The Vatican's special exhibit hall wasn't big enough to honor the life and ministry of Pope John Paul II, so the exhibit begins in St. Peter's Square, said Barbara Jatta, curator of what is described as Pope Benedict XVI's special tribute to his predecessor.
"The exhibit begins in the square, which for the first time ever for a beatification, is decorated with one large photograph of the pope with his pastoral staff as well as with photographs from each year of his pontificate," Jatta told reporters April 28.
In addition, she said, "the exhibit leads directly to the basilica where people can venerate the tomb of Pope John Paul II."
Visitors can enter the main exhibit, housed in the Carlo Magno Hall off of St. Peter's Square, until July 24 for free.
The exhibit is a collaborative effort of the Vatican governor's office and the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
The entrance to the Carlo Magno Hall is under a super-sized replica of the Book of the Gospels; a hidden motor flips the pages, evoking a memory of how the wind turned the pages of the Gospel placed on Pope John Paul's coffin during his funeral in 2005.
The exhibit includes artifacts from the museum set up in his family home in Wadowice, Poland, like family photographs, a report card and the uniform he wore when he worked at the Solvay quarry and factory. Skis, boots and poles he used in the 1960s and a canoe from about the same time also are on display, along with prayer books and his black priest's cassock.
The exhibit contains a letter from Pope Pius XII naming him auxiliary bishop of Krakow in 1958 and one from Pope Paul VI naming him a cardinal in 1967.
The section dealing with his 1978-2005 papacy includes the official medals from each year of his pontificate, a pair of his red shoes (which actually are more burgundy) and the mobile platform used to move him in processions after he could no longer walk.
Opening the exhibit April 28, Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, head of the Vatican governor's office, said the exhibit could give people only a small idea of who Pope John Paul II was.
"In particular, it isn't possible to show the source from which he drew the strength and richness of his spirit," although that was hinted at by the Book of the Gospels at the entrance and by the small replica of his private chapel at the other end of the Carlo Magno Hall, he said
2011年4月28日星期四
The Look-A-Likes: Biting off Middleton's Ring, Dress, Face
Presumably, when a girl decides she's going to start auditioning for roles in TV and film, she's taking the risk of catapulting to fame and thereby having her hair, nails, clothes, shoes, accessories, friends and sexual partners judged by the masses on a daily basis. If she's lucky, people will like her and want to be like her and dress like her and then she can get a lucrative fashion line and finally get off that CW show. Kate Middleton never technically made this tacit agreement with the media hungry public at large, but it's her life now anyway! Since it's dubious that the future queen will strike a deal with Macy's for a collaboration, it's up to other people to profit from her! And they will, oh they will. Below are just a few of the ways...The Ring:
It started with the engagement, obviously, and the knock-off rings that followed, available now for $55, on Amazon! The same thing occurred when Diana first got engaged, so you might even be able to find one of these replicas vintage. Sexy.
The Dress:
I mean, this wedding gown is going to get more knock-offs than a Louis Vuitton bag, but what the people want, they want. I can just see the classy Jersey gals walking into Kleinfeld's with their entourage of 20 and asking for a 10 foot train and Kate Middleton's dress.
Some people are already starting! According to the Times, Don O’Neill, the creative director of Theia, a bridal boutique in NYC, already designed a dress that he thinks is what Middleton will wear. This seems risky. “We’re calling it the Kate," he told the newspaper. “It’s very precious, very regal and suited to a princess, if only in my head.” There's also someone who heads up a website called My Big Fat Beautiful Wedding waiting to make a true replica of the dress for brides demure enough to actually visit this site.
The king of all dress copies though, the man who hardly knows what an original design is, Allen B. Schwartz, is most certainly on the job. We do appreciate that he's creating the gown for a very worthy charity, The 18th Annual Race to Erase MS, care of a wealthy philanthropist, but I'm going to bet he would have done it anyway.
Schwartz is literally going to turn this thing around in mere hours, according to WWD, with sketching beginning at 3:30AM for a full gown to be produced for the evening's event. It's so Project Runway! There will even be a celeb fashion show to present it. Schwartz told the trade, “There’ll be a look-alike of Prince William in uniform and one of Kate in the wedding dress coming down the runway. This wedding is very healthy for the business. You’re not just talking about Lindsay Lohan. You’re talking about royalty." Bite your tongue, Allen.
Her Face:
And in easily the oddest knock-off, per se, there is a designer who started a lingerie line, basically because she resembles Kate. A press release reads that, "After countless friends and strangers told [Melissa Pelz] she highly resembled the future princess, she was eventually put in touch with some photographers and agents. This resulted in Melissa being in hot demand as a Kate Middleton lookalike and has been making a variety of ‘royal appearances’ over the past few months including working with photographer Alison Jackson, showing off royal memorabilia on the UK's "This Morning" and appearing in foreign press." Weird! But what's even weirder is that the doppelganger then opted to create and distribute a "limited edition Ligne de Soie Royal Bridal Collection, including a Royal Sapphire Silk Nightdress and Royal Silk Dressing Gown, or the “Royal Robe." So it's what someone who looks like Kate Middleton thinks Kate Middleton would wear to bed!
Are you on the Middleton train? Or does all of this obsessive obsession kind of creep you out?
2011年4月26日星期二
Why Is IP Infringement Acceptable If You’re A VC?
Every time I write about Chinese Net companies and their recent efforts to crack down on intellectual property infringement, I inevitably get emails and comments that say “Yeah, they’re cleaning up their act now, but they built up their companies/traffic by granting access to illegal MP3s/videos/books.”
The question is, in other words, where’s the justice for so many years of bad acts?
My usual answer is that at some point, you have to let these things go. Sure, we can dwell on all that past IP infringement, but since there is no realistic way of forcing these sites to cough up damages for all that infringement, what’s the point is complaining about it?
But I saw something today that made me think of a related issue. Think back on China’s big portals, video file sharing sites, social media giants, online commerce sites, etc. Quite a few of them received venture capital (VC) funding, foreign and/or domestic, at one point or another.
And when these sites were roundly accused of ripping off IP owners, where was the criticism of the VCs? Yes, I’m sure someone out there at some point was shouting about it, but it didn’t seem to change any industry habits, did it?
Why is it that investors get a free pass?
Here’s some food for thought from the Signature9 blog:
Exhibit A of why Silicon Valley needs more women in the venture capital arena – at the very least during due diligence: Chinese online retailer Milanoo recently sent out a press release {via Tech Crunch} announcing a multi-million dollar investment from the Chinese arm of Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley’s largest and most well established venture capital investment firms.
[ . . . ]
The problem? A sizable portion of the merchandise on Milanoo is comprised of designer replica items and out and out ripoffs of everything from Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik shoes to Cate Blanchett’s lavender Givenchy Golden Globes dress and Kate Middleton’s blue Issa engagement dress.
The fashion industry is way out of my comfort zone, so let’s assume for the moment that all that information is true and that Sequoia has invested in a company that is a known infringer.
Let’s further assume that Sequoia is aware of this activity. I see that the blogger who wrote about this is being nice, starting off the post suggesting that perhaps the VC needs more help with due diligence.
I’m not buying that for a second. I worked at a law firm that did projects for Sequoia, and I can confirm that due diligence is part of the standard process. Moreover, if there was large-scale IP infringement going on, that’s something that would be mentioned in a DD report, unless the law firm in question is totally incompetent.
So I’m going to assume that all this is known to the VC. And yet they went ahead with the investment anyway. Why? Because the IP infringement is simply another business risk. The VC thought about the chances of the site getting in trouble, when the company plans to cease the infringing activity (if it even has plans to do so), and the timeline of the VC’s anticipated exit strategy (public listing or buyout). In the end, the VC thought the risk was worth it.1
I’m sure that the standard excuse is that the VC, or perhaps an angel investor, comes into these deals with plans to help the Net firm clean up its act. Or to put it another way “We’re not profiting on IP infringement, we’re getting on board with the express purpose of ending the IP infringement.” Maybe on occasion, particularly with late stage funding prior to a listing, but there are a whole lot of other VCs out there that are happily making lots of money off of IP infringement.
Just a question then: why are these guys allowed to do this sort of thing repeatedly with no negative consequences? They are enabling large-scale IP infringement, and even if the target company at some point gets into trouble, the VC never faces any direct negative repercussions from all this. Worst thing that happens is that their investment loses value.
Is this a problem or is everyone OK with this?
The question is, in other words, where’s the justice for so many years of bad acts?
My usual answer is that at some point, you have to let these things go. Sure, we can dwell on all that past IP infringement, but since there is no realistic way of forcing these sites to cough up damages for all that infringement, what’s the point is complaining about it?
But I saw something today that made me think of a related issue. Think back on China’s big portals, video file sharing sites, social media giants, online commerce sites, etc. Quite a few of them received venture capital (VC) funding, foreign and/or domestic, at one point or another.
And when these sites were roundly accused of ripping off IP owners, where was the criticism of the VCs? Yes, I’m sure someone out there at some point was shouting about it, but it didn’t seem to change any industry habits, did it?
Why is it that investors get a free pass?
Here’s some food for thought from the Signature9 blog:
Exhibit A of why Silicon Valley needs more women in the venture capital arena – at the very least during due diligence: Chinese online retailer Milanoo recently sent out a press release {via Tech Crunch} announcing a multi-million dollar investment from the Chinese arm of Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley’s largest and most well established venture capital investment firms.
[ . . . ]
The problem? A sizable portion of the merchandise on Milanoo is comprised of designer replica items and out and out ripoffs of everything from Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik shoes to Cate Blanchett’s lavender Givenchy Golden Globes dress and Kate Middleton’s blue Issa engagement dress.
The fashion industry is way out of my comfort zone, so let’s assume for the moment that all that information is true and that Sequoia has invested in a company that is a known infringer.
Let’s further assume that Sequoia is aware of this activity. I see that the blogger who wrote about this is being nice, starting off the post suggesting that perhaps the VC needs more help with due diligence.
I’m not buying that for a second. I worked at a law firm that did projects for Sequoia, and I can confirm that due diligence is part of the standard process. Moreover, if there was large-scale IP infringement going on, that’s something that would be mentioned in a DD report, unless the law firm in question is totally incompetent.
So I’m going to assume that all this is known to the VC. And yet they went ahead with the investment anyway. Why? Because the IP infringement is simply another business risk. The VC thought about the chances of the site getting in trouble, when the company plans to cease the infringing activity (if it even has plans to do so), and the timeline of the VC’s anticipated exit strategy (public listing or buyout). In the end, the VC thought the risk was worth it.1
I’m sure that the standard excuse is that the VC, or perhaps an angel investor, comes into these deals with plans to help the Net firm clean up its act. Or to put it another way “We’re not profiting on IP infringement, we’re getting on board with the express purpose of ending the IP infringement.” Maybe on occasion, particularly with late stage funding prior to a listing, but there are a whole lot of other VCs out there that are happily making lots of money off of IP infringement.
