The Fonda Blog

Fonda-Fultonville stops Watervliet for Class B title

Hidde leads Braves to first sectional crown since 1970

2010 Section II Class B Champion Fonda-Fultonville Braves

Glens Falls – The drought is over.  The Fonda-Fultonville boys basketball team downed Watervliet 62-54 in the Section II Class B final at the Glens Falls Civic Center on Sunday to clinch the program’s first sectional title since the 1969-1970 season.

Seth Hidde scored 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the top-seeded Braves (22-0 overall) and keep their perfect season alive.  “It feels great,” Hidde said on winning the title. “That was a good team effort for us on both sides of the ball. Both teams played well, but it was a good feeling to get a sectional title after coming up short the past few years.”

FFCS was making its fourth trip to the Glens Falls Civic Center in the last five years. This season was the first time the Braves advanced to the finals, and they made the most of it.  Hidde scored six of the Braves’ first eight points to help FFCS jump out to an 8-2 lead. He also scored six points, while keying a 12-0 run in the third quarter to help the Braves distance themselves from the Cannoneers.

“A lot of guys were finding me with good passes,” Hidde said. “Our chemistry was flowing all game. Everyone had their heads up looking for people, and we were dishing the ball around, making good passes for easy shots.”  Hidde finished with 12 points in the quarter; including two three-point plays to help FFCS outscore Watervliet 27-15 in the period and take a 52-35 lead into the fourth quarter.

“Seth [Hidde] is a great player and a phenomenal athlete,” Fonda-Fultonville coach Eric Wilson said. “It was nice to see him break out a little bit and get some opportunities where he caught the ball in good spots. He was finishing his shots and had some huge rebounds for us. It’s nice to see him step up for us in a game like this.”

FFCS never allowed Watervliet (18-4 overall) to get into its trademark run-and-gun transition offense, holding Section II’s top scoring team 17 points under its average.  “It was a total team effort,” Wilson said. “The kids came out focused, and I think we had a pretty good game plan going in, and we executed it.”   (…)

FFCS silenced its critics during the run to the Class B crown. The Braves beat three Colonial Council teams, a league in which they’ll be moving to next season, as well as local rival Johnstown.  “Since we are in a lower league, people don’t think we’re that good,” Hall said. “But we’re definitely good, and we proved it tonight.”

Hidde was named the tournament’s most valuable player.  “That caught me off guard,” Hidde said with a laugh. “I didn’t see that coming, but it’s definitely a good feeling.”  He was joined on the all-tournament team by teammate Brandon Mercado, Watervliet’s Jordan Gleason and Nick Durocher, Johnstown’s Ian Yost, and Schenectady Christian’s Chris McCarty.

FFCS advances to the regional semifinals where it will face Section VII champion Plattsburgh (17-4 overall) on Friday at 6 p.m. at Hudson Valley Community College. The winner moves on to face Section X champion Potsdam (18-2 overall) in regional finals on Saturday at HVCC.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the group of guys in there,” Wilson said of his team. “They deserve this. They have worked so hard this year and have been committed and dedicated. They work hard every day in practice. I’m happy for them.”

written by admin \\ tags: Achievements, Montgomery Co., Sports, Village of Fonda

The Prince Street House

“The Prince Street House,” located on Prince Street in Berkeley’s south end, is filled with messy-hair-sporting, big-glasses-wearing, thrift-store-junkie type kids drinking cheap wine. Milling around the collection of paintings, photographs and other mixed media, Anthony Fonda instructs the crowd to go ahead and listen to that music on the Ipod nailed to the wall. It works and yes, it’s art.

Fonda, an eccentric local artist from West Oakland, was showing at the Prince Street House art show Saturday night along with many other local artists. Fonda, with his piercing black eyes and the wild hand gestures he threw while speaking about just about anything, stood out amongst the other artists by his palpable passion for creating.  Desiree Dedolce, who has known Fonda since he moved to Oakland two years ago, gushes of the passion Fonda feels for things in his life. “He goes 100 percent for whatever he wants. He just manifests things, I wish I had that trait,” says Dedolce.

