Thursday Three For All

The South’s Tastiest Town: Durham, NC. Whaddup, adopted hometown. This just makes me hungry.

Part of what makes Bull City compelling is the confluence of old and new: Its foodie future is gradually wiping out its tobacco past, yet remnants of the town’s first industry provide a backdrop for its current scene. Both the American Tobacco Historic District andBrightleaf Square, two mixed-use developments brimming with restaurants, bars, and live music venues, are housed in former tobacco warehouses that date back to the 1800s and 1900s.

Handwritten notes are a rare commodity. They’re also more important than ever. In my first year on the job at the Summit, our worship pastor Chris Gaynor challenged me to write three handwritten notes a week. Although I’m only about 5,212 notes behind (give or take a few), I still think he was on target.

Personal handwritten notes grow rarer by the day. According to the U.S. Postal Service’s annual survey, the average home only received a personal letter once every seven weeks in 2010, down from once every two weeks in 1987. And The Wall Street Journal recently lamented the “lost art of the handwritten note.” Some might claim that in a wired world — where emails, tweets, and text messages are more accessible than handwritten notes — this is the natural evolution of communication. Who has time for stamps, stationery, and “manual” spell-check, after all? But I think it’s premature to write off the importance of handwritten notes. They remain impactful and unique in several ways.

Stop-Motion Post-it Note tribute to “Ms. Pac Man” & “Donkey Kong.” This. Is. Ridiculous.