Just a question then: why are these guys allowed to do this sort of thing repeatedly with no negative consequences? They are enabling large-scale IP infringement, and even if the target company at some point gets into trouble, the VC never faces any direct negative repercussions from all this. Worst thing that happens is that their investment loses value.
Is this a problem or is everyone OK with this?
2011年4月24日星期日
Free Shoes Handed Out to Those in Need
Shoes of every kind were in piles on the floor at a shelter in downtown Reno Saturday.
Some of those looking for shoes live outside, others in shelters, and some have a place to live but just need some free footwear to get by in a bad economy.
Ray Roney found shoes for his fiance's son.
"It means a lot," he said.
It's especially true since Roney says he, his fiance and her son are living in a shelter right now. He said he can't find work and will take anything.
For some, walking down the pathway to a steady paycheck starts here. One individual couldn't afford steel-toed boots in order to work, according to Brian Williams who created Think Kindness.
Think Kindness collected the shoes from throughout the community for the event.
Williams estimated at least three-hundred pairs of shoes were handed out.
Some of those looking for shoes live outside, others in shelters, and some have a place to live but just need some free footwear to get by in a bad economy.
Ray Roney found shoes for his fiance's son.
"It means a lot," he said.
It's especially true since Roney says he, his fiance and her son are living in a shelter right now. He said he can't find work and will take anything.
For some, walking down the pathway to a steady paycheck starts here. One individual couldn't afford steel-toed boots in order to work, according to Brian Williams who created Think Kindness.
Think Kindness collected the shoes from throughout the community for the event.
Williams estimated at least three-hundred pairs of shoes were handed out.
2011年4月21日星期四
Orlando's Holy Land Experience: A curious destination for the faithful
The holy land is across from 7-Eleven and down the street from Jiffy Lube.
Once you pass the Jerusalem City Gate, smoking is prohibited. Parking is free, like the Lord would want. You pay $35 for admission, plus a map and schedule with times for karaoke and crucifixion.
You walk past a Roman soldier with a sword and a shield. Past a white, sunken relief sculpture of Jesus with a message.
• • •
The Holy Land Experience is a hulking curiosity along Interstate 4 in Mickey's commercial mecca, Orlando.
It attracts the fanny pack set, but also church groups and Bible scholars and skeptics jonesing for irony. It's a tax-exempt ministry, which means it must offer one free day each year. That day in 2009, the gates overflowed.
The $16 million recreation of first century Israel opened in 2001, the project of Jewish-born Baptist minister Marvin Rosenthal. Some members of the Jewish Defense League protested, saying it was a conversion project targeting Jews. Ticket sales lagged and prices increased. In 2007, Trinity Broadcasting Network bought the park and gave it a total makeover. Ticket sales went up 25 percent in a month.
This year, the park is expanding. A 2,000-seat, state-of-the-art Church of All Nations is scheduled to open in summer, where guests can watch Jesus rise from the dead at scheduled times every day. The auditorium will play host to church services, concerts and baptisms.
Standee cutouts of TBN's big-haired televangelist, Jan Crouch, pepper the park. In blue sequins and Tammy Faye lashes, she neighbors nativity scenes and plaster kangaroos and angel fountains. The parking lot speaks in bumper stickers. Promise Keepers. Fair taxes. Border patrol. Christian fish.
It's a Wonkaland for the faithful, full of sights not found in nature. A panda bear chews a leaf beside Jesus, who walks on water. A donkey and a lion guard a rock-climbing wall. In the park's wax museum, the Christ child has a comb-over.
People toss bean bags through a hole in Satan's heart. They walk into the whale's belly to see Jonah quivering in air. They order Goliath burgers with cheese.
A woman in platform shoes grins beside a replica of Michelangelo's Pieta, in which Jesus lies limp in Mary's arms. Her husband snaps the picture.
In the Garden of Reflection, a man eats a turkey leg.
Bill Maher, comedian and critic of religion, visited for his 2008 documentary Religulous. He interviewed Jesus in front of Cavalry's Garden Tomb, which shuts when you turn the lever counter-clockwise. Jesus briefly stunted Maher's arguments by comparing the three forms of God to water vapor and ice cubes.
Jesus. The superstar. He has a way of doing that to you.
His standee ushers you into the Old Scroll Shop, where you can buy a Star of David coaster set for $13.95 or a travel mug for $14.95. There's an oil painting of Christ in a pair of boxing shorts and gloves, shirtless in the ring with a belt marked "SAVIOR."
Outside, the actor playing Jesus poses for photos with awestruck children. His dusty toes peek from leather sandals soled with industrial tread.
"The Bible says Jesus not only knows your name, but he knows all of the hairs on your head," he tells a little boy. "How many hairs are on your head?"
When he walks on stage during the woman-at-the-well skit, everyone whips out their cameras. They take video. They listen.
"I know that you're thirsty and I know that you're hurting," says the woman at the well. "Don't be afraid."
Once you pass the Jerusalem City Gate, smoking is prohibited. Parking is free, like the Lord would want. You pay $35 for admission, plus a map and schedule with times for karaoke and crucifixion.
You walk past a Roman soldier with a sword and a shield. Past a white, sunken relief sculpture of Jesus with a message.
• • •
The Holy Land Experience is a hulking curiosity along Interstate 4 in Mickey's commercial mecca, Orlando.
It attracts the fanny pack set, but also church groups and Bible scholars and skeptics jonesing for irony. It's a tax-exempt ministry, which means it must offer one free day each year. That day in 2009, the gates overflowed.
The $16 million recreation of first century Israel opened in 2001, the project of Jewish-born Baptist minister Marvin Rosenthal. Some members of the Jewish Defense League protested, saying it was a conversion project targeting Jews. Ticket sales lagged and prices increased. In 2007, Trinity Broadcasting Network bought the park and gave it a total makeover. Ticket sales went up 25 percent in a month.
This year, the park is expanding. A 2,000-seat, state-of-the-art Church of All Nations is scheduled to open in summer, where guests can watch Jesus rise from the dead at scheduled times every day. The auditorium will play host to church services, concerts and baptisms.
Standee cutouts of TBN's big-haired televangelist, Jan Crouch, pepper the park. In blue sequins and Tammy Faye lashes, she neighbors nativity scenes and plaster kangaroos and angel fountains. The parking lot speaks in bumper stickers. Promise Keepers. Fair taxes. Border patrol. Christian fish.
It's a Wonkaland for the faithful, full of sights not found in nature. A panda bear chews a leaf beside Jesus, who walks on water. A donkey and a lion guard a rock-climbing wall. In the park's wax museum, the Christ child has a comb-over.
People toss bean bags through a hole in Satan's heart. They walk into the whale's belly to see Jonah quivering in air. They order Goliath burgers with cheese.
A woman in platform shoes grins beside a replica of Michelangelo's Pieta, in which Jesus lies limp in Mary's arms. Her husband snaps the picture.
In the Garden of Reflection, a man eats a turkey leg.
Bill Maher, comedian and critic of religion, visited for his 2008 documentary Religulous. He interviewed Jesus in front of Cavalry's Garden Tomb, which shuts when you turn the lever counter-clockwise. Jesus briefly stunted Maher's arguments by comparing the three forms of God to water vapor and ice cubes.
Jesus. The superstar. He has a way of doing that to you.
His standee ushers you into the Old Scroll Shop, where you can buy a Star of David coaster set for $13.95 or a travel mug for $14.95. There's an oil painting of Christ in a pair of boxing shorts and gloves, shirtless in the ring with a belt marked "SAVIOR."
Outside, the actor playing Jesus poses for photos with awestruck children. His dusty toes peek from leather sandals soled with industrial tread.
"The Bible says Jesus not only knows your name, but he knows all of the hairs on your head," he tells a little boy. "How many hairs are on your head?"
When he walks on stage during the woman-at-the-well skit, everyone whips out their cameras. They take video. They listen.
"I know that you're thirsty and I know that you're hurting," says the woman at the well. "Don't be afraid."
2011年4月20日星期三
Women snap up 6 Kate Middleton replica ring
The $6 take on Kate Middleton's 18 carat sapphire engagement ring has sold more than any other piece of jewellery, Debenhams have said.
Kate's engagement ring is a Windsor family heirloom worth £250,000 but British department store Debenhams created a replica to pay homage to the royal ring.
And now that the ring has hit the shelves, staff say they cannot restock fast enough - and the ring is set to become Debenhams' fastest ever selling piece of jewellery.
Vicky Hewitt, spokesperson for the shop, said: 'It's clear that women have been captivated by the romance of the occasion.
'They want the chance to look like a princess too – for a fraction of the price.'
According to British newspaper the Daily Mail, Vicky added: 'Lots of women all over the world are wondering what it would be like to slip into Kate Middleton's shoes, so it's great to be able to offer our customers the chance to feel royal without having to steal the crown jewels to afford it.'
Kate's engagement ring is a Windsor family heirloom worth £250,000 but British department store Debenhams created a replica to pay homage to the royal ring.
And now that the ring has hit the shelves, staff say they cannot restock fast enough - and the ring is set to become Debenhams' fastest ever selling piece of jewellery.
Vicky Hewitt, spokesperson for the shop, said: 'It's clear that women have been captivated by the romance of the occasion.
'They want the chance to look like a princess too – for a fraction of the price.'
According to British newspaper the Daily Mail, Vicky added: 'Lots of women all over the world are wondering what it would be like to slip into Kate Middleton's shoes, so it's great to be able to offer our customers the chance to feel royal without having to steal the crown jewels to afford it.'
2011年4月19日星期二
Hamilton freshman wins Stroke Play Championship
Armed with a five-shot lead going into Sunday's final round of the Arizona Stroke Play Championship, Peter Kyo Won Koo knew that he could make history as the state's youngest amateur winner ever.
Good thing the 15-year-old from Chandler also had the foresight to guard against the headiness of such a golden opportunity, because after just five holes at the TPC Champions Course, his big lead was gone with the wind.
"Before I started my round, I told myself, ‘Don't think about that, being the youngest winner or whatever,' " said Koo, who is a freshman on the Hamilton High golf team. "And don't think about the five-shot lead, either.
"Just imagine you're playing a one-day tournament, and that everything is starting at even (par)."
Obviously, Koo is wise beyond his years. How else do you explain blowing the five shots and then battling back in blustery conditions compounded by tough pin placements to win by two strokes over Alex McMahon, a teen-ager from Tucson?
