Sunday, June 22, 2008

75th SAG Anniversary Party in Boston

Some of the local Boston actors who attended the 75th Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Anniversary Party at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Boston, Saturday June 21, 2008.

Center is Ellen Becker-Gray. From l-r Ron Murphy, Rob Gray, Paul (?), Me, Doug Weeks, Maria (?),

Super Banana


I'm not sure where this photo was taken but it is certainly a record breaking banana plant!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Zanzibar International Film Festival 2008


ZIFF ALIVE!

Zanzibar Catches Festival FeverFestival Centre Buzzes with Top Talent and the Best local and International Films of 2008 Zanzibar, July 11-20, 2008:

The Eleventh edition of the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) is in full swing, with both industry delegates and cinema lovers riding a wave of excitement following the coming ten days’ activities, and looking forward to another 8 days of local and international discussion panels, workshops, Ten days of screenings of the best local and international cinema and evenings of musical concerts including a Gala each evening.

The festival is an all-arts affair, with all its programs culminated of realising the capacity of film to fuse together the best of each art-form, offering a wide range of Entertainment, Educating, Shopping, and Networking options for world audiences.

The festival centre is located in the beautiful stone town area in Zanzibar. The main location of the festival is an atmospheric Amphitheatre located inside an Old Fort. Other venues are Mambo Club, House of Wonders, Old Customs House, Palace Museum, Aecrotanal, Chake Chake and Wete Cinema in Pemba.

Each festival evening begins with the Festival of Festivals, welcomes festivals, TV stations and different programmers to showcase their works and discuss them with audiences. Cocktails in the sunset splendour of the House of Wonders. It leads on to the presentation of the main films of the day at the Amphitheatre in the Old Fort.

Screening 50 films from an impressive collection of studio and independent features that enthral and top notch documentaries that captivate and inform audiences. This year festival has created space for four of the newest offerings to world cinema- 4 World Premieres. showcasing African Premieres, including the most talked about films coming out of Africa recently Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation (2007) and Ezra (2006) the winner of the Etalon Yenenga at FESPACO 2007.

The FESPACO 2007 package, composed of all winning films at that Premier Film festival of Africa also presented.

The11th ZIFF is the Festival as you’ve never seen it before! ZIFF ALIVE!

Check us out@ http://www.ziff.or.tz/Let your friends, neighbors know that YOU WANT TO ATTEND THE 11th Ziff Festival from 11th to 20th July 2008!

Experience the festival difference!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Funeral Arrangements for Jim Mitchell & Obituary

Burial will be private, but a celebration of his life will be held at the Warner Town Hall on Tuesday, June 17 at 2 pm to be followed by a reception at his home, The Gallery at MainStreet Bookends.

Obituary for Jim Mitchell

Henry Milnor Jim Mitchell died June 4, 2008 of a heart attack in his home, MainStreet Bookends of Warner. Born March 17, 1950 in Charlottesville, VA, he was the first child of Arthur Hayne Mitchell, Jr. and Edith Looker Mitchell.

With his sister and brother-in-law, he in 1998 created and became co-owner of the community bookstore MainStreet BookEnds of Warner. In his ten years operating the store, it won numerous awards, including Yankee Magazines Must-See Bookstore of New England, and NH Magazines Best Community Bookstore.

It became the focal point and gathering place for the town. Here he coordinated over 300 events a year, including concerts, lectures, classes, story hours, and the meeting of primary presidential candidates. He was a former director of the annual Warner Fall Foliage Festival, served on numerous town committees, and was named Warners Citizen of the Year in 2004.

Jim was a decorated Vietnam veteran, being named Airman of the Year in 1970. He began his long radio career as a news anchor with WLNH in Laconia, New Hampshire, and moved to WSB Radio in Atlanta, GA where he stayed until 1981. He then came back to New England to anchor the morning news at WHDH Radio in Boston, the afternoon news at WEEI-AM, and then in 1998 became the weekend news anchor for WBZ NewsRadio 1030.

He also served as a union negotiator for the news crew. He received numerous broadcast awards including several awards from the Associated Press for "Best Newscast." He was most proud of his award for "Best Spot News" coverage of the World Airways crash at Logan International airport in Boston in 1982, and was known in the Boston area for bringing human interest stories from all around the world. He had traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, South America and the South Pacific.

He will forever be remembered for his clear voice, his humble nature, for his million small gestures of kindness, his ability to make everyone laugh and feel at ease, and his free balloon hour in the bookstore.

He leaves behind his adoring sister, Katharine Mitchell Nevins, and her husband, Neil, of Warner. Their children Lane, Matthias, Colin and Klare were his greatest loves. He is also survived by a brother Arthur Mitchell of Virginia, his wife Monica, and their children Katharine, Andrew and Thomas, his aunt Karen Hyde also of Virginia and many cousins.

He leaves behind a huge and grateful community of friends in Warner, at WBZ, and within the world of radio news.

Jims passion and greatest pride was the little town of Warner. He worked to encourage and promote all the artists, writers, musicians and children that live there. To honor Jims spirit and life work, his plans and dream for a community park between the bookstore and the Pillsbury Free Library of Warner will come true.

Any donations should be directed, in his name, toward MainStreet Warner, Inc., P.O. Box 248, Warner, NH 03278, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that he created. Burial will be private, but a celebration of his life will be held at the Warner Town Hall on Tuesday, June 17 at 2 pm to be followed by a reception at his home, The Gallery at MainStreet Bookends.

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Rest in Peace Jim Mitchell (WBZ News Radio Anchor)

WBZ News Radio Weekend Anchors from left to right, Jim Mitchell, Bill Watson and Walt Perkins


You know its strange. Last week Saturday, I was talking to Jim Mitchell and when my shift ended I told him that I'd see him again this week today. That wouldn't be the case as Jim died of a heart attack on Wednesday. He was 58.

I worked with Jim Mitchell for the past 8 years at WBZ News Radio in Boston, where I work part time as a news writer mostly on Saturday's. I often wrote for Jim. If there was a problem he was always polite about it and keen to educate.

He loved his bookstore in Warner, New Hampshire. He even offered to order a book for me that I was looking for...free of charge. Sometimes he'd bring in treats for the newsroom like cookies, cakes and pies which would be devoured quickly. He passed away in his beloved Bookstore.

We loved hearing him interview foreign correspondents. He was a pro at it, and even pronounced their names right.

I will miss Jim. I'm in the Newsroom now, it just doesn't feel the same.

REST IN PEACE JIM MITCHELL

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