Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 55

LETU5 KNOW YOUR IDEAS Do you have a story idea? Phone Entertainment Editor Brian Moore at: PUZZLES -2 BOOKS -3 FAMILY TREES -4 THE CLARION-LEDGER JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1996 i i i Wi iiu.y I wm i mm JOHN 4. WEBB Arts Columnist I 1 6 I jr' 1 Eudora Welty is an e-mail laureate in cyberspace I was getting on fine with Boss-Man till deadline come around again, and me not finished my column and him hollering and looking at me like the man in the moon. So I says Boss-Man better stop it with his conniption fits (what he'd really done, he'd drunk another bottle of that prescription). Besides, I have my pride so I up and says, "I'm leaving and as to where I intend to go, you 'seem to forget that I've always got the P.O... That is, my treasured e-mail system, Eudora 3.0.1!...

Indeed, the high-tech terrain of computer i software seems a world apart from the evocative landscape peopled by Eudora Welty's quirky characters. Yet the noted Jackson scribe has been celebrated on the Internet since 1990 by those prob-: ably more familiar with Doom than Delta Wedding. When software entrepreneur Steve Domer decided to name his new e-mail system, he cast a wide 'Net. He ultimately named the program after Welty, whose short story Why I Live at the P.O. inspired his program's original slogan, "Bringing the P.O.

to Where You Live." What does Welty think? "I find it all very mysterious, but I was certainly flattered to be a part of it," says the renowned writer, who is known to prefer typewriters to computers. "A documentary about the Internet was by a Canadian company," says Dorner, "and in the process of doing one of the segments about e-mail, they talked to me. They said Wel- ty was pleased that it was named after her." Petrified man Has Dorner, of Urbana-Champaign, 111., ever met the writer? "I've never talked to her," he says. "I'm too embarrassed." Dorner, a software engineer for PROCOMM developed the program at the University of Illinois to improve on the arcane UNIX service. Special to The Clarion-Ledger The Shangri-La Spa in Bonita Springs, caters to those who want to trim extra weight in a more luxurious setting than a gym.

fide ut nana pi -La: A post- uioDia posi-ijuie You pay more to weigh less at the swanky Shangri-La Inn, Resort Spa. r'i i no -ilnrli)fli SCALE IN MILES Fort I 0 By Patti Nicked Special to The Clarion-Ledger Nightly rates at Shangri-La range from $145 to $245 in the main hotel garden cottages. Weekly rates run from $1 195 to $2,495 (main hotel) and $595 to $895 (garden cottages). These prices include all meals and use of all exercise equipment, but do not include spa services. There are spa packages available which include the services, but rates vary.

For more information or to make reservations, call 1-80O279-3811. high impact aerobics) or relaxing (afternoon T'ai Chi and meditation classes and yoga sessions) to suit a person's fitness level. Diet is as important as exercise in the spa regimen. While Shangri-La's talented chef Henry Williams is a proponent of healthy cooking, his menus (and portions) are not as spartan as those at some spas. Guests, depending on their weight loss goals, can choose from three styles of cuisine: natural hygiene (mostly raw vegetables and fruit), gourmet spa cuisine, (vegetarian dishes) and a la carte menus (combining the gourmet spa cuisine with "free range" chicken entrees and fresh" fish).

As a bonus, Chef Williams conducts weekly cooking classes to demonstrate ways of combining a variety of fresh, natu ral foods to create meals designed for weight maintenance. The raison d'etre of a spa for many is the opportunity it affords to indulge in a See SHANGRI-LA, 5F Coral Vay Springs BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. Christmas is but a memory, but the holiday bloat that gives you that late 70s Elvis feeling is all too real. You can't wish the pounds away, but there's an ideal place whereyou might get some help. Shangri-La.

The dictionary defines it as "a remote, beautiful imaginary place where life approaches perfection." In the case of the Shangri-La Inn, Resort Spa, remote (a charming and romantic southwest Florida village) somewhat applies and beautiful (a tropical oasis surrounded by orange, banana, avocado, mango and grapefruit trees) definitely applies. But this is no imaginary place. This Shangri-La, a 30-minute ride from the Ft. Myers airport, is very real, He says he thought it would be "cute" to name the program after Welty. Eudora the program an Internet hit that has 18 million users is as gray and functional as Eudora the writer is colorful and idiosyncratic.

Yet the and spa guests, after enjoying a few days in its park-like setting, have been known to view life as approaching perfection. For devoted spa-goers, that state of near-nirvana is achieved through its masterful blend of aesthetics, amenities and athletics. For most people in search of a spa, weight loss and body toning are the principal objectives. Shangri-La offers a variety of low and high impact aerobics, step classes and pool exercises, along with a state-of-the-art fitness center and tennis courts. Workouts can be demanding (the versal, with Welty's sto ries reaching as much of the world as Dorner's e-mail program.

I Dorner says Eudora 3.0.1 which eschews memory-devouring graphics in favor of efficien Decades of painting yields no blue period for Forest artist Mary McCravey's abstract paintings benefit from happy accidents. By Nell Luter Floyd Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer Mary Katharine Loyacano McCravey believes a good painting practically paints itself and a touch of serendipity can make a masterpiece. "I never know what I'm going to paint when I start," said McCravey, 86, of Forest. "What really makes a painting is if something goes wrong You pick up cy is based on standard protocols that make it easier to switch from one Internet service to another, and to communicate with other terns connecting the global village. And Dorner says he believes the name Eu-r dora clicks with users like a mouse on an icon.

