Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 39

ADVICEPUZZLES 3 COMICS 4 TV TONIGHT 6 THE CLARION-LEDGER JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1994 LESLIE R. (g MYERS TV Columnist The Clarion-Ledger ii. I wit Going he QW Millsaps artist-in-residence Constance Pierce paints expressionistic monotype prints, then figures out what they mean. By Nell Luter Floyd Clarlon-Ladgar Staff Writer Constance Pierce's monotype prints are worth a visit to Millsaps College any time while she is artist-in-residence. But now is the time to see them if you're bummed out on commercial Christmas kitsch.

The expressionistic monotype prints titled Annunciation, Gifts of the Child Christ and Flight into Egypt speak to the soul. It's no wonder considering the creative process is spiritual from the start. "There's an otherness," said Pierce, whose work fills her officestudio at the John Stone House at Millsaps. "Their creation is like having a dialogue with something else." Pierce, who before coming to Mississippi served as resident artist and curator at The Center for Art and Religious Studies i. it' mr-V Christ 4.

of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, begins by manipulating oil paint over the damp surface of a plastic plate. "I use bushes, rags, and even my fingers to provoke the paint to speak back to me, to set in motion a creative dialogue," said Pierce, who earned a master's degree from The Maryland Institute of Art in Baltimore. She works quickly, drawing with paint until figures intense with color and alive with movement start to emerge. Pierce Christmas on the outside In-line skates and outdoor adventure hold the edge this season. By Valerie Lister USA Today Gettingout is in this holiday season.

Mountain bikes. In-line skates. Camping equipment. Those are the hot gift items making their way from a sporting goods department to a home near you. Old favorites (footballs, baseball gloves and basketballs) and hightech stuff (sports videos and CD-ROM games) will still be under the tree.

But this season is one for the outdoors. "If anything is a dominant theme this Christmas, it's anything connected with outdoor adventure sports," says Mike May of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. "People are beginning to recognize the outdoors as the ultimate gym." And not just in the mountains or on the trails. "The wake board is our hottest-selling item right now," says John Elliott of Roberts Sporting Goods Co. in Birmingham, Ala.

Described as a skateboard for water you stand on it and are pulled by a boat the boards start at $289. "It's a lot easier than water skiing," says Elliott. "Anybody can ride on them because one size fits all." The most popular individual item this season: in-line skates. Originally designed as a summer training tool for ice hockey players, the popularity of in-line skates, which usually range from has increased steadily. A sports participation survey by the sporting goods association shows a 34.1 percent increase in in-line use from 1992 to '93.

"They are sort of like bicycles," says Tom Doyle of the Natipnal Sporting Goods "It's something mom and dad can do with their kids. It's a very social sport." For those who don't skate or for skaters who have everything clothing bedecked in college or professional team logos is a popular gift item. "The Cowboys are the No. 1 seller, and the San Francisco 49ers are closing in," says Frank Szpunar of The Sports Zone in Albuquerque, N.M. Chris Whitmeyer of NFL Properties says this season's "Throw-backs" uniforms, worn by teams to celebrate the NFL's 75th anniversary, have propelled the sale of NFL jerseys up 75 percent from last year.

The jerseys start at $160. Heavier-weight jackets such as the Starter line starting at $90, that feature college teams have increased in demand. "Nebraska jackets were our main No. 1 seller until we ran out of them a week ago," says Millie Davenport, co-owner of United Sporting Goods in Lincoln, Neb. "We're out, other stores are out, and the warehouses are out.

There are none to be found." Don't despair. For last-minute shoppers and those who haven't found the right gift, books are the answer Harvey Penick's Little Red Book by Harvey Penick with Bud Shrake (Simon Schuster, $20) is the top-selling sports book this year. He uses common sense in helping the reader to improve his or her golf game. Other top sellers: Baseball: An Illustrated Historyby Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns (Knopf, $60) and Can 't Accept Not Trying by Michael Jordan (HarperSan Francisco, $12).