"It's weird, but it's also amazing," observed Koo, who erased a standard held by the late Bob Goldwater (1926 Arizona Amateur) and Philip Francis (2005 Arizona Public Links), who were 16 when they won major championships sponsored by the Arizona Golf Association.
Koo did it with a gutsy, 4-over-par 74 that left him with a winning total of even par 280. Despite the four straight bogeys beginning at the second hole and a double bogey at the par-3 13th, Koo's three birdies were good enough to best McMahon, 18, a University of Arizona-bound recruit whose 69 was the day's best score.
Big hitter Camron Howell of Queen Creek finished third, four strokes back after a 73. David Lowe, an 18-year-old from Scottsdale who is headed to Arizona State, was fourth with a 71 that left him at five off the pace.
In a tie for sixth were Scottsdale's Justin Hardin and Andrew Medley, who both carded 75s to finish six shots back. At one point, Medley, a former Arizona standout and touring pro, had a share of the final-round lead with Koo after birdies at the fourth and fifth holes.
Koo's win marked the fifth year in a row that a player from Hamilton High has won this tournament, as Koo followed alums Andrew Yun (2007, 2009) and Chan Kim (2008, 2010).
Asked about keeping the streak alive, the cool-headed Koo just laughed.
"I never even knew when I came to Hamilton that they had won (the state high school championship) five years in a row," he said. "So it's all good, I guess."
That's certainly how it all played out for Koo on Sunday, as Medley and then McMahon kept the pressure on. But Medley, the club champ at Whisper Rock, was felled by a disastrous triple-bogey at the seventh hole that began with a tee shot OB, and McMahon never got closer than one shot as his Achilles heel came early with three-putt bogeys at holes No. 2 and 5.
"It got a little windy out there, but I felt good coming into the final round," said McMahon, whose best finish in AGA events had been a tie for seventh last month in the Arizona Publinks. "I guess I hit it poorly yesterday (74), but I definitely found something when I was warming up."
Birdies at Nos. 1, 9, 12 and 15 got McMahon to within one shot of Koo. But Koo also birdied the 15th and that was the final margin as both players finished off their rounds par, par and bogey.
Koo, who plays it pretty low key, had plenty of support, as his personal instructor, Sinclair Torrilhon, and Hamilton High coach, Steve Kanner, joined Koo in his march to the title that began when he grabbed a share of the second-round lead. Both predicted the Stroke Play was just the first of many major accomplishments for their pupil/player.
"He's mature beyond his years," noted Kanner of Koo, who has won over 40 junior tournaments, including the recent Thunderbird Invitational.
"He's a hard worker, he's smart, and from a coach's perspective, he's the total package."
Torrilhon echoed those thoughts: "He's got such a good attitude; never gets too high or too low. That's why he's a great worker and a talent. And he's such a good student when it comes to implementing changes. He gets it."
But Koo didn't exactly get it when it came to the prize he was awarded as winner of the Stroke Play -- a Kachina doll. Told he would get the beautiful Native American replica of a warrior dancing in full garb, Koo, who was born in Seoul, South Korea and moved to the U.S. in 2007, said he had never heard of such a thing.
"It kind of looks like a bird," he said with a laugh. "Then again, I'm learning a lot of new things today."
As the youngest winner ever of an AGA event, he's got that right, said Ken Kellaney, perhaps the organization's greatest player ever as evidenced by his 10 POY awards.
"When I was that age, I couldn't tie my shoes," said Kellaney, whose closing 71 got him into the tournament's top 10 (ninth).
"So my hat's off to him. That was some shootin' that got him that win."
As well as a little piece of Arizona golf history.
Good thing the 15-year-old from Chandler also had the foresight to guard against the headiness of such a golden opportunity, because after just five holes at the TPC Champions Course, his big lead was gone with the wind.
"Before I started my round, I told myself, ‘Don't think about that, being the youngest winner or whatever,' " said Koo, who is a freshman on the Hamilton High golf team. "And don't think about the five-shot lead, either.
"Just imagine you're playing a one-day tournament, and that everything is starting at even (par)."
Obviously, Koo is wise beyond his years. How else do you explain blowing the five shots and then battling back in blustery conditions compounded by tough pin placements to win by two strokes over Alex McMahon, a teen-ager from Tucson?
"It's weird, but it's also amazing," observed Koo, who erased a standard held by the late Bob Goldwater (1926 Arizona Amateur) and Philip Francis (2005 Arizona Public Links), who were 16 when they won major championships sponsored by the Arizona Golf Association.
Koo did it with a gutsy, 4-over-par 74 that left him with a winning total of even par 280. Despite the four straight bogeys beginning at the second hole and a double bogey at the par-3 13th, Koo's three birdies were good enough to best McMahon, 18, a University of Arizona-bound recruit whose 69 was the day's best score.
Big hitter Camron Howell of Queen Creek finished third, four strokes back after a 73. David Lowe, an 18-year-old from Scottsdale who is headed to Arizona State, was fourth with a 71 that left him at five off the pace.
In a tie for sixth were Scottsdale's Justin Hardin and Andrew Medley, who both carded 75s to finish six shots back. At one point, Medley, a former Arizona standout and touring pro, had a share of the final-round lead with Koo after birdies at the fourth and fifth holes.
Koo's win marked the fifth year in a row that a player from Hamilton High has won this tournament, as Koo followed alums Andrew Yun (2007, 2009) and Chan Kim (2008, 2010).
Asked about keeping the streak alive, the cool-headed Koo just laughed.
"I never even knew when I came to Hamilton that they had won (the state high school championship) five years in a row," he said. "So it's all good, I guess."
That's certainly how it all played out for Koo on Sunday, as Medley and then McMahon kept the pressure on. But Medley, the club champ at Whisper Rock, was felled by a disastrous triple-bogey at the seventh hole that began with a tee shot OB, and McMahon never got closer than one shot as his Achilles heel came early with three-putt bogeys at holes No. 2 and 5.
"It got a little windy out there, but I felt good coming into the final round," said McMahon, whose best finish in AGA events had been a tie for seventh last month in the Arizona Publinks. "I guess I hit it poorly yesterday (74), but I definitely found something when I was warming up."
Birdies at Nos. 1, 9, 12 and 15 got McMahon to within one shot of Koo. But Koo also birdied the 15th and that was the final margin as both players finished off their rounds par, par and bogey.
Koo, who plays it pretty low key, had plenty of support, as his personal instructor, Sinclair Torrilhon, and Hamilton High coach, Steve Kanner, joined Koo in his march to the title that began when he grabbed a share of the second-round lead. Both predicted the Stroke Play was just the first of many major accomplishments for their pupil/player.
"He's mature beyond his years," noted Kanner of Koo, who has won over 40 junior tournaments, including the recent Thunderbird Invitational.
"He's a hard worker, he's smart, and from a coach's perspective, he's the total package."
Torrilhon echoed those thoughts: "He's got such a good attitude; never gets too high or too low. That's why he's a great worker and a talent. And he's such a good student when it comes to implementing changes. He gets it."
But Koo didn't exactly get it when it came to the prize he was awarded as winner of the Stroke Play -- a Kachina doll. Told he would get the beautiful Native American replica of a warrior dancing in full garb, Koo, who was born in Seoul, South Korea and moved to the U.S. in 2007, said he had never heard of such a thing.
"It kind of looks like a bird," he said with a laugh. "Then again, I'm learning a lot of new things today."
As the youngest winner ever of an AGA event, he's got that right, said Ken Kellaney, perhaps the organization's greatest player ever as evidenced by his 10 POY awards.
"When I was that age, I couldn't tie my shoes," said Kellaney, whose closing 71 got him into the tournament's top 10 (ninth).
"So my hat's off to him. That was some shootin' that got him that win."
As well as a little piece of Arizona golf history.
Thrift becomes fashion
My fashion intuition tells me that somewhere within the past decade it became acceptable to shop at thrift stores. It's like comparing an independent film to Hollywood and the way fashion is swaying, it's heading for that originality found in those dusty shops. When the millennium loomed upon us, fashion critics said that it would be the decade of "anything goes." I took it to mean that it would be the decade of ultimate postmodernism, where identifiable styles like '50s cardigans and '70s platforms from previous eras could be layered.
It was great while it lasted, but now it seems that the youth of America are searching for originality not found in "the eras." The search is displaying itself as skinny jeans, square sunglasses, fedoras and airy floral prints. Old band T-shirts, vests and flat shoes of a minimalist style are now everywhere.
The lingering effect is that grunge laziness from the '90s, but with a more optimistic brilliance to it all.
Vintage, retro, or indie clothing are the fashion structures most likely to be found when you're shopping at thrift stores. If you mix these categories just right, you're heading in that distressed yet cute revival of androgynous vintage clothing style - another component of the new decade.
The fundamental idea is to get to that originality zone through thrift stores, hand-me-downs, dumpster diving and good old yard sales.
Thrift store shopping is a way to engage in consumerism without being a capitalist consumer, much to the benefit of being green. Feel good about yourself while you're on the journey to discovering what secondhand nature is all about.
For those of us who are thrift-conscious, rummaging Salvation Army stores and their ilk isn't pitiful, it's downright imbued with vogue. When I shop at Forever 21, I'm thinking that if I buy this vintage-looking cardigan sweater, I'm going to wonder who else has already bought it and that she stole my look.
But if I go to a thrift store, where I will most likely be contributing to a charity, I can find a '50s-ish sweater for maybe three-fourths the price than at a name brand store and I won't have to worry about someone wearing a replica.
Because thrift shopping is all about the hunt, soon you will go to thrift stores like a ravenous hyena in search of food.
Instead of going to Urban Outfitters where you'd pay an exorbitant price for T-shirts with old band logos on them or ripped-up jeans, why not just try the Salvation Army?
The cool factor comes into play because of the vicarious quality that comes with purchasing secondhand clothes. It engages my imagination to ponder who owned this grungy '80s rock concert T-shirt. I feel that, for whatever reason, he or she is getting rid of it and passing it down to me to take care of.
Isn't that what we love about fashion? We love to tell stories about the articles of clothing we're wearing because it helps establish our fashion sense. We like to tell where we found it, how much it cost, and we love the reverie that comes with narrating past memories of times we wore the second-hand garments - and that is the nature of the individualistic, romanticized free-spirit of the new bohemian.
2011年4月18日星期一
Royal Wedding: Inside the Ceremony With India Hicks, Bridesmaid to Princess Diana
A royal wedding might look like a scene from a fairy tale, but military precision is the name of the game behind the scenes.
Quite literally not a stone remains unturned: Believe it or not, even the cobblestones outside of Westminster Abbey have been vacuumed.
