Where To Put It
By Mike Bisceglia
Intrepid Travels to Norway with Bruce McToose
TV Review
Bruce McToose - Intrepid Travels Travels to Norway
Reviewed by Mark Oliver | February 24, 2010
Details: Maine's PBS Channel 10 on Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 11am.
Combining elements of traditional travel journalism and Australian humor, Bruce McToose (Josh Hrehovcik) educates and informs as he travels to Norway, Maine.
Harboring under the misapprehension that he is in the Kingdom of Norway, Bruce searches for fjords, seeking directions on the town's Main Street. Venturing inside local businesses such as Cafe Nomad, Books N Things and LM Longley & Son, Bruce's charming demeanor lends itself to coaxing a surprising amount of detail about Norway's history and culture from those he meets.
Downtown Norway showcases numerous architecturally significant buildings, many of which, such as the local opera house, were built in the aftermath of a devastating fire in 1894.
Mistakenly believing that he has finally discovered a fjord, Bruce chats to the President of the Lake Association of Norway on the frozen shoreline of Lake Pennesseewassee. Despite thinking he was on the wrong continent, Bruce was only 180 miles from the nearest fjord - Somes Sound in picturesque Acadia National Park, Maine.
Bruce McToose has a toothy Austin Powers like grin, and trademark sayings of 'G'day' (naturally) and 'Super!' While Intrepid Travels does not have lots of laughs, Bruce's unique blend of charm and humor succeeds in imparting a real feel for the town and people of Norway.
Extensive portions of the program, and other content, can be viewed online at the Bruce McToose website
The Art of Shoveling
By Michael Bisceglia
There are those who merely shovel snow, and there are those who are true artisans of the craft. Most who wield the blade know, but are reluctant to share, various elements of the art. Until now. Let's explore some of the esthetics of shoveling.
Certainly, stance and rhythm are extremely important. Position of the feel should approximate shoulder-width. (Envision David Ortiz at the plate.) Once comfortable, the shoveler should move forward one-half step at a time (begin with either foot). The removal of snow should follow the same progression (scrape, lift, toss, step, step) until the project is complete. Moving with a waltz tune in mind is about the correct speed.
Once the basics are learned, the shoveler may want to explore one or more of several truly eye-pleasing stokes. Type and depth of snow have a definite influence on the style chosen.
My personal favorite is the "herringbone" stoke. In it, the shoveler proceeds at an angle down the walk or driveway. Each patch is at a 45-degree angle to the surface. Each swatch is approximately 18" in length. When one tour is finished, the shoveler will return to complete the next pass adjacent to the first. The herringbone leaves a line of wonderfully precise corners framing the designated area.
The "candy cane" is very similar in appearance to the herringbone. It's similarly angled, but the shoveler completes one full swatch of the walkway. He turns and does the next in the opposite direction. Here, the Samba may be preferred to the waltz.
The Northwest Connecticut Arts Council
By Mark B. Oliver
One New England.com is pleased to present the first of what will be an on-going series of articles about the crafts, craftspeople and crafts organizations of New England. Our goal is to identify some of the crafts and craftspeople we feel will both inform and entertain our readers.
We appreciate the cooperation of Northwest Connecticut Arts Council in helping us to identify crafts and craftspeople that we can feature.
History
There are hundreds of arts councils throughout the United States, but unusually for such a culturally rich region, it wasn't until 2003 that the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council was founded. The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism encouraged the Community Foundation of Northwest Connecticut and the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce to establish the organization and these founding partners have been key to the success of the Arts Council's mission.
Amy Wynn has been the Executive Director of the Arts Council since its inception.
'I moved to Falls Village in 1999 from the New York City metropolitan area and I became actively engaged in various voluntary roles in the local cultural community. This brought me into contact with James Garfield of the Community Foundation, who aware of my background in arts management, thought that perhaps I was the right person to guide a fledging arts council.'
The Arts Council serves a wide geographical region which encompasses 24 towns from Salisbury and New Hartford in the north to Roxbury and Plymouth in the south. A key initial decision was to conduct an in-depth regional cultural assessment. This was a huge undertaking and it wasn't until 2006 that the Arts Council's full website went online. The Arts Council is a service organization and information hub ensuring that culture thrives in the region and that residents are afforded ready access to it.
The Arts Council has just two part-time staff members who are kept exceptionally busy by the wide range of initiatives they have introduced and maintain. In addition to Amy Wynn, Sharon Dougherty is the other sterling member of the team who both organizes and designs the print calender and other publications as part of her duties.
The Events Calender
The Arts Council operates a web based events calender. The calender can be searched by function type, date(s), town or a key word. This helps drive attendances at featured events and provides a 'one-stop shop' for discovering what is going on in the region. All events are also listed on the week-at-a-glance calender on the Arts Council's homepage.
Additionally a 12-Day Culture Outlook is emailed to those that sign up so that they are handily sent information on events they don't want to miss. To sign up simply click here.
Artwork by Elizabeth Jacobs
By Sean Paul Cormier
Photos by John Carafo
“My drawings are manifestations of an urgent state of mind which compels me to understand what I am thinking and feeling in the moment”
Elizabeth Jacobs of Bedford Massachusetts had a hope of one day attending Mass College of Art in Boston.
She achieved that goal in 2005 with a BFA and is now navigating her way through Boston as an accomplished artist in her field. As a young child, Jacobs was always skeptical of imagery and always trying to redefine objects or pictures. Early in her professional career, she has managed to be a part of some diverse shows that have placed her in some of Boston's notable hot spots. It was not easy early on for Jacobs, who had bouts with nightmares and depression, which became a greater opportunity to explore her passion for art and transform these feelings into something positive. "I didn't want to keep these things, these monsters hidden; I wanted to see what made them tick; what made them stronger, what made them weaker" she explained.
Jacobs 'paintings and drawings are consistent in many ways. They are not only unique pieces all within a group but they have an identity. She explains, "My drawings are manifestations of an urgent state of mind which compels me to understand what I am thinking and feeling in the moment." Her drawings play a support role to her paintings because it allows her to build her thoughts and transform them into a final painted creation she says. Jacobs continues to explain that, "Drawings are akin to an early stage in evolution, while my paintings are developed and matured, providing more clues through detailed form, color and elements of a (mostly) planned composition."
