At the age of 5 days, this animal can outrun a human?

According to information from the state, if you see a fawn, leave it alone.

This is from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission:

"At the peak of fawning season in May and June, people might see fawns left alone and assume they have been abandoned by the doe, but this is usually not the case. Whitetails are a “hider” species, which means the female will hide her fawn in vegetation during the first two or three weeks of its life as she feeds."

"The doe will return to the fawn several times a day to nurse and clean it, staying only a few minutes each time before leaving again to seek food."

An interesting fact from the state: When a fawn reaches the ripe old age of 5 days, it can outrun a human. Really? Is that true?

We're still in a drought

There isn't a lot of talk about it right now. But we're still in an exceptional drought, according to information from the state.

In fact, if you look at the link below it appears Cleveland County is right in the center of things -- dry things.

http://www.ncdrought.org/

For $8 this band will play for you

This is the last of my San Antonio material. At several Riverwalk restaurants people will offer to sing ... for a price. This man and his band would sing one song for $8. If you said no, they'd check back later to see if you changed your mind. Someone at my table finally broke down and paid. It was neither me nor the person pictured here to the left. That's eight songs on iTunes. However, the band was actually pretty good and it also added a festive mood to dinner. But $8? That's a bit much.

An extremely bizarre plane trip, dogs and vomit

I haven't traveled by air a great deal in my life, mainly because I don't like to fly. But my trip home from San Antonio qualifies as a bizarre airline experience. I couldn't get my seat assignment for some reason. When I finally managed to get an assigned seat 10 minutes before takeoff, the airline employee asked if I was allergic to dogs. I told her I love dogs. She said "good, because you're sitting beside a service dog." I figured it was a dog assisting someone with vision loss. I was wrong. When I got to my seat, I saw that the window seat was taken up by a government agent-looking man with a huge dog. The aisle seat was taken up by another government agent-looking man with yet another dog. My seat was right in the middle of the two men and their dogs. I asked them what the dogs were trained to do. They told me they sniff for things. I asked them what kind of things. They said, well, "bombs." They two men were extremely nice and told me about their 12 weeks of training in San Antonio. The dogs loved me, as you can see from the picture. At one point each one had their head propped up on my knee. By the end of the flight I was covered in dog hair, but I had a good time.

The dogs exited the plane on a layover in Dallas. At that point, I met up with Hunter Bretzius, the editor of The Gaston Gazette and a good friend. We were on the same plane as we had attended the same editors' conference. She also had a bizarre flight, but not in a good way. She told me the woman sitting beside her vomited everywhere. I can't imagine having to sit in such cramped quarters with vomit all around you. Hunter said the woman was chatty early on, started slowly reaching for the barf bag, and then emptied the contents of her stomach to the horror of all the other passengers. Hunter's a trooper and a pretty good sport. We compared our different but strange flying experiences. Unfortunately, after our layover Hunter had to go back to same seat. I believe they got it cleaned up. I'm going to write a full column on this flying experience, but I'm pretty wiped out at the moment. I have to kick my jet lag first. But it's great to be back in Shelby.

A visit to The Alamo

I was told by many people not to miss the Alamo while in San Antonio. Since you can see it from my hotel window, I certainly didn't have an excuse. It's a somber, moving experience. One of the people who died, Micajah Autry, was from North Carolina. The people who fought and died were fighting for independence and freedom. They don't allow cameras inside the building as a show of respect. Here are some pictures I took outside and some links. The last link is the official site, but I can't get it to work.

www.alamocity.com/alamo/

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Alamo

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micajah_Autry

www.thealamo.org

Dog looking for drugs or something worse?

It's a bad photo, but this was the first thing I saw after getting off the plane in San Antonio. It's a dog apparently sniffing for drugs or something worse from a lineup of luggage. We couldn't decide if it was training or the real thing. Regardless, I guess I passed.

The birds want my lunch in San Antonio and those Spurs

I'm in San Antonio for a conference. The riverwalk is cool in a 97 degree kind of way. If you eat outside, some of the birds get pretty darn aggressive. This critter wanted my taco. He didn't get it. Actually, the riverwalk is pretty great, but it's loud at night. Actually, the city is erupting in a Spurs celebration. I'm going to need earplugs.

