The Bismarck Tribune from Bismarck, North Dakota • 37

I I i Reach us Laura Lueder -Assistant City Editor 701-250-8225 bismarcktribune.com Section November 1912000 The Bismarck Tribune WW We need your help for the holidays Mil tot 11 Ywr mm mm jjj Do you have a record, tape or compact disc that really gets you in the holiday mood? One that you look forward to digging out to listen to on the day after Thanksgiving while you put up the tree and other decorations? The Tribune is compiling a list of our readers' favorite Christmas albums, and we'd like to have your entry. Please send the title of your favorite album, along with a little history, such as where you got it or how long you've had it. How many songs does it have on it, and which of those songs is your favorite? And any other information you'd like to share about it. Send the information to Laura Lueder, Bismarck Tribune, P.O. Box 5516, Bismarck, N.D.

58506 or e-mail LLuederndonline.com. JOE GARDYASZ Bismarck Tribune Ballet brings back 'Christmas Carol' Their dance instructor and choreographer fondly calls them the "three musketeers." But it's I How are you helping 1 1L! Christmas Past, Present QUI IMS ullilaUIlda; and Future that Katie Mac- Is your church or organization sponsoring a gift tree, angel tree, mitten tree or other "giving tree" this Christmas? The Tribune will publish a list of the trees, locations, items needed and ways to contribute in an early December issue to let people know how they may help. Send your "giving tree" project information to Karen Herzog at the Bismarck Tribune, Box 5516, Bismarck, N.D. 58506, fax the information to 223-2063, or e-mail krherzogndonline.com. Label the information "giving tree." Looking for beloved old cookbooks Queen, Stacy Thomas and Lacy Hansen will play in the dance version of the Charles Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol." "The casting was just absolutely perfect," said Jodey Eliseo, who choreographed the Christmas ballet with Jenny Samuelson-Jangula.

The performances, scheduled Dec. 1-3 at the Belle Mehus City Auditorium, are a production of Dakota Principal Performers and Let's Dance Studio. From Katie's mystical, haunting style of dance as the Ghost of Christmas Past, to Stacy's upbeat style as Christmas Present and Lacy's powerful dancing as the Future, each of the lead characters fits her role very well, Eliseo said. "It's just a very uplifting story," she said. "Grandma will love it because of the beauty of the young lovers scene, the children will love it because of the toy store, the guys will love it because of the sheer power of the dance." The show drew a total of about 4,000 people last year, but because it sold out, they wanted to perform it again to give more people a chance to see it, said Samuelson-Jangula, owner and dance instructor at Let's Dance.

The cast is made up of 250 children, about 50 children more than the first-year performance, along with 10 adults. "I think after seeing the performance last year a lot jr of kids were interested in "nl it," Samuelson-Jangula said. i The show combines a wide variety of dance and music i styles, which makes it appealing j. to a broad audience, said Eliseo, Do you have an old cookbook maybe tattered and food-spotted that you cherish? We'd like to hear about that book for an upcoming Life page Food and Home story on beloved old cookbooks. How old is the cookbook? Where did it come from or who gave it to you? What's your favorite thing to make from it? What memories does it bring back? Contact Karen Herzog at the Bismarck Tribune, Box 5516, Bismarck, N.D., 58506, call 701-250-8267, fax 701-223-2063 or e-mail krherzogndonline.com.

Brianna MacQueen, left, and Laura Kien-zle practice Nov. 12 for the upcoming performance of "A Christmas Carol." The two will portray ballet dancers in a scene in the play. I I Ill's TV tips "Santa Who?" Hoo, hoo, hoo (just kidding, kids). Seasoned farceur Leslie Nielsen plays an injured Mr. Claus whose amnesia threatens Christmas.

Tommy By Jeffrey G. Olson for the Tribune Davidson plays an elf. ABC "The Lost Child" An adopted woman (Mercedes Ruehl) goes in search of her biological family on a Navajo who has performed with the Joffrey Ballet and can ust tne tsroaaway musi- jr )) I cal "Cats" on her I reservation. Jamey Sheridan co-stars as her supportive husband. CBS "Beautiful Joe" A fellow (Billy Connolly) with a brain tumor joins forces with a grifter (Sharon Stone) when the mob muscles in on her resume.

An instructor at both Let's Dance family. Cinemax full one-year dance scholarships for students. A major goal this year is to fund more scholarships, as well as to establish a fund to assist families in covering expenses of out-of-state travel to dance competitions, said Renae Walker, spokeswoman for Dakota Principal Performers. "We took a chance having the first show because of all of the expenses involved" Walker said. "But we had tremendous community Los Angeles Times and Bismarck choreographs all BSC dance performances.

"The Christmas Carol" performance "covers all the bases jazz, modern and classical ballet," Eliseo said. "Jenny and I have different backgrounds so when we work together we work from our strong points. There's something for everybody, and I think when we did it last year, a lot of men went and said, 'Wow, I didn't expect to like this and I The musical score was "made up and spliced in a fabulous way with different artists and different feelings," she added. It includes everything from Tschaikovsky to Mannheim Steamroller. State College, Eliseo 3 C00kS 'I Milanese Rice 2 tablespoons butter or margarine support." It will be the last Christmas performance for some of the graduating seniors, including Katie, Stacy and Lacy.