WAPT's newest owners plan no personnel changes WAPT-Channel 16 is tuning into its future. The Jackson ABC affiliate is expected to have new owners in control by Jan. 4. "That's the target now," WAPT vice presidentgeneral manager Stuart Kellogg said of the expected closing date on the deal. The sale was announced in September.

Previously anticipated closing dates were mid-December and Jan. 1. The only job in question apparently was Kel-logg post. "They've asked me and I've happily agreed to stay on," Kellogg said. "There's been absolutely no mention of any (other personnel changes).

only potential change was position." A new Delaware corporation, Argyle Television Holding II is buying three of four TV stations owned by Northstar Television Group Inc. of Grand Rapids, Mich. The three stations are WAPT; a Grand Rapids ABC affiliate; and a Providence, R.I., Fox affiliate. Their combined price was $108 million. "Northstar is getting out of the business," Kellogg noted.

He predicted that WAPT will not switch networks. "The company's position and I think it's a sound one is we like being with ABC." But, he noted, the newest network, Fox, likes affiliates that have news departments already in place. WAPT does. Jackson Fox affiliate WDBD-Channel 40 does not. This is WAPT's fifth ownership change since it came on the air in the early 1970s.

Meanwhile, the buyers and sellers of WJTV-Channel 12 were in Jackson Monday to size up that CBS affiliate. The new proprietors are set to take over WJTV April 1. Just a year ago, New Vision Television Inc. of Atlanta purchased WJTV and WHLT in Hattiesburg. On the road again Mississippi Roads and its affable host, Jackson actor Jack Stevens, met a dead end at Mis-issippi ETV network, the statewide PBS affiliate.

But, for viewers, it was a wonderful ride while it lasted. Highlights of the popular, ETV-produced series which traveled the state for 11 years are preserved on a 90-minute video. The Best of Mississippi Roads: People showcases some of the most original and memorable folks featured on the series, from a skiing grandmother to the "world's No. 1 Elvis Fan." The video is available for $19.95 at ETVs Learning Store on 3825 Ridgewood Road and until Christmas at a temporary Learning Store in the Deposit Guaranty Plaza mall downtown. To order by phone, call 982-6565 in Jackson or 1-800-264-5565 elsewhere in Mississippi.

VISA and Mastercard are accepted. Orders may be shipped nationwide. Country Christmas Catch Marty Stuart and Tammy Wynette. The pride of Philadelphia and Itawamba County's First Lady of Country Music will perform on Opryland's Country Christinas at 8 p.m. Thursday on CBS (WJTV in Jackson.) That tall, dark and handsome guy constantly on the air on the national Tavist-D commerical is actor Anthony Herrera, a Wiggins native.

The soap opera star and new playwright appears alone in the testimonial ad for the medicine, saying, "The act of breathing made possible by Tavist-D There's nothing else like it." If you get a TV for Christmas, test it on the best: Tate County native James Earl Jones will star with Martin Sheen in PBS's Bah! Humbug! at 7 p.m. Sunday on ETV. Ace newsman Robert MacNeil will host. This original look at Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol will feature dramatic readings and Victorian-age magic. "I'll think, 'Who is It's a surprise, and I'll think something like, 'This is about Peter and walking into the Next, she applies pressure from an etching press to transfer the painted surface of the plate onto paper.

The work is spontaneous; the results, unpredictable. At times, the finished product can be raw and disquieting. Other times, it can be suggestive and luminous. "There are times you can work and work and may not get a harvest," Pierce said. "It sort of tests your patience and humility.

Other times you can wake up Monday morning and do a print you love every day of the week." Pilgrimage, crucifixion, spiritual imprisonment, rebirth, the sadness of war and longing for world peace are themes that crop up in her prints, which she often enhances with collage and pastel. She "wrestles with angels" about what her work means. Don't confuse her work, which has been shown at The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, with illustration. She doesn't set out to produce pictures of particular Bible stories, but rather goes with the flow. "It's like somebody coming toward you down a long hallway, and you don't understand who it is at first," Pierce said.