People ignore No Turn on Red signs

If you’re in the right-turn-only lane coming onto U.S. 74 (East Dixon Boulevard) near the shopping complex that houses the Chick-fil-A and Wal-Mart, there’s a no-turn-on-red sign (across from the complex with Kmart and IHOP).
We either have a little civil disobedience going on or no one notices the sign because people run it all the time. Why? Visibility is quite good at that intersection, at least during the day. It’s likely a combination of people not seeing the sign and people annoyed the sign is actually there. This is just an observation. If you get caught running it, well, you’ll get a ticket and all the insurance fun that comes with it.
There’s also a no-turn-on-red sign where Cherryville Road turns onto East Marion Street. That’s a tricky, double intersection of sorts. Regardless, people have actually blown their horns at me when I properly observe the sign there. My only guess with that one is some people aren’t seeing the sign because if you actually ran the light there, you’re faced with another light about 30 feet down Marion Street. The sign is located on that intersection for good reason.
Some of these signs make complete sense. The placement of others is a little more debatable. It's against the law, however, to run any of them. And finally, there are a couple intersections without signs that arguably could really use them because of poor visibility.

Oh no, the cable went out

When I got home from work on Friday, my Internet service was out and my Time-Warner Cable service was out as well. I went to call and realized that I pretty much use the Internet for everything. I had to search all over to find my phonebook. Representatives said there was an outage in the Shelby area, but they weren't specific on how widespread it was. Everything is back now so I can Google for phone numbers again.

'Prince Caspian' to slay box office

"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" opens in theaters this weekend. It's almost certain to finish in first place. It's based on one of the books by beloved author C.S. Lewis. If you remember, the first film in this emerging series of movies bested a much more hyped film in Peter Jackson's "King Kong."

I'm sure the filmmakers would love to get a movie out of each book in "The Chronicles of Narnia," but I've read them and some of them just won't make good movies. This one, however, should make a terrific movie. Reviews have been largely positive. I expect this movie to be one of the biggest movies of the summer.

It's rated PG and targeting fantasy film lovers, family audiences, fans of the first film, young adults and people suffering from "Lord of the Rings" withdrawal. I don't know how intense the battle scenes are, but this movie might not work for small children. I would definitely recommend parental discretion.

For the record, the next film in this franchise will be "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." It won't hit theaters until 2010.

New Community Watch Group starting

Patton Oaks signed up on Tuesday night to be the newest Community Watch Group in Shelby. Shelby Police Crime Prevention Officer Shannon Porter represented the police department well, making a great impression on my neighbors by answering any and all questions posed to him in a straightforward, frank manner. I know people appreciated it. We just have to fill out a form or two and we're good to go.

This movie will be controversial

Controversial filmmaker Oliver Stone is making a movie about President George W. Bush that might get released before the election in November. The script leaked early and it's described as not exactly flattering in its portrayal. The movie is called simply "W."

This movie will spark all sorts of controversy, it might backfire on the filmmakers and it might divert the candidates from actually discussing the important issues in the election.

Tornado damaged my old neighborhood

I drove to Gastonia on Sunday for Mother's Day. The tornado that hit last Friday tore right through the Gardner Park neighborhood where I used to live before I moved to Shelby. This picture was taken two streets over from my former residence. It's an uprooted tree that pulled up a third of someone's yard. There was damage to homes and trees in the neighborhood. Off I-85 heading toward Belmont, there is a wooded area where the tops of at least a dozen trees were literally cut off.

No 'Speed Racer,' No

The big budget movie adaptation "Speed Racer" apparently crashed at the box office. According to boxofficemojo, the movie made less than $6 million on its opening day, putting it on pace to place third in its opening weekend. At this pace, its opening weekend likely will be around $20 million. For the sake of comparison, "Iron Man" made $35 million on its opening day and more than $100 million on its opening weekend.

Does this mean "Speed Racer" is a bad movie? No. It could mean that kids today don't relate to an adaptation of a Japanese anime series from the late 1960s. It might mean the marketing campaign for the movie didn't reach its target audience or didn't really know what target audience it was going for.

Were they targeting kids, teens, young adults?

The movie featured a good cast, good directors and a cool visual style. I guess that wasn't enough. With "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" opening next week, the future doesn't look bright for "Speed Racer."

What if the horror movie 'The Shining' was a family film?

