Friday, December 26, 2008

Motion picture, TV title designer Fitzgerald to speak Saturday


JUNEAU - Wayne Fitzgerald, three-time Emmy award winning motion picture and TV title designer with more than 1,000 title designs to his credit, will speak at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 27, at the downtown library.

With more than 55 years experience in the film industry, Fitzgerald will discuss film history, short-story telling, the change in technology and maybe a few colorful Hollywood personality stories.

Some of his credits include: "Bonnie and Clyde," "A River Runs Through It," "What About Bob?," "Total Recall," "The Godfather trilogy," "Innerspace," "The Fly," "Rocky IV," "The Breakfast Club," "The Deer Hunter," "Sixteen Candles," "Footloose," "Splash," "The Big Chill," "Terms of Endearment," "Pennies from Heaven," "The Lord of the Rings," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Ghost," "Basic Instinct," "Catch-22," "Apocolypse Now," "The Graduate" and "Pillow Talk."

Fitzgerald will show samples of his work and the original storyboards for a few films. For a list of some title credits, visit www.imdb.com/name/nm0280408/.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Wong KO's Flood in Main Event



Bartender stops serving drinks to win her first fight

Some bartenders serve hard liquor. Marlintini's Lounge bartender Shannon "Fighting Irish" Williams serves hard rights, or at least she did Friday night while filling in for another fighter.

Williams, 26, stepped out from behind the bar to battle newcomer Amanda Phillips, 21, whose scheduled opponent no-showed for the bout.

Williams defeated Phillips by unanimous decision in a fight that Williams dominated from the start. Williams stayed on the offensive and chased Phillips around the ring, landing head blows to get the win before heading back to tending bar.

In Friday's main event Ryan Wong, 31, stopped Norman "Thunder Punch" Flood III, 20, with a haymaker combination that earned Wong the win and left Flood on the floor with an injured jaw. Wong (3-1-0) planned on using his reach to grab the win and took a few rattling head shots early in round one. He then went after Flood (7-2-1) and fired off a huge right to the head, then landed a left haymaker to Flood's jaw, finishing him off with with a final hard right to clinch a first round victory.

In other bouts:

• Inoke Topui, a 21-year-old weighing 222 pounds, defeated James "The Beast" Roberts Jr., a 23-year-old from Klawock who outweighed Topui by more than 100 pounds. Roberts was undefeated going into the bout but Topui was lighter on his feet than the powerful Roberts. Roberts hung tight but Topui landed more blows to grab the win.

• National Guardsman and first time fighter Bailey Johnson, 22, of Angoon defeated schoolteacher and fellow first time fighter Patrick Murphy, 39. Johnson grabbed an early advantage by forcing Murphy to two standing eight-counts in round one. Johnson dominated from the sound of the bell and popped Murphy's head out between the ropes as he pummeled him. Murphy had a strong comeback in round two but the referee called the fight the same round after a third standing eight-count.

• Doug Chilton, 26, with three losses under his belt, grabbed his first win by defeating first time fighter David Young of Wasilla in a heavyweight fight when referee Joe Isturis awarded Chilton a second round technical knockout.

Brian Lauth, 18, defeated first-time fighter Anthony Davidson in another tough bout. Lauth had the reach advantage over Davidson, who stood strong at the end of round one by returning some hard shots. Davidson was delivered a standing eight-count in round two, but it was Lauth who eventually won the fight.

• Patrick Cummings, 22, of New Jersey, defeated James "Long John the X Warrior" Runge III, 27, of Dallas, in a close bout pairing first time fighters, friends and fellow Coast Guard workers. The match was even heading into round two when both boxers gassed. Cummings managed to throw some heavy leather, leaving Runge with a swollen eye. Cummings wants to fight again but said he felt bad for his friend, who was sitting with an ice pack over his eye. Runge also said he wanted to fight again sometime - but against a weaker opponent.

• Cameron Mitchell, of Juneau, defeated first time fighter Don "Damn Yaki" Johnson, of Yakutat, who waited until he was 47 to step into the ring. Mitchell was more spry that the stiff Johnson and the fight was called after Johnson was knocked down for the second time in round two.

