July 24, 2012

Rapper Fury seeks chance to sing downtown

Rapper Jason "Fury" Flores is in the news again, this time because he probably won't be allowed to perform a family-friendly version of his song "Bristol State of Mind" during the Aug. 4 Pop Up Piazza downtown.


Read that story here.
For those who don't remember or never heard the song to begin with, here is a video of the January 2011 song that helped make Flores a well known figure in his hometown: 



For those who are really curious about Fury, here's the original version of the video.

July 19, 2012

Videos put best of Bristol on display



The eight videos entered in the city’s marketing contest feature Bristol at its best.
And that’s exactly what officials hoped to accomplish: to put a pro-Bristol spin into the mix of videos showing the city on YouTube.
This week, the city announced three winners – with Andy and Kayla Adams’ “The Spirit of Bristol” taking top honors while Jordaan DiYulio and Linda Panikowski tied for second place.
Here are links to all of the videos entered:

1st
Entry by Kayla & Andy Adams on The Spirit of Bristol

2nd
Entry by Jordaan DiYulio (15 year old high schooler) on the Best Things in Bristol

2nd (tie)
Entry by Linda Panikowski on Bristol, CT

Others: 

Entry by Tyler Jankowski on Giamatti Little League Center

Entry by Mike Seery on Ingraham House

Entry by Savvy Savvides on Bristol Eastern High School

Entry by Jacqueline Dagenais (80 years old) on Clocks on the Streets of Bristol

Entry by Bristol Boys & Girls Club on BBGC


Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

July 12, 2012

Twain House and YJI Team Up To Show 'Linotype' Documentary



Press release:MTH&M logo

Linotype: The Film, a Documentary on Printing Technology That Obsessed Twain and Others, Will Be Shown at The Mark Twain House & Museum July 26

Screening Will Be Held in Cooperation with a Connecticut-Based Nonprofit, Youth Journalism International

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Mark Twain and his family left Hartford in 1891 after a series of bad investments, most famously in the Paige typesetter, a local invention which Twain believed would revolutionize the printing business. It didn't. That honor went to the Linotype machine, invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler in 1886.

On Thursday, July 26, at 7:00 p.mThe Mark Twain House & Museum and Youth Journalism International, a West Hartford, Conn.-based nonprofit that fosters student journalism worldwide, will present a new documentary on the Linotype -- including footage and interviews held in the museum, which owns the last remaining example of the Paige typesetter.
  
But Linotype: The Film takes the tale further. Called the "Eighth Wonder of the World" by Thomas Edison, the Linotype completely transformed the communication of information -- just as the Internet is now changing it. Although these machines were revolutionary, technology ultimately superseded the Linotype and they were scrapped and melted down by the thousands. Today, very few machines are still in existence. The film follows the human story of those with the skills to operate the machines, and the threat to the survival of these skills.
 
Linotype: The Film (http://www.linotypefilm.com/) is directed by Doug Wilson, The screening will include an appearance by Carl Schlesinger, featured in the film, one of the last Linotype operators for The New York Times.

The screening is on Thursday, July 26, at 7:00 p.m. Admission is by voluntary donation.

The screening of Linotype: The Film caps The Mark Twain House & Museum's Fourth Annual Ice Cream Social. The event includes free ice cream, free music, free lawn games and discounted $5.00 admission to the first floor of the Mark Twain House, and is funded in part by a grant from the First Niagara Bank Foundation, Inc. The Ice Cream Social runs from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 26.

Founded by two veteran Connecticut reporters, Jackie Majerus and Steve Collins, Youth Journalism International  (http://youthjournalism.org/) works with more than 200 students across the globe, ages 12 to 24. Reporting from their hometowns, students have interviewed everyone from Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama to the teen next door. Topics range from suicide, school violence and terrorism to music, movies and sports.YJI's loyal readers number over a million people around the world.


The Mark Twain House & Museum has restored the author's Hartford, Connecticut, home, where the author and his family lived from 1874 to 1891.

Twain wrote his most important works during the years he lived there, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

In addition to providing tours of Twain's restored home, a National Historic Landmark, the institution offers activities and educational programs that illuminate Twain's literary legacy and provide information about his life and times.

The house and museum at 351 Farmington Ave. are open Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., and Sunday, noon-5:30 p.m. For more information, call 860-247-0998 or visitwww.marktwainhouse.org

Programs at The Mark Twain House & Museum are made possible in part by support from theConnecticut Department of Economic and Community Development and the Greater Hartford Arts Council. 
  
Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

July 2, 2012

Bristol's new city website is online now


Go take a look at the new city website. What do you think of it?

Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com