Category: Miscellaneous

Random sh*t we don’t know where else to put

SCarowinds 2025 – An Honest Review

Post author By dj dragonfly
Post date October 31, 2025

A scare actor, Halloween Horror Nights. Image by Inside the Magic, licensed CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Generic

** Image license **

Those who have lived in or near Charlotte, NC know that every fall, popular rollercoaster park Carowinds does their annual nighttime scare program. There’s haunted houses, performances, decorations and monsters everywhere, at least normally. I have personally been going almost every year, if not every year, since I moved to North Carolina. This year, I have been severely disappointed.

What Once Was

Let me explain. In the past, the park would close around 5 p.m. and reopen around 6 p.m. with the scare actors out and ready to play. The park wouldn’t close for the night until 1 a.m. I could leave my house at 5, which was about 45 minutes away, and get there in time for opening, get through ticketing lines and be ready to have fun within an hour. There were three or so haunted houses and mazes along with different parts of the park acting almost like boroughs with different themes. There were very few “safe” places where you couldn’t be scared. Additionally, there have been areas around the park with dancers and there was always a big performance in the front apex of the park where the Carolinas’ meet.

Tags dj dragonfly, halloween, SCarowinds

Miscellaneous

Book Review: “Serenade to the Big Bird” is an Unfinished Tragedy

Post author By Killian Le
Post date October 28, 2025

"Serenade to the Big Bird" written in large text. Used according to Public Domain Mark 1.0 Universal Deed.

Have you ever heard the saying, “the cameraman never dies?” The phrase is a viral internet meme that Reddit popularized in 2020.

The joke references survivorship bias, a logical error in studies where statisticians only collect data on entities who ‘survive’ their trials, while ignoring those who do not. But for internet-users who enjoy videos of daring stunts and perilous expeditions, “the cameraman never dies” is a comforting mantra to repeat as their favorite YouTubers barely finesse death on camera.

By nature, war memoirs are very similar. Only someone who survives a war can publish an account about it, no?

Background

“Serenade to the Big Bird” is an unfinished WWII memoir written by American author Bert Stiles through 1943 through 1944. He was a B-17 copilot, serving in the 401st Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group for the U.S. Airforce.

On November 26, 1944, he shot down a Luftwaffe Fw 190s before his plane careened into the ground in Hanover, Germany.

I had skimmed past this fact written on page nine. When I finished “Serenade to the Big Bird,” flipping to find more, a chill raced down my spine when I realized that there wouldn’t be.

Tags book review, Historical Fiction, NC State, War Memoir, WKNC, WKNC 88.1

Miscellaneous

Fun Fall Things to Do

Post author By dj dragonfly
Post date October 20, 2025

Colorful mountain road near Grandfather Mountain and Linville. Image by Sophia Dutton-Rodkin

Pretty much from the middle of September until the middle of November, I have something going on every weekend. I have so many things I like to do in the Fall that I have to schedule it pretty far ahead of time. I thought it might be a good idea to share what I like to do in the Fall so that others might get some ideas.

Tags Activities, dj dragonfly, fall, north carolina

Miscellaneous

Movies’ Effect on Music

Post author By dj dragonfly
Post date September 29, 2025

"Superman" (2025) movie poster

Some of the best movies have had the best soundtracks. Some of the worst movies have had the best soundtracks too. On the other side of it, there are many songs that I think didn’t have much of an impact and were generally good songs that were then used in a soundtrack. Once there is a visual, cinematic, and emotional context, the song changes completely.

Undoubtedly, many of my readers have likely seen the new “Superman” (2025) movie. I finally watched it the other night. Before I begin my spiel, I have to say I was delightfully surprised and felt a lot of kinship with some of the characters and an emotional connection to some of the scenes.

Tags dj dragonfly, movie, Punkrocker, Superman, WKNC

Miscellaneous

A Week in San Francisco

Post author By dj dragonfly
Post date September 5, 2025

A street in San Francisco. Image licensed CC0 1.0 Universal.

I went to San Francisco this Summer. We were there for a week and spent most of our time at Fisherman’s Wharf, but we did explore other areas too.

Friday

We arrived at night, late, and made our way to a Victorian Queen Anne style Airbnb apartment with two cats, Charlotte and Hazel. We hadn’t eaten yet and were extremely exhausted. We didn’t get to bed until 3 or 4 a.m. Pacific Time.

Saturday

We allowed ourselves to sleep in, but ended up waking up around 8 a.m. Me and a couple members of my party decided to mosey down to one of the coffeeshops nearby for some breakfast and coffee. We found one called CoffeeShop about a block away from our apartment. Most of us got coffee or tea of some sort and we got four pastries to take home and share. We got a ham and cheese croissant, a charcoal salmon and cream cheese croissant, a pan au chocolate, and an amaretto apricot cruffin (croissant muffin). My personal favorites were the salmon croissant and the cruffin, both of which we would order again later in the week.

