Most people call him Bill. Kevin Costner calls him Pax. I call him Billy Blockbuster. That’s because Bill Paxton has a talent for appearing in hugely successful and ground projects. His big screen films include The Terminator, Aliens, Twister, Apollo 13.

Steven Spielberg’s parents gave him a film camera when he was a little boy, and he grew up to make blockbuster films. Matt Weiner’s parents restricted his television viewing as a child, and he grew up to create unrestricted television. Go figure.

In October 2009, America sat spellbound as we watched CNN’s wall-to-wall coverage of a runaway hot air balloon carrying six year old Falcon Henne. The only was that Falcon wasn’t in the balloon.

Such lack of awareness results in large numbers of eligible voters making uneducated guesses when it comes time to mark their ballots. And so, over the past two weeks, “Triad Today” and Truliant Federal Credit Union teamed up to present voter-education programs, including one that focused on the race for lt.

Last week Kernersville man was shot and killed by a fellow hunter who mistook him for a turkey. I know. It sounds absurd. But such incidents are not isolated and, in fact, are on the rise. According to the International Hunter Education Association, more than 1,000 hunters are shot every year resulting in more than 100 deaths.

Legendary broadcaster Mike Wallace passed away last week at the age of 93, and for most Americans, he will forever be remembered as the man who pioneered the modern-day, hard-hitting interview. But be

Late-night comedians and their writing staffs are paid millions of dollars to make up jokes about anything and everything. Meanwhile, the funniest and most bizarre tales don’t require professional writers, because they are unfolding around us every day.

The other is NC Rep. Larry Womble who has held elected office for over 30 years. Last month, however, Womble’s long political career came to an abrupt end when he announced that he would not seek a 10th term as representative from the 71st District.

Today, e-books and Kindle are all the rage, especially among young people and our highly mobile society. Everything from novels to non-fiction are readily available on various electronic devices, while the internet provides us with up-to-the-minute reference materials without having to wait two years for a set of encyclopedias to arrive at our door.

Last week a 38-year-old soldier reportedly left his barracks in the middle of the night, walked about a mile to a nearby village and opened fire, killing 16 Afghan civilians, including nine children. Afterward the soldier set many of the bodies on fire.

Recently, two different moms in two different parts of the country confronted the state of American politics head on. Speaking to a group at Southern Methodist University, former First Lady Barbara Bush commented on how nasty politics has become, saying, “I hate that people think ‘compromise’ is a dirty word.

She re-wrote history by proclaiming that the founding fathers “worked tirelessly” to end slavery. And Bachmann said that if we take away minimum wage we could wipe out unemployment. Next, it was businessman Herman Cain’s moment in the sun.

Following a stint as a war correspondent in Vietnam, Rich’s career path took him to TV stations in Lynchburg, Va.; Portsmouth, Va.; Raleigh, Chicago and High Point.

First of all, it’s not Mr. Longworth’s fault that there is only one local public affairs TV show in the area. Second, the contest is to determine “Triad’s Best,” so it only follows that if “Triad Today” is the only possible winner in a newly formed category, then it is also the Triad’s Best in that category.

In January 2009, a Rochester, Mass. K-9 officer was charged with animal cruelty after his dog Nitro was found dead of starvation while the officer was away on vacation. Nitro was a Belgian Malinois whose normal weight was 65 pounds. When authorities discovered Nitro’s corpse, the dog weighed 25 pounds.

It seems that PE teacher and girls’ softball coach Mike Muse had texted one of his female students because he was concerned about her grades. Not long afterward, the girl told Muse and SRO James Deeney that 15-year-old Dillon Tschrnko was spreading rumors and telling other students that Muse’s texts were “weird.

I know it’s bad form to say, “I told you so,” but for years now I’ve written about Gov. Bev Perdue’s abuses of power, called for her resignation and predicted that she would not run for re-election. Now, amidst waning popularity and with Pat McCrory breathing down her neck, Bev finally did the right thing and announced she would not seek another term.

Last week, Governor Perdue’s task force FINALLY came to the conclusion that victims of state sponsored, forced sterilization deserve cash compensation. After two years of meetings and public hearings, the task force is now recommending that the General Assembly award every living victim a lump sum payment of $50,000.

To paraphrase Charles Dickens, Friday, Jan. 13 was the best of times, and it was also the worst of times for East Forsyth High School. On that day, the Winston-Salem Journal was poised to run a big spread on the school’s 50th anniversary celebration which had taken place the night before.

In a 1950’s TV commercial, the announcer says, “I’ve been telling you about how Allstate keeps rates low without cutting corners on service.” He then introduces us to the Taylors, an elderly New York couple who have been Allstate customers since 1939.