This is a little storefront church in Durham, on the way to the DMV. One of the things that takes some getting used to is the pervasiveness of religion in daily life here, from evengelical Christians becoming Secretary of State, to the importance of regular church-going amongst otherwise normal people (like undergraduates), to strange little fringe sects like this one.

Another favorite is the Primitive Baptist Church, which has a building in suburban Fairfax I see every time I visit Mark and Mary. They proudly display the name of their denomination on the sign outside.
I have no idea what this is about, though.
A stand at the first State Fair after September 11th. As well as little Osamas in the shooting gallery, flags and patriotic T-shirts were everywhere.

An outburst of patriotism on East Campus amongst the undergrads shortly after 9/11. Traditionally one burns these benches in a bonfire when we win at basketball...not well thought out.

Flags are kind of omnipresent here; I counted a dozen just biking down Ninth St the other day. Americans look at me askance when I confess I can never remember the difference between our flag and Australia's.
For all you R.E.M. fans, here’s Weaver D's in Athens, Georgia, immortalized as an album title. Been there, ate the greasy food, bought the T-shirt.
I always wondered what must have happened under the Triceratops outside the Smithsonian on a summer morning in D.C. Those horns sure look pointy. It's like a genre mystery, isn't it? Some paleontological detective could investigate dinosaur-related crimes all over the world; this could be their first case. It would be called "Horns of a Dilemma" or "Death by Ceratopsian" or something.
My patriotic photo, also in D.C. If there's a capitol on this hill, I guess it's Capitol Hill.
Flour mixes at the Raleigh Farmer’s Market. Translation for non-Southerners: biscuits are like fatty scones, funnel cakes are fried piped dough, hush puppies are fried turds of cornmeal dough, corn bread is made with baking powder, cobbler is fruit with cookie dough on top. Yum!
More glories of the North Carolina State Fair. elephant Ears are fried dough, twinkies are disgusting little sponge fingers, and that’s a prize-winning cake shaped like a double cheeseburger at bottom left.
I felt you deserved to see the cake in its full glory. It’s so loaded with symbolic meaning that anything I have to say is superfluous, isn’t it?