Send in the clowns...for virtual happiness

If anyone has any information on the local or regional artist who might have painted clowns in the 1950s, I would like to hear from you. I can be reached at coachtomberlin@gmail.com. When my father was a young boy growing up on Oak Street in Morganton in the 1950s, his...

Creating a great interior space takes listening and empathy, says designer David Quarles IV. “I think what really elevates a space is making sure that you go with the intention of the client, and not yours, and just really building out based on how they want to feel. How can we create their sense of calm, their sense of happy?”

Last week’s Deerfield Valley News contained the obituary of Janet Kierys. It was very distressing to the see the editing done by the paper to inaccurately refer to Janet as Mrs. Kierys. When contacting the paper, I was informed that they were following protocol. I chose to write Janet’s obituary...

Happy weekend! I had such a great time in Seattle visiting my best friend and getting to go to her baby shower. I think I walked in the door and we didn’t stop talking for 4 days straight, haha! Much needed and FAR overdue. THANK YOU SCIENCE!!!. My birthday is...

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY to Elliott William Bard, who celebrates tomorrow, Sunday, June 13, 2020. He is the son of Jim and Becky (Weikert) Bard of Huntingdon, R.R. His very proud grandparents are Jim and Janet Weikert of Huntingdon, R.R., and Sandy Bard and Clair Bard, both of Mill Creek, and the late Etta Bard. Elliott is the great-grandson of Mildred Russell of James Creek, Janet Reck of Mill Creek and the late Daniel Reck, formerly of Huntingdon. Elliott is especially fond of his brothers, Russell and Brian, and his cousin, Adalyn. He will be in 2nd grade at Southside Elementary School this fall. Elliott played baseball for the Angels Instructional League team. He loves working for his Pap and Mema and spending time at the barn with his goats and ponies. He will celebrate his big day with family and friends. Happy 8th birthday, Elliott!

Because this was fun in other years: what are your hours of daylight today, on the summer (or winter) solstice?. Today I woke up at 4:45 am to the bird parliaments already in full session, debating beauty, territory, scandal, survival. Since it is the solstice, instead of rolling over and trying to sleep in the half-light, I got up, toed on my doing-to-the-laundry slip-ons, and walked around the block, admiring the subtle and variegated sunrise.

WAG country gears up to celebrate the first, official Juneteenth. It’s official: Juneteenth is now our 12th federal holiday, and all we can say is: It’s about time. June 19 marks the moment when the Emancipation Proclamation became a reality for all Americans, reaching one of the last groups of enslaved Blacks at the end of the Civil War. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers under Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger strode through Galveston, Texas, proclaiming that all slaves were free (even as General Order No. 3 warned them to stay where they were and work for wages).

The music that artists release into the world tends to be only a mere fraction of the music that they've actually created and recorded — such in the case of Slipknot, who, according to Shawn 'Clown' Crahan, have an unreleased Paul Gray tribute song waiting to be shared. During an...

CHILDREN IN THE Lincoln Cooperative Preschool celebrated the end of the school year by donning stripey costumes, painting their faces and performing their very own circus routines last Thursday. The celebration also marked the first year of the preschool’s outdoor classroom, which allowed the children to be together safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more here.

MT. PLEASANT — The Mt. Pleasant Town Clown, Chad Fountain, has bought and dedicated a plaque to all of the essential workers in Mt. Pleasant that have kept the town running during a pandemic. With funds from donations to the “clown fund” by local residents and local businesses Fountain decided...

On Friday mornings, I set my alarm for 5:30 a.m., quietly get dressed and stumble groggily into the back of a taxi that takes me to the bottom of Nam Long Shan (also known as “Brick Hill”) in Hong Kong. There, I find a group of similarly bleary-eyed people from all walks of life (including a dog) huddled together in the darkness and waiting for our weekly morning ritual to begin.

Announced today, Jack the Clown will be making his triumphant return as Halloween Horror Nights 30’s ringleader. Halloween Horror Nights will begin on Friday, September 3, and continues on select nights through Sunday, October 31, 2021. This marks the second official announcement from Halloween Horror Nights, the first being the...

Slipknot‘s M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan has launched a new solo project. The percussionist announced the venture with little fanfare, only a social media most reading “Watch. Subscribe. Live Your Life,” along with a link to a YouTube channel called Live Your Life. The channel includes two videos: a nearly seven-minute,...

Slipknot percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan has released a new solo track, “Brainwash Love – Feed the Worm Birds.” You can check it out below. The song follows two other solo tracks, “Brainwash Love – Death Inside” and “Live Your Life,” which were released earlier this week. Slipknot are currently in...

HAPPY RETIREMENT. (from left) Connie McClure, Chris Crum, Sheila Lindley and Bertie Eppert. (photo submitted) Three ladies who have served many meals to Turkey Run Elementary and Parke Heritage Middle School students are hanging up their aprons and retiring from the food services department. Chris Crum, Sheila Lindley and Bertie Eppert as well as art teacher Connie McClure were recognized at a special reception before the Board of School Trustees meeting held Wednesday, June 16.

More than 10 costumes that Cepillín wore, as well as his collection of shoes and the pictures that the TV clown himself painted, will be part of the Cepillín Museum, whose project one of his sons, Ricardo González jr, wants to build. The clown, too, points out that the pieces...

Universal Orlando Resort has announced that Jack the Clown will return as the demented face of Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights for its 30th year in operation. Jack, the most notorious icon in event history, will make his return fraught with terror and fear as the grisly circus clown invades every corner of this year's event with unsuspecting "Jack Attacks" that will send guests running for their lives. His ominous and unrelenting presence will infiltrate every aspect of the event - from the streets, to the haunted houses to the places guests would least expect - leaving nowhere to turn and nowhere to hide.

What do you think of when you hear the words childlike spirit? The question was posed to me in a recent podcast interview with Mary Lee on the Un-FAQs podcast. My answer was that it was something I am learning to do again. And what I meant was that I am learning to play again.