West Oakland Beat

Fonda, 24, originally from Santa Monica, California, moved up to the Bay Area in August 2007 to escape the dead-end road he was traveling on.  “I just worked two sh–ty jobs in restaurants, making no money and unable to make art from the hours,” said Fonda. “I just packed up and left trying to find an environment I fit into better.”  He could not have found a better place. Fonda lives in the Vulcan Lofts on West Oakland’s San Leandro Street. These lofts and others located in West Oakland’s warehouses are a popular place for young artists to take over.

Although Fonda says there is no “real apex” for the art scene in the East Bay, West Oakland seems to be one of them. The cheap rent and relative freedom an artist has to do what he or she wants with the property keeps the art scene strong in this part of Oakland. Young artists are able to live in the many warehouse lofts for rent hovering around $100 to $200 a person, if they decided to live with others.  Artists from West Oakland, and other parts of the Bay Area, will get together and hold events to showcase their budding talents. Interdisciplinary shows are mostly on the bill, which include an assortment of different media, music, painting, collage, performance art, and interactive art.

Fonda’s passion for art crosses many mediums, but his main focus is paint and collage. At the recent art show at “The Prince Street House,” Fonda showcased two huge oil paint portraits of a pelican and a zebra. Both, though dull in color mostly, had such detail and layering it looked as if the animals were alive within the canvas.  Swapping is a main factor Fonda focuses on in his interview. He speaks often of the “art world” and those who inhabit it with such distaste. “I’m into swaps because artists don’t have a bunch of money,” says Fonda. “The art world is full of elitists who use money to buy creativity, galleries are full of garbage.”

“People like to buy into that sh-t, the art scene, young people scene. It’s all about appealing to someone,” said Fonda.  Where does school fall into place with these kids, and even Fonda? Many of the young artists have been to some form of instruction yet most drop out after a few years. Elise Mahan, an art history major at San Francisco State University, says she can see where the mindset of these kids comes from.  “I think they see art as an extension of themselves and not necessarily as a career,” says Mahan, “When they are in school they feel like it is as if they are working towards a career, that takes the passion out of it, makes it mechanical.”  It’s not something Fonda has a choice in either. When asked if he ever thought about quitting art he said, “it’s not something you quit, it’s not an occupation.”  Fonda’s philosophy on life seems very Marxist in nature. The swapping of goods according to one’s ability, the communal living and the freedom of “chance operations” would suggest this.

Fonda hopes to perpetuate the environment he so craves and to keep the creative spirit alive in his neighborhood of Oakland. A steady art space and “maybe” an art buyer, someone to commission and sell his art for him, are two of his main dreams.  “I want a place where kids can come and just create,” says Fonda, “ trade pieces, just keep the flow of creative ideas out there.”  Every hello is triumphant, every good bye a heartbreak with Fonda. In his usual dominant manner he exclaims, “Here’s your theme, I’m looking to be successful as an anti-academic, which will probably fail, but I have a lot of fun.”

Posted by Jocie at 2:33 PM

written by admin \\ tags: Achievements, Art, Blogs, West Coast

Gotta be “Fonda” the Tigers

Vohland Fonda running for Caruthersville Tigers

Caruthersville, MO — Something had to give going into Monday night’s second-round playoff game between the Caruthersville Tigers (10-2) and Crystal City (7-5) at Hopke Field.  The Hornets came in averaging 46 points per game in its last four contests, while the Tigers’ defense had allowed just six points and pitched three straight shutouts during that same span.  The CHS defense bent, but did not break and allowed only a last second score in dominating the visitors 35-6 to advance to the round three Saturday at Brentwood.