Tags dj dragonfly, San Francisco, WKNC

Miscellaneous

eXperimental pOp

Post author By esdallma
Post date August 25, 2025

Good Bad Happy Sad and found sound

The band Good Bad Happy Sad resembles a trance trip state in which sound merges behind found and curated, meshing conversations and tunes and timelines pulling on simultaneous explorations of different genre associated sounds.

Tags experimental sound, found sound, sound environments

Miscellaneous

Music’s Limitless Potential

Post author By dj dragonfly
Post date August 17, 2025

Music production soundboard. Licensed CC0 1.0 Universal

Seriously, how cool is music?

There is so much history, variety and potential that it’s almost impossible to be familiar with everything about it.

Growing up, I honestly didn’t know that there was such a thing as new music. I grew up listening to the various eclectic collections of my family members and had no comprehension of the fact that people were making new music every single day. I thought Mozart, Alla Pugacheva and nursery rhymes were the cream of the crop.

I think I was in second grade when I realized that my friends were listening to and singing songs I have never heard before and finally realized that there was so much more to this hidden world.

Now as an adult, I love everything about music. I love that you can pick something for literally any mood. I love the variety that different cultures have to offer. I love seeing how music has evolved over time.

Tags covers, dj dragonfly, WKNC

Miscellaneous

Understanding Martin Beck

Post author By esdallma
Post date August 12, 2025

“… for hours, days, or weeks at a time”

sedative sounds

Martin Beck’s exhibit at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum reinvigorates an old story and pokes at sound as a medium we move through and with, often without recognition.

Informed by the “environments” records in the 1970s, which aided in synchronizing work, sleep and relaxation, Beck works to understand our industrialized soundscape as it relates to neuroscience, behavior, our internal worlds, and of course: capitalism.

His title ‘for hours, days, or weeks at a time’ is reminiscent of the infinite lull, hum, and buzz we find ourselves engrossed in a hyper produced world, whether self-selected or accidental background noise.

The exhibition uses sound, drawing, video and installation to curate a lively yet sterile environment, controlling the chaos we find ourselves drenched in our day to day worlds.

Tags attention, audio art, cultural critique, environmental justice, industrialization, martin beck, noise pollution, soundscapes, touching grass

Miscellaneous

Musician’s Block

Post author By dj dragonfly
Post date August 10, 2025

Discarded ideas on balled up notebook paper. Image by Steve Johnson, licensed CC0.

You’ve hit a wall. Nothing feels right. You lost motivation.

That’s okay.

Writer’s block is a very common occurrence for creators of any kind of art or media. There’s no reason to get discouraged. This happens to everyone.

The real question is what does one do to fix it. Everyone gets burnt out at some point. All you have to do really is reignite the spark. A little can go a long way. Maybe you need to take a small break and come back with a fresh mind. Alternatively, you can push through and keep pushing until you break through.

Take a Break

I think both methods have their pros and cons. One the hand of the former, a small break could lead to a longer hiatus. Maybe that’s what needs to be done. Sometimes we aren’t in the right field and need a change of pace. I know that I’m not very good at knowing when something has run its course but sometimes we are trying to force a puzzle piece into the wrong place.

However, I do believe in coming back with fresh eyes and a fresh mind. Taking a small break for a breath of fresh air and some rest, maybe even a change of perspective, can be the difference between a frustrating and painful experience and a pleasant and challenging one.

Tags Composition, dj dragonfly, WKNC, writer's block

Miscellaneous

Fatigue and Music

Post author By dj dragonfly
Post date August 6, 2025

"Tired" (1908) by Mina Arndt. Licensed PDM 1.0 Universal.

Ever wake up after a solid eight hours of sleep, have your coffee or breakfast, start being productive and still can’t shake the feeling of exhaustion?

There’s probably a reason you feel fatigued all the time. Maybe there’s something bothering you. Perhaps you’re not taking good care of yourself and need to take a walk or a bath, something to refresh you. It’s not always clear what causes fatigue and brain fog but I find that music can help me sometimes.

Being in a funk and always tired can really feel disheartening. There are a lot of things out of our control and we often can’t change the things that bother us. I know that I go through phases of pretty bad fatigue. I wake up after eight hours feeling like I need more sleep. If I do roll over and get a couple more hours, I feel like a boiled fish. Coffee sometimes helps as well as getting a mini workout in.

Tags dj dragonfly, emotions, fatigue, mental health, WKNC