ABC's Barbara Walters was granted an exclusive interview recently with India Hicks, who was 13 in 1981 when her godfather, Prince Charles, asked her to be his bridesmaid.
Hicks still has her bridesmaids dress. It is almost a replica of Lady Diana's dress.
"It is a relation … same color, same fabric," she told ABC News. "A lot of petticoats, a lot of lace, a lot of bows. Very painful when you're a little tomboy."
Although she didn't like that much at the time, looking back, Hicks said, "Now, I see the romance in it."
So what was Diana wearing on the morning of her wedding day?
"She turned up in a pair of jeans," Hicks said. "I have this lasting impression of Diana with a diamond tiara on top of her head, dressed in jeans below while they fitted the tiara to see what it would look like."
We heard last week that Kate's five-room suite at the Goring Hotel, where she will stay the night before the wedding, has a waterproof flat-screen television.
And it turns out Diana was watching the television as she got dressed.
"She was very intrigued by it," Hicks said. "For her, it was so new to see herself on television. Can you imagine? I mean her whole life going before her eyes and she kept pushing everybody out of the way; move, she'd say."
So what did the little bridesmaid think when she saw Diana in that dress that has become so iconic?
"I thought; a princess. She was the bride; all brides have that sense of being the center of attention," Hicks said. "But she had that star quality."
As bridesmaid, India had the job of managing that famous train that stretched a record-breaking 25 feet.
"The job wasn't going right," Hicks said. But Diana was sympathetic, "and turned round and just said 'Do your best.'"
And so India navigated her way up the aisle in front of a global audience of about 750 million people.
"I was thinking my shoes hurt, they're pinching," Hicks said, "and it was a long way down that red carpet to the altar. But there was an aura about that day."
Quite literally not a stone remains unturned: Believe it or not, even the cobblestones outside of Westminster Abbey have been vacuumed.
ABC's Barbara Walters was granted an exclusive interview recently with India Hicks, who was 13 in 1981 when her godfather, Prince Charles, asked her to be his bridesmaid.
Hicks still has her bridesmaids dress. It is almost a replica of Lady Diana's dress.
"It is a relation … same color, same fabric," she told ABC News. "A lot of petticoats, a lot of lace, a lot of bows. Very painful when you're a little tomboy."
Although she didn't like that much at the time, looking back, Hicks said, "Now, I see the romance in it."
So what was Diana wearing on the morning of her wedding day?
"She turned up in a pair of jeans," Hicks said. "I have this lasting impression of Diana with a diamond tiara on top of her head, dressed in jeans below while they fitted the tiara to see what it would look like."
We heard last week that Kate's five-room suite at the Goring Hotel, where she will stay the night before the wedding, has a waterproof flat-screen television.
And it turns out Diana was watching the television as she got dressed.
"She was very intrigued by it," Hicks said. "For her, it was so new to see herself on television. Can you imagine? I mean her whole life going before her eyes and she kept pushing everybody out of the way; move, she'd say."
So what did the little bridesmaid think when she saw Diana in that dress that has become so iconic?
"I thought; a princess. She was the bride; all brides have that sense of being the center of attention," Hicks said. "But she had that star quality."
As bridesmaid, India had the job of managing that famous train that stretched a record-breaking 25 feet.
"The job wasn't going right," Hicks said. But Diana was sympathetic, "and turned round and just said 'Do your best.'"
And so India navigated her way up the aisle in front of a global audience of about 750 million people.
"I was thinking my shoes hurt, they're pinching," Hicks said, "and it was a long way down that red carpet to the altar. But there was an aura about that day."
2011年4月17日星期日
Burberry chief Angela Ahrendts wants to 'sell the British attitude across the world'
Angela Ahrendts is dressed in a £2,195 Burberry Prorsum cropped leather biker jacket, a green mini-skirt and four-inch heels. Imagine a slightly older Jennifer Aniston playing a corporate executive and you'd get the vibe that the US-born retailer is exuding tonight.
Around the Burberry chief executive, hundreds of Beijing's glitterati are coming to terms with a recently finished fashion show that saw holographic models transmogrify into clouds of snow mid-catwalk. Britpop music blasts from the PA. The four walls of Beijing Television Centre's sound stage are clad with a vast moving digital image of the Thames, complete with the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye.
Ahrendts leans forward and raises her voice over the Suede track and the clinking Champagne glasses.
"This is the what I think we've done with Burberry," she shouts in her thick Indiana accent.
"We have stopped just 'making stuff'. We've stopped making stuff and we've created a pure brand. That is the essence."
Around the Burberry chief executive, hundreds of Beijing's glitterati are coming to terms with a recently finished fashion show that saw holographic models transmogrify into clouds of snow mid-catwalk. Britpop music blasts from the PA. The four walls of Beijing Television Centre's sound stage are clad with a vast moving digital image of the Thames, complete with the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye.
Ahrendts leans forward and raises her voice over the Suede track and the clinking Champagne glasses.
"This is the what I think we've done with Burberry," she shouts in her thick Indiana accent.
"We have stopped just 'making stuff'. We've stopped making stuff and we've created a pure brand. That is the essence."
Are You Sleeping?
Sometimes people fall asleep when they're not supposed to. At one time or another, we've all sat next to someone at a movie, play, ballet, school concert … who just nodded off. It can be mildly amusing, unless the sleeping person is the person you came with. Then it's embarrassing.
When is it not OK to fall asleep?
When you are an air traffic controller. Last week, a medical plane carrying a passenger needing emergency medical care, tried to land at the Reno-Tahoe, Nevada airport. They could not make contact with the control tower because the controller was sleeping. Fortunately, they were able to land themselves without incident.
A month earlier, at Reagan National Airport in Washington – a place where one would assume, that security measures would be most stringent – two jets had to land unassisted because again, the lone controller had nodded off. There was another sleeping controller in Knoxville, Tennessee, and – inexplicably – this past Monday, a Seattle controller was suspended for falling asleep, after already being punished for falling asleep twice in January. How is this possible?
We are so busy ensuring safe air travel that we can't carry a bottle of Poland Spring or wear shoes and security guards are busy patting down six year olds. And all the while, all over the country, air traffic controllers are napping through landings. AND, not getting fired!
Shouldn't safety start with those who are hired and trained to protect us? The real question isn't, why aren't these sleeping controllers fired on the spot? That's a rhetorical question. The real question is, why are they working alone with no backup? So in case there is a real emergency and they are incommunicado, there is someone else there to guide pilots?
These air traffic controller incidents have become so rampant, that after the latest near disaster in Reno this week, FAA Air Traffic Supervisor, Hank Krakowski, resigned.
Cleaning house will not solve the problem. There needs to be two controllers at all times, shorter, staggered shifts and more stringent zero tolerance rules among other things.
When is it also not OK to fall asleep?
When your boss is speaking. More specifically when your boss is speaking – and he is the President of the United States – and both of you are on TV. News cameras rolled on Wednesday when Vice President, Joe Biden was shown power napping during President Obama's federal budget speech. No doubt about it, the Veep was out cold. Not a particularly good sign when you are up for re-election and your right hand man can't force himself awake to listen to an important speech on a pressing issue.
Are there any other times when it's not OK to fall asleep?
When you are the US Postal Service. Last week it was discovered that when the USPS released their 2011 Forever stamps depicting The Statue of Liberty – there was one tiny mistake. It's not the actual statue of Liberty. At least not the one in New York Harbor. The Forever stamp shows a replica of the statue which is located at the New York, New York Casino in Las Vegas. The blunder was uncovered by a stamp enthusiast magazine. What tipped them off? The difference in the statue's hair and eyes. The USPS acknowledged the mistake but is keeping the stamps in circulation.
When have you been asleep for years?
When you are a major television network, like say … ABC, who announced that they are canceling All My Children and One Life to Live. I was an AMC Fan in the '70s and '80s and I do feel a tinge of sadness about losing it – there was some measure of comfort knowing that even though I hadn't watched in 25 years, I could if I wanted to. But the fact that I never wanted to, and neither did most people, for a really long time, is why the formerly popular soaps are getting axed.
Soap operas were created to sell soap. Cleaning products, to housewives who were home and watched afternoon television. The shift in our family structure – with far fewer stay at home housewives, caused a sharp decline in these traditional epic sagas' popularity. Life happens much faster now. If we want a dose of melodrama, we have our real lives, or Charlie Sheen's. So even though I think that ABC was asleep for a long time, letting these soap operas continue, way past their prime, I will always have fond memories of them. Pine Valley and Llanview – RIP.
Heads up to Joe Biden who might be out of a job, I hear that Donald Trump might be looking for someone.
WAKE UP!
When is it not OK to fall asleep?
When you are an air traffic controller. Last week, a medical plane carrying a passenger needing emergency medical care, tried to land at the Reno-Tahoe, Nevada airport. They could not make contact with the control tower because the controller was sleeping. Fortunately, they were able to land themselves without incident.
A month earlier, at Reagan National Airport in Washington – a place where one would assume, that security measures would be most stringent – two jets had to land unassisted because again, the lone controller had nodded off. There was another sleeping controller in Knoxville, Tennessee, and – inexplicably – this past Monday, a Seattle controller was suspended for falling asleep, after already being punished for falling asleep twice in January. How is this possible?
We are so busy ensuring safe air travel that we can't carry a bottle of Poland Spring or wear shoes and security guards are busy patting down six year olds. And all the while, all over the country, air traffic controllers are napping through landings. AND, not getting fired!
Shouldn't safety start with those who are hired and trained to protect us? The real question isn't, why aren't these sleeping controllers fired on the spot? That's a rhetorical question. The real question is, why are they working alone with no backup? So in case there is a real emergency and they are incommunicado, there is someone else there to guide pilots?
These air traffic controller incidents have become so rampant, that after the latest near disaster in Reno this week, FAA Air Traffic Supervisor, Hank Krakowski, resigned.
Cleaning house will not solve the problem. There needs to be two controllers at all times, shorter, staggered shifts and more stringent zero tolerance rules among other things.
When is it also not OK to fall asleep?
When your boss is speaking. More specifically when your boss is speaking – and he is the President of the United States – and both of you are on TV. News cameras rolled on Wednesday when Vice President, Joe Biden was shown power napping during President Obama's federal budget speech. No doubt about it, the Veep was out cold. Not a particularly good sign when you are up for re-election and your right hand man can't force himself awake to listen to an important speech on a pressing issue.
Are there any other times when it's not OK to fall asleep?
When you are the US Postal Service. Last week it was discovered that when the USPS released their 2011 Forever stamps depicting The Statue of Liberty – there was one tiny mistake. It's not the actual statue of Liberty. At least not the one in New York Harbor. The Forever stamp shows a replica of the statue which is located at the New York, New York Casino in Las Vegas. The blunder was uncovered by a stamp enthusiast magazine. What tipped them off? The difference in the statue's hair and eyes. The USPS acknowledged the mistake but is keeping the stamps in circulation.