Meanwhile, the Tigers got five touchdowns and 278 yards on 30 carries from star running back Vohland Fonda, who continued his impressive run in the playoffs. Fonda has now rushed for 550 yards and eight touchdowns in the two Caruthersville wins.  Caruthersville coach Brad Gerling said he challenged the Tigers to be at their best on every play and they delivered.  “That is what they stepped up and did. I really think they answered that call this week. They came out and battled on every single snap whether it was nothing to nothing at the beginning of the game or 35 to nothing at the end of the game.” (…)

Middleton hit speedy Peter Lloyd for gains of 15 and 35 yards and after two runs by Antonio Hopkins out of the “Wild Tiger” set netted 18 yards, Fonda took it in from 22 yards out at the 1:11 mark to make it 6-0. Jeffery Massengale, who was a perfect 5-for-5 on the night, added the PAT to make it 7-0. (…)

Middleton found Lloyd for a 29-yard hookup on third-and-12, with Lloyd making a circus catch to keep the drive alive. Three plays later, Fonda made it 14-0 with a nine-yard run with 2:41 left in the half. (…)

The Tigers got a first down and goal from inside the one yard line when Smith hauled in a 28-yard reception from Middleton, but were unable to punch it in on two running plays to Fonda before Middleton was picked off in the end zone. (…)

A late hit by Crystal City on Fonda set up the Tigers’ third score. Fonda then took it from midfield to the house with 5:33 left in the third quarter to make it 21-0.  Fonda added a 12-yard TD run with 3:06 left in the third quarter to make it 28-0 and the Tigers invoked the mercy clock on an opponent for the second week in a row when Fonda broke a 94-yard touchdown run with under 30 seconds left in the third quarter.  (…)

Vohland Fonda was selected for the 2009 Semo-Central All-Conference Team 1st Team.

Also see article on the Caruthersville Basketball Team.

written by admin \\ tags: Achievements, Great Plains, News, Sports

BmoreArt

Thursday, January 21, 2010
Recent Works at the John Fonda Gallery Friday, January 29

www.leahcooper.com	www.juliebenoit.com

Opening Reception: Friday, January 29, 6-8 p.m.
John Fonda Gallery
45 West Preston Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Located at Theatre Project
Hours: M-F Noon-4 p.m. or by appointment

written by admin \\ tags: Achievements, Arts, Baltimore, Gallery

Faith & Finance: A Boom in Religious Funds

What if Jesus were a stock picker?

It’s a question more investors seem to be asking these days. At a time when investors’ confidence in the markets has been shaken—even after the big rally of 2009—experts say a growing number of Americans are integrating their faith with their finances. The number of religious mutual funds has tripled over the past decade, to more than 90—with one now available for almost every flock, from evangelical Christians to Mennonites and Muslims.

Religious funds now control more than $27 billion in assets, up from $10 billion in the late 1990s, making it one of the hottest sectors in the broader category of socially responsible funds. “People are waking up and saying, ‘What I do with my money ought to reflect my values,’” says David Miller, a scholar at Princeton University’s Center for the Study of Religion.

Socially responsible funds have been around for years, of course, attracting both diehard followers and critics who see their stock-screening methods as a drag on returns. But the faith-fund boom is part of a growing hunger among religious people for financial guidance. While some financial planners specialize in estate planning and others claim an expertise in taxes, more and more are claiming the label of Christian financial adviser. Churches are also getting into the act, setting up workshops that dispense financial advice. And just this month, five new religion-based exchange traded funds were launched.

While most mutual fund managers place a laser-like focus on financial measures such as earnings per share and balance-sheet debt, managers of faith-based funds first check whether they think a company violates scriptural teachings. But injecting morals into financing is not without its share of controversy. Catholic funds typically draw a line at companies they believe support abortion or contraception; the evangelical Timothy Plan bans stocks of companies deemed supportive of a “gay lifestyle.”

Personal beliefs aside, each fund’s interpretation of scripture is open to criticism. “Why single out companies that provide same-sex benefits when they also provide benefits to employees who are greedy or venal or in other ways immoral according to biblical teaching?” asks Gary Moore, an investment adviser and founder of the nonprofit Financial Seminary in Sarasota, Fla.

Of course, just because a fund claims to have God on its side doesn’t mean investors will be blessed with top returns. Diversified U.S. religious stock funds are up an annual average of 2.27 percent over the past five years, just below the 2.34 percent return for all diversified equity funds, according to Morningstar. Religious funds tend to have expenses above the industry average, and because they often screen out certain sectors, they can be handcuffed when market sentiment shifts to an industry they’ve excluded. To find the best options, we looked for funds with solid long-term records and managers who have been at the helm for at least three years. (more at site)

written by admin \\ tags: Achievements, Business, Professional