http://www.yesweekly.com/articles.sec-238-1-ten-best.html Three upsets during the opening round of the ACC Tournament provided the drama and excitement that%uFFFDs been the hallmark of the nation%uFFFDs most renowned basketball league. Virginia started things off with a 68-62 stunner over Boston College; Miami hammered Wake Forest by 21 points; and NC State upended Clemson, 59-57, in the nightcap. ]]> Scanning the news this week, it's evident that things are breaking down, that policies have fallen woefully short of their desired effects. There are no entrenched powers and energetic reformers in this narrative, just a series of small fiascoes. Take, for instance, a March 5 Triad Business Journal. ]]> If you%uFFFDre like me, you%uFFFDve been waiting for the advent of March (no pun intended) since the weather started to turn in November. If you%uFFFDre reading this %uFFFD and I%uFFFDm writing it, that means we%uFFFDve almost made it to roughly March 21, the first day of spring, otherwise known as the Vernal Equinox. ]]> American Evan Lysacek snuck away with the gold in men%uFFFDs singles figure skating despite executing less technically difficult moves than Russian competitor Evgeny Plushenko. He did by skating flawlessly, presenting himself with class and investing his performance with emotion. ]]> The lesser deity known as Cupid has come to represent Valentine%uFFFDs Day, but his origins go back much farther. Cupid %uFFFD Eros, to the Greeks %uFFFD was the son of Venus and Mercury. ]]> A heavy coat of snow lies on the ground this Saturday afternoon. There%uFFFDs a lonely pair of tire treads running down our street, and none of the cars have moved. The sidewalks remain under cover. When my next-door neighbor comes out with his snow shovel, I%uFFFDll ask to borrow it. ]]> If it's lunchtime at the workplace, and you are dreading the other half of the day, try a fruit or vegetable smoothie to jump-start your engine. I swear by the Fruit Bar on Spring Garden Street in Greensboro. ]]> For me, Twitter came of age the day after the catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti. Similar to the way texting became the communication tool of choice for friends and family attempting to reach loved ones on the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of... ]]> Baby, it's cold outside... so cold even the transplanted snowbirds are complaining to anyone who will listen. So cold the little kids' hair freezes at the bus stop. So cold the popsicles are on strike. So cold... well, you get the picture. ]]> So let's get started: A recent offering from Wolfgang's Vault is the Rising Sons at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles in May 1965. That may not mean much to you, but the Rising Sons gave blues artists Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder their starts. The Ash Grove was a legendary folk club. ]]> In the UK, Christmas rather than Halloween is associated with tales of spooks and goblins. The most famous Yuletide ghost story, Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol," ends on a note of redemption and cheer, but has its share of scariness. ]]> You're gonna have Christmas music pumped into your ears every time you enter a store, pump gas or even ride in your car from now until New Year's Eve. Too bad most Christmas music sucks. But there are a few gems I look forward to hearing every year, starting with this one, John Lennon's paean to peace and togetherness in the face of the Vietnam War. ]]> Looking to make a few extra bucks this holiday season? Well, loose cash is out there for the making during the holiday season, when Americans are conditioned to mindlessly spend and consume, often in memory of a poor carpenter from Nazareth who believed in helping the poor. ]]> A branded line of mock turkey products, usually made from tofu (soy protein) or seitan (wheat protein), tofurkey serves as vegetarian alternative to the holiday staple. Tofurkey can be served as roast, with vegetarian stuffing and gravy. ]]> November holidays celebrate the bounty of the harvest and nature's beauty as the palette shifts from vibrant green to warm, autumnal fire. But sometimes I think that the glut of holidays beginning this month were an invention of the Man to distract the herd from the oncoming gloom of winter. ]]>