Duke looked pretty good, destroying Seton Hall 94-40.

Thanks to Emma for hooking us up with really nice tickets.

Kenin/Badfish Show 11/16 @ Cat's Cradle near Chapel Hill, NC

At around halftime of the game we left to check out a Badfish show. Duke band Kenin opened for them, and to be honest, I thought Kenin were a better, more talented band. The dudes in Kenin graduated from Duke around 2000, where most, if not all, were in the same fraternity (what used to be considered the coolest fraternity at Duke - not so much anymore).

I'm not really too into cover bands (Badfish is a technically proficient Sublime cover band), which is why I appreciated Kenin's showmanship and skill (Badfish were also awesome showmen and crushed their instruments with chops and passion).

Kenin has some really good songs, but the unfortunate thing is, those songs are too complex for the average music listener. Kenin will never be hugely commercially successful unless they change their song structures and look, which is what most people call selling out. If they're willing to dedicate another 10 years to what they love, they'll eventually break through either way.

Angus Barn and the Chocolate Crack Dessert

On Thursday night, I took my sis and her roommates out to dinner at my favorite restaurant of all time, Angus Barn. A fancy steak joint, they have a dessert called the Chocolate Chestnut Pie, which I refer to as Chocolate Crack. I didn't mind dropping more than 300 on dinner, which is the closest I've come to spending 100 a person on dinner (you stay classy, red wine). I'm sure I will surpass that number once I move out to Las Vegas.

a short history of Angus Barn

We went out to a local Duke party, and more fun was had by all.

It was great to run into my brohan, The Bease, and chat for a short time.

my Sis (on the right - the resemblance is shocking) and DC Ashley

Research for One of My Books

I'm currently writing two books. I started the research process for one of them on Friday afternoon (the other isn't as much of a source-based work), and it was nice to see that the Duke campus keeps exploding architecturally, as well as facility-wise.

My current plan is to research extensively at the Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, then hit up Princeton's library, followed by Harvard, Yale, and then back to Duke. If I manage to get an advance on the book, which is within the realm of possibility, I would also like to include Oxford and the other internationally elite academic libraries around the world.

I'm a raging nerd.

a small wing of the Duke Divinity Library