Author Archives: Scott

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About Scott

A cultural thinker with a life long interest in the arts and humanities: theatre, music, architecture, photography, history, urban planning, etc.

Books and Hooks – CALS and Game & Fish partner on Fishing Clinic

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One fish, two fish, yellow fish, learn to fish.

The John Gould Fletcher Library and the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission (AG&FC) will hold a two-part Beginner’s Fishing Clinic on Thursday, May 17, at 6 p.m. at the Fletcher Library, and Saturday, May 19, at 9 a.m. at MacArthur Park pond for children ages 15 years and under.

At the clinic’s first session, an AG&FC biologist will teach participants about gear, bait, rigging, fish handling, and AG&FC pond locations. The first forty children who attend the clinic’s first session will receive a coupon for a free fishing rod and reel, which can be redeemed at the May 19 session. At the clinic’s second session, participants will be able to fish in MacArthur Park pond and receive advice from an AG&FC biologist on fish handling.

To receive the rod and reel, participants must attend both sessions of the clinic.

The John Gould Fletcher Library is located at 823 North Buchanan Street is one of 12 branches operated by the Central Arkansas Library System. All events are free and open to the public. For more information on the fishing event, call Fletcher Library at 663-5457 or visit www.cals.org.

Architeaser May 14

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Yesterday’s Architeaser was a crest on the side of the Beal-Burrow Dry Goods Building.  Built in 1920, this Charles Thompson structure is a Prairie School structure on Markham.  It is now part of the Block 2 Lofts Development.

Here is another crest which can be found on a downtown building.

FOURTE – Youth Quartet of Arkansas Symphony performs tonight

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Fourté, the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra’s String Quartet, will perform a free recital on Monday, May 14 at 7 p.m. in Byrne Hall on the campus of St. John’s Catholic Center in the Heights. Fourté is comprised of violinist Abby Gschwend, violinist Kevin Li, violist Olivia Richardson, and cellist Michael Warrick. These high school students are coached by Arkansas Symphony violinist Eric Hayward.

Program:

Giacomo Puccini – Crisantemi; Karl Stamitz – String Quartet No. 2, Allegro con spirito; Brian Crain, arr. Eric Hayward –      Song for Rome; Rolf Lowland and Brendan Graham, arr. Eric Hayward – You Raise Me Up; Ed Roland – Tremble for My Beloved from “Twilight”; Antonin Dvorák – Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96 “The American”, Lent, Allegro ma non troppo.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 46th season in 2011-2012 under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann. ASO is the resident orchestra of Robinson Center Music Hall, and performs more than thirty concerts each year through its Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series, ACXIOM Pops LIVE! Series and River Rhapsodies Chamber Series, in addition to serving central Arkansas through numerous community outreach programs and bringing live symphonic music education to over 20,000 school children and over 200 schools.

 

Architeaser – May 13

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Yesterday’s Architeaser was a gas lamp on the Capital Hotel property. Though there are still a few gaslights still in use, they are certainly rarer than they once were.

Today’s Architeaser is below.

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Sculpture Vulture: George Rose Smith

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Continuing with the Sculpture Vulture focus on famous Arkansans during Arkansas Heritage Month, today’s feature is George Rose Smith.  This sculptural plaque is located in the garden at the main building of the Central Arkansas Library System downtown campus.

Created by John Deering, it showcases Justice Smith sitting in his judges robe with pen in hand. In the background is a large crossword puzzle grid.  This sculpture pays homage to the fact that Justice Smith was both a respected member of the bar as well as an author of crossword puzzles.

In his final opinion from the Arkansas Supreme Court before he retired, he embedded a message using the first letter of each paragraph to spell out his farewell.  A masterful puzzle constructor, he authored puzzles which appeared in The New York Times.  Little Rock District Judge Vic Fleming carries on this tradition of being a published puzzle author as well as judge in Arkansas.

Justice Smith was the scion of a family of Arkansas attorneys. His grandfather Uriah Rose, a longtime partner at the law firm which now bears his name, was a delegate to the Hague.

Below the sculpture is this inscription:

Judge George Rose Smith

1911-1992

Wordsmith Extraordinaire

New York Times Crossword Puzzle Author

Arkansas Supreme Court Justice 1949-1987

Architeaser May 12

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Yesterday’s Architeaser was one of the lamps which adorn the Spanish revival building at 6th and Broadway. This building, built to house the YMCA is now being redeveloped as a mixed used property. Tonight it is the site of the Quapaw Quarter Association spring tour dinner.

Today’s Architeaser is below. While it is not the only gas light left in Little Rock, it is certainly a much more rare sight than it once was.

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Ark. Symphony welcomes WICKED Divas

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The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra closes out the 2011-2012 Pops season with a program entitled “Wicked Divas.”

Under the baton of Associate Conductor Geoffrey Robson, the ASO will be joined by Eden Espinosa and Emily Rozek for an evening of Broadway power songs.  Both actors have Broadway credits and have appeared in productions of Wicked.

Among  the numbers which will be performed are:

The Overture to Gypsy (Jule Styne); selections from Carmen (Bizet); selections from Chicago (John Kander), “I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe); “Back to Before” from Ragtime (Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens); “Think of Me” from The Phantom of the Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber); “Ring Them Bells” (John Kander and Fred Ebb); and “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz (Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg);.

From Wicked, they will perform “Popular,” “Defying Gravity” and “For Good.”

The concert is being presented tonight at 8pm and tomorrow at 3pm at Robinson Center Music Hall.