Although they'll be missed, upcoming dancers are Those who saw the show I last year will want to go again because there are new twists, Samuelson-Jangula said. There are more male dancers, more lifts and new ginger '2 tablespoons olive oil '1 cup raw rice medium onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 cup crumbled crisp bacon I 2 tablespoons dry "If It Tastes Good, Who white wine Caies? by Pam 1 small can mush- Girard, Bismarck I rooms ft i 2 cans chicken broth Salt and pepper cup Parmesan cheese Heat butter and oil in heavy skillet. Add rice, onion and garlic; brown until rice is golden. Add rest of ingredients; cover and bake at 350 degrees about 45 minutes or until rice is dry. Freezes well.

Double or triple the recipe and freeze in Ziplock bags. Pam Girard says, "Be sure to use the olive oil, as it gives the rice a wonderful flavor." ready to take their places, Eliseo said. "This is a special year because those three have defined the front row for so long. I want them to go out with a bang because I want everyone to see what the years of hard work have done." bread characters with more songs this year. To accommodate the advanced female dancers, the role of Tiny Tim from the original story has again been converted to Tiny Tess.

Last year, the Dakota Principal Performers, the nonprofit arm of Let's Dance Studio, used proceeds from the show to buy the costumes and establish three Stephanie Parker, who will portray the Ghost of Christmas Future Spirit, practices an arabesque en pointeatthe Let's Dance Studio. Tickets for "A Christmas Carol" are $10 per seat and available at Let's Dance Studio and all Bismarck-Mandan Dan's SuperMar-ket locations. Choreographer Jodey Eliseo says she expects the show to be popular with all ages. 4 Economy is reason for Gore's apparent win in popular vote Staying Ahead Jane Quinn Author and columnist for the Washington Post Many opinions and experiences drive voters; not just the thickness of their wallets. Guns, abortion, the environment and Social Security made a difference in some districts and states.

But there are impassioned voters on both sides of those issues, says Princeton political scientist Larry Bartels (not a model-maker), and they tend to cancel each other out. By contrast, opinion about the economy doesn't split. We've either done well or we haven't, in the nation as a whole. Out here in voterland, there's no doubt that we're better off. Poverty stands at its lowest rate in 20 years.

Median, real household income has risen for five years straight Maybe we have "good times" fatigue. This remarkable period might not seem as special as it did before. We'll be picking over these returns for many years, but it's still the economy no matter where Al Gore is living nrt. Campbell and the other political scientists don't put as much direct economic data into their models. They consider general growth but also weigh sentiment, such as consumer confidence, presidential approval ratings or political polls.

Confidence has been high but weakening all year, and it suddenly dropped just before Election Day. Consumers started to think that the future might not be as great as they thought. They've got other worries, too, such as high oil prices and whether the slowdown in corporate profits will affect their jobs. There's a lot of stress, among people feeling overworked, and a lot of debt In the models, these feelings amount to variables, and the variables were wide this year. Campbell says that a strong economy doesn't automatically power a campaign.

"You need a candidate to politicize and claim credit for it," he says, and Gore didn't always run that way. It's still the economy, stupid. That's the reason Al Gore apparently won the popular vote, though by just an eyelash. The question is why he didn't Tennessee waltz into the White House, regardless of how many holes were punched in ballots in Palm Beach. The mathematical models that try to predict election outcomes named Gore the victor early and often, even when he was polling behind George W.

Bush. Most of the forecasts, however, saw Gore getting anywhere from 52.3 percent to 55.4 percent of the two-party vote. Instead, he picked up just 50.1 percent of the vote the closest presidential election ever. (Computer models don't understand the Electoral College but then, neither does, anybody else.) Ray Fair of Yale University, the only economist who regularly runs an election model, won this year's crystal-chip competition. P'air predicted that Gore would take 50.8 percent of the two-party vote.

But because that was well within his equation's margin of error, he declared the election too close to call. Another seven models are run by political scientists. In this working group, James Campbell, of the State University of New York at Buffalo, was best-in-show, with the model showing Gore taking 52.3 percent. A 2.2 percent mistake is normally close enough for government work, except in Florida this year. Campbell was happy, because his results fell within his model's historical range of error.

The last two times out, Campbell's election model beat Ray Fair's. Next time, who knows? The modelers give different reasons as to why the economy didn't break strongly for Gore. Fair's equations depend heavily on economic data. He found the economy strong, but not strong enough to stomp some offsetting political factors. For example, his model subtracts points for a party that has had two or more terms in office.

And Gore didn't have the advantage of being an incumbent. If it weren't for the good economy, Gore wouldn't have squeaked to his apparent win in the popular vote, Fair says. But given the drag against another presidential victory by the Democrats, he needed even more business and income growth to power him to a major win..