I love the horror movie "The Shining." When I was a kid it scared me to death. Some creative person put together a recut version of the movie's commercial, making it sound like a feel-good family film. As a fan of the original movie, I think it's hilarious.

What kind of dog is this?

I'm stumped. Rocky was a rescue dog I adopted through a group called Project Halo a decade ago. They told me he was found as a 7-week-old puppy abandoned by the side of a highway with a chain wrapped around his neck. They suspect he was abused.

After I adopted him this tiny puppy grew into an 80-pound ball of fur.

And I still can't figure out this mixed-breed dog. He's very agile and can leap about 4 feet, loves to hunt and eat small animals such as birds, squirrels, chipmunks and even one unfortunate cat. His sense of smell encourages him to dig. He uses a paw to slap people. He's protective with watchdog sensibilities. He really doesn't like people, but he's very nice otherwise. When he sees a small animal or smells something in the ground, it's like he goes into a bloodthirsty trance and I can't reach him in that condition. He's extremely quiet and never makes a sound unless he sees a stranger and then he growls and barks uncontrollably. Finally, if another animal has been in the back yard, he knows it, even if the animal is long gone.

Anyone have an idea of the types of dog breeds that might make up Rocky?

Carolina Scribes group celebrates

The Carolina Scribes, an affiliate of the Cleveland County Arts Council, works to develop area writers.
On Thursday night, the group officially unveiled its first publication, "Hearts and Minds of Cleveland County," a collection that features the work of local writers. Group president Gilda Pruitt was quite pleased as several dozen people came out for the reception.
The project received financial support from the North Carolina Arts Council. The book will be offered at a number of locations in Cleveland County. Gilda will let me know when she has a list available of where you can purchase the book.
For the record, I'm on the editorial advisory board for the group.

The ailing light pole

Someone accidentally hit this light pole in The Star's parking lot. I swear it wasn't me.

I really don't like this intersection

Everyone has an intersection that really annoys them. I really don't like the intersection of Patton Drive and Graham Street in Shelby. I think there's a trigger on the traffic light, but if there is it only works about 5 percent of the time. Most of the time people wait and wait and wait, even though there aren't any cars on Graham at any given time. But hey, it gives me time to take a few photos, change the CD in my car, read a book.

Public Service Announcement -- from Star Wars

It's an old one, but a good one -- a public service announcement from a galaxy far, far away.

The summer movie shuffle

Summer movies finally got into full swing this past weekend when "Iron Man" hit around $100 million at the box office, not "Spider-Man" numbers, but not bad. The hit parade continues this weekend with "Speed Racer," based on the popular cartoon of long ago. Then on May 16, we get "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian." It wasn't the second book in the series, but they are making it into the second movie quickly so the kids who starred in the first movie won't be 40 years old before it's made. On May 22, we get "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which will probably be the biggest movie of the summer. You have Harrison Ford, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. What else do you need?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. helping out the Navy

Join the Navy and you might just meet Dale Earnhardt Jr. That's the case in an unusual miltary recruitment effort. It will lead to the formation of the Dale. Jr. Division. See story link below.

http://www.military.com/news/article/navy-news/new-dale-jr-recruiting-program.html?col=1186032311124col=1186032311124

Dale Earnhardt Jr. signs a command ball cap for a sailor during his visit to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. This Navy photo is by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman John Suits.

Strange e-mails, UFOs, presidential candidates and legless lizards

We get a a lot of e-mail. One of the most unusual recent e-mails came from the X-Conference convention. Topics of this conference included "The connection between presidential candidate, Senator Hillary Clinton, and the UFO/ET issue," "The connection between President Bill Clinton and the UFO/ET issue," "The connection between other presidential candidates and the UFO/ET issue."

The X-Conference "focuses on the political, governmental and social aspects relating to extraterrestrial-related phenomena - exopolitics."

Exopolitics? That's a new one for me. It goes on to talk about an ongoing advocacy effort "seeking to end the government imposed truth embargo on formal acknowledgement of an extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race."

You can tell I was never a fan of "The X Files." But I'm a big enough movie fan to know there's a new "X Files" movie coming out this summer.

While not really strange, another e-mail proved to be at least interesting. It seems they discovered a new species in Brazil -- a legless lizard.

