Monthly Archives: January 2014

Finalists for Museum of Discovery Robot Name

Posted on by
The Museum of Discovery received hundreds of wonderful name suggestions for our robot and narrowed the list down to ten. If we received the same suggestion more than once, we took the person who suggested it first. Here are the name suggestions chosen:Buttons (by Milo Krain)
I MOD (by Campbell Beazley)
Lunchbox ( by Jann Greenland)
Sebastian Razorbot (by Josie Parker)
Hoover (by Patrick Burnett)
AR-D2 (by Whitney Haynie)
Sheldon Tinkerton (by Sherry Berry)
Squeakers (by Sara Kamps)
Clamps (by Matthew Berry)
Sparky (by Sara Drew)

Thank you to everyone who participated by submitting suggestions. Now we need to vote on the above names. Voting will close Friday, January 24. You can only vote once per computer/mobile device.

Name the Robot Contest Survey

Little Rock Look Back: Webb Hubbell, Little Rock’s 64th Mayor

Posted on by

https://i0.wp.com/www.webbhubbell.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Webb_0951-240x155.jpgOn January 18, 1948, future Little Rock Mayor Webster “Webb” Hubbell was born. After playing football in high school, he played for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks.  He also received his law degree from the U of A.

At the age of 30, already a successful attorney, Hubbell was appointed to the Little Rock City Board of Directors to fill a vacancy in September 1978.  In 1980, he was elected to a four year term on the City Board.

In June 1979, there was a vacancy in the office of Mayor of Little Rock.  Hubbell was selected by his fellow City Directors to serve as Mayor until December 1980.  In January 1981, he was selected to serve another term as Mayor.  In June 1981, he stepped down as Mayor but continued to serve on the City Board of Directors.

In 1984, Hubbell was appointed to serve as Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court to finish out the term of Richard B. Adkisson.  Following his service on the court, he returned to the practice of law at the Rose Law Firm.  He later served as the Associate Attorney General in the Justice Department during the Clinton administration.

Hubbell resigned from the Justice Department due to an investigation of his billing practices at the Rose Law Firm, which stemmed from the Whitewater investigation.  Following conviction, he served time in prison.  Since his release he has been an author and management consultant.  His novel, When Men Betray, will be published by Beaufort Books in May 2014.

Little Rock Film Festival Celebrates Opening of Ron Robinson Theater

Posted on by
lrff_mp_hdr_logoLast week the new Ron Robinson Theater opened in the Arcade Building at the corner of President Clinton and River Market.  One of the anchors of this facility is the Little Rock Film Festival.
To celebrate the grand opening, the Little Rock Film Festival has scheduled a series of events.
Things kick off tonight with the documentary Ain’t In It for My Health.  This honest look at the life and career of Arkansas native and music legend Levon Helm was one of the highlights of the 2013 Little Rock Film Festival.  The film starts at 7pm.  It will be followed by a Q&A with Amy Helm.  Then at 9pm, Amy Helm and Handsome Strangers will take the stage for a concert.

On Saturday, January 18, at 3pm, the Ron Robinson Theater will be screen the “Best of the LRFF’s 48 Hour Film Project.”  the titles shown will be La Grande Fete, Surprise Party, Abbatoir, Vacation, The Door, The Plumber, Last Chance Romance, Drain, The Third Save, and Deuces.  

At 7pm on the 18th, the documentary Sleepy LaBeef Rides Again will be shown.  This documentary/concert film about Arkansas native Sleepy LaBeef will be followed by a Q&A with Sleepy LaBeef and Dave Pomeroy.  At 8:30pm, LaBeef and Pomeroy will be in concert.

On Monday, January 20 at 7pm, the HBO Documentary Film Moms Mabley will be screened.  A special Martin Luther King Day presentation about the iconic African American standup comedienne Jackie “Moms” Mabley, who broke racial and sexual boundaries and continues to inspire comedians to this day. In her directorial debut, Whoopi Goldberg pays homage to this pioneering legend.

Tuesday, January 21 will feature a program entitled “Locals Rule” at 7:30 pm.  These standout  Arkansas short films from the first seven years of Little Rock Film Festival represent some of the most creative work on the national festival circuit. From offbeat comedies to Gothic tales, these films show the vibrancy of the Arkansas Film Community.  The titles to be showns are Ballerina, Cain and Able, Mary, The Orderly, Pillow, Spanola Pepper Sauce, and The Van.