When have you been asleep for years?
When you are a major television network, like say … ABC, who announced that they are canceling All My Children and One Life to Live. I was an AMC Fan in the '70s and '80s and I do feel a tinge of sadness about losing it – there was some measure of comfort knowing that even though I hadn't watched in 25 years, I could if I wanted to. But the fact that I never wanted to, and neither did most people, for a really long time, is why the formerly popular soaps are getting axed.
Soap operas were created to sell soap. Cleaning products, to housewives who were home and watched afternoon television. The shift in our family structure – with far fewer stay at home housewives, caused a sharp decline in these traditional epic sagas' popularity. Life happens much faster now. If we want a dose of melodrama, we have our real lives, or Charlie Sheen's. So even though I think that ABC was asleep for a long time, letting these soap operas continue, way past their prime, I will always have fond memories of them. Pine Valley and Llanview – RIP.
Heads up to Joe Biden who might be out of a job, I hear that Donald Trump might be looking for someone.
WAKE UP!
2011年4月14日星期四
Taste of Glen Ellyn Set for May 19-21
A favorite Glen Ellyn tradition that typically draws 25,000 event-goers will continue this year despite a flagging economy.
Georgia Koch, director of the Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce, said the annual Taste of Glen Ellyn is set for May 19-21. The chamber has been holding the event for 30 years, Koch said. The taste is the biggest fundraising event for the Chamber of Commerce and provides that bulk of the organization's operational expenses.
“We operate on our own funding, so it's important that we try to keep this going,” Koch said.
In addition to food from restaurants across Glen Ellyn and the surrounding area, the event features a craft show, a business expo and multiple forms of entertainment, including live music. There will also be carnival rides.
The business expo will feature information booths and displays from local businesses. Koch said the Chamber is still talking with businesses looking to participate.
Although the event is called the Taste of Glen Ellyn, only about half of the participating restaurants are from Glen Ellyn.
“Many of the restaurants in Glen Ellyn are not set up for offsite events like the taste, so we expanded to include other restaurants from neighboring communities,” Koch said.
Despite that, Koch said she wants to showcase as many Glen Ellyn businesses as possible during the three day event. She said visitors to the taste will take the time to visit other businesses while they are in town. She said those visitors may spy a restaurant that is unable to participate in the event and choose to return to try out their cuisine.
Koch said the weather certainly plays a role in attendance. She said in 2010 it rained two of the three days of the event and prevented at least one of the musical acts from going on stage.
Some of the bands that are slated to play at this year's event include 7th Heaven, Hi Infidelity, CTA (a Chicago tribute band), Tabula Rose, Replica and Dain Bramage.
“We're excited about the lineup of bands we have this year. Some of them have become staples of area festivals and the people really enjoy coming out to hear them,” Koch said.
The Taste of Glen Ellyn hours are 5 p.m. – 11 p.m. May 19 and 20. On May 21 hours are noon – 11 p.m. The event is held in the Main Street parking lot next to Giesche Shoes between Hillside Avenue and Duane Street. Admission is free.
“We're looking forward to a great event this year and we're hoping that the weather that weekend is perfect,” Koch said.
Georgia Koch, director of the Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce, said the annual Taste of Glen Ellyn is set for May 19-21. The chamber has been holding the event for 30 years, Koch said. The taste is the biggest fundraising event for the Chamber of Commerce and provides that bulk of the organization's operational expenses.
“We operate on our own funding, so it's important that we try to keep this going,” Koch said.
In addition to food from restaurants across Glen Ellyn and the surrounding area, the event features a craft show, a business expo and multiple forms of entertainment, including live music. There will also be carnival rides.
The business expo will feature information booths and displays from local businesses. Koch said the Chamber is still talking with businesses looking to participate.
Although the event is called the Taste of Glen Ellyn, only about half of the participating restaurants are from Glen Ellyn.
“Many of the restaurants in Glen Ellyn are not set up for offsite events like the taste, so we expanded to include other restaurants from neighboring communities,” Koch said.
Despite that, Koch said she wants to showcase as many Glen Ellyn businesses as possible during the three day event. She said visitors to the taste will take the time to visit other businesses while they are in town. She said those visitors may spy a restaurant that is unable to participate in the event and choose to return to try out their cuisine.
Koch said the weather certainly plays a role in attendance. She said in 2010 it rained two of the three days of the event and prevented at least one of the musical acts from going on stage.
Some of the bands that are slated to play at this year's event include 7th Heaven, Hi Infidelity, CTA (a Chicago tribute band), Tabula Rose, Replica and Dain Bramage.
“We're excited about the lineup of bands we have this year. Some of them have become staples of area festivals and the people really enjoy coming out to hear them,” Koch said.
The Taste of Glen Ellyn hours are 5 p.m. – 11 p.m. May 19 and 20. On May 21 hours are noon – 11 p.m. The event is held in the Main Street parking lot next to Giesche Shoes between Hillside Avenue and Duane Street. Admission is free.
“We're looking forward to a great event this year and we're hoping that the weather that weekend is perfect,” Koch said.
2011年4月13日星期三
PIFA opening gala and concert dazzle 800 guests
Ooh la la! Can you say “Paris comes to Philly?” It might seem as if our region has been overdosing on Eiffel Towers lately, with the “Springtime in Paris” theme and gigantic base of the Eiffel Tower at the Philadelphia International Flower Show last month, and now the 81-foot-high replica of the Eiffel Tower in the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, centerpiece for the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, or PIFA, as it has come to be called.
And all things French seem to have coalesced for the fantastic 25-day smorgasbord that was spawned by a magnanimous bequest from the late Leonore Annenberg to the Kimmel Center, requesting this visionary all-inclusive tribute to Paris in the early 20th century, involving all of the arts and culture groups in the region.
When I think of how, just a few years ago, the French and anything connected with France, like French fries and French wine and French perfume and especially French travel, were vilified, because the French government had wisely decided not to participate in George Bush’s war in Iraq, then I am especially delighted that the French are getting back their good name, and crêpes and wine and art and films and fashion and cuisine and everything good about France abounds. And French fries, not “freedom fries,” have been back on the menu for a while now. So the French have been vindicated.
It’s hard to find a single agency or museum or organization or university or dance company or musical organization that has not embraced PIFA wholeheartedly. And the opening-night gala and concert at the Kimmel Center were memorable, momentous, musically inspirational and simply “Mon Dieu!”
The Philadelphia Orchestra seemed to transport the audience of more than 800 patrons with their lively and beautiful version of Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella,” in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Ballet’s original production. Partly because of the energy and joy that conductor Rossen Milanov transmitted as he inspired the orchestra to bathe the audience in the lush tones of “The Three-cornered Hat,” and then accompanied the ballet in one of the most original performances, choreographed by Jorma Elo – just imagine if Michael Jackson’s moonwalk had been done to classical music, and that Jackson had worn ballet shoes.
“Cute” would be an insult for the tremendous control and grace that the 10 dancers from the Pennsylvania Ballet exhibited, with their flesh-colored costumes and unique combinations of “pas de deux” and flirtations.
Both the orchestra and the Pennsylvania Ballet received a well-deserved standing ovation from a cheering audience. Verizon Hall was brimming with love and appreciation for the talented performers.
You could tell from the VIPs who appeared at the cocktail hour, stayed for the performances, and then repaired to the elegant dinner, that this was a momentous occasion. Governor Rendell, Judge Marjorie O. Rendell, their son and daughter-in-law were the very first people I encountered when I entered the Kimmel Center Commonwealth Plaza. It was Rendell who had the vision for the regional performing-arts center on Broad Street, and it was he who convinced Sidney Kimmel to make the lead gift in order to accomplish the mission. I believe it was Judge Rendell who spearheaded the effort until Leslie Anne Miller, our own Main Line brilliant attorney, was brought on board as president to complete the construction, get all the arts organizations on board to sign contracts, and plan and preside over a fantastic opening night, just a few years ago. Miller was at the PIFA opening gala, of course, as was Juliet Goodfriend, the visionary head of the Bryn Mawr Film Institute.
In fact it was hard to name a single cultural venue in the region that was not represented at the PIFA opening gala. And it seems as if every single theater group, art museum and singing and performing group for miles around has put together some offering for the festival.
And if you want to brush up on your French, and do it painlessly and for free, just drop by the Kimmel Center every weekday at five o’clock and have a free French lesson by one of the many French-speaking teachers of the Alliance Française de Philadelphie. That’s the same organization that offers year-round French classes, at every level, on Bryn Mawr College’s campus and in its Center City headquarters. You might be fortunate enough to attend a “class” at the Kimmel Center led by Alliance Française board member Marie-Laure Epaminondas, who hails from Ardmore these days.
There is also a series of French Philadelphia trolley rides, hosted by the Alliance Française, based on its French Philadelphia guide book, originating from the Kimmel Center several times a week. You can find out about every single one of the 145 offerings of PIFA by Googling www.pifa.org. Or pick up the ever-present schedules in any newspaper or cultural venue.
Did I tell you that at the opening gala, after dinner, patrons were treated to an aerial ballet by the group called Grounded Aerial, where dancers on wires seemed to be climbing the walls of the atrium of the Kimmel Center while performing to beautiful music? My dinner companions were a bit worried because there was no net. But the skilled acrobat-dancers made it safely back to the floor of the Plaza after their performance.
Oh – and the Eiffel Tower does not just sit there and look gorgeous. As Mayor Nutter and honorary chairman Jerry Lenfest demonstrated at the gala, by flicking a switch, it performs a light-and-sound show to classical music, several times each day and night. You can buy some crêpes and sit at the “café” in the Kimmel Center, waiting for the Eiffel Tower to strut its stuff.
And all things French seem to have coalesced for the fantastic 25-day smorgasbord that was spawned by a magnanimous bequest from the late Leonore Annenberg to the Kimmel Center, requesting this visionary all-inclusive tribute to Paris in the early 20th century, involving all of the arts and culture groups in the region.
When I think of how, just a few years ago, the French and anything connected with France, like French fries and French wine and French perfume and especially French travel, were vilified, because the French government had wisely decided not to participate in George Bush’s war in Iraq, then I am especially delighted that the French are getting back their good name, and crêpes and wine and art and films and fashion and cuisine and everything good about France abounds. And French fries, not “freedom fries,” have been back on the menu for a while now. So the French have been vindicated.
It’s hard to find a single agency or museum or organization or university or dance company or musical organization that has not embraced PIFA wholeheartedly. And the opening-night gala and concert at the Kimmel Center were memorable, momentous, musically inspirational and simply “Mon Dieu!”