"In addition to being embarrassed that I ap-" propriated the great writer's name, I'm glad I brought her to the awareness of a larger audi-T ence people who've never heard of her," says Dorner. For instance, he says, a Japanese man came 'to the United States to help translate the program into his native language. "He went out and bought a Welty book and read it in English, although he did find the dialect to be a little challenging." Computer illiterates 1' Dorner says few people guess the origins of I the name. "Generally speaking, people in cy-; berspace aren't terribly literate they didn't have a clue," says Dorner, adding that while 'some thought it had "something to do with a I others went back to the Greek etymolo-; gy. "A lot of people had never heard of her." Then again, Welty may never have heard of Myst And if Boss-Man come tome like the man in the moon attempting to explain his hollerin', I I'll put my fingers in my ears and refuse to lis- ten.

That's why I live at Eudora's online P.O. (For information on Eudora e-mail software, call 1-800-2EUDORA or visit the Web site at www.eudora.com.) John Webb's arts column appears on Sun-- day. To contact him, call 961-7280. Jj I I I'm hn i a i i A i I -1 1 r. Mississippi College practice taught (was a student teacher?) with guidance from McCravey, describes both McCravey's paintings and his own as hypothetical realism.

"Many of those places she paints aren't real, but they could be," he said. Known for landscapes dotted with women in white dresses, horses or dogs, McCravey has not only made a name for herself as an artist but also as a teacher. A 1932 graduate of Belhaven College, McCravey taught art at the old Central High School and later at Provine High School, where she retired in 1968. Lynda Berry Ditto of Cordova, an artist and homemaker, still remembers McCravey's kindness as an art instructor at Provine High School in the 1960s. "I was a real shy girl and the only reason I was in school was for my art class," she said.

"She encouraged me to use art in my other classes such as in English to illustrate literature and that brought me out." Barbara Gatewood of Forest, an artist and friend of McCravey's, describes McCravey as a philanthropist with art. "She has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for organizations by donating her work to auctions," she said. Kenneth Quinn, an art instructor at Mississippi College, said the exhibit is a validation of McCravey's ability and her style. "She's all warmth and friendship, as her paintings show," he said. the wrong color and it ends up being just what you needed." McCravey blends impressionism and abstraction, using shades of brown, gold, mauve, red and yellow.

"I've seen so many horrible blue paintings," she said when asked why that color is hardly noticeable in her work. More than 60 of McCravey's paintings r-'. It- McCravey are on display in the exhibit Winter Shadow, Summer Shade, that runs through Jan. 12 at the Mississippi Museum of Art, 201 E. Pascagoula St.

in Jackson. The exhibit ranges from a watercolor still life McCravey painted as a student at the Art Institute of Chicago to The Clearing, which at 4-feet-by-6-feet is her largest creation. Artist Bill Dunlap of McLean, who as a student at Special to The Clarion-Ledger Green Still Life by Mary Katherine Loyacano McCravey, a blend of abstraction and impressionism. DIVERSIONS TRAVEL TIPS COMING UP Balancing work and play Over the past 20 years, Americans say they've increased the number of hours spent at work, -com- while cutting back on time devoted to leisy pursuits. Average nours per wesKf IB) Jellyfish and Portuguese man-o'-war stings can put a crimp in tropical vacations.

They can even be fatal. If stung by a jellyfish, do not rub the wound. Soak it in salt water and apply baking Natchez celebrates Mardi Gras with its Mystic Krewe of Alpheus Mardl Gras Parade and Ball Jan. 31-Feb. 1.

The night-time parade has music, flambeaux and floats. The Alpheus Grand Mardi Gras Ball black tie optional follows. For more information, call 1-800-647-6724. Denim, the old war horse of personal fashion, is getting versatile. Denim has branched out and is at home on the range from the living room to the bedroom in the form in slipcovers, place mats, bedding, shower curtains, pillows, sofas, chairs and ottomans.

"It's extremely popular now, partly because of America's relaxed comfort era. Just like the clothes they wear, people want to feel comfortable in their homes, and denim is one way of filling this need," says furniture designer Kristine Capra. As a fabric, denim is your basic chameleon. "It will turn into whatever you are trying to accomplish," says upholstery executive David Pearce. It can be worn just about anywhere and at any time.

And in the home, it can fit into any lifestyle or decor. 7 1 Year Work Leisure 1995 50.6 19.2 1993 500 19- 1989 487 166 wTT i. 1984 47-3 16-6 -iJv 1980 46.9 19.2 la 1975 43.1 24.3 soda, then remove any tentacles remaining. If stung by a man-o'-war, substitute vinegar for the baking soda. Never use fresh water to treat the wounds.

The change in salt concentration increases the toxin released into the victim. The pain shouldn't last more than a few hours. But if you feel nauseous, hot or think you're having a severe reaction, get medical help immediately. Bald eagle fans should flock to the Rains County Eagle Fest in Emory, Texas, Jan. 17-19.

Bus and barge tours of the region will allow birdwatchers to view the magnificient symbol of our 'country. Other activities are scheduled. For more information, call 1-903-473-4478. Source. Louis Harris Assoc.

and Interep Research Division Genevieve Lynn, GNS.