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Posts Tagged ‘Chad’

Wilton Armetale is a pewter and silver look-alike material developed by the Wilton Brass Company in 1963. The metal was ideal to make cook and serve wares that were inspired by specific themes.

The Artistic Design category is one of the collections created by the company. The emphasis of this collection was on historic reference. It was also more eclectic in applicable environments than categories like Natural, Grand or Classic. The products under this collection interpret historic references in a contemporary manner.

The Artistic Design Collection includes sub-categories like Antiquity, Songs & Sonnets and Visionary. We look at each of these sub-categories in the following sections.

The Antiquity Collection

The products in this collection reference various cultural designs, many of them dating back to antiquity. Ethnic designs of ancient and more recent tribal communities are reflected in this collection.

The tribal motifs include American Indian and African designs used during historical times. Early American folk art designs are also included under the Antiquity category.

The African collection includes pitchers, trivets, bowls, casseroles, chip & dip servers, trays and wine bottle coasters, with rim designs inspired by tribal art displayed on canoes, houses, fabrics, shields and other objects of the tribal communities of Chad, Kenya and several other African countries.

The Doves & Hearts series was based on American folk art motifs, such as the Lovebirds Bread Tray that depicted two lovebirds facing each other with a heart between them. The series seeks to recapture American Colonial, Traditional and Country environments.

Songs & Sonnets Collection

This series celebrates the diversity of the world’s people, as seen through songs, stories, poetry and designs of different communities. We look at a few examples.

The Potlatch series remembered the ceremonial gift-giving festival of American Northwest Coastal Indians. The series included carved Canoe Bowls, Eagle candleholder, a Totem of a Bear and Beaver, a plate with a Raven and Human Face, a tray with layers of masks and faces and a bowl with a Seal design.

The Reggae series employed a festive and whimsical combination of spirals and zig zags to evoke the rhythms of the Caribbean.

The Copacabana series references the deco architecture of South Miami Beach, with stylized palm tree and coconuts along a beach evocative of ocean waves and clouds above.

The Visionary Collection

This collection includes the Scroll, Oasis, Elara, Boston and Free Form series.

The lively scroll designs infuse the symmetry of classical designs with the dynamic movement of the scroll motif.

The flowing lines and sweeping forms of the Oasis series seeks to capture the strength of Italian Futurism and organic flow of Japanese Zen.

Elara is one of Jupiter’s moons, and products in this series have highly polished curvilinear surfaces and sculptured contours, creating a contemporary cosmopolitan ambience.

Free form designs are seen in such collections as those created by Bruce Fox in Free Form Bowls and Banana Leaf Large Servers, and in the Cloud series serving pieces inspired by cumulous clouds.

The Wilton Armetale Artistic collections are indeed eclectic, suitable for varied environments.

Hello Minnesota, My Name is Brett

5/12/2009

Author:  Matt Gerwitz

http://www.FootballDailyNews.com, U. S. Sports Media, Inc

It’s mid-May and Spring is in the air; the grass has had its first mowing, the magnolia tree in my yard has bloomed, baseball is fully under way….and NFL fans have begun a ritual that has become an annual rite of Spring – speculating about whether or not Brett Favre will play again this fall.

The rumor mill has begun and this year it’s hovering squarely over Minnesota. It began a few weeks ago with football analysts suggesting that “if” Brett wanted to play again he might consider the Vikings. Early last week we learned that Favre asked the Jets to relinquish their rights to him, which they did, but allegedly it was so he could simply take advantage of a retirement package the Packers were offering. Minnesota Head Coach Brad Childress came out and insisted that nobody in the Vike’s organization had any contact with Favre, but left the door open by adding that they “talk about everything”. Today we’re hit with the dual announcements that Mark Wilf is interested and Favre has been throwing to some high school receivers.

In case you’re unable to connect the dots let me do it for you. Brett Favre will be taking the field in September wearing the purple and gold of the Minnesota Vikings.

If you’re a Minnesota fan this should not be good news for you. Brett Favre was one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game; there’s no argument about that, but the key word is “was”. Last year’s comeback with the Jets was an embarrassment for Favre and cost Eric Mangini his job. If the Vikings make the same series of mistakes this year, it will make Tavaris Jackson a fan favorite and Brad Childress public enemy number one. In fairness to Favre, let me explain.

Like many NFL teams, the Jets began preparing for the 2008 season with the mentality that they were just missing that “one key piece”. It just so happens that piece they thought they were missing was a quarterback. They thought Chad Pennington was washed up and Kellen Clemens wasn’t ready to go. They may have been right about Clemens but Pennington proved them wrong by having a great season with Miami; but back to my point.

The Jets had a solid running back in Thomas Jones who was coming off 3 consecutive seasons with 1,000+ yards. With Faneca, Mangold and Ferguson on the line, Jones was gaining yards and scoring touchdowns; even the receivers were sharing the ball. All was well in New York as long as games were close and the Jets were leading. But when the pressure was on, the coaching staff scrapped the idea of team offense, forgot they had a running game, and started playing “Brett Ball”. They asked the aging veteran to carry the team when he didn’t have to.

The “Brett Ball” strategy not only cost the Jets some very important games, including the Seattle loss that effectively knocked them out of the playoffs, but it also demoralized the team. Criticism of Favre began to move through the locker room and come out publicly in interviews. By the end of the season Favre was not the same golden boy that brought such excitement to the Meadowlands on opening day.

And now we have the Vikings looking for one last final piece to get them to the Superbowl. But do they need it?

They have arguably the best running game with Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor, capable receivers with Berrian and Rice, and a good QB to develop for the future in John Booty. They have upgraded a defense that played great last year, especially against the run. They have all the ingredients to go deep in the playoffs if they can learn to play disciplined football. Yet the one component that scares me is Brad Childress. He came from the “pass first” Philadelphia Eagles where he was the offensive coordinator for six seasons. I get the strange feeling he would still be pass happy in Minnesota if he thought he had a capable QB. With Favre in the lineup the temptation might be too hard to resist.

Source: http://www.FootballDailyNews.com, U. S. Sports Media, Inc