The Atlantic City Free Public Library, the Atlantic City American Legion Post 61, and the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey are planning an exhibit to chronicle the history of military veterans who live or have lived in Atlantic City. The exhibit will be held at the All Wars Memorial Building in A.C. in spring 2009.
Anyone who may have photos or other materials pertaining to military veterans during active service — from any branch or era — are asked to donate or lend them to the library for the exhibit. The donated photos will be made available in the future as part of the library’s Alfred M. Heston Collection, a growing collection of information and photographs documenting the exciting history of Atlantic City. Those who donate photos to the exhibit will have the original copies returned after they are duplicated.
The deadline to submit items for consideration is Friday, Feb. 15. To submit photos or other items, stop by the Heston Collection Room at the main library at One North Tennessee Ave., or call 345-2269, ext. 3062, for more information.

The 2008 moviegoing season provided a lot of intelligent action movies, intriguing art house fare, and a ton of Oscar-hunting end-of-the-year releases. Here is my list of favorite films from the past year. A best ten list is always going to be subjective, so feel free to disagree. I’ve heard from plenty of Iron Man fans that weren’t happy with my negative assessment of that popular film. To those fans, I will confess that a second viewing on DVD softened my stance, but not enough to put it on this list. In alphabetical order, my favorites were:

The Bank Job
The Dark Knight
Grand Torino
Hancock
Honeydripper
Miracle at St. Anna
Rachel Getting Married
Slumdog Millionaire
Tropic Thunder
Wall-E

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One of jazz music’s all-time great trumpet players, Freddie Hubbard, passed away on Monday at the age of 70. Hubbard, who was mentored by fellow Indianapolis native Wes Montgomery as a young musician, came up through the jazz ranks playing with folks such as Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson, John Coltrane and then with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.

One of the classic jazz albums of the modern era is Hubbard’s 1970 masterpiece Red Clay.

Hubbard also played with Eric Dolphy, Max Roach, Quincy Jones, Oliver Nelson, among others.

His last studio album was 2008’s On the Real Side. Hubbard’s sound was unique and he will be missed.

In a previous blog I mentioned the fabulous Atlantic City Restaurant Week coming to the Atlantic City area March 1-7. During the week, more than 60 of the top restaurants in the region will be offering special menu offerings that are just $15.09 for lunch and $33.09 for dinner.
If that news alone wasn’t good enough to get your taste buds tingling with anticipation, now comes word that the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority is sponsoring a contest to win an Atlantic City Getaway during Restaurant Week. Register online here then hit “contest” for your chance to win one of the following packages:

Prize 1 — Two-night stay at Carisbrooke Inn Bed & Breakfast with a $50 gift certificate to The Melting Pot, a $50 gift certificate to Sonsie at The Pier, and a $150 certificate to Steve & Cookies Restaurant.

Prize 2 — Two-night stay at Tropicana Casino and Resort during AC Restaurant Week, dinner for two at Wellington’s from the AC Restaurant Week menu, and a Restaurant Week dinner for two at Cuba Libre restaurant at The Quarter at Tropicana.

Prize 3 — One-night stay at Trump Plaza Casino Hotel with a $200 dinner at one of their gourmet restaurants.

Prize 4 — One-night stay during AC Restaurant Week at Tuscany House Hotel at Renault Winery and a Restaurant Week dinner for two at Joseph’s restaurant.

An Associated Press story in yesterday’s Boston Globe reports that Atlantic City International (ACY) is hoping to lure other carriers to its Egg Harbor Township airport. It’s only regular carrier, Spirit Airlines, said it plans on starting flights to Boston beginning May 1, 2009.

In the meantime, anyone with thoughts of heading up to Beantown to take in a Red Sox game come spring (good luck getting tickets), can get acquainted with some of the most popular Sox stances in this informative and hilarious video tutorial. It helps to know some of the Sox (former and present) players.

Spring training starts up soon.

As many folks are gearing up for a party-filled New Year’s Eve this Wednesday night in Atlantic City, several of New York City’s party people bussed down to the resort last week for a “Night Games” bash held at Borgata’s mur.mur nightclub.
According to the New York Daily News,”a crew 150 people strong [made up of New York nightlife industry owners and staffers] headed down to the Borgata Hotel and Casino on super luxury buses for dinner and the ‘First Annual Night Games,’ as one participant called it.”
Last Monday’s event, according to the Daily News article, included Philadelphia Eagles players and a lot of champagne.

The image of Tony Romo flat on the ground, hands on his helmet, will live in Philadelphia Eagles lore for a long time. Given the unlikeliest of second chances, the Eagles did not disappoint. Another image that will be burned in our collective psyche was Mr. Poker Face, Andy Reid, sporting that ridiculous beard and waving his arms on the sidelines, urging the fans to keep making noise. The Dallas Cowboys were rattled, run over and ripped a new one. The Philadelphia Eagles produced the biggest shellacking in the history of the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry with a 44-6 victory that put them in the playoffs and sent sideline crybaby T.O. and the Dallas Cowboys home for the season. It might not be as satisfying as the Phillies winning the World Series … but it was damn close.

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According to the Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA), residents throughout the county donated 28.26 tons of food during the organization’s food collection drive during the first two weeks of December. The 56,520 pounds of food that the ACUA’s collection crews collected during that period, a near-record amount, according to the ACUA, will be given to the Community FoodBank of NJ’s Southern Branch, located in Egg Harbor Township.

This is the 18th year of the ACUA’s holiday canned-goods food drive. The canned goods are distributed through the FoodBank’s Southern Branch, which provides food to more than 400 local charities in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and southern Burlington counties.

The ACUA reminds us that local residents “are encouraged to keep the FoodBank and those it serves in mind after the holidays, and to bring donations to the Community Food Bank, located at 6735 Black Horse Pike, Egg Harbor Township. Items most needed are non-perishable foods, such as canned meats, canned soups, canned vegetables, canned stew and canned fruit. Please do not include perishable or frozen items, or food in glass jars.”

You can contact the Community Food Bank of NJ, Southern Branch, at 383-8843 or the ACUA at 272-6950.

The Pier Shops at Caesars is extending holiday hours today, Christmas Eve, and Christmas day. Shoppers will be able to pick up last minute gifts from the more than seventy-eight specialty stores, while they can also take a break on the third floor at the seven dining destinations. The Pier Shop’s Holiday Hours are as follows:
Wednesday, Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve): 11am-7pm
Thursday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day): 11am-8pm

Restaurants at The Pier Shops will maintain different hours, but the following are hours for Thursday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day):
Buddakan: 5-10pm
Continental: 11:30am-5pm
Phillips Seafood: 11:30am-5pm
Souzai: 11:30am-8pm
Sonsie: 11am-6pm
For more info go to the Pier Web site

Most new mothers, from 60 to 80 percent, experience at least a brief episode of the baby blues — feelings of sadness, anxiety, loneliness, or moodiness — within the first few days of giving birth. After a couple of weeks these symptoms typically disappear. However, when symptoms persist or deepen in intensity, they may be signs of postpartum depression.
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services estimates that one woman in eight experiences PPD. There is no need to struggle alone. Family members can play an important role by recognizing the warning signs of PPD, helping the woman seek help and providing support.

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