Sax appeal on display at the Forum

BY PETER HUMMERS, OUTER BANKS SENTINEL | The New Century Saxophone Quartet demonstrated the success of Adolphe Sax’s invention: He wanted to create the most versatile brass instrument – and the loudest.

The Outer Banks Forum stage at the First Flight High School held only four music stands and four bottles of water Saturday night. Nary an amplifier or microphone could be seen. Check, for Adolphe’s second desired attribute. The four members of the NCSQ easily proved the first.

The Capitol Steps put the ‘mock’ in ‘democracy’

BY PETER HUMMERS, OUTER BANKS SENTINEL | It was clear that the Capitol Steps‘ satirical revue was going to be special soon after they were introduced to the audience at the Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts Saturday evening.

As their accompanist sat silently at his piano on an otherwise bare stage, a disembodied voice announced: “Ladies and gentlemen: Welcome to this performance of the Capitol Steps. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the emergency exits located around the room. In the event of an emergency, please remain seated and wait for a federal bailout.”

There was no happy Thanksgiving for the Lost Colonists of Roanoke Island

From National Parks Traveler:

At Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, the Park Service is partnering with the First Colony Foundation to shed light on a mystery that still fascinates us after more than four centuries: What happened to the lost Roanoke Colony? Archeologists working at the settlement site haven’t answered that question yet, but artifacts they’ve dug up tell us interesting things about life on Roanoke Island in the late 1580s.

Continue reading “No Happy Thanksgiving” at National Parks Traveler »

Hot Club preaches ‘Djangology’ at the Forum

BY PETER HUMMERS | The west-coast gypsy-jazz outfit the Hot Club of San Francisco came to the First Flight High School for the Outer Banks Forum concert Saturday. Leader Paul Mehling called the evening “Django 101,” referring to the legendary Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt, who led the Hot Club of France in the 1930’s and ’40’s.

Mehling was more like a minister, though, preaching the gospel of Django while effacing his own preaching skills. A phenomenal guitarist, and playing the same model of rare guitar that Reinhardt used, he was able to replicate that rare sound that intoxicates guitarists and others lucky enough to hear it.

N.C.’s roadside history markers generate 600K words

From the Wilmington Star News:

The state’s history office is taking the last steps on a long road toward writing a 600,000-word essay on North Carolina – at about 400 words a clip.

Each segment chronicles a stop on the agency’s state’s roadside marker program, which has history at more than 1,500 locations to as little as five lines of text.

For nearly 75 years, the signs have been a dollop of history sufficient for most motorists, some who like to spend a leisurely afternoon driving to search for markers using a state-published directory. But it’s not enough for others in an age of faster cars, distracted drivers and the immediacy of the Internet.

Read the rest of the article at the Wilmington Star News »

The erosion of ‘OBX’ and the importance of distinctive trademarks

By now, you likely know that “OBX” is commonly understood to refer to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and that the placement of the oval black on white OBX sticker on a vehicle suggests that its owner vacations on the Outer Banks, once visited the Outer Banks, dreams of visiting the Outer Banks, or just likes to sport the image of the Outer Banks. And perhaps, noticing how many people have these stickers or other items bearing the OBX emblem, you found yourself thinking, “I wish I owned that trademark.” But its story is not without a painful lesson for all trademark owners.

Continue reading “The erosion of ‘OBX’ and the importance of distinctive trademarks” at LocalTechWire.com »

Katie unbars the door*

Corolla has long been one of Currituck County’s favorite – and most remote – Outer Banks travel havens.

Getting there requires making what is essentially a giant U-turn that can add more than a hour’s drive.

After about 20 years of debate, state and local officials and environmentalists are near agreement on a $659 million shortcut: a 5-mile bridge over the sound that would link Corolla to a small town about a 40-minute drive from the Virginia-North Carolina line.

Will Corolla go the way of Coney Island? *

Innovation and paranoia on the Outer Banks

Larry E. Tise’s “Conquering the Sky: The Secret Flights of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk” tells the story of the Wright Brothers’ struggles with the press. As late as 1908 they wanted to keep their accomplishment secret until all the kinks were worked out, and they thought the Outer Banks suitably remote.

People were already talking – the fishermen, the crewmen at the nearby lifesaving station who’d been so helpful in 1903 and others.

These men loved to talk and tell tales, and frankly, not much else was happening on the Outer Banks in 1908.

Virtual Voyage: The Outer Banks

From MotorBoating.com’s guide to cruising through the Outer Banks:

The Intracoastal Waterway is often described as a sheltered inside passage, but there are portions that can get really nasty when the weather kicks up. This is exactly what happened as you made your way south through Pamlico Sound in North Carolina. Two days of squall lines and bashing into short, steep chop has left the cabin damp and in disarray. Everyone is cold, and your first mate is threatening mutiny.

Continue reading “Virtual Voyage: The Outer Banks” at MotorBoating.com »

Gallery: Hang-gliding on Jockey’s Ridge

Here’s a plein-air watercolor sketch of hang-gliders from the sound side of Jockey’s Ridge State Park in Nags Head. Click the pic for larger sizes.