"Once the figure starts to develop, you draw a connection with it." Not every print is a success, but Pierce even has a method for giving life to her failures. She harvests the areas she likes and produces smaller works of art. "It's been said you learn more from your failures than successes," said Pierce, who later this year will teach at Penland School of Crafts in Spruce Pine, N.C., and the Smithsonian Institution's Art Studio in Washington. "Sometimes they're the kernel for a new direction." ft I Gifts of the Child Barry White's on The master of cool romance is cooking it up hot. By David Bauder Associated Press Writer NEW YORK The voice seems to rumble up from somewhere in the basement.

"Don't say anything," whispers Barry White. "Don't say one word. Just lay here." He draws out each sensuous syllable, savoring the taste. "Just lay there and let me unwind a little. Seems like the day would never end.

This is so nice. It really feels so good. I love to play all up in your hair. Let me touch you and rub you all over." A gentle beat builds behind him. "Baby, just lay there.

I'm starting to "People insist on yelling and carrying on. Then, of course, there's that post-hoot embarrassment, when people stop and slowly realize, 'I've hooted really loudly in a public place, and now I'm not sure what to say or do." Post-hoot embarrassment is a sign of at least some intelligence." Paula Poundstone on being a comic on New Year's Eve. Annunciation Artist Bebe Wolfe said emotion it is rich with "The movement fact it's not literal. spelled out in one of Jackson, a painter and printmaker herself, and spirituality shine in Pierce's work because gesture. carries the meaning," she said.

"I like the The meaning is deeper because it's not whack. At, Id) the rise again feel something, that's really intensifying my body. Makes me want to do all kinds of things to you." Barry White's in the mood again. Isn't he always? In the big house of music, White is the hot tub or maybe the mirrors on the ceiling. Two decades after establishing himself as music's ultimate Love Man with such songs as Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe and You're the First, the Last, My Everything, White is back.

He has his biggest hit album since his heyday. Except this particular day, White is on his back. An upset stomach keeps him prone on a sofa in a suite at New York's Palace Hotel. He puts off an interview to talk about his newfound success until a See WHITE, 2D OUT AND ABOUT We'll take 2 of each The best products of 1994, according to Time magazine, are: the Chrysler Neon automobile; Donkey Kong Country video game; Netscape software for browsing the Internet; Sony Magic Link personal digital assistant; the Wonderbra; Fruitopia fruit drink; Seiko message watch; Zephyr hammock; Tweezerman hand-held tweezer; and Porter-Cable sanding machine. The worst product of 1994, says the magazine, is California's own Michael Huff-ington, who gets the knock for spending $30 million on his unsuccessful race for the Senate.

Leslie Myers' TV column appears on Wednesday. To contact her, call 961-7280. The Associated Press Barry White: Back with a big album. THEY SAID IT. So, like, you know, there's a point? FREE STUFF Mothers of AIDS Patients (M.A.P.) meets p.m.

The group includes relatives, caregivers and friends of those infected or affected by HIV or AIDS. Details: 956-4953. The Institute for Wellness and Sports Medicine offers blood pressure screenings from EARTH SAVERS FOR A LIFETIME Don't get a pet for Christmas, get a pet for life! If considering giving a pet as a gift, be sure it wanted. Many animal shelters offer gift certificates allowing the recipient to select the pet. In shelters, about one-third of the pets are purebreds, two-thirds are mixed breeds Many shelters spay or neuter their pets.

It yours doesn't, inquire about low-cost spay options. v4 jK? "I think the lines (between high and low culture) have become blurred and I think TV is a major part of it, all right? Because, you know, this group might go to the ballet and this 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The center is located at 308 Hospital Hattiesburg. Details: 268-5010.

A 12-Step Recovery Program for men and women struggling with co-dependency meets at 7:30 p.m. in the front building of All Saints Episcopal Church, 147 Daniel Lake Jackson. For more free stuff, see Calendar, page 2D. group might go and see Demolition Man. And they all watch TV when they get home from work.

The Roseanne show, that is great television." Pulp Fiction's Quentin Tarantino. jtt 1.