Wednesday, January 22 at 7:00pm may seem more like Halloween as The Little Rock Horror Picture Show presents One Please and Contracted.

  • One Please– Summers in suburbia get weird when Michael Berryman comes to town. The short film is an Arkansas premiere from the award winning team behind ‘Pillow’.
  • Contracted – Russellville native Eric England returns to Arkansas with his latest project, Contracted, a feature length thriller about what can go wrong when the party goes out of hand. England’s previous films, Madison County and Roadside, both screened at the Little Rock Horror Picture Show. Director Eric England and actress Najarra Townsend will be in attendance.

On Thursday, January 23 at 7:30pm, an episode of the Sundance series “Rectify” will be shown.  The Sundance series, “Rectify,” created by former Little Rock resident Ray McKinnon, has deservedly landed on many critics’ best of the year list. The series follows Daniel Holden as he struggles to deal with life on the outside when DNA evidence releases him from prison  after he served 19 years  for a rape conviction. Following a screening of Episode 4 from the first season, writer Graham Gordy will discuss the project.

The week-plus long series will culminate on Saturday, January 25, with a screening of Ladder 49 at 7pm.  North Little Rock native film director Jay Russell will be in town to present his film, Ladder 49, starring Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta. Ladder 49 is a 2004 film centered around the heroics of fictional Baltimore firefighter Jack Morrison, who is trapped inside a warehouse fire, and his recollection of the events  that got him to that point.  Following the screening of Ladder 49 the Little Rock Film Festival will host a grand opening party in the lobby of the Ron Robinson Theater. Music, Food and Drink provided.

Little Rock Look Back: First Little Rock Council Meeting in 1832

Posted on by

TowncouncilplaqueOn January 16, 1832, Mayor Matthew Cunningham MD presided over Little Rock’s first council meeting. Since Little Rock did not yet have a government hall, the Mayor and his wife hosted the meeting at their house. The Cunninghams owned the entire block which was bordered by what is now Main Street, 3rd Street, Louisiana Street and 4th Street.

A plaque at 3rd and Main Street commemorates this meeting and was placed there in the 1930s. The Cunningham’s house was likely closer to the southwest corner of the block. The plaque is on the Fulk building which contains Bennett’s Military Supply. The block also includes the Mann on Main project, which is comprised of the buildings originally constructed for the Gus Blass Department store.

Little Rock was chartered as a town in 1831 and elections were subsequently held. Dr. Cunningham outpolled Rev. W. W. Stevenson to become the first Mayor.

Joining Mayor Cunningham at the first meeting were the original four Town Council members – Charles Caldwell, Benjamin Clemens, David Holt and John McLain.

In 1931 a plaque, as part of Little Rock’s Centennial, a plaque was erected to note the first meeting. The plaque erroneously implies that the first meeting was in 1831. This mistake is understandable since the first election was in 1831. The plaque also refers to the body as the City Council. It was, in fact, the Town Council. There would not be a City Council until 1835 when Little Rock was elevated to City status.

Little Rock Look Back: Martin Borchert, Little Rock’s 57th Mayor

Posted on by

https://i0.wp.com/www.ruebelfuneralhome.com/photos/img238.jpgOn January 16, 1916, future Little Rock Mayor Martin Borchert was born in Stuttgart.  After graduating high school he moved to Little Rock.  He started work at ACME Brick and spent 21 years there before engaging in other business interests.  Among these businesses were Martin Borchert Co., ASCO Hardware, Dtection Systems Inc. and Component Systems Inc.  In 2005 he was inducted into the Arkansas Construction Hall of Fame.

Mayor Borchert was elected to the Little Rock City Board of Directors in 1964 and served from January 1965 through December 1968. He chose not to seek a second term.  In 1967 and 1968 he served as Mayor of Little Rock. During this time, he laid out the vision for what has become Riverfront Park along the Arkansas River.

Other civic achievements included being a member of the Board of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, being on the Governor’s Citizens Advisory Committee, a member of the Pulaski County Quorum Court, vice chairman of the Arkansas Planning Commission, and being on the Little Rock Air Force Base Community Council. In 1967 he served on the President’s National Advisory Council to the Small Business Administration. Mayor Borchert served on the Little Rock Water Commission, including a tenure as chairman. In 1985, he was chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Policy Board and as chairman oversaw the transfer of the Central Arkansas Transit system to the Central Arkansas Transit Authority. One of the achievements of which he was very proud of was that he was one of the very first in Arkansas to receive an Adopt the Highway road.

