Artist's flights of fancy dress up private jets

Artist's flights of fancydress up private jets
Is your private jet looking a little dowdy these days? A new series of art designed for planes is ready to spiff it up.
Artist Steve Maloney's new Speedbird Series features abstracts and "speed blurs" created by the artist to enhance the in-cabin experience. Each work is encased in a black presentation box with a signed note from Maloney. The standard size of the artwork is 11-3/4 inch by 11-3/4 inch, although other sizes can be made.
The Speedbirds are designed to be affixed to bulkheads and doors, as well as inlaid into tabletops. The price is $2,500. Installation must be done at a professional aircraft completion center or by a modification and refurbishment firm.
For more information, call (858) 756-4088 or visit www.stevemaloney.com on the Web.
Greenland expeditionincludes mountain climb
Skiers and snowboarders have a chance this May to wander through Greenland, the largest, highest and least explored island in the world.
During a nine-day trip, expedition participants will attempt to reach the 12,168-foot summit of Gunnbjornsfjeld -- the highest peak in Greenland.
The expedition will then ski to Qaqqaq Kershaw, the island's second highest peak.
The climb is open to participants in top mental and physical condition who have experience with using an ice ax and crampons, and intermediate-level skills in downhill or telemark skiing or snowboarding.
Rates begin at $14,500. The trip is sponsored by the Explorers Club of Walpole, N.H. For more information, call (800) 856-8951 or visit www.explorers.org on the Web.
Trolley helps town geta move on tourism
WATERTOWN, Tenn. -- When Jeff Tunks spotted a brightly colored trolley rolling down the highway, he liked it so much he flagged down the driver -- and bought it.
Now the orange, green and yellow trolley is the first -- and only -- component of mass transit in Watertown, population 1,358.
Tunks, who is president of the Watertown Chamber of Commerce, wants to use the 22-seat bus to boost tourism.
Tunks saw the trolley on Interstate 40 a few weeks ago and passed it to catch the driver's attention.
"I just flagged him down. I think he thought he had a flat tire," Tunks said. "I asked him if he was interested in selling it, and he said yes."
The chamber spent $10,000 to buy the vehicle from Taylor Bus Sales in Murray, Ky. Tunks says the trolley will serve passengers when weekend excursion trains from Nashville arrive in Watertown.
"We get the train 12 or 13 times a year, and maybe we could get it more," Tunks says.
If local leaders have their way, Watertown residents will see plenty of the trolley -- taking people from the July 4 downtown parade to the fireworks show, for business and civic tours and during December holiday light tours.
Exhibit features itemson MLK assassination
An exhibit of previously classified information concerning the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is a highlight of an $11 million expansion at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. It includes never-before-seen evidence from the state of Tennessee's investigation of James Earl Ray in the killing of the Rev. Dr. King.
The project connects the main campus of the museum, housed in the former Lorraine Motel and site of Dr. King's assassination, with the Young and Morrow Building and Boarding House across the street, where Ray allegedly fired the fatal shots.
The new exhibit area, "Exploring the Legacy," chronicles the events after the assassination and allows visitors to view evidentiary materials and consider questions that persist today.
For more information, call (901) 521-9699 or visit www.civilrightsmuseum.org on the Web.
Hawaiian resort offers'Celebration of Whales'
Outrigger Waikoloa Beach resort on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii's Big Island has introduced the "Celebration of Whales" program. Through April 15, one guest per room will receive one free whale-watching cruise with every stay of four nights or more at the resort.
From Dec. 16 to April 15 -- when the whale population in the Hawaiian Islands is at its peak -- all passengers are guaranteed a sighting, or they can return the next day for a complimentary cruise. Other activities planned at the resort throughout the celebration include marine life exhibits, lectures and access to observation and listening stations.
Also, any guest reserving an oceanfront room for four nights or more receives a free set of high-powered Bushnell binoculars. Contact: (800) 688-7444; www.outrigger.com.
Humana play festivalexplores current issues
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A new set of playwrights will explore topics such as school violence, human cloning and the post-Sept. 11 world during the 27th Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville.
"We didn't approach it any differently than last year or the years before," says Marc Masterson, the festival's producing director. "Our goal was to pick the most interesting and diverse mix of plays we can. It wasn't until we were done with the lineup that someone pointed out that all of these writers were new to the festival."
The festival, which runs from March to April, is considered a premier new-play showcase and has presented works such as Beth Henley's "Crimes of the Heart."
This year's six main features include: "The Faculty Room" by Bridget Carpenter; "Slide Glide the Slippery Slope" by Kia Corthron; "The Second Death of Priscilla" by Russell Davis; "Orange Lemon Egg Canary" by Rinne Groff; "The Lively Lad" by Quincy Long; and "Omnium-Gatherum" by Theresa Rebeck and Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros.
The festival also will present three 10-minute plays, a dramatic anthology and a spoken-word project.
Combined dispatches