In like a lion

What does it take to be a trailblazer?

Ask Barkley Hendricks, the renowned African American portraitist and subject of "Birth of the Cool," a Nasher-curated and Vogue/NYT-lauded retrospective of the painter's work. His long-unrecognized contributions to the canon of American art are vaunted in "Cool," curated by N.C. native son Trevor Schoonmaker. TV senior writer Ming Liu interviewed both, page 24.

If Hendricks' influence has infiltrated the elite word of contemporary art, campus bands are setting trends in and around the Duke bubble. TV associate editor Iza Wojciechowska pulled a Cameron Crowe, staking out Blue Devil troubadours and musical acts for a round-up of Duke's best. Read her opus on pg. 18.

Of course, our cover subject's trail-blazing has been slightly more public. Duke fans and sports aficionados have watched the transformation of senior and Califonian DeMarcus Nelson from shrinking violet to true leader. Nelson's stone-cold, game-time persona-and his off-court antics-are detailed on page 14.

But try forging any kind of path, metaphorical or concrete, on a stair-ridden, rut-riddled campus when you're confined to a wheelchair. TV contributor and Chronicle editor-elect Chelsea Allison set her mind to determining Duke's wheelchair-accessibility, borrowing her ride from the Med Center and hitting the open road. Her findings, as well as her thorough reporting about disability access stats here and around the country, are on page 12.

Rounding out our SB2K8 -hell-yeah issue: Where the good sushi is in the ocean-less Triangle (pg. 8); why Duke-Carolina hatred mimics Duke's Ivy envy (pg. 28); how big-time television producer and writer David Hudgins '87 picketed through the writers' strike (pg. 7); and a summary of the best places to watch March Madness (pg. 8). Also read about TV senior writer Ben Cohen's love affair with Gmail-and his take on Webmail's impending makeover-on page 10 .

As you tear through this meaty issue, we'll be soaking up the rays somewhere south of here-blazing our own trail from tense and pasty to chillaxed and tan.

Here's hoping you're on the same path. Enjoy break!