Mayor Borchert was married for 57 years to Rosemary “Biddy” Branch Borchert.  They had two children, a son, John “Topper” Borchert and a daughter, Leslie Borchert Wilson.  He died on May 11, 2007.

Symphony’s Neighborhood Concerts return tomorrow evening

Posted on by

ASO_revBack by popular demand, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Intimate Neighborhood Concert (INC) series returns this season.  It kicks off tomorrow night with a program entitled “Bohemian Festival.”

The concert starts at 7pm at St. James United Methodist Church on Thursday, January 16.  Tickets are $35 general admission at $10 for students and active military.  They may be purchased at the ASO website.

The Intimate Neighborhood Concerts Series presents chamber orchestra repertoire in gorgeous, acoustically unique spaces around Little Rock. In addition to hearing the beautiful works in the settings intended by the composers, you are invited to mingle with the musicians after the concerts.

DVORAK – Serenade in D minor, Op. 44

VANHAL – Double Bass Concerto in D Major
Barron Weir, contrabass

MOZART – Symphony No. 38 in D Major, K. 504

DOLLY turns 50 in Little Rock this week

Posted on by

It was fifty years ago this week, on January 16, 1964, that HELLO, DOLLY! opened on Broadway.  The 50th anniversary national tour is playing in Little Rock tonight through Thursday (the actual 50th anniversary date).

Winner of ten Tony Awards including Best Musical, Hello, Dolly! is one of the most enduring Broadway classics. Emmy- award winning Sally Struthers (All In the Family, Gilmore Girls) stars as the strong-willed matchmaker Dolly, as she travels to Yonkers, NY to find a match for the ornery  “well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire” Horace Vandergelder. Featuring an irresistible story and an unforgettable score including the title song, “Put on Your Sunday Clothes,” “It Only Takes A Moment,” and the show-stopping “Before the Parade Passes By,” Hello, Dolly! has been charming audiences around the world for 50 years.

Joining Struthers in the cast are John O’Creagh as Horace Vandergelder, Matt Wolfe as Cornelius Hackl, Lauren Blackman as Irene Molloy, Garett Hawe as Barnaby Tucker, Halle Morse as Minnie Fay, Brad Frenette as Ambrose Kemper and Hilary Fingerman as Ermengarde.  Others in the cast are Michael Baxter, Zachary Berger, Erin Chupinsky, Joseph Cullinane, Brooke Robyn Dairman, Lucas Fedele, Michael Gorman, Jamey Hood, Liesl Jaye, Louis Jones, Lauren Krautmann, Joseph Nicastro, Michael J. Rios, Lisa Rohinsky, Taylor Schramm, Tony Triano and Paige Wheat.  Also in the cast is A.J. Hughes who played one of the leading roles in the 2012 Arkansas Rep production of White Christmas.

The production is directed by Jeffrey B. Moss and choreographed by Bob Richard.  Others on the creative team include Charlie Morrison (lighting design) and Peter Fitzgerald (sound design).  The production is produced by Big League Productions/Daniel Sher and is brought to Little Rock by Celebrity Attractions.

Hello, Dolly! features a score by Jerry Herman and book by Michael Stewart.  It is based on Thornton Wilder’s 1955 play The Matchmaker, which was a reworking of his earlier effort The Merchant of Yonkers (which played roughly a month in 1938).  Wilder based his play on Johann Nestroy’s Einen Jux Will Sich Machen (which is loosely translated as “He Wants to Have a Lark”).  Nestroy’s play is based on the English play A Day Well Spent by John Oxenford.  Wilder took the minor character of the matchmaker and named her Dolly Gallagher Levi for The Merchant of Yonkers.  He expanded the part (though he himself termed it “minor revisions”) for the reworking of the play in the 1950s.  The new play starred Ruth Gordon as the meddling matchmaker.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

It is appropriate that Hello, Dolly! be one of the final touring shows to play Robinson Center Music Hall before it is closed for renovation.  Original star Carol Channing brought the production to Little Rock on her national tour, one of the first times an original Broadway star brought a show to Robinson.