Monthly Archives: July 2012

July 12, 2012 · 1:27 PM

Painting Women of Song

Barbara Lynn, from Beaumont, Texas. Her song “You’ll Lose a Good Thing” topped the charts in 1962, and the Rolling Stones covered her song, “We’ve Got A Good Thing Goin’ On” in 1964.

Cathey Miller is a Dallas-based artist who creates custom paintings, backdrops and murals for both residential and commercial clients.  But, her personal work, which emphasizes portraiture and the female form in various imaginary settings, is also starting to gain recognition.  Today, Miller’s exhibition of female songstresses, “Texas Lady Singers,” opens at the Kessler Theatre in Dallas’ Oak Cliff area.

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July 11, 2012 · 10:51 PM

July 11 Notable Birthdays

If today is your birthday, “Happy Birthday!”

Author – literary critic Harold Bloom (The Western Canon, The Visionary Company: A Reading of English Romantic Poetry, Omens of Millennium: The Gnosis of Angels, Dreams, & Resurrection) is 82.

Actor – singer Tab Hunter (Arthur Gelien; Battle Cry, Damn Yankees, Island of Desire, Judge Roy Bean, Ride the Wild Surf) is 81.

Fashion designer Giorgio Armani is 78.

Actress – writer – producer Beverly Todd (Class of ’61, Clara’s Heart, Baby Boom, Brother John, Roots, The Redd Foxx Show, Having Babies) is 66.

Guitarist – singer Jeff Hanna (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 65.

Singer Bonnie Pointer (Pointer Sisters) is 62.

Actor Stephen Lang (Tombstone, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Death of a Salesman, Crime Story) is 60.

Boxer Leon Spinks, 1981 and 1983 world heavyweight champion, is 59.

Actress Sela Ward (Sisters, The Fugitive, Child of Darkness, Child of Light) is 56.

Actor Mark Lester (Oliver, The Prince and the Pauper, Fahrenheit 451) is 54.

Actress – model Lisa Rinna (Days of Our Lives, Melrose Place, Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.) is 49.

Actress Debbe Dunning (Home Improvement) is 46.

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July 11, 2012 · 10:17 PM

On July 11…

1767 – John Quincy Adams, 6th U.S. President, was born in Braintree (now Quincy), MA.

1804 – Vice-President Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton to death in a duel over a long-standing personal and political argument.

1899 – Author E.B. White (Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, Is Sex Necessary?, The Elements of Style) was born in Mount Vernon, NY.

1914 – Babe Ruth debuted in the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox.

1920 – Actor Yul Brynner (Taidje Khan; The King and I, The Ten Commandments, The Magnificent Seven, Anastasia, The Brothers Karamazov, Futureworld, Westworld) was born in Vladivostok, Russia.

1934 – President Franklin Roosevelt appointed the first commissioners to the newly created Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

1979 – Parts of Skylab, America’s first space station, crashed into Australia and the Indian Ocean, five years after its last mission ended.

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July 11, 2012 · 9:12 PM

Cartoon of the Day

Of course, a smart ass is always better than a dumb ass.

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July 11, 2012 · 9:08 PM

Dog Found With Mouth Taped Shut, Tongue Out

In yet extraordinary case of animal cruelty in the Dallas – Forth Worth area, a woman found a dog with its mouth taped and its tongue protruding severely from between its teeth.  Melanie Labrake spotted the animal, a young pug mix, along a rural road in Parker County, west of Fort Worth.  She stopped to try to help it, but the animal darted into a grassy field through a barbed wire fence.  She contacted local authorities who spent several hours searching for the dog.  They finally found it and turned it over to local animal control.

The dog, now named Hope, was taken to Bowie Drive Animal Hospital where she is undergoing treatment thanks to Dr. Kevin Buchanan.

Vets at the clinic said it took more than 100 internal and external stitches to close five open wounds that were one- to five-inches in length, through the muscle tissue.  Doctors said that Hope’s mouth was taped shut for more than 24 hours and that she will likely lose a portion of her tongue.

Originally unable to eat or drink, Hope underwent surgery and was given pain killers an IV and antibiotics.  Fears that she may not be able to eat or drink on her own have subsided as doctors at the animal hospital said Wednesday morning that Hope has been eating and appears to be getting better.

Several local businesses have established a reward fund for information leading to the suspect or suspects in Hope’s abuse.  In total, the fund now stands at $35,000.

Anyone with information about Hope is asked to call the Parker County Sheriff’s Department at (817) 596-8845 or the Parker County Crime Stoppers Hotline at (817) 599-5555.