The Philadelphia Orchestra seemed to transport the audience of more than 800 patrons with their lively and beautiful version of Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella,” in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Ballet’s original production. Partly because of the energy and joy that conductor Rossen Milanov transmitted as he inspired the orchestra to bathe the audience in the lush tones of “The Three-cornered Hat,” and then accompanied the ballet in one of the most original performances, choreographed by Jorma Elo – just imagine if Michael Jackson’s moonwalk had been done to classical music, and that Jackson had worn ballet shoes.
“Cute” would be an insult for the tremendous control and grace that the 10 dancers from the Pennsylvania Ballet exhibited, with their flesh-colored costumes and unique combinations of “pas de deux” and flirtations.
Both the orchestra and the Pennsylvania Ballet received a well-deserved standing ovation from a cheering audience. Verizon Hall was brimming with love and appreciation for the talented performers.
You could tell from the VIPs who appeared at the cocktail hour, stayed for the performances, and then repaired to the elegant dinner, that this was a momentous occasion. Governor Rendell, Judge Marjorie O. Rendell, their son and daughter-in-law were the very first people I encountered when I entered the Kimmel Center Commonwealth Plaza. It was Rendell who had the vision for the regional performing-arts center on Broad Street, and it was he who convinced Sidney Kimmel to make the lead gift in order to accomplish the mission. I believe it was Judge Rendell who spearheaded the effort until Leslie Anne Miller, our own Main Line brilliant attorney, was brought on board as president to complete the construction, get all the arts organizations on board to sign contracts, and plan and preside over a fantastic opening night, just a few years ago. Miller was at the PIFA opening gala, of course, as was Juliet Goodfriend, the visionary head of the Bryn Mawr Film Institute.
In fact it was hard to name a single cultural venue in the region that was not represented at the PIFA opening gala. And it seems as if every single theater group, art museum and singing and performing group for miles around has put together some offering for the festival.
And if you want to brush up on your French, and do it painlessly and for free, just drop by the Kimmel Center every weekday at five o’clock and have a free French lesson by one of the many French-speaking teachers of the Alliance Française de Philadelphie. That’s the same organization that offers year-round French classes, at every level, on Bryn Mawr College’s campus and in its Center City headquarters. You might be fortunate enough to attend a “class” at the Kimmel Center led by Alliance Française board member Marie-Laure Epaminondas, who hails from Ardmore these days.
There is also a series of French Philadelphia trolley rides, hosted by the Alliance Française, based on its French Philadelphia guide book, originating from the Kimmel Center several times a week. You can find out about every single one of the 145 offerings of PIFA by Googling www.pifa.org. Or pick up the ever-present schedules in any newspaper or cultural venue.
Did I tell you that at the opening gala, after dinner, patrons were treated to an aerial ballet by the group called Grounded Aerial, where dancers on wires seemed to be climbing the walls of the atrium of the Kimmel Center while performing to beautiful music? My dinner companions were a bit worried because there was no net. But the skilled acrobat-dancers made it safely back to the floor of the Plaza after their performance.
Oh – and the Eiffel Tower does not just sit there and look gorgeous. As Mayor Nutter and honorary chairman Jerry Lenfest demonstrated at the gala, by flicking a switch, it performs a light-and-sound show to classical music, several times each day and night. You can buy some crêpes and sit at the “café” in the Kimmel Center, waiting for the Eiffel Tower to strut its stuff.
2011年4月12日星期二
Williams Labyrinth Available For Walking Meditation
During January of 2005, several dozen members of the Williams College community helped to create a replica of the 13th century labyrinth inscribed on the floor of Chartres Cathedral – on a 36-foot-square expanse of portable canvas.
Since then, several times each semester for several days at a time, the labyrinth is spread out and available free of charge to the whole community for many kinds of meditative use. This month it will be available during Holy Week, Wednesday-Friday, April 20-22, in the Fellowship Hall of the First Congregational Church. Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day.
The labyrinth is an ancient device for walking meditation. Though perhaps the most familiar version is the one at Chartes, it has pre-Christian roots in many cultures, and people have been following the path to the center of its beautiful convoluted design for countless centuries. The practice of walking the labyrinth has connections to many kinds of spirituality and can be enjoyed by people of all faiths as well as by those who feel no affiliation with any organized religion.
Walkers are asked only to remove their shoes to protect the canvas. Printed leaflets with suggestions on how to structure a walk, as well as several of the many books published on labyrinth walking as a spiritual exercise, are available. A public journal is available so that walkers can inscribe a few lines about their own journeys or enjoy the responses of others. One recent walker wrote: “Thanks for a calm place in the storm.”
The First Congregational Church is located at 906 Main St. (Route 2). The building is fully handicap accessible and parking is available behind the church off of Chapin Hall Drive.
Since then, several times each semester for several days at a time, the labyrinth is spread out and available free of charge to the whole community for many kinds of meditative use. This month it will be available during Holy Week, Wednesday-Friday, April 20-22, in the Fellowship Hall of the First Congregational Church. Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day.
The labyrinth is an ancient device for walking meditation. Though perhaps the most familiar version is the one at Chartes, it has pre-Christian roots in many cultures, and people have been following the path to the center of its beautiful convoluted design for countless centuries. The practice of walking the labyrinth has connections to many kinds of spirituality and can be enjoyed by people of all faiths as well as by those who feel no affiliation with any organized religion.
Walkers are asked only to remove their shoes to protect the canvas. Printed leaflets with suggestions on how to structure a walk, as well as several of the many books published on labyrinth walking as a spiritual exercise, are available. A public journal is available so that walkers can inscribe a few lines about their own journeys or enjoy the responses of others. One recent walker wrote: “Thanks for a calm place in the storm.”
The First Congregational Church is located at 906 Main St. (Route 2). The building is fully handicap accessible and parking is available behind the church off of Chapin Hall Drive.
2011年4月11日星期一
Bay Area Renaissance Festival
Say huzzah to the wizards, warriors and commoners who populate this replica of a 16th century village with entertainment on multiple stages, street theater, live armored contact jousting, human chess matches, art, craft and other vendors, fire-eaters and more.
Insider tips: Fans of the RenFest show up in costume to get in on the fun, and children dress like princesses and fairies. Whatever your outfit, make sure it includes comfortable shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty. This is a field, not a paved mall.
There’s standard fair food, but get into the spirit and gnaw on a giant smoked turkey leg or try a Scotch egg (that’s a hard-boiled egg encased in sausage and deep fried) and wash it down with a pint of grog as you take in a medieval comedy show or knights jousting on horseback.
The throwback appeal is that it's outdoors, with the sounds of lutes playing and swords clashing and the smells of wood smoke and perfumed oils and salespeople keen on charming dollars out of your pocket with a magic trick or a jig. Bring lots of singles for tipping.
What's in store this weekend?
The festival's closing weekend features Huzzah to the King with the King's Birthday celebration, beer tasting, fencing competition and a Harvest Market.
Price: $14.95 advance, $6.95 ages 5-12 advance; $17.95 at the gate, $14.95 seniors at the gate, $9.95 ages 5-12 at the gate; $10 per pet.
Insider tips: Fans of the RenFest show up in costume to get in on the fun, and children dress like princesses and fairies. Whatever your outfit, make sure it includes comfortable shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty. This is a field, not a paved mall.
There’s standard fair food, but get into the spirit and gnaw on a giant smoked turkey leg or try a Scotch egg (that’s a hard-boiled egg encased in sausage and deep fried) and wash it down with a pint of grog as you take in a medieval comedy show or knights jousting on horseback.
The throwback appeal is that it's outdoors, with the sounds of lutes playing and swords clashing and the smells of wood smoke and perfumed oils and salespeople keen on charming dollars out of your pocket with a magic trick or a jig. Bring lots of singles for tipping.
What's in store this weekend?
The festival's closing weekend features Huzzah to the King with the King's Birthday celebration, beer tasting, fencing competition and a Harvest Market.
Price: $14.95 advance, $6.95 ages 5-12 advance; $17.95 at the gate, $14.95 seniors at the gate, $9.95 ages 5-12 at the gate; $10 per pet.
Bay Area Renaissance Festival
Say huzzah to the wizards, warriors and commoners who populate this replica of a 16th century village with entertainment on multiple stages, street theater, live armored contact jousting, human chess matches, art, craft and other vendors, fire-eaters and more.
Insider tips: Fans of the RenFest show up in costume to get in on the fun, and children dress like princesses and fairies. Whatever your outfit, make sure it includes comfortable shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty. This is a field, not a paved mall.
There’s standard fair food, but get into the spirit and gnaw on a giant smoked turkey leg or try a Scotch egg (that’s a hard-boiled egg encased in sausage and deep fried) and wash it down with a pint of grog as you take in a medieval comedy show or knights jousting on horseback.
The throwback appeal is that it's outdoors, with the sounds of lutes playing and swords clashing and the smells of wood smoke and perfumed oils and salespeople keen on charming dollars out of your pocket with a magic trick or a jig. Bring lots of singles for tipping.
What's in store this weekend?
The festival's closing weekend features Huzzah to the King with the King's Birthday celebration, beer tasting, fencing competition and a Harvest Market.
Price: $14.95 advance, $6.95 ages 5-12 advance; $17.95 at the gate, $14.95 seniors at the gate, $9.95 ages 5-12 at the gate; $10 per pet.
Insider tips: Fans of the RenFest show up in costume to get in on the fun, and children dress like princesses and fairies. Whatever your outfit, make sure it includes comfortable shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty. This is a field, not a paved mall.
There’s standard fair food, but get into the spirit and gnaw on a giant smoked turkey leg or try a Scotch egg (that’s a hard-boiled egg encased in sausage and deep fried) and wash it down with a pint of grog as you take in a medieval comedy show or knights jousting on horseback.
The throwback appeal is that it's outdoors, with the sounds of lutes playing and swords clashing and the smells of wood smoke and perfumed oils and salespeople keen on charming dollars out of your pocket with a magic trick or a jig. Bring lots of singles for tipping.
What's in store this weekend?
The festival's closing weekend features Huzzah to the King with the King's Birthday celebration, beer tasting, fencing competition and a Harvest Market.
Price: $14.95 advance, $6.95 ages 5-12 advance; $17.95 at the gate, $14.95 seniors at the gate, $9.95 ages 5-12 at the gate; $10 per pet.
2011年4月7日星期四
We suppose this was inevitable: Princess Kate Middleton dolls go on sale…
As you know, we love a bit of naff Royal Wedding memorabilia however we don’t think we’ll be purchasing this new Kate Middleton doll which went on sale today. It scares us a tiny bit.
