Let me tell you about Clay Makers

Source: Colorado Springs Gazette ()

When Bob and Jan Simpich retired their Old Colorado City shop, Simpich Character Dolls, last year, some people got the mistaken impression that this spelled an end for Simpich Marionettes.

Not so.

The Simpich’s son, David, will continue his popular holiday tradition, “The Puppet Maker: A Story of Christmas,” at 7 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday at Village Seven Presbyterian Church, 4055 Nonchalant Circle South.

A wizard at manipulating the marionettes and providing their voices, David Simpich wrote this show in 1998 to replace his one-man version of “A Christmas Carol.”

It’s about a puppeteer trying to put on a Nativity show. (Hey, they say write about what you know.) “The puppet maker isn’t me, but he is,” Simpich told us about the show a couple of years ago. I was able to bring things to the story because of my own experience. We both have to deal with puppetry being misunderstood as an art form.”

Admission to the 90-minute show is $6; for more information or for reservations, visit v7pc.org or call 574-6700.

MORE ONLINE:

Ever wonder how an expert puppet master brings his marionettes to life? GO! editor Warren Epstein and KOAA/Channels 5&30 give you a behind-the-curtain look at the tricks Simpich uses to turn sculpted clay into animated shepherds, wise men, sheep and a divine baby. To see the video, go to gazette.com/interactives Friday or tune in to KOAA’s 5 p.m. news broadcast tomorrow.

Christmas joy

From a Broadway-style opener to powerful ballads and fun blues tunes, Tri-Lakes Music Association’s “The Joy of Christmas” concert will cover just about every genre of Christmas songs.

The concert is set for 7 p.m. Friday and 2 and p.m. Saturday at Lewis-Palmer High School, 1300 Higby Road, Monument. For reservations, call 481-3883.

…

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer ()

With her classmates looking on, Laura Mansdorf pushed around a plastic turtle on wheels. The turtle's shell had been replaced by an ice cream maker that spun around as the turtle moved, mixing ice with rock salt, cream with vanilla.
No crazy inventor she. Mansdorf was presenting her Twirlie Turtle, a creation that would help her complete the requirements for a bachelor's degree in toy design from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York.
"The day of the presentation, I didn't have time to make the ice cream," she says. "I was just praying the turtle would turn the heavy ball at all."
Since graduating last year, Mansdorf, 25, has designed three CSI Activity Kits, two of which have made it onto the shelves of Toys R Us.
"Sometimes, I'll just think of how cool it is that I get to create products for other people to enjoy," she says.
It's a far cry from Santa's workshop, but toy design has become a highly competitive field. Two colleges offer degrees in it, and schools ranging from Massachusetts Institute of Technology to Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia to Columbia College in Chicago have added toy design to their industrial design and arts programs.
With the recent massive recalls of toys made in China and Mexico, would-be toy designers from the United States, whose skills are already much in demand, might soon be entertaining even more job offers.
"We have a 99 percent success rate for placing students in the industry after graduation," says Judy Ellis, who runs the toy-design department at FIT, which started in 1986 as a research project sponsored by Mattel. It was turned into a full undergraduate program in 1989.
Ellis, who used to teach graphic design at Parsons School of Design in New York, says FIT students gone on to work for some of the world's biggest toy companies and inventors groups, such …

Source: Kansas City Star ()

A peek under the Christmas tree, 2007:

For Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, who wants the state to do the federal government’s job of enforcing immigration laws: Montezuma’s revenge.

For U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, for a job well done: Sen. Robert Byrd’s pocket-sized copy of the Constitution.

For the Actors Theatre of Kansas City: a billion “Bravos!”

For the 18th and Vine Historic District, soon to lose popular money-maker Peachtree restaurant: new tenants to boost tourism and economic development.

For disgraced Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison, who resigned after a sex scandal: a one-day loan of Bill Clinton’s saxophone, now housed at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, and a gift card for tattoo removal by laser.

For the Morrison family: peace on hearth.

For Charlie Harris Jr., president of the Missouri Bar and the law organization’s first African-American leader: Thurgood Marshall’s gavel.

For Jimmy Frantze, named 2007 Restaurateur of the Year by the Kansas City chapter of the Missouri Restaurant Association: clean plates, big profits and sharpened sabers.

For Johnson County ranchers Bill and Maggie Haw, who donated 3,120 acres of native range land in the Flint Hills to The Nature Conservancy: amber waves of grain, spacious skies and majestic purple mountains.

For the Sunshine Boys, the energy execs who want to leave a carbon footprint in Kansas with plans for a coal-fired plant near Holcomb, 400 miles from Kansas City: Well, duh! A lump of coal, what else?

For Kansans challenging that planned coal plant in western Kansas: a breath of fresh air.

To Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser: three wise men.

To the Kansas City Chiefs: a wing, a prayer and countless Hail Marys.

To T. David president-elect of the Missouri Association of Realtors: the little plastic house from the Monopoly game board.

To …

Source: Stuff.co.nz ()

WATERBABY: A scene from Barrie Osborne’s new film, the Water Horse.