"The lizard, of the Bachia genus, resembles a snake due to its lack of legs and pointed snout, which help it move across the predominantly sandy soil formed by the natural erosion of the escarpments of the Serra Geral. Other suspected new species include a dwarf woodpecker (genus Picumnus) and horned toad (genus Proceratophrys)."

The information on the lizard is from Conservation International.

iTunes turns 5, the top 23 songs in my most-played list

iTunes just turned 5 this week. It’s amazing how Apple has helped transform the music industry and people’s music-buying habits in such a short time. It’s proof of just how fast things change. In honor of iTunes’ birthday, here are the 23 most played songs on my iTunes catalog of 2,695 songs or 7.5 days worth of songs:

1. Bob Dylan, “Workingman’s Blues No. 2” – He tackles everything from trade policies to workers’ rights to war to politics to relationships -- maybe. The lyrics can be interpreted in numerous ways. I could never get this song out of my head. It’s relaxing, thought provoking, addictive, unappreciated. It brings back memories of something I just can’t place. It’s haunting. This song comes from Dylan’s 32nd studio album, “Modern Times.”

2. Doves, “Catch the Sun” – The best song from this English group just never gets old.

3. Lightning Seeds, “Pure” – Harmless pop song

4. Bob Dylan, “Hurricane” – Dylan sets the scene in an almost cinematic fashion and the racial injustice he depicts will leave most people outraged. The song is also controversial (some folks don’t buy the innocence of the song’s subject) and Dylan doesn’t perform it in concert anymore. But as a protest song, this thing is pure poetry.

5. Dirty Pretty Things, “Bang Bang You’re Dead” – The mostly sober other half of The Libertines forms a new, better band.

6. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” – Actually, this is the only Beach Boys song I can stomach. But it’s just about perfect.

7. Lindsey Buckingham, “Countdown” – Buckingham broke up Fleetwood Mac to release the solo album that contains this song. In other words, it better be good … and it is.

8. The Beatles, “Across The Universe” – The movie with the same name brought a new generation a greater appreciation of The Beatles. But the original song still wins in a landslide.

9. Eddie Vedder, “Hard Sun” – When enough people see the movie masterpiece “Into the Wild,” both this song from the soundtrack and the movie itself will be considered masterpieces.

10. Robbie Robertson, “Showdown at Big Sky” – Formerly of The Band, Robertson went solo in the late 1980s and dropped us this classic.

11. Spoon, “The Underdog” – One of the most unappreciated bands around gave us this winner in their latest album. The song title pretty much describes this band.

12. Modest Mouse, “Float On” – This one grew on me slowly, but just won’t go away.

13. Bruce Springsteen, “The River” – You can’t deny the power and heartbreak of this song.

14. Arcade Fire, “Neighborhood No. 1” – This buzz band is better than the hype. I’ve bought this album (Funeral) for a number of people for Christmas or other occasions so others can discover them as well.

15. Muse, “Time is Running Out” – Some people describe them as Radiohead-light. I don’t think that’s quite fair.

16. Queen and David Bowie, “Under Pressure” – Long before Vanilla Ice ripped off this song and almost destroyed it, real music fans knew this was destined to be a classic.

17. Pink Floyd, “Hey You” – It’s the first song of the second CD of The Wall. When Roger Waters made a movie based on the album, he left this classic out of the movie. A DVD release restores it as a deleted scene.

18. Pink Floyd, “Nobody Home” – People thought it was funny when this heavy, heavy album actually sampled the character Gomer Pyle saying, “Surprise, surprise, surprise.”

19. Radiohead, “Karma Police” – In my book, this band can never equal what they did on the indispensable album, “OK Computer.” But it’s so good, I’ll buy everything they release with the hope that one day they will.

20. The Decemberists, “16 Military Wives” – This indy band lets people know what they think about the war in a pretty direct, melodic fashion.

21. Sufjan Stevens, “Chicago” – Although possibly the only song on the concept album Come on feel the Illinoise capable of breaking out to a larger audience, this indy/folk/alternative album has masterpiece written all over it.

22. Steely Dan, “Deacon Blues” – The duo sing, “Drink Scotch whisky all night long and die behind the wheel.” You think?

23. Aimee Mann, “Save Me” – Her music inspired Paul Thomas Anderson, who was recently nominated for an Oscar, to write the movie “Magnolia,” a great film that doesn’t work without the music.

What’s at the top of you iTunes most-played list? I'd love to know.