The next fight night at Marlintini's Lounge will be Jan. 16.

Fight card results

Friday, Dec. 12

• Doug Chilton defeatsDavid Young

• Brian Lauth defeatsAnthony Davidson

• Patrick Cummings defeats James "Long John the X Warrior" Runge III

• Sharon "Fighting Irish" Williams defeats Amanda Phillips

• Baily Johnson defeats Patrick Murphy

• Cameron Mitchell defeats Don "Damn Yaki" Johnson

• Inoke Topui defeats James "The Beast" Roberts Jr.

• Wong defeats Norman "Thunder Punch" Flood III

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Red Dog to Stay open all winter

New owners tempt locals with food and drink, a giant TV screen and Costa's brunch

After years of catering primarily to Juneau's summer tourists, the Red Dog Saloon is under new ownership and ready to fully embrace the locals. This year the bar and restaurant will be open all winter, offering good food and music - and the largest television screen in town.

"We have new, young, invigorated owners that really want to embrace the local crowd," said Red Dog's general manager Mike Denny.

In the past, the saloon hasn't always been a hot destination for Juneauites, as Denny recently found out.

Working the door incognito during this year's Boardwalk Boogie fundraiser, Denny said he was surprised by the number of long-term locals who commented that they'd never been to the Red Dog before.

"The locals don't come down in the summer because we are so crowded, then they forget about us in the winter," Denny said. "Last year we were closed for the winter while the liquor license settled, so locals don't know that we are now open year-round."

"It's a warm, inviting space, and if you have out-of-town guests it's kind of a must-see," he said.

Founded in the 1940s, the Red Dog has occupied several different locations downtown but has maintained its gold-rush theme. In the early days, "Ragtime Hattie" drew people in by playing the piano in white gloves and a silver-dollar halter-top. Now the red saloon-style doors, Alaskan beers, wildlife trophies and charismatic musicians - such as honky-tonk piano player Tag Eckles - uphold the frontier feel, making the spot a hit with the tourists and creating long lines in summer.

Realizing that the long wait kept the locals and their out-of-town guests away, the new owners came up with a plan.

"If there's a line to get in, just come to the front and say you're a local and they will let you in," Denny said.

There are five sets of new owners of the Red Dog, hailing from Juneau and Ketchikan. Juneau couple Eric and Tracy Forst are former owners of the Subway sandwich shop, and Eric Forst has been general manager of Gross Alaska Theatres for the past five years. Neale and Toni Murphy are owners of the Juneau Trading Company and Franklin Street souvenir shop Alaska-Juneau Mining Co.; and new partner Doug Trucano, also of Juneau, owns Trucano Construction. Two Ketchikan couples, Dave and Lori Coates and Gary and Meeta Jethani, complete the group.

A new menu was created by the management which Denny claims is excellent.

"We have a small menu because everything on the menu is good," Denny said.

After 16 poultry tastings, Denny said they settled on an organic roasted chicken dish.

"We serve dinner every night and feature a slow-roasted prime rib dinner on Friday, which is sliced at your table. All entrees come with soup or salad, our special sourdough bread and butter, starch and vegetable, and we have cheesecake for dessert," Denny said.

They also have cheese sticks, chicken wings and sliders to go with their full line of Alaskan beer.

Another draw is the likelihood of Collette Costa's involvement in the restaurant and bar. Although the dates haven't been firmed up, Costa was invited to host her Sunday brunch at the Red Dog beginning sometime early next year.

"The worst thing about Costa's brunch was that there were no mimosas and no Bloody Marys, so that's one of the beautiful things about this place - you can have a full beverage bar alongside Costa's famous brunch," Denny said.

Sports fans might enjoy watching football and hockey on the six-by-10 foot flat-screen television, which can also be used for PowerPoint presentations.

Although The Red Dog is already open and serving lunch at 11 a.m. every day through the winter, it will be closing at 6 p.m., for holiday parties for the next two weekends.

After that the doors will be open to welcome weekend revelers, Monday night footballs fans and hungry locals.