C-l-i-n-t-o-n S-c-h-o-o-l hosts program on The Rep production of “SPELLING BEE” today at noon

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Rep Spelling BeeThe Arkansas Repertory Theatre works in partnership with the Clinton School of Public Service to participate in the UACS’s Distinguished Speaker Series, hosting educational panel discussions on various Rep productions.

The 24th of these takes place today, Thursday, October 15 10 at 12 noon at Sturgis Hall in Clinton Presidential Park.  It focuses on the Rep’s upcoming production of the musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a Tony Award-winning look at the all-too-familiar world of adolescence, told with hilarity, catchy tunes, and surprising poignancy. The gloves are off in the take-no-prisoners, cold-blooded, dog-eat-dog world of competitive spelling as a menagerie of pre-pubescent misfits vies to decimate their young rivals on the cutthroat path to the national spelling bee championship. Hormones rage and pulses pound as our awkward adversaries engage in feats of prowess.

The winner will receive a shining trophy and a luxurious DC hotel room with a big screen TV. The loser – nothing but a broken heart, a pat on the back and a juice box. Join the Clinton School for a panel discussion about this production with moderator Bob Hupp, producing artistic director at the Arkansas Repertory Theater.

The play opens officially on Friday evening and runs through Sunday, November 8.

1897 UFO Sightings in Arkansas topic of Old State House Brown Bag Lecture today at noon

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On Thursday, October 15, at noon, at the Old State House Museum, Brian Irby of the Arkansas History Commission will tell the story of one of the first waves of UFO hysteria that swept through the nation for a Brown Bag Lunch Lecture.

Between 1896 and 1897, the country was in the grips of what was one of the first major panics created by sightings of strange objects in the sky. Less than a decade before the Wright Brothers would fly the first powered flight, newspapers around the country began reporting on sightings of an airship, spotted in the wild.

In April of that year, the unidentified flying object stories came to Arkansas. In April, railroad conductor Jim Hooton told the Arkansas Gazette that he had seen the airship while hunting and provided a sketch to the paper. Just a few weeks later, mounted deputies near Hot Springs said they “noticed a brilliant light high in the heavens,” and drew their Winchesters on a man they said was traveling in an airship.

Brian Irby has a BA and MA from the University of Central Arkansas. He has been on staff at the Arkansas History Commission since 2008 as an archival assistant where he works on educational programs.

Admission is free, and attendees are welcome to bring a sack lunch. Soft drinks and water are provided.

The Old State House Museum is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Creative Class of 2015: Clea Hupp

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C-HuppDr. Clea Hupp is the new Chair of the UALR History Department.  She joined the UALR History Department in 2006 and received her Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in 2004.

Hupp specializes in the history of the Modern Middle East and U.S. – Middle Eastern relations. She has received grants from numerous institutions including the John F. Kennedy Foundation, the Lyndon Johnson Foundation, the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, and the American Center of Oriental Research.

Her latest book was recently published from I. B. Tauris and is entitled “The United States and Jordan: Middle East Diplomacy during the Cold War.” She has traveled extensively in the Middle East and she speaks both Arabic and French.  She has made numerous presentations both in Arkansas and throughout the US on Middle East relations.

Hupp serves on the Board of Directors of Ballet Arkansas. She is also an active supporter of many arts organizations in Little Rock. Arguably, her favorite cultural institution is the Arkansas Rep, which is led by her husband Bob.

Zoo announces death of orangutan 

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The Little Rock Zoo lost a member of its great ape family yesterday when Chiquita, a 46-year-old female orangutan living at the Zoo since 2006, passed away.
Median life expectancy for female orangutans in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is 33.9. The average for both male and female orangutans is lower at 28.2. In the wild, median life expectancy data is incomplete but ranges from 30 to 40 years of age. At the age of 46 Chiquita had outlived most of her zoo and wild counterparts.

Zoo staff observed abnormal behavior from Chiquita in the last month and noticed that she was not eating. Chiquita began losing weight at a rapid pace, so Zoo veterinary staff conducted medical tests showing that Chiquita was in renal failure. Medical staff administered her fluids and closely monitored her, but Chiquita’s condition only worsened.

CHIQUITA: Dies at 46. - LR ZOOChiquita was born at the Toledo Zoo in 1969 and was transferred to the Little Rock Zoo to be a companion to Rok, the Zoo’s 30-year-old male orangutan. The Zoo is working with the Species Survival Plan (SSP) of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to find a new female companion for Rok.

Chiquita made headlines in 2013 when a team of Little Rock surgeons performed laparoscopic surgery on her to repair an umbilical hernia and remove a benign mass on one of her ovaries. The surgery was performed by Dr. Brian Burton of The Women’s Clinic, P.A.; Dr. Julia Watkins with West Little Rock Women’s Center and Dr. Eric Paul, a general surgeon with Surgical Clinic Arkansas. The surgery was assisted by anesthesiologists Drs. Harjot & Lydia Hunjan and Zoo veterinarian Dr. Kim Rainwater. Medical equipment for the procedure was donated by Stryker Endoscopy.

