The Chatham News + Record

I haven’t read Mad Magazine since the ‘70s, a time when well-worn copies of the subversive humor periodical freely floated about our household, passed among me and my two older siblings. I … more

BY RANDALL RIGSBEE, News + Record Staff | 7/12/19

Seeing poor journalism — and trying to do better ourselves

Exactly what constitutes “good journalism” these days? I thought about this over the holiday weekend while reading — and not in this newspaper — the story about the Chatham County … more

BY BILL HORNER III, Publisher | 7/12/19

Some things that once made sense no longer do

Do you ever pause from time to time to reflect on your past, specifically things you once did regularly without giving them a second thought? When — and if — you do that, does it seem … more

BY BOB WACHS, News + Record Staff | 7/12/19

Lines from movies are more than lines in real life

In the world of movies, there are often memorable lines that find their way into everyday life and have a pretty universal meaning. For instance, there’s the line in “Jaws” when the police … more

BY BOB WACHS, News + Record Staff | 7/5/19

When the ‘precocity’ of heat exceeds your imagination

So, exactly how would you describe a temperature of 110 degrees? How does “exceptional in its precocity and intensity” work for you? A little fancier than “hotter than Hades,” as we … more

BY BILL HORNER III, Publisher | 7/5/19

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July

The grass is always greener on the other side, the proverb tells us. And so it was when I was a teenager that we looked to our neighboring state to the south for two things unavailable here: … more

BY RANDALL RIGSBEE, News + Record Staff | 7/5/19

A wild morning drive shakes up the mundane

There are few things more mundane than the daily commute to work. So familiar is the route, my phone alerts me of my destination every morning before I know it for sure myself. My car, which is … more

BY RANDALL RIGSBEE, News + Record Staff | 6/28/19

A better perspective on ‘no such luck’

We were five minutes away from loading our bags into my car and making the trek to RDU for our flight when my wife’s cellphone dinged, alerting her to a new text message. “Oh, no,” she said, … more

BY BILL HORNER III, Publisher | 6/28/19

Getting accustomed to what we’re accustomed to

From time to time, I have been called a weenie, a wimp, even a softie. And from time to time, I have agreed with that assessment. Sometimes that charge and my agreement have been made at the … more

BY BOB WACHS, News + Record Staff | 6/28/19

Life lessons learned from two special folk

If you’ve been on the planet for longer than about 15 minutes then you know you can’t always believe what you see. We say that in lots of ways – “you can’t judge a book by its cover” … more

BY BOB WACHS, News + Record Staff | 6/21/19

Exercise caution as we enter the season of easy livin’

The summer solstice — when the Earth’s tilt toward the sun is at peak position, making it the year’s single longest day — is Friday, beginning 95 days of summer for us to enjoy until September 23, the first day of fall. more

BY RANDALL RIGSBEE, News + Record Staff | 6/21/19

Sometimes the weather comes to us

Randall RIGSBEE Randall Reflects Randall RIGSBEE Randall Reflects We take precautions against weather in order to mitigate, to the extent that we can, its impact on us. Examples … more

BY RANDALL RIGSBEE, News + Record Staff | 6/14/19

Books on Break: instilling the opportunity for — and joy of — reading

I walked into Siler City Elementary School’s library last Thursday morning feeling like I’d stumbled unsuspectingly into a gold mine. The treasure? Books, and lots of them. Libraries are … more

BY BILL HORNER III, Publisher | 6/14/19

What’s behind ‘holidays’ anyway?

On the desk in my study is a large calendar. Occasionally, I can find it if I move all the papers, notes, stacks of books to be read sometime in the future, bits of memorabilia created by a … more

BY BOB WACHS, News + Record Staff | 6/14/19

Lake Bell, Bobby Moynihan, Jenny Slate and Hannibal Buress star in 'The Secret Life of Pets 2.'

Uninteresting, episodic 'Pets 2' lacks magic, imagination of original

The Secret Lives of Pets 2 Grade: C Director: Chris Renaud Starring the voices of: Patton Oswalt, Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, Tiffany Haddish, Lake Bell, Nick Kroll, Dana … more

BY NEIL MORRIS, CN+R Film Critic | 6/9/19

The slippery allure of Mt. Everest

“You’re gonna need a bigger boat” is a movie line so often quoted I won’t insult you by naming the film. Watching the evening news last week, a variation on the famous line crept to … more

BY RANDALL RIGSBEE, News + Record Staff | 6/7/19

Advice I’d give to graduates if I were asked

If it’s June, it must be time for baseball, weddings, graduation...and ceremonies. Through the years, I’ve attended a number of such events — my own in high school and seminary, Shirley’s … more

BY BOB WACHS, News + Record Staff | 6/7/19

That sad moment when ‘yesterday’s brand’ dies from cruft

An old familiar friend’s obituary came across my desk on Monday, and when I read it, I was shocked. I mean, I didn’t even realize iTunes was sick. Stories of the demise of iTunes — the … more

BY BILL HORNER III, Publisher | 6/7/19

'Ma' brims with contradiction, confusion, camp, compassion, crass

One of the many tropes in horror films is that the villain is often concealed in some fashion, whether it’s their identity, their physical appearance, and/or their motivations. The scariest … more

BY NEIL MORRIS, CN+R Film Critic | 6/2/19

A good time to get sick?

There isn’t a good time to get sick, but there are times we get sick that seem more ill-timed than others. The start of a three-day weekend is one of those times. That was the situation I was … more

BY RANDALL RIGSBEE, News + Record Staff | 5/31/19