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Film-maker Barrie Osborne helped bring Middle-earth to life so he seemed the perfect candidate to create a dinosaur-like creature.
Tom Cardy talks to him about recreating a Scottish landmark just outside Queenstown and the human characteristics he attached to a water horse.
Movie producer Barrie Osborne knows what it's like using New Zealand's breathtaking scenery to stand in for another place. Osborne produced Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings, which used many landmarks around the country to represent JRR Tolkien's imagined land of Middle-earth.
Osborne, an American who is now a Kiwi citizen, was keen from the start to have the new familyfriendly fantasy movie The Water Horse shot in New Zealand. Only there was one problem - the film is set in rural Scotland in World War II. Specifically, it's at Loch Ness, today a busy tourist spot as well as the reputed home of the famous Loch Ness monster.
While scouting locations, Osborne and director Jay Russell wondered if they could use a New Zealand lake as well as a more isolated Scottish loch as a believable stand-in for Loch Ness. In the end they chose Lake Wakatipu near Queenstown.
"It's a pretty darn good match," says Osborne.
"When we were scouting locations and we went to Scotland to look at lakes Jay had brought pictures of Lake Wakatipu. He showed it to the Scots and said ‘Do you know where this is? Can you tell what's here and what's there?' and they couldn't."
The "water horse" of the title is a baby aquatic dinosaur-like creature which, while still an egg, is found by Scottish boy Angus McMurrow, played by 13-year-old actor Alex Etel, who made his screen debut in from 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle three years ago.
Angus lives with his mother Anne …

Source: PR Web (press release) ()

Ornament Maker Calliope Designs Thrilled with New "Partner" Market

Personalized Christmas ornament maker Calliope Designs has broadened their appeal to families of all shapes and sizes. This year Calliope is offering gay and lesbian families across the US charming personalized family Christmas ornaments.

Santa Rosa, California (PRWEB) December 19, 2007 — Personalized Christmas ornament manufacturer Calliope Designs is always looking to broaden their appeal to families of all shapes and sizes, and this year is no different. Targeting the gay and lesbian families across the US in their marketing strategy has made this holiday season that much more successful.

Christmas is all about family, and we really believe that every family, no matter the shape or size should be able to celebrate with their own personalized holiday ornament

"Christmas is all about family, and we really believe that every family, no matter the shape or size should be able to celebrate with their own personalized holiday ornament," said Stephanie Eddy, owner and president of Calliope Designs. "We obviously sell a very traditional product, but our personalized ornaments are truly for everyone and we are so excited to be offering partner holiday ornaments to the gay and lesbian families in the US."

Calliope Designs specializes in creating claydough ornaments that can be personalized for any occasion. With categories of ornaments including everything from the traditional Baby's First Christmas to Pet Ornaments and Sports Ornaments any customer can find the personalized ornament that will be the perfect, thoughtful gift.

"We really have tried to think of every gifting option in the holiday season, from hostess gifts to ornaments you can give your whole family every year as a tradition, and felt that partner ornaments and family ornaments for the gay and lesbian community were an important …

Source: Emediawire (press release) ()

Personalized Christmas ornament maker Calliope Designs has broadened their appeal to families of all shapes and sizes. This year Calliope is offering gay and lesbian families across the US charming personalized family Christmas ornaments.

Santa Rosa, California (PRWEB) December 19, 2007 — Personalized Christmas ornament manufacturer Calliope Designs is always looking to broaden their appeal to families of all shapes and sizes, and this year is no different. Targeting the gay and lesbian families across the US in their marketing strategy has made this holiday season that much more successful.

We really have tried to think of every gifting option in the holiday season, from hostess gifts to ornaments you can give your whole family every year as a tradition, and we felt that partner ornaments and family ornaments for the gay and lesbian community were an important addition to our line

"Christmas is all about family, and we really believe that every family, no matter the shape or size should be able to celebrate with their own personalized holiday ornament," said Stephanie Eddy, owner and president of Calliope Designs. "We obviously sell a very traditional product, but our personalized ornaments are truly for everyone and we are so excited to be offering partner holiday ornaments to the gay and lesbian families in the US."

Calliope Designs specializes in creating claydough ornaments that can be personalized for any occasion. With categories of ornaments including everything from the traditional Baby's First Christmas to Pet Ornaments and Sports Ornaments any customer can find the personalized ornament that will be the perfect, thoughtful gift.

"We really have tried to think of every gifting option in the holiday season, from hostess gifts to ornaments you can give your whole family year as a tradition, and we felt that partner ornaments and family ornaments for the gay …

Source: Baltimore Sun ()

Go See”MY KID COULD PAINT THAT” // A dad and an ambitious painter set a 4-year-old girl on the road to fame and notoriety. It’s a paint-rags to riches story that backfires in more ways than one in this engrossing, frustrating documentary. Sun score: B.

“REDACTED” // Brian De Palma’s documentary-style fiction film brilliantly but coldly connects an actual Iraq war atrocity - the rape and killing of an innocent teenage girl and the slaughter of of her family - to the international meltdown that occurred with the onslaught of new media. Sun score: B.