The Little Rock Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Look for the AZA logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you and a better future for all living things. With its more than 200 accredited members, AZA is a leader in global wildlife conservation and your link to helping animals in their native habitats.

The Sisters Sweet are tonight’s Oxford American Local Live act at South on Main

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llsom sistersTonight at 7:30 PM is this week’s installment of the Local Live concert series.  The Sisters Sweet headline tonight presented by the Oxford American magazine.  Local Live showcases the best of local and regional music talent and is always free and open to the public. Call ahead to South on Main to make your reservations and ensure a table at (501) 244-9660.

The Sisters Sweet is a trio of sirens that sing and play original works by Candy Lee. Gorgeous three-part harmonies create a sound that is sensual and powerful, yet honest and tender. Though they’re not afraid to share their softer side, these ladies also know how to get down. Rooted in the earthiness of folk, The Sisters Sweet keep it fresh by merging modern indie influences with throwback moods of funk and blues. Their jazz-inspired vocal stylings are reminiscent of Billie Holiday and The Andrews Sisters. Their lyrics are thought-provoking and passionate, bringing into question the forms of our shared human condition, and evoking visions of a more harmonious reality.

Candy Lee is the 2011 Northwest Arkansas Music Award Winner for Best Female Singer/Songwriter and Best Female Vocalist in a Band. The Sisters Sweet (formerly Candy Lee and the Sweets) have performed at the Yonder Mountain Harvest Festival, as well as the Fayetteville Roots Festival, and a sold out show at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. They have opened for Amy LaVere, The Lost Gonzo Band, and Elephant Revival.

Free movie tonight at MacArthur Museum of Ark. Military History – Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq

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MacMus IraqIn partnership with AETN, the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History will host a screening of the documentary Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq. The screening starts at 6:30pm tonight at the museum in MacArthur Park.

Free admission. Free popcorn and beverages provided.

From executive producer James Gandolfini, this 2007 HBO documentary about wounded soldiers surveys the physical and emotional costs of war through memories of their “alive day,” the day they narrowly escaped death in Iraq. In a war that has left more than 27,000 wounded, Alive Day Memories looks at a new generation of veterans.

*Disclaimer: This documentary features adult language and adult content. Parental discretion is advised.

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History is a program of the City of Little Rock’s Parks and Recreation Department.

Final Days for Dinosaurs at Clinton Center

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These are the final days for the dinosaurs at the Clinton Center.  No, a huge meteorite is not hurdling toward the Clinton Presidential Park, it is just that the exhibit is coming to a close this weekend.

Clinton Dinos

Photo courtesy of Clinton Presidential Center

Dinosaurs Around the World takes you back in time on a dinosaur adventure and a tour of an Earth very different from today – a time before the continents as we know them existed, when lush landscapes covered Africa and greenery was the norm in Antarctica! With 13 life-sized animatronics, a multi-layered narrative, fossils, authentic casts, cutting-edge research and immersive design elements, you’ll experience the Age of Reptiles as it comes to life!

 Dinosaurs Around the World invites you to grab your prehistoric passport to Pangea and discover how continental splits driven by plate tectonics, land bridges revealed after sea level fluctuations, and new landforms created by volcanic activity allowed dinosaurs to disperse to all corners of the globe. These left each of the seven continents with its own unique selection of these giant reptiles. During their 172 million year reign, dinosaurs adapted into a variety of forms including enormous long-necked herbivores, the mighty T. rex, and more.
“We are thrilled to host the global premiere of Dinosaurs Around the World and look forward to sharing this interactive and scientific exhibit with our visitors,” said Stephanie S. Streett, executive director of the Clinton Foundation. “Our summer exhibits are highly anticipated by the community because they are specifically designed to appeal to the entire family.”
In addition to advanced animatronics, Dinosaurs Around the World also features information about the geologic time scale, geology, geography, and climatology. The exhibition questions how the dinosaurs lived on each continent, how they interacted with each other, how geography impacted their behavior and diets, and what the continents were really like at the time.
The exhibit also features an area that chronicles the accomplishments of four U.S. Presidents who worked to preserve the fossil-rich areas in North America where dinosaurs once roamed. Exhibit artifacts include items from the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman. This display includes a dinosaur skull replica on loan from the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, an area that President Clinton designated as a national monument in 1996.
Dr. Gregory M. Erickson, a world-renowned dinosaur paleontologist, is the Senior Scientific Advisor for Dinosaurs Around the World. Dr. Erickson received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Washington, a Master’s degree from Montana State University, and a Ph. D. in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and conducted post-doctoral research at Stanford University and Brown University before joining the faculty at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Dr. Erickson is currently the curator for the Florida State University Museum and holds research appointments with the American Museum of Natural History in New York, The Field Museum in Chicago, and University of Alaska’s Museum of the North in Fairbanks. Dr. Erickson is working with Imagine Exhibitions as an advisor, writer, and editor of the paleontology copy for the Company’s Dinosaurs Around the World exhibition.
Dinosaurs Around the World is open daily to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, through October 18, 2015. Tickets are available to purchase at the Clinton Center.