The “Princess Catherine” doll comes complete with the a miniature replica of the dress Kate wore to announce her engagement in plus a pretty (plastic) pink head accessory thing as well as a gold handbag and matching shoes. Apparently you pick one up from Hamleys for £35.
Tempting, tempting…. But not as tempting as this.
The “Princess Catherine” doll comes complete with the a miniature replica of the dress Kate wore to announce her engagement in plus a pretty (plastic) pink head accessory thing as well as a gold handbag and matching shoes. Apparently you pick one up from Hamleys for £35.
Tempting, tempting…. But not as tempting as this.
Macko And Mack: Two Generations Of Texas Rangers Fans
Joe Macko has been employed in professional baseball for 62 years. Mack Skeels has been alive for five. Age is no factor when it comes to excitement, though, and both were thrilled beyond belief at receiving an American League championship ring with a large T embedded on top.
Macko and Mack are the latest proof that in addition to bringing joy to a region, a sports franchise on top of its game can unify generations.
Macko, 82 years old and a Texas Rangers employee since the birth of the franchise in 1972, is an avowed optimist certain he'll be alive to see the team win a World Series title. For now, the AL ring he was handed at a lunch ceremony at the stadium Monday made him feel like a kid again. He reflected on the lean years, the close calls and his many friendships, from legendary Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Nolan Ryan to the anonymous clubhouse attendants he worked alongside for three decades.
Skeels felt like a kid because he is a kid. He was given a pewter replica championship ring as a gift on opening day at Rangers Ballpark -- same as the ones fans received at Monday's game -- and he showed it off to lunch patrons at Uncle Julio's restaurant and spent the afternoon hitting Wiffle balls in his backyard and dreaming of diamond glory. The son of attorney and former minor league player David Skeels and former Fort Worth Trinity Valley High and NCAA All-American distance runner Megan (Flowers) Skeels, Mack has been to six Rangers opening day games before his sixth birthday.
Macko and Mack, like countless others among the largest opening weekend crowd since the The Ballpark at Arlington opened in 1994, represent the past and future of Rangers' baseball while basking in its present.
A franchise struggling to develop an identity and the type of fan loyalty found in places like Boston and Chicago, New York and Los Angeles took a huge step by reaching the World Series in 2010. To follow that with a season-opening sweep of the Red Sox while mixing in the championship ring ceremony is the kind of experience that will linger for young and old alike.
Said Macko: "We've been at it a long time and came close many times. So this is something quite meaningful to me. This is something to be cherished."
Said Mack: "I had fun and I got to see Josh Hamilton. He's my favorite player."
Hamilton, the reigning AL MVP, and his teammates received their rings before Saturday night's game. They had conflicting emotions because the rings also reminded them they'd lost the World Series to the San Francisco Giants.
"It's bittersweet," said infielder Michael Young, the player who has been with the Rangers the longest. "Winning the AL was a great accomplishment, something this club had never done, but we still fell short of our ultimate goal."
Macko, whose playing career ended in 1964, will leave the what-could-of-beens to the current players. The ring is something of a lifetime achievement award in his mind and he plans to wear it every day along with the three others he almost never removes from his huge fingers.
"My ring finger is a size 17," he said. "I ordered this one in a 15 because I'm going to wear it on my index finger."
One ring is from the Major League Baseball Equipment Managers Assn., commemorating his three decades of service, and two are from the independent minor league Fort Worth Cats.
Macko has seemingly had some involvement with every minor league team in the state since he was signed by the Cleveland Indians in 1947.
"Each ring is a talking piece," he said. "I like to wear them because I like to brag about the game of baseball."
As a goodwill ambassador for the Rangers (that's his actual job title), Macko visits elementary schools and retirement homes, high schools and corporate functions, relating tales from his 18 years as a power-hitting minor league player and his nearly 40 years with the Rangers.
A few quick ones ...
• Nolan Ryan had his uniform jersey stolen from his luggage during his first road trip as a Ranger in 1989, apparently by somebody wanting valuable memorabilia. From then on, Macko put his clothes in Ryan's bag and Ryan's clothes in his.
"I never had mine stolen because I found a bottle of skunk spray at a novelty shop, and I'd spray some on a handkerchief and put it in the luggage," Macko said. "When they opened it, that's all they smelled."
• Ted Williams, the Rangers' first manager, and Macko were golfing in Irving, Texas, when Williams sliced his first drive into some trees and threw his club. On the second hole he sliced his drive again and became so enraged he broke his driver in half.
"He swung the broken piece of club at the golf cart, missed and hit his leg," Macko said. "Blood started running down his leg but we kept playing. When we walked you could hear the squish of blood in his shoes. He left a bloody imprint on every green."
The next day Williams had to explain to the team and to reporters why he was limping. He told Macko to back his story that he'd caught a hook in his leg while fishing. "He asked me to promise that as long as he was alive, I wouldn't tell the true story," Macko said.
Macko kept the promise, although since Williams passed away in 2002, he's probably recounted the incident a thousand times.
Macko and Mack are the latest proof that in addition to bringing joy to a region, a sports franchise on top of its game can unify generations.
Macko, 82 years old and a Texas Rangers employee since the birth of the franchise in 1972, is an avowed optimist certain he'll be alive to see the team win a World Series title. For now, the AL ring he was handed at a lunch ceremony at the stadium Monday made him feel like a kid again. He reflected on the lean years, the close calls and his many friendships, from legendary Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Nolan Ryan to the anonymous clubhouse attendants he worked alongside for three decades.
Skeels felt like a kid because he is a kid. He was given a pewter replica championship ring as a gift on opening day at Rangers Ballpark -- same as the ones fans received at Monday's game -- and he showed it off to lunch patrons at Uncle Julio's restaurant and spent the afternoon hitting Wiffle balls in his backyard and dreaming of diamond glory. The son of attorney and former minor league player David Skeels and former Fort Worth Trinity Valley High and NCAA All-American distance runner Megan (Flowers) Skeels, Mack has been to six Rangers opening day games before his sixth birthday.
Macko and Mack, like countless others among the largest opening weekend crowd since the The Ballpark at Arlington opened in 1994, represent the past and future of Rangers' baseball while basking in its present.
A franchise struggling to develop an identity and the type of fan loyalty found in places like Boston and Chicago, New York and Los Angeles took a huge step by reaching the World Series in 2010. To follow that with a season-opening sweep of the Red Sox while mixing in the championship ring ceremony is the kind of experience that will linger for young and old alike.
Said Macko: "We've been at it a long time and came close many times. So this is something quite meaningful to me. This is something to be cherished."
Said Mack: "I had fun and I got to see Josh Hamilton. He's my favorite player."
Hamilton, the reigning AL MVP, and his teammates received their rings before Saturday night's game. They had conflicting emotions because the rings also reminded them they'd lost the World Series to the San Francisco Giants.
"It's bittersweet," said infielder Michael Young, the player who has been with the Rangers the longest. "Winning the AL was a great accomplishment, something this club had never done, but we still fell short of our ultimate goal."
Macko, whose playing career ended in 1964, will leave the what-could-of-beens to the current players. The ring is something of a lifetime achievement award in his mind and he plans to wear it every day along with the three others he almost never removes from his huge fingers.
"My ring finger is a size 17," he said. "I ordered this one in a 15 because I'm going to wear it on my index finger."
One ring is from the Major League Baseball Equipment Managers Assn., commemorating his three decades of service, and two are from the independent minor league Fort Worth Cats.
Macko has seemingly had some involvement with every minor league team in the state since he was signed by the Cleveland Indians in 1947.
"Each ring is a talking piece," he said. "I like to wear them because I like to brag about the game of baseball."
As a goodwill ambassador for the Rangers (that's his actual job title), Macko visits elementary schools and retirement homes, high schools and corporate functions, relating tales from his 18 years as a power-hitting minor league player and his nearly 40 years with the Rangers.
A few quick ones ...
• Nolan Ryan had his uniform jersey stolen from his luggage during his first road trip as a Ranger in 1989, apparently by somebody wanting valuable memorabilia. From then on, Macko put his clothes in Ryan's bag and Ryan's clothes in his.
"I never had mine stolen because I found a bottle of skunk spray at a novelty shop, and I'd spray some on a handkerchief and put it in the luggage," Macko said. "When they opened it, that's all they smelled."
• Ted Williams, the Rangers' first manager, and Macko were golfing in Irving, Texas, when Williams sliced his first drive into some trees and threw his club. On the second hole he sliced his drive again and became so enraged he broke his driver in half.
"He swung the broken piece of club at the golf cart, missed and hit his leg," Macko said. "Blood started running down his leg but we kept playing. When we walked you could hear the squish of blood in his shoes. He left a bloody imprint on every green."
The next day Williams had to explain to the team and to reporters why he was limping. He told Macko to back his story that he'd caught a hook in his leg while fishing. "He asked me to promise that as long as he was alive, I wouldn't tell the true story," Macko said.
Macko kept the promise, although since Williams passed away in 2002, he's probably recounted the incident a thousand times.
2011年4月5日星期二
Where to find the best gear, jerseys and footwear in Seattle
Soccer is something that has really taken root in the Pacific Northwest, and specifically Seattle.
The Seattle Youth soccer Association alone serves over 13,000 soccer players in the Seattle and Shoreline area. It's only fitting that Seattle finally joined Major League Soccer in 2009, by having its own team, Sounders FC. On game days, SoDo (South Downtown) is just as flooded as it is on Mariners and Seahawks games.
To support this huge interest, there are several stores in the area that supports Seattle soccer. Here is a listing of the three best in the Seattle area:
Schmetzer's Sporthaus
This euro-styled soccer specialty store is one of the best places for gear, jerseys, and team wear.
There is a large selection of cleated shoes, turf shoes and indoor shoes. You'll find all the major brands, like Nike, Adidas, PUMA and Diadora. In addition, you can find all your other supplies, like gloves, shin guards, clothing, and coaching supplies. Seattle is well known for its cold weather and rain, and their cold weather gear really compliments the city's climate.
For soccer fans, there are also a lot of team and replica jerseys.
They have lot of Sounders FC jerseys and trainers that are great for game days. There are also European replica jerseys for those who like to follow Champions League "football." Teams include replica jerseys from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal and Manchester United, to name a few.
While the selection is fairly large, the store caters primarily to men and youth boys. For a larger selection for youth girls and women, you can try some of the later stores listed.
Website: http://www.soccerspecialists.com
Location: 12524 Lake City Way NE Seattle, WA 98125 (Seattle Store), 505 SE Everett Mall Way Everett, WA 98208 (Everett Store), 12525 Willows Rd NE Kirkland, WA 98034 (Redmond Store), 5015 Tacoma Mall Blvd Tacoma, WA (Tacoma Store)
Hours of Operation: Monday-CLOSED, Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday & Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Shop Soccer West
Shop Soccer West is the other major soccer specialty store in the Seattle area. There is a wide selection in shoes, clothing, and gear for men, women, boys and girls.
