Plus Drew Toonz, the Album of the Week (Howlin' Wolf) and 2012 AC Marathon Races
Polar Bears Brave Chilly Brine for Charity
The Brigantine Polar Bear Plunge began as a dare between friends 12 years ago, and for the last 10 years has served as a fundraiser for the Fisher House Foundation — a charity that provides housing and transportation to wounded military members and their families. The event raised over $32,000 for Fisher House in 2011 and, with over 130 sponsors supplemented by merchandise sales and private contributions, the Brigantine Polar Bears are hoping to surpass $50K this year. The event starts 11am New Year’s Day at Brigantine’s north-end seawall and includes live music by the Mott’s Creek Pickers, refreshments, color-guard presentations and prizes for best costumes. The plunge happens at noon. Jim Craine, Atlantic City’s Singing Lifeguard, will be master of ceremonies and will sing the National Anthem. The plunge is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a post-plunge party at the Rod ‘n’ Reel Tavern about a block away. A parking shuttle will operate between the city lots at 17th, 24th and 34th streets and the seawall from 11am-3pm to help accommodate the crowd. Call 892-7339 for more info. The Atlantic City Polar Bear Club will be raising funds for the Guardians of the National Cemetery — a volunteer non-profit organization serving the Honor Guard Service, which provides military funeral honors at veteran interments. Plungers will meet at 11am in front of Resorts casino, and the plunge will be at 11:30am. All proceeds from commemorative T-shirt sales and contributions will be donated to the Guardians. See atlanticcitypolarbearclub.com for more. The Margate Polar Bear Plunge will take place at noon at the Essex Avenue beach, and all commemorative shirt sales purchased through event-sponsor Robert’s Place (7807 Atlantic Ave.), will be donated to help four-year-old Margate resident Danny Feltwell, who’s been diagnosed with lymphoblastic non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Call 823-5050 for more. Other local Polar Bear Plunges will happen in Ventnor (1pm at the Newport Avenue beach, followed by a chili cook-off ) and in Ocean City as part of the “First Day at the Beach” celebration (2pm on the beach in front of the O.C. Music Pier). Call 525-9300 for more. — Ray Schweibert
Resolve to Run in 2012
Losing weight and getting in shape are at the top of nearly every New Year’s resolution list each year. Clinical studies show, though, that many people sabotage their resolutions by not being clear on their goals, which causes them to eventually bail out on them. Being specific, like saying “I want to lose five to 10 pounds,” instead of just, “I want to lose weight” can help goal-setters stay more focused. This year, how about setting the goal of achieving a certain distance in an organized run? A New Year’s resolution to run in the Atlantic City Marathon Race Series offers various courses, distances and incentives to help you stick to you goal. Whether you have a three-month goal to run in the April Fools Half Marathon (Sunday, April 1, with options for 7K, 11K or the 21K half marathon) or a 10-month goal to run in the Atlantic City Marathon (Sunday, Oct. 21, with 5K, 10K, half marathon or full marathon options), the Atlantic City Marathon Race Series has a race to fit your resolution, and tips to guide you through the training process. Go to acmarathon.org to register or to learn more. — RS
Howlin’ Wolf
‘Smokestack Lightning: The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960’
In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the first Chess recordings by the legendary bluesman Howlin’ Wolf (born Chester Burnett), a four-disc retrospective featuring all of the tunes Howlin’ Wolf recorded for the label was released earlier this year. Included with 97 tracks spread over the discs is a 45-page booklet with a pair of liner notes, one penned by music writer Peter Guralnick, along with many rare photos. There are rare outtakes, as well as early examples of Howlin’ Wolf’s genius as a singer and performer. While listening, you’ll hear songs such as “Back Door Man,” “Sittin’ on Top of the World,” “How Many More Years,” “Evil” and “Smokestack Lightning” and marvel at how they must have sounded to listeners at the time. This set is a decade of American music history, nearly 100 songs that made Howlin’ Wolf the superstar he’d become, and that would inspire future generations of music makers, including the late Captain Beefheart, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits, the latter of which released one of 2011’s best albums with Bad as Me. — Jeff Schwachter
Click here for Jeff Schwachter's favorite albums of 2011.
Drew Toonz (See Top 14 Drew Toonz comics of the year here)
Thomas E. Eddington Jr. Dir. of Planning & Design, Karabashian Eddington Tom is the director of planning and design for Karabashian Eddington Planning Group in Atlantic City where he currently oversees a new Master Plan for the city as well as a Downtown Revitalization Plan for Main Street Atlantic City. Tom worked throughout the Midwest prior to moving to Florida, where he was employed with Walt Disney World doing theme park design. After being selected to participate in a Rotary International Business Exchange program to Japan, he then moved to the Hiroshima region to work with the prefectural government in community development and education. Tom graduated summa cum laude from the Univ. of Illinois with two bachelor's degrees -- in urban and regional planning, as well as landscape architecture. He is currently completing course work on a master's in city planning from the Univ. of Pennsylvania. An avid runner and cyclist, Tom completed his first Philadelphia Marathon in 2003....
"Mike" Brady Richman Host of the Mike & Diane Morning Show on 95.1 WAYV Born in Germany, and raised in Montana and Georgia, Mike has lived in Galloway Township since coming to southern New Jersey in 2000. With a bachelor of fine arts degree in graphic design from the University of Georgia, Mike's work has garnered many awards, including praise from the internationally renowned artist Peter Max. Mike is best known throughout the Atlantic City area as the host and technical producer of the No. 1 rated morning show, Mike & Diane on 95.1 WAYV. Mike started his radio career at the age of 14. For the past two years, Mike has run two Atlantic City Marathons, raising money for the Shirley Mae Breast Cancer Assistance Fund. His effort and donations from WAYV listeners supporting his Run Mike Run campaign has raised over $90,000 for women with breast cancer in southern New Jersey....
ATLANTIC CITY — The organizers of this year’s Atlantic City Marathon, organized through the Katz JCC in Margate, have clearly made a decision. Let’s spice things up a bit. Yes, they’ve got a 53-year-old marathon tradition and the race is still a qualifier for the Boston Marathon. More than 3,000 runners have already signed up for the events (which include a half marathon and a 10K and 5K run), easily topping last year’s 2,700 runners and with more likely to register on race day, Sunday, Oct. 16. And this year a new course design is in effect to take better advantage of Atlantic City’s northside Boardwalk and the scenic back-bay views of Downbeach. So the racing part is there and going strong. All that was left was to spice...
Five months earlier, Lindbergh had made aviation history with the first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, traveling from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, N.Y., to Le Bourget airport in Paris. He flew 3,610 miles in 33 hours and 30 minutes.
The Marathon has also upped the prize pool for the race to about $18,000. The marathon winners, male and female, will receive a $2,500 cash prize...
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