| SFGate: Daily Dish
Angelina Jolie is being fast-tracked through the Vietnamese adoption system so she can adopt a young boy there in May, according to a local official. Vu Duc Long, director of the country's Ministry of Justice's International Adoption Department, has confirmed Jolie's application has been accelerated because she chose the child during a previous visit to Ho Chi Minh City. He says, "She might receive her adoptive child in three months, one month earlier than the normal time frame for an adoption. "He is between 4 and 5 and now stays at the Tam Binh orphanage." The actress filed papers through a U.S. adoption agency to take custody of the child three months ago. Jolie, her partner Brad Pitt and their family visited Vietnam in November in between the filming of "A Mighty Heart" in Pakistan.
GAME DAY
He had six catches for 121 yards against Tennessee in the wild-card round.InjuriesPatriots - Almost all hands on deck with only special teamer Mel Mitchell (biceps) declared out. S Rodney Harrison (thigh) skipped practice Friday, but he was listed as probable.Chargers - They're a mess. Volek is a career backup who threw only 10 passes during the regular season and four more last week against the Colts. If he starts, he'll have to channel his 2004 self - the one who posted solid numbers (18 TDs, 10 INTs, 87.1 passer rating) while playing 10 games for the Titans. Gates' backup, Brandon Manumaleuna, is more of a blocker. Ryon Bingham (6-3, 303) would sub for Williams (6-3, 348).Bottom lineAlthough the Eagles made a habit of it in the NFC from 2001-03, the last AFC team to lose back-to-back conference finals were the John Elway-cursed Browns of 1986-87.
Loyola boys' soccer team advances in shootout
Loyola of Los Angeles' goalkeeper John Bunkall stopped two penalty kicks and led the host Cubs to a 4-1 shootout win Wednesday against Long Beach Wilson in Southern Section Div. I wild-card action. Bunkall stopped Wilson's second and third attempts, and his teammates did the rest as the Cubs defeated the Bruins after the teams fought through four 10-minute overtime periods with the score tied at 1-1. "I just reacted and I went with my gut decision," Bunkall said. "Thank goodness our guys scored, if they didn't score it wouldn't have meant anything. It was an exciting game and hopefully we'll come out strong against Santa Margarita." The Cubs (16-5-7) travel to top-seed Santa Margarita (16-3-4) Friday for a rematch of last year's Div. I final, which ended in a 1-1 tie. "We played Wilson last year when they were the No.
Muscatine! the Musical update: Costumes inspired by fashions of 1896
MUSCATINE, Iowa — Ostrich plumes and parasols swaying in a sea of frothy lace and bodacious bustles will dress up the stage at the world premier of "Muscatine! the Musical" Friday, Oct. 12. The original costumes for the play are inspired by the fashions of 1896, the year of the musical’s setting. Marie and Peter Press of Muscatine wrote the book for the musical, which is built against the backdrop of a bustling river town that once hosted the historical characters of Buffalo Bill Cody and Mark Twain and fancy world travelers, such as the musical’s leading lady, Lulu Belle Larkin. Marie plays the role of Lulu Belle, who dresses up Muscatine’s late 19th century social scene with elegant Parisian fashions. Costume concepts for the production began with a technological walk through history, via the Internet.Peter selected images that represented the era and the spirit of the musical and printed them out to create a scrapbook of ideas."The more authentic the costume, the better the audience will understand the time period and the nuances of that time period in the script," said Peter.He passed his ideas on to the mother-and-daughter design team of Mary Taeger and Lisa Cameron-Babcook of Burlington.Cameron-Babcook opened a costume shop in Burlington in 1995.
Barnfield bundle boxes to Africa
Students at Barnfield College sent bundles of toys and clothes to needy children in Cameroon in time for Christmas. The youngsters collected 65 boxes full of gifts to brighten the festive season for children in the remote northern villages of West Africa - Ntumvaw, Ndu and Nsop. Goodies were collected during December and gift-wrapped at the co .
Operetta 'Die Fledermaus' begins Feb. 20
University Park, Pa. -- The Penn State Schools of Theatre and Music will present their first large-scale operetta on the Playhouse stage, "Die Fledermaus," by Johann Strauss Jr., with guest director E. Loren Meeker, Feb. 20 through March 2 at the Playhouse Theatre, University Park campus. Curtain times are 8 p.m. for all performances, except for a 2 p.m. matinee March 2. "Die Fledermaus," being performed in English, is a comic operetta that tells the story of Gabriel von Eisenstein's frequent dalliances with the lithe young ladies of the corps de ballet. On his way to serve a brief jail term for insulting a public official, Eisenstein attends Prince Orlofsky's party where he woos a glamorous Hungarian countess, who turns out to be none other than his wife Rosalinde, seeking -- and getting -- her revenge for her husband's indiscretions.
Along Cuba's highway, word of new president met with calm, hope
Like the traffic, life moves slowly along this Cuban highway. But on Sunday, word that the country had its first new president in nearly 50 years traveled fast, and encountered a range of opinions. For some residents in the towns and cities along the Carretera Central - the "Central Highway" - Raul Castro's elevation offers hope for change after decades of rule by his brother Fidel. But others favored calm and stability over any startling new approaches. The pothole-ridden highway runs east from Havana all the way to Cuba's second city, Santiago, on the extreme opposite end of the island, a journey of roughly 500 miles. Modern vehicles often have to slow down and wait for the chance to pass 1950s coupes, men on horseback, bicycles and rickshaws. In Santiago, 67-year-old retiree Alicia Menero was among a group of people lined up to buy ground pork at a government-run street stall.
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