Oct. 11 is National Coming Out Day — a day when people reveal their sexuality to friends and family. It's not an easy thing to do, but you can read how some people in Charlotte did it.

Click here to read Matt Comer's story.

Charlotte woke to news that our president won the Nobel Peace prize. So, of course, the notoriously vitriolic commenters on The Charlotte Observer article about Obama's win immediately started spitting venom on their computer screens instead of congratulating the president, and the country, for the big win.

dcrabby1 wrote:

"I guess if the rest of the world views someone as a pushover (such as previous recipient Jimmy Carter), this qualifies you for the prize. I can hear Rush already today!"

unclegeorge chimed in with:

"The 'Apologist in Chief'. Run around the first year of your term badmouthing your own Country and get rewarded for it."

NCIndependent thought it was a joke:

"I thought I woke up and it was April Fool's Day. What a crock! He's not even in office a year....nothing concrete to show for it. More a slam at Bush."

Mickey123 calls names:

"Even the kool aid drinkers are recognizing the absurdity of this, at least some of them. If Acorn Boy's ego was big enough before. Nothing of any substance here, therefore the surrender weasels will be gloating all day. It's pretty sad for you.

How is that going to help us in Afghanistan, help with the falling dollar, unemployment soon to be at 10% and Iran with a nuclear weapon?

The "Peace Prize" was rendered impotent when they gave to Tie a yellow ribbon around your tree Carter years ago."

That's a small sampling.

What's amazing is these folks, the ones who continually bash our president and his every move, are probably convinced they're super patriots.

But, this isn't unusual for Charlotte. Ever noticed the hornets' nests on the police department's logo? Been to hornets' nest park? Ever wondered what in the hell is up with that reference?

Well, as you know, before the Revolutionary War began, the then colonies sent a Declaration of Independence to the king of England.

What you might not realize is that the residents of Mecklenburg County claimed to have drafted the first Declaration of Independence -- more than a year before the now famous one. The date the document was supposedly signed, May 20, 1775, is a date still displayed on our state flag and officially known as "Mec Dec Day."

For many decades, "Mec Dec Day" was the big independence celebration in town, not the 4th of July.

Historians argue about whether or not the document -- which has since ceased to exist and wasn't published until 1819 -- was real, or a recreation of another document that fell short of declaring independence.

But, that doubt and lack of evidence never stopped the crowds from gathering in Charlotte to party on the 20th of May. (Or, at least the annual party was a big hit for many, many years. Been to one lately?)

For quite a while, when the topic of Charlotte or Mecklenburg County came up, people throughout the country would say things like, "Those people down there in Mecklenburg are a bunch of hornets." And, that's how hornets came to be associated with the people of Charlotte.

"The hornets' nest marker on East Trade commemorates the feisty spirit of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, declaring to British oppressors, 'Let us alone.'," according to local historian Mary Kratt's latest book, Charlotte North Carolina: A Brief History.

So, it's no wonder the Observer's commenters -- and sometimes ours -- seem like they're always out to sting, regardless of the topic.

The Aquavina Wine Festival featured food and wine on The Green from on 6 to 9 pm Thursday, Oct. 8. The event was a fundraiser benefiting the Mint Museums on behalf of the Young Affiliates of the Mint. Check out all your party pics from the event here.

Today's a good day to shop — it's Friday, some of you got paid, and the weather's kinda iffy, meaning you'll most likely want to be inside. Actually, in my opinion, every day is a perfect day to shop, but I digress.

Want to know what today's sale of the day is? Head over to KLEPTO, CL's shopping blog, to find out. And bonus: It's one of those goodies that offer 50 percent off. Excited? You should be.

Welcome to the first official post for Creative Loafing's 2nd Annual 24-Hour Blog-o-thon!

Now, in case you didn't get the memo about just what this blog-o-thon thing is all about, here's the gist: From now until 9 a.m. Oct. 10, CL's editorial staff — including our regular editors, writers, a bunch of roving reporters, photographers and more — will be bouncing around Charlotte,taking you on an all-day trek through our fair city.

Utilizing the written word, photos, videos, audio and more, we'll be shining a light on a ton of interesting people, places and tings in the Queen City. Keep your eyes peeled for cool features like:

• A exploration of some of the city's coolest new — and not-so-new — sushi eateries

• Video tours of some Charlotte's funkiest retail shops

• A hard-hitting interview with pundit/activist Tavis Smiley

• A hop through the night's best club events and parties

• Previews of the day's best music and art events

• And much, much, much more!

So check back often for all the goodness.

Now, introductions out the way, we start the day like many people do — with breakfast. But I want to take this time to showcase my breakfast dish ... probably the best damn egg "sammich" in Charlotte, courtesy of the folks at Amélie’s.

I'm sure you're familiar with Amélie’s by now — located in NoDa, it won a Best of Charlotte award from us this year. I go there every once in a while to chow down on a fried egg "sammich" — I get mine with sausage and bacon. Yes two por

If you haven't tried it, just go get it now. Go.

OK, first post done. Stay tuned.

A little more than one year ago, we brought Charlotte (and, yes, the world) an online event we could only call "The 24-Hour Blog-o-thon." As you can probably guess, the exhaustive Web extravaganza was our attempt to publish our special brand of content — stuff you've come to know and love — all day and all night.

Well, this Friday, Oct. 9 — starting at 9 a.m. — we're making a return to the madness with our 2nd Annual 24-Hour Blog-o-thon! For the 2009 edition of the Blog-o-thon, we'll be chronicling one whole day in the life of the Queen City.

During our all-day/all-night trek — utilizing text-centric stories, photos, videos and more — we'll be throwing the spotlight on all manner of interesting people, places and things in Charlotte.

Oh, and along the way, we'll be posting updates on our Facebook and Twitter pages — feel free to follow us there, too.

At any rate, be sure to log on this Friday — here at www.theclogblog.com — and join us for an exploration through all the good, the bad, the mild and the wild that our fair city has to offer.