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July 11, 2012 · 8:49 PM

Church Unveils Wooden Carving More than 20 Years in the Making

Russ Aikins stands with his carving of Jesus delivering his Sermon on the Mount. Photo by Kelsey Kruzich / Plano Star-Courier News.

Like most artists, Russ Aikins doesn’t consider his work a mere hobby; it’s a passion.  That’s why it took him more than 20 years to create a wooden relief carving of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount.”  Aikins unveiled his piece on July 1 at First United Methodist Church in Plano, TX.

“I don’t know how many thousands of hours it has taken,” Aikins said, adding he had no idea what he was in for when he began working on the carving.  “I quit counting at 1,000 hours when I finally just said enough is enough. In the last four years I have been working out of a violin shop in downtown Plano because I was having a hard time focusing and freeing up time to work when I was at home.  Since then, I have spent about four hours each afternoon when I have been in town.”

Now 70, Aikins began his wood work in 1988.  For the complicated, specialized carving, he used about 170 carving tools, including some he made by hand when store-bought tools wouldn’t allow him to complete a necessary step in the process.  The carving features 54 individual figures, which are carved out of 4-inch thick basswood.  Aikins said the first step was drawing the outline of the people onto the wood, and then clearing away large amounts of wood to get a rough outline of the subjects.  Then, it was countless hours of detail work using progressively finer carving tools to get to the finished project.  He said all of the work was done by hand, and no sanding was involved in getting the people to have a smooth finish.

The result is simply spectacular.  Also check out this video about Aikins’ project.

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July 11, 2012 · 8:22 PM

Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert's avatarBEYOND THE MESAS, LLC

Angela Gonzales (Hopi), Associate Professor of Development Sociology and American Indian Studies at Cornell University, has started a new blog to chronicle her goal of raising $10,000 for the Hopi Cancer Assistance Fund (HCAF).

To promote interest in her quest, Angela will bike 1,539 miles from Bellingham, WA, to Ventura, CA, beginning September 25, 2012.

Learn more about Angela’s motivation to raise support for the HCAF by visiting her blog, Angela Bikes 4 Hopi. Also, please consider giving financially to this worthy cause.

Thanks for spreading the word!

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July 10, 2012 · 11:59 PM

July 10 Notable Birthdays

If today is your birthday, “Happy Birthday!”

Earl Hamner Jr. (writer: Palm Springs Weekend, Spencer’s Mountain, The Homecoming: A Christmas Story; executive producer, narrator: The Waltons) is 89.

Composer – lyricist Jerry Herman (Hello, Dolly!, La Cage aux Folles, Mame, Dear World, Mack and Mabel) is 81.

Actor Lawrence Pressman (The Late Shift, Fire and Rain, The Hanoi Hilton, On Wings of Eagles, For Love or Money, The Winds of War, The Gathering series, Rich Man, Poor Man, The Man in the Glass Booth) is 73.

Actor Ron Glass (Barney Miller, Deep Space, Houseguest) is 67.

Singer – songwriter Arlo Guthrie (The City of New Orleans, Alice’s Restaurant) is 65.

Singer Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys) is 58.

Actress – model Sofía Vergara (Acapulco, Cuerpo y Alma, Big Trouble) is 40.

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July 10, 2012 · 10:48 PM

On July 10…

1890 – Wyoming entered the Union as the 44th state.

 

1900 – One of the most famous trademarks in the world, ‘His Master’s Voice,’ was registered with the U.S. Patent Office.  The logo of the Victor Talking Machine Company, and later, RCA Victor, shows the dog, Nipper, looking into the horn of a gramophone machine.

1913 – The highest temperature ever recorded in the continental United States was 134 degrees in Death Valley, CA.

1925 – In Dayton, TN, the “Monkey Trial” began with John Thomas Scopes, a high school science teacher, accused of teaching evolution in violation of Tennessee state law.

1929 – The U.S. government began issuing paper money in the small size we currently carry.

1949 – The first practical rectangular television picture tube came onto the market.

1962 – The Telstar communications satellite was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, FL, ushering in a new age of communication via telephone and TV.

1985 – The Coca-Cola Company announced that the former (regular) Coke was coming back to share shelf space with the New Coke, after a consumer furor.  The original formula was renamed Coca-Cola Classic.

1991 – After 1,000 years, the Russian people finally elected a president.  Boris Yeltsin took the oath of office this day, after he had resoundingly defeated the Communist Party candidate.

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July 10, 2012 · 10:07 PM

Cartoon of the Day

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