They carry all the major brands for cleated outdoor shoes, indoor shoes, and turf shoes. There is a lot of equipment from balls, shin guards, gloves to referee equipment. There is also a wide selection on apparel like shorts and training gear.
Similar to Schmetzer's, they also carry a lot of replica jerseys of football clubs in Europe. What you're not able to find at Schmetzer's, you'll find at Shop Soccer West. For example, there are replica jerseys for AC Milan, Juventus, and Liverpool, to name a few. In addition, there are jerseys assorted by country. So you can get a Brazillian or a Team USA jersey.
Shop Soccer West also supports the local football clubs by carrying the club wear for 11 local teams. These include Mt Rainier FC, Snohomish United, Issaquah Soccer Club, and Washington State's Women's Association.
Locations: 3333 184th Street Southwest, Lynwood, WA 98037 (Lynwood Store), 31833 Gateway Center Blvd-S, Federal Way, WA 98003 (Federal Way Store), Factoria Village, 3700-Factoria BLVD SE-A, Bellevue, WA 98072 (Bellevue Store), 15932 Redmond Way #102, Redmond, WA 98052 (Redmond Store)
Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Code Four Athletics
Code Four Athletics is one of the last independent soccer stores in Seattle and is also the best in providing team jerseys and clothing.
Many of the local, family run or independent shops in Seattle have started closing down. Soccer Shop in Redmond closed down in 2010, and Sport Specialties in Belletown closed in 2008.
Code Four Athletics doesn't compete with larger stores like Shop Soccer West and Schmetzer's Sporthaus because they don't deal with gear and footwear. They sell soccer warm ups, team hoodies and jerseys. They customize them for local and out of state teams, and sell them as discounted team packages. Items can also be bought individually.
There is also a great selection of different books and DVDs to help improve soccer techniques and drills.
The Seattle Youth soccer Association alone serves over 13,000 soccer players in the Seattle and Shoreline area. It's only fitting that Seattle finally joined Major League Soccer in 2009, by having its own team, Sounders FC. On game days, SoDo (South Downtown) is just as flooded as it is on Mariners and Seahawks games.
To support this huge interest, there are several stores in the area that supports Seattle soccer. Here is a listing of the three best in the Seattle area:
Schmetzer's Sporthaus
This euro-styled soccer specialty store is one of the best places for gear, jerseys, and team wear.
There is a large selection of cleated shoes, turf shoes and indoor shoes. You'll find all the major brands, like Nike, Adidas, PUMA and Diadora. In addition, you can find all your other supplies, like gloves, shin guards, clothing, and coaching supplies. Seattle is well known for its cold weather and rain, and their cold weather gear really compliments the city's climate.
For soccer fans, there are also a lot of team and replica jerseys.
They have lot of Sounders FC jerseys and trainers that are great for game days. There are also European replica jerseys for those who like to follow Champions League "football." Teams include replica jerseys from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal and Manchester United, to name a few.
While the selection is fairly large, the store caters primarily to men and youth boys. For a larger selection for youth girls and women, you can try some of the later stores listed.
Website: http://www.soccerspecialists.com
Location: 12524 Lake City Way NE Seattle, WA 98125 (Seattle Store), 505 SE Everett Mall Way Everett, WA 98208 (Everett Store), 12525 Willows Rd NE Kirkland, WA 98034 (Redmond Store), 5015 Tacoma Mall Blvd Tacoma, WA (Tacoma Store)
Hours of Operation: Monday-CLOSED, Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday & Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Shop Soccer West
Shop Soccer West is the other major soccer specialty store in the Seattle area. There is a wide selection in shoes, clothing, and gear for men, women, boys and girls.
They carry all the major brands for cleated outdoor shoes, indoor shoes, and turf shoes. There is a lot of equipment from balls, shin guards, gloves to referee equipment. There is also a wide selection on apparel like shorts and training gear.
Similar to Schmetzer's, they also carry a lot of replica jerseys of football clubs in Europe. What you're not able to find at Schmetzer's, you'll find at Shop Soccer West. For example, there are replica jerseys for AC Milan, Juventus, and Liverpool, to name a few. In addition, there are jerseys assorted by country. So you can get a Brazillian or a Team USA jersey.
Shop Soccer West also supports the local football clubs by carrying the club wear for 11 local teams. These include Mt Rainier FC, Snohomish United, Issaquah Soccer Club, and Washington State's Women's Association.
Locations: 3333 184th Street Southwest, Lynwood, WA 98037 (Lynwood Store), 31833 Gateway Center Blvd-S, Federal Way, WA 98003 (Federal Way Store), Factoria Village, 3700-Factoria BLVD SE-A, Bellevue, WA 98072 (Bellevue Store), 15932 Redmond Way #102, Redmond, WA 98052 (Redmond Store)
Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Code Four Athletics
Code Four Athletics is one of the last independent soccer stores in Seattle and is also the best in providing team jerseys and clothing.
Many of the local, family run or independent shops in Seattle have started closing down. Soccer Shop in Redmond closed down in 2010, and Sport Specialties in Belletown closed in 2008.
Code Four Athletics doesn't compete with larger stores like Shop Soccer West and Schmetzer's Sporthaus because they don't deal with gear and footwear. They sell soccer warm ups, team hoodies and jerseys. They customize them for local and out of state teams, and sell them as discounted team packages. Items can also be bought individually.
There is also a great selection of different books and DVDs to help improve soccer techniques and drills.
2011年4月1日星期五
Tampa Bay Rays open defense of AL East Flag
For some fans it may be hard to believe that thirteen seasons have passed in the history of their local baseball club and tonight the Tampa Bay Rays embark on a defense of their second American League East title in the last three years.
A lot has changed since the final game in 2010 but it is felt that the new additions, such as Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon, Kyle Farnsworth, Adam Russell and Joel Peralta will soften the blow of departures like Rafael Soriano, Joaquin Benoit and most importantly, Carl Crawford.
A sellout crowd will pack Tropicana Field as they host the retooled Baltimore Orioles under the leadership of Buck Showalter. The Birds won an astounding 34 games under their new manager considering they won only 32 prior to that and he did that after August 1st becoming the first manager since 1900 to turn the trick.
The Orioles are coming off a year where they beat the Rays in the season series 10-6 and have added three thumper to their lineup: Vladimir Guerrero, Derrick Lee and Mark Reynolds, all of whom have had 40 HR seasons in their careers. But the Rays have something Baltimore does not – a starting rotation that could turn out to be the best in the junior circuit.
This evening lefty David Price toes the rubber hoping to become Tampa Bay's first 20-game winner after falling one short in 2010. His 19-6 record was the best in team annals while posting a stellar 2.72 ERA. This will be Price's first opening day assignment. The O's will send righty Jeremy Guthrie (11-14, 3.83) to the hill.
Before the first pitch fans will get to see the raising of the Rays' third banner for beating out the New York Yankees for the AL East top spot. Since their inaugural season in 1998 the Rays (2) and Yankees are the only teams to have one more than one division championship (Kids 14 and under will receive a replica banner this Sunday).
Since the Rays made their first appearance in the postseason in 2008, they have played at a torrid pace under the roof of Tropicana Field going 158-85 (65.6% winning percentage) tying them with Boston for the best home record over that span. 19 of the first 32 games of the season will be played in St. Petersburg. In addition, the Bay Bunch have a 40-13 mark with crowds of 30,000 or more. Tonight will mark the sixth straight season the Rays have sold out the home opener. The first pitch will be tossed out by Florida Governor Rick Scott.
SILENCE PLEASE: A moment of silence will be observed for the three fallen St. Petersburg police officers who were killed in the line of duty this year. They are Sergeant Thomas Baitinger, Officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz and Officer David Crawford. In addition, 125 police officers from the St. Petersburg force will unfurl a 150x300-foot US flag and the colors will be presented by the police department.
HELPING HAND: Volunteers from the Red Cross will be collecting donations for the Japan relief Fund during the opening series that will run through Sunday. The Rays have already donated $10,000 to the Children's Japan Earthquake Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund and will match up to $15,000 to the red Cross' efforts.
A lot has changed since the final game in 2010 but it is felt that the new additions, such as Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon, Kyle Farnsworth, Adam Russell and Joel Peralta will soften the blow of departures like Rafael Soriano, Joaquin Benoit and most importantly, Carl Crawford.
A sellout crowd will pack Tropicana Field as they host the retooled Baltimore Orioles under the leadership of Buck Showalter. The Birds won an astounding 34 games under their new manager considering they won only 32 prior to that and he did that after August 1st becoming the first manager since 1900 to turn the trick.
The Orioles are coming off a year where they beat the Rays in the season series 10-6 and have added three thumper to their lineup: Vladimir Guerrero, Derrick Lee and Mark Reynolds, all of whom have had 40 HR seasons in their careers. But the Rays have something Baltimore does not – a starting rotation that could turn out to be the best in the junior circuit.
This evening lefty David Price toes the rubber hoping to become Tampa Bay's first 20-game winner after falling one short in 2010. His 19-6 record was the best in team annals while posting a stellar 2.72 ERA. This will be Price's first opening day assignment. The O's will send righty Jeremy Guthrie (11-14, 3.83) to the hill.
Before the first pitch fans will get to see the raising of the Rays' third banner for beating out the New York Yankees for the AL East top spot. Since their inaugural season in 1998 the Rays (2) and Yankees are the only teams to have one more than one division championship (Kids 14 and under will receive a replica banner this Sunday).
Since the Rays made their first appearance in the postseason in 2008, they have played at a torrid pace under the roof of Tropicana Field going 158-85 (65.6% winning percentage) tying them with Boston for the best home record over that span. 19 of the first 32 games of the season will be played in St. Petersburg. In addition, the Bay Bunch have a 40-13 mark with crowds of 30,000 or more. Tonight will mark the sixth straight season the Rays have sold out the home opener. The first pitch will be tossed out by Florida Governor Rick Scott.
SILENCE PLEASE: A moment of silence will be observed for the three fallen St. Petersburg police officers who were killed in the line of duty this year. They are Sergeant Thomas Baitinger, Officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz and Officer David Crawford. In addition, 125 police officers from the St. Petersburg force will unfurl a 150x300-foot US flag and the colors will be presented by the police department.
HELPING HAND: Volunteers from the Red Cross will be collecting donations for the Japan relief Fund during the opening series that will run through Sunday. The Rays have already donated $10,000 to the Children's Japan Earthquake Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund and will match up to $15,000 to the red Cross' efforts.
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