Source: 411mania.com ()

Players of the Week:

Andy Roddick, James Blake, Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan and Patrick McEnroe each receive player of the week honors. Roddick has been a constant for the U.S. Davis Cup team and is the most devoted Davis Cup player for the U.S. since John McEnroe. James Blake struggled through parts of 2007 but can end the year on the highest note of his career. Bob and Mike Bryan are the #1 doubles team in the world and give the U.S. team a nice opportunity to collect the doubles point in any Davis Cup encounter. This unit played well and avoided any serious clay court tests en route to the title.

Be Happy for Patrick McEnroe

Patrick McEnroe became captain after his older brother John McEnroe lasted only 1 year as Davis Cup captain. John lobbied for the Davis Cup job for years, but lasted only 1 year due in part to his inability to convince Sampras and Agassi to commit to the team. John is a fiery genius who collected almost infinitely more tennis success than his brother Patrick who has one French Open doubles title and one Australian Open semifinal to his name. Still, Patrick who has coached the U.S. Davis Cup team since 2001 has proven his steady approach and ability to build a team to be more durable than that of a temperamental genius. John quit as coach shortly after he lost the team. In a second round encounter, John McEnroe tried to be a bit too much Bobby Knight and berated Pete Sampras after losing a singles match. Sampras came back and won the second match sending the U.S. into the semifinals, but both Sampras and Andre Agassi agreed to not play for the angry McEnroe. The cool headed Patrick McEnroe has convinced the top players from the U.S. to play Davis Cup and created a strong network between these players. One can only assume that Donald Young, Sam Querrey and John Isner will also be courted by Patrick McEnroe when the time is

The Matches to go up 3-0

Andy Roddick beat Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-4, …

Source: MiamiHerald.com ()

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Proof on Main, Louisville’s restaurant-of-the-moment, laid out the options squarely. I could surrender my appetite to Tuscan-themed gourmet treats such as green beans with San Marzano tomatoes and yellowtail fish with picholine olives. Or I could build a meal around cheese-filled Kentucky grits, country ham fritters and other Southern standbys.

I paused and, like a tourist fidgeting with a map, surveyed the plates around the dining room. Did I prefer my Louisville with a twist, or straight up?

During my long weekend sojourn through this Kentucky river city last summer, I met this question at nearly every turn.

Kentucky’s biggest urban area, an expanse of grand residences and plain brick factories stretched along the Ohio River, has two starkly different scenes.

There’s traditional Louisville, home to a collection of American classics: Churchill Downs, the country’s ruling stronghold of horse racing. The Old Seelbach Bar, a handsome swath of mahogany that offers so many brands of vintage bourbon you could sip a new one every week for a year. The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, producer of baseball bats since the 1880s. Old Louisville, an elegant neighborhood lined with hundreds of Queen Anne, Colonial and Gothic Revival and chateauesque mansions.

HIP MAKEOVER

Then there’s downtown. Fresh from a spree of urban renewal akin to a spiked-hair makeover, it’s an enclave of eclectic museums, fine dining and hip watering holes. Stage buffs hang in these streets, especially at the Actors Theatre, which features both classic and wildly avant-garde works.

And the area’s Muhammad Ali Center — look for the contemporary building with the roof shaped like a butterfly — opened in 2005 as a monument to a Louisville favorite son.

So which would it be? With a twist, or straight up?

Louisvillians typically a side dish of New Age with heaping portions of tradition. The city and surrounding Jefferson …

Source: Florida Times-Union ()

As the year winds to a close and the holidays arrive, it’s nearly time to take a look back on the year that was.

I’ll soon review the annual Top 10 Highlights of the Year in Beaches Sports. If you know of any athletes I may have overlooked or accomplishments I may have missed in 2007, please e-mail me at bck716@hotmail.com.

Now on to this week’s top performers and events:

- Friday night lights: The Nease High School football team advanced to the Class 4A state championship game for the third straight year with a 49-48 win over visiting Pensacola Pace in four overtimes Dec. 7. Nease (13-1) will face Miami Washington in the state championship game today at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. The game will be televised live on FSN Florida at 1 p.m.

Sophomore kicker Andrew Barker was the difference-maker for the Panthers in the state semifinal game, kicking five field goals and converting four of five extra-point attempts. His two field goals and one extra point in overtime proved crucial, because the game ended when Pace’s kicker failed to convert the game-tying extra point in the fourth overtime period. Previously unbeaten Pace had stormed back from a 22-7 deficit entering the fourth quarter to tie the game 29-29 at the end of regulation.

Senior quarterback Ted Stachitas, still battling a nagging knee injury, threw for 287 yards and two touchdown passes to Patrick Barker. Stachitas also ran for two touchdowns in the game, while Hunter Bates added a 3-yard touchdown run.

- On the mat: The Fletcher wrestling team is off to an impressive start this season, and expects to get even better. Despite losing star junior and two-time Gateway Conference champion Cameron Butts when his family moved over Thanksgiving, the Senators have compiled an 8-2 dual meet record on the season. Both of their losses were tiebreakers decided officials.

Fletcher head coach Roy Fallon has his sights set on the school’s first Gateway Conference …