SHINE ON! Remember Esperanza, originally an 8.52-carat diamond found at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro this summer? Recently cut to a 4.67-carat gem during a several-day public event at Stanley Jewelers/Gemologist in North Little Rock? Word is, plans are in the works to have the rock star hit the road and tour the nation coast to coast, including a stop in North Little Rock, says Joan Ellison with the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. The diamond originally was to be auctioned in December, but polishing took longer than expected. It is now set to be auctioned in April unless a reasonable offer for it is made before then, Ellison says.
JINGLE BELL ROCK: Christmas seems to come earlier every year. But a radio station broadcasting nothing but Christmas music starting at 5 p.m. on Halloween -- before trick-or-treaters even hit the streets? That's exactly what KHKN-FM, 94.9, "Tom-FM," did this year. So what gives at the iHeart Media-owned station, known for its nonformula playlist and named for its employee, Tom Wood, former programmer at MAGIC 105?
Ron Collar, market president with iHeart Media, says this is not a new tactic, and the company does this in many of its other markets. He said that after Christmas, the station will resume its regular programming of "playing central Arkansas' biggest variety of greatest hits."
"Our goal was to generate new listeners, create talk, get publicity and beat our competitors to the punch," Collar says. "The listeners who love Christmas apparently far outweigh the number of people who don't, according to our case studies."
He added: "We understand that it might be too early for some. We'll be there for them if and when they are ready for some holiday Christmas music."
ARKIES ABOUND: Actor Jesse Eisenberg (known for portraying Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network) has written a collection of short stories, titled Bream Gives Me Hiccups, of which he recently read a portion on NPR's The Diane Rehm Show. The title story is about a 9-year-old boy who is also a food critic. On the Rehm show, Eisenberg read from the title story, in which the young boy, his mother and a friend visit a TCBY store, founded in Arkansas by the Hickingbotham family.
"I just want to say it's a sad day when I have to explain the franchise acronym TCBY," responds Eisenberg after Rehm asked him to do so. "I really thought they were going to have a global network, but I guess it's a dwindling chain. TCBY stands for 'The Country's Best Yogurt,' so it's a frozen yogurt place. And there are some left."
HIGH NOTE: Philip Mann is one of five alumni from Arizona State University's Barrett Honors College to receive a distinguished alumnus award for 2015. Mann, who graduated from the university in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in instrumental music, became music director of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in 2010.
Contact Linda S. Haymes at (501) 399-3636 or lhaymes@arkansasonline.com
SundayMonday on 11/08/2015