My birthplace of North Carolina is having a real film boom, it seems, even without David Gordon Green.

First there was Junebug (whose most brilliant detail may be the brother who works at Replacements Ltd.). Now there’s Talladega Nights. Which, with me being an indie snob, might not seem like my cup of tea. But it’s really great. Very very funny. Funnier than Anchrorman, Elf, or The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Go see it. Even the Brits seemed to get the humour (aside from the Katie Couric references) at the press screening I went to. It’s set in a fictional NC town but filmed mostly in Charlotte, and while I thought the premise would be to make fun of Nascar rednecks, it’s actually handled in a way that celebrates the culture in a funny but welcoming and not-very-mean-spirited way. Will Ferrell is genius as usual, but you’ll be shocked at how funny John C. Reilly is. And Amy Adams proves she’s got range after stealing Junebug's show. And now would be a good time to mention that I once had a friend in high school who went out on a date with Dale Earnhardt Jr. It didn’t work out, and she’s better off in academia than being a Nascar trophy wife I think.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s this HBO doc about a miscarriage of justice in NC. The Trials of Darryl Hunt has been winning total raves (and prizes) on the festival circuit, and I’m dying to see it. Darryl Hunt and Deborah Sykes are names I grew up hearing on the local news quite often, but was too young to really understand. Should be of interest far outside the Tar Heel State.

And finally I just read that there’s a Sundance Institute-backed project from Adam Zucker, who is making a documentary called Greensboro: Closer To The Truth about the 1979 shootings at an anti-Ku Klux Klan rally in my hometown.

So continuing on that trend I offer a few Greensboro links: the radio station where Jenn Cole and I launched "The Milk & Cookies Show" when we were 16, a guy I went to high school with (Dan, you win because you’re the only NW Viking I know with a blog!), the Woolworth sit-ins of 1960 and BBQ. Or of course I can’t forget the cultural landmark that is Emerald Pointe (ha, Melissa, I just wanted to put that in for you – as Bill would say, “White trash washing up on a cement beach.”)

I’m trying to think of the best Greensboro band – Dan would say Tiger Bear Wolf, or I should say my old pal Ryan Eversole’s bluegrass band, but in reality I'll date myself and vote for The Raymond Brake (one of those guys is in Vetiver now I guess.).