Princess Soccer Ninjas All In!

Little feet of the Brandon Soccer League Youth 6 pink and maroon teams kick the soccer ball down the field. The teams played their last games of the season at the Brandon Exchange Club soccer fields in Brandon, Miss., on April 2, 2001. The girls on the soccer teams are ages 5 to 6 years.

Dubbed the Princess Soccer Ninjas by their coach Brad Lovejoy, the BSL maroon team is undefeated at the end of this season. The girls won their last game this date against the BSL green team 10 - 4. After their game with the green team the Princess Soccer Ninjas played a makeup game against the BSL pink team winning that game 6 - 1.

BSL Youth 6 soccer places a great deal of focus on sportsmanship. Individual skills are taught, but in such a way that the children are unaware. The main focus is for the children to have a good time while learning to play the game. Coach Lovejoy has been coaching with BSL for four years. His team is sponsored by Community Bank.

Princess Soccer Ninjas Hustle!

The BSL pink team runs down the field going for a goal. BSL maroon team Princess Soccer Ninja Anna Grace Lovejoy (number 5) flew down the field in pursuit.

Princess Soccer Ninjas Halftime Break

The Princess Soccer Ninjas take a halftime break. Holland Fowler (right) took some refreshments, but Anna Grace Lovejoy (left) preferred to do some reading.

Victory Swing

Coach Brad Lovejoy gives a victory swing for a job well done. Whenever one of his players performed well, Coach Lovejoy gave them a swing in the air; sometimes opposing players that did well received a victory swing from Coach Lovejoy too.

Princess Soccer Ninjas Run the Ball

BSL maroon team Princess Soccer Ninja Raegan Enis kicks the ball toward the maroon team goal. The BSL green team hustled in for a block attempt.

St. Patrick's Day Paparazzi Stake Out in the French Quarter

Paparazzi stake out the Jolie-Pitt residence on Governor Nicholls Street in New Orleans. The photographers waited constantly for an opportunity to photograph the couple along with their family who got into town this week for the filming of "Cogan's Trade" which Brad Pitt will star in; the family finally was spotted out on Sunday, March 20th taking a stroll to the Verti Marte, a popular grocery and deli on Royal Street.

French Quarter St. Patrick's Day 2011

A young girl pauses and smiles with her scooter at the corner of Chartres and Governor Nicholls streets on St. Patrick's Day in New Orleans. Dressed in green striped attire, the girl appeared to be ready for the pending parade in the neighborhood, which took place a block away on Decatur Street shortly after this photo was taken.

Clinton Junior High Math Champ

Jack Grogan is a champion when it comes to mathematics. Grogan, an eighth grader at Clinton Junior High competed in the district seventh and eighth grade mathematics competition on Mar. 4, 2011. He won first place in the eighth grade division.

The competition was held on the Raymond campus of Hinds Community College. The competition is sponsored by the Mississippi Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Middle and junior high schools in the Hinds Community College district are invited each year to send their top two seventh and eighth grade students to the competition. The students take a standardized written test.

Trophies are awarded to the teams that accumulate the most points on the exams. Students participating came from Clinton Junior High, Vicksburg Junior High, Warren Central, Chastain Middle School, Carver Middle School, and Pearl Junior High. The state competition will be held on April 2, 2011 at Mississippi College, where the first and second place winners will compete.

Figment Jackson

At the Figment planning meeting on March 5, 2011, Monique Davis models her custom made Figment jacket with the slogan "What will you bring?" in paint on the back. Figment, a family friendly and free community art project that started on Governor's Island in New York Harbor has grown each year in projects, duration, participants, volunteers, fund-raising capability, exhibitions, locations, and overall level of commitment and participation, as well as public support; it will come to the old Coca Cola plant in Jackson on May 14-15, 2011.

Early Spring Blossom

A fruit tree blossoms with buds and blooms. This peach tree photographed Mar. 3, 2011 in Raymond, Miss., helped to usher in the pageant of flora that comes with spring in Mississippi.

Clinton Property Slated for Demolition

Time is running out for this house at 607 Jefferson Street which stands with a condemnation notice visible on a front post. The Clinton Board of Aldermen voted during their Feb. 1, 2011 meeting to move forward with demolition of this and some adjacent properties on Jefferson street, all owned by the same property owner.

Francis the Miracle Dog

Recovering sheltie mix puppy Francis reclines on a pallet in the offices of Community Animal Rescue and Adoption, Inc. in Jackson, Miss., on February 23, 2011. Francis was discovered in a dumpster comatose but still breathing during the recent harshly cold weather, and is now in the care of Kennel Manager Lynn Shaw of CARA who is nursing the pup back to health with assistance from human physical therapist volunteers.

O So Sweet Boutique Opening in Byram

Business partners Stacie Lee (in blue) and Shannon Williams (in pink) of Florence, Miss. complete the hanging of a sign above their new store the O So Sweet Boutique which will re-sell maternity, children's and teen’s clothing, and also feature handmade craft and gift items. The two have worked on the new business project since Feb. 1, 2011, with the boutique slated to open the week of Feb. 21, 2011 in Suite 106 of the Byram Business Center.

Lula’s Market Café

This antebellum house at 205 West Leake Street is the site of the future Lula’s Market Café, the latest restaurant addition to Clinton's Olde Towne district. At the Feb. 1, 2011 meeting of the Clinton Board of Aldermen, the Board voted to approve the construction of a gazebo on the grounds, and owner Dean Farrar stated that Lula's, scheduled to open in March, will initially be serving breakfast and lunch on Tuesday through Sunday, with plans to eventually be open for dinner.

Mississippi College Art Professor Stephen Cook Contributes Printmaking Demonstration to Art Exhibition at Mississippi Museum of Art

During his printmaking class on February 23, 2011, Professor Stephen Cook of the Mississippi College Department of Art carves a wood block as he discusses color woodcuts, and shows examples of print proofs from his demonstration piece now on display at the Mississippi Museum of Art. Cook created the printmaking demonstration for The Orient Expressed: Japan’s Influence on Western Art, 1854-1918. Cook’s piece will show exhibition visitors a progression of the color woodcut printmaking process.

The exhibition opened at the Mississippi Museum of Art on Feb. 19, 2011 and will run through July 17, 2011. Part of The Annie Laurie Swaim Hearin Memorial Exhibition Series, the exhibition takes visitors on a tour of Japonisme. The Japonisme art movement spread worldwide beginning around 1860 with Japanese wood block prints influencing European Impressionists. It affected virtually every aspect of the art world, and its affects are still widespread today.

The Mississippi Museum of Art has been able to collect works from important collections in the U.S. and around the world for the exhibit. These pieces all confirm the impact of Japan on Western art before the First World War. Museum officials expect the exhibition to draw more traffic than any exhibition it has previously hosted. On view will be works by noted artists Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase, Paul Gauguin, Utagawa Hiroshige, and John La Farge.

There will be educational programs and other special events and activities during the exhibition for visitors to enjoy. The exhibition will also travel to San Antonio, from Oct. 5, 2011 through Jan. 15, 2012. General admission prices are $12, for senior adults (60+) $10, for children 6 – college $6, children 5 and under free, Museum members free, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, admission is free for students. Hours and admission may vary during major exhibitions.

Dead Still For Two Minutes...

...or as still as five people can possibly stand to be for two minutes. That's me in the middle-back with the little hat on, peering over the timekeeper's shoulder. The photo was made with a pinhole camera in Feb. 2010 for a collaborative project in a photography class I took at Hinds Community College.