Watch a NASA scientist school the empire on how to build a better death star Ski dogs provide safety on slopes by American Way Staff Airmail - Reader's correspondence A Right Wrong Turn Loved your article “A Fusion of Flavors” on the Harlem restaurant scene (October). The first time I went to Harlem, it was a mistake. It was the 1950s. My teenage friends and I took the wrong subway and ended up on 125th Street. What a difference the years make!  Now we go eagerly to eat, check out the charming brownstones, and relish the Harlem Renaissance. Red Rooster is a favorite spot. And it’s not just the food. Chef Marcus Samuelsson presides over a rainbow coalition, greeting old friends and newcomers with equal zest. And don’t miss the peach cobbler at nearby Sylvia’s. New York and Miami Beach YMCA and Humane Society Pet Rescue & Adoption Center invite you to join us for MUTTS AND BUTTS Saturday, March 12th! Bring your favorite 4-legged, furry friend (on a leash) and meet us at the bird sanctuary behind Gadsden Mall at 9:00 am for a fun walk for all.

Mutts and Butts is the second Saturday of each month. Party With A Purpose at the Pitman This family friendly event will raise money to go towards continued renovations of one of downtown Gadsden’s historical landmarks, The Pitman Theater.   Since the first year of this event, renovations have been ongoing.  The money raised this year will go towards continued improvements of the Pitman Theater including but not limited to; adding additional restrooms, cleaning up the mezzanine level Continue Reading Downtown Gadsden Gives Back From 5pm-7pm, Downtown Gadsden Inc. will be partnering with The United Way to host the fifth annual “Downtown Gadsden Gives Back” event.  This event is to help local, nonprofit organizations make the public more aware of their missions and to have some fun while doing it. Downtown Gadsden Gives Back is for nonprofit organizations with a 501(c)(3) title.  Organizations have Continue Reading Black Squirrel Ruck Challenge This event is a unique Ruck Challenge at Noccalula Falls, which benefits Gadsden Young Life Ministries.

This is a beautiful 5 mile course with 7 physical challenges along the course. Race day registration/sign in: 7:30AM – 8:45AM Event Details: • 5 mile trail run with body and pack exercises along the course. zaino backpack decathlon• You must provide your own backpack/ruck. zwart slim laptop backpack Schedule of Events April 2, 2016 10:00 Festival Opens 10:00 10:30 Receiving baked items for the Taste-Off (located under the large white tent) 11:00 01:00 Judging at Taste-Off (Big Tent) 11:00 Chocolate Fountain Opens (Big Tent) 11:00 11:30 View Taste Off Items 11:00 11:30 Registration for Chug-a-Lug and Egg Toss 11:45 Chug-a-Lug 12:00 Egg Toss 12:30 01:30 Foggy Hollow 01:30 Continue Readingserato backpack fx review Smoke on the Fallswkf backpack

Smoke on the Falls, presented by Parks and Recreation Department is back at the Noccalula Falls Park Campground. The highlight of the weekend is the KCBS certified Barbecue contests pitting 48 teams through the Professional and Johnson’s Backyard division. Barbecue chefs from far and wide will be fiercely competing for the more than $3000 in the Johnson’s Backyard division and Continue Reading First Friday in Downtown Gadsden Gadsden Symphony Orchestra Spring Pops Concert The GSO Spring Pops Concert rocks out with special guest artist Bridgid Bibbens, electric violin. Bridgid has performed with artists including Alicia Keys, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Harry Connick, Jr., and on numerous TV shows including Today Show and the Late Show with David Letterman. The concert will include music by The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Tower of Power, Bruno Mars, Continue Reading Glencoe Celebration in the Park Wheels On the Hill-Car Show and Swap Meet at the Falls!

Join us for the 3rd annual Rock the River on Friday, July 15, 2016 presented by Pepsi at Coosa Landing along the banks of the Coosa River in Gadsden.This year’s event is An Evening with Anders Osborne. Gates open at 7 pm, the show starts at 8 pm, lawn chairs and coolers are welcome, and food vendors will be available. or browse other Shmoopers' Questions Mexican American author Sandra Cisneros's novella The House on Mango Street is the story of a Latina girl named Esperanza Cordero who grows up on the mean streets of an inner-city neighborhood. Originally published in 1984, the novel enjoyed immediate critical acclaim, winning the Before Columbus Foundation's American Book Award in 1985. Now in its 25th year of publication, The House on Mango Street has sold over 2 million copies and is required reading in many middle schools, high schools, and universities across the country.So, what's the big deal here? Why is everyone so infatuated with this book? Well, we have a couple of theories about that.

First of all, you'll notice that it's not a difficult read. Like we said, The House on Mango Street is being taught both to thirteen-year-olds and college students. The writing is simplistic enough for younger readers to understand, while at the same time sophisticated enough to keep the interest of writers and literary scholars. The author did that on purpose.In her introduction to the 25th anniversary edition of The House on Mango Street, Cisneros explains that "she wants the writers she admires to respect her work, but she also wants people who don't usually read books to enjoy these stories too" (Introduction.19). In other words, the way Cisneros sees it, literature isn't an exclusive club. It's something that everyone should be able to enjoy, even those people who don't have much experience with reading literature because they're young or because they are busy working for a living. But just because her writing is easy to understand doesn't mean that it's boring or simplistic – pick up The House on Mango Street and you'll notice that each sentence is carefully crafted to evoke emotion, beauty, or even just the pleasure of sound.

It's kind of like reading a poem that tells a story. (Oh, did we mention that Sandra Cisneros is also a poet?)The other quality that makes this book so appealing is its pervading sense of optimism. Though many of the stories she tells are painful and sad, Cisneros never writes them with a sense of despair. Instead her characters display a determination to persevere, to reach, and to dream of a better life.Cisneros's optimism is evident in her own varied career that has included such roles as counselor to high school dropouts, recruitment agent at Loyola University, and teacher of poetry in public schools. She started the Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Foundation to reward emerging Texan writers, and the Macondo Foundation to unite writers in fighting for social change. And, if that isn't enough evidence of her rosy outlook on life, consider the fact that she lives in a bright pink house, because, she says, "the colors make me happy" (source). Rock on, Sandra Cisneros. Esperanza Cordero is one of the most likable characters you'll ever meet.

She's smart, she's funny, she's lonely, and charmingly awkward – she's just like you. OK, so maybe you didn't grow up in an urban barrio in Chicago. But who hasn't ever felt ashamed about some part of their identity, whether it's the amount of money their family has, the house they live in, or just being different from the other kids at school? Ever felt embarrassed about wearing the wrong shoes to a party? Meet Esperanza – we think you've got a lot in common. Our point is that, on nearly every page of The House on Mango Street, you'll probably find something that will make you cringe. Or laugh out loud. Or whimper in empathy. It's that kind of book. It's almost impossible not to relate to the sassy, spunky heroine – a budding writer who survives the pain and humiliation of puberty by writing angsty, heartfelt poetry. We wrote embarrassing poetry in our teen years, too. But you'll never find it. Esperanza is the kind of character that draws attention to the universal experience of being human, and especially to the particularly awkward time of life that we call puberty.