State-sponsored fun

You know how they're always talking about the Duke "bubble" and how students need to go out and really experience their community? Well, the North Carolina State Fair opens today in Raleigh-and you can't get much closer to true Carolina than that.

The ten-day fair has everything from a SPAM recipe contest-last year's spammer supreme won $150 for her SPAM broccoli ring effort-to white tigers to nauseating rides.

And, most importantly, there are multiple freak shows.

Just pay a buck or two-or wave a press pass if you're among the well connected-to see people like the two-headed man or scaley snake lady. Admittedly, the snake lady might have just been kneeling under a table with a fake snake on top of it, but it was still disturbing.

Best of all, the snake-lady show came with a free sample of SPAM.

For extra gravitas, the Tar Heel State has even dedicated an exhibit to agriculture commissioner Jim Graham, calling him the "Sodfather" of the State. It's tough to get a higher compliment than that. So go ahead, grab your prize pig (or your corn-loving kids) and "sod off" to the fair.

For details: www.ncstatefair.org