'Mater Madness

The poor tomato...so misunderstood. Maligned by the fruit world for it's decidedly vegetable taste and frequent pairing with more savory foods. Yet, outcast from the vegetable world because of a silly technicality - seeds. And why pick on the tomato? when other fruits are equally confused (i.e. cucumber)?

It has oft been said that the tomato is singled out because of it's appearance. Unfortunately, mankind can be so cruel! Just ask John Merrick, who shared a similar plight.

Whatever the reason, the friendly neighborhood of East Nashville has embraced this special cause and worked tirelessly for the past 5 years to elevate the tomato to the status it truly deserves - removing the classifications of fruit or vegetable and instead, immortalizing the misunderstood orbs as ART!

Started as a way to get Nashvillians to a gallery opening in a hot, metal art gallery in August; Art and Invention's Tomato Art Festival has grown exponentially in the past few years. The event now draws crowds of up to 10,000 people to the gallery and surrounding businesses, located in the Five Points area of East Nashville.

The crowds promise to be entertaining, as the event is billed as "Fun, Free and Costume Friendly."

This year's sponsorship art - t-shirts and website - are the popular and extremely talented Nashville artist, Sheila B.

There will also be bushels of entertainment, including:

• The second-line parade,
• Children's carnivals,
• Bloody Mary competitions,
• Recipe contests,
• The Tomato King and Queen pageant,
  
• Music, and more!

The festivities begin at 10:00 AM on Saturday, August 9th - unless you plan to participate in or view the Tomato 5K at 7:30 AM. (I promise to keep the coffee warm for you!)

Stay tuned to the official 2008 Tomato Art Fest website for more details and we hope to see you there!

the bozTEAM is an equal opportunity promoter of the beauty, purity and taste of tomatos. We do not discriminate against any tomatoes no matter what shape, size, color, spelling or seed stock.

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Bocce: As Close as You Can Get to Curling, Without the Ice

Are you ready to play bocce ball...

Bocce is an ancient game, whose modern adaptation most closely resembles lawn bowling. It requires skill, strategy and just a little luck. Bocce ball is a great game to play outside on a beautiful day. It is highly popular among seniors, but youths (and the residents of Werthan Lofts) are sure to enjoy this accuracy game.

...How to play

Equipment

Two sizes of balls are used to play bocce. The balls are usually made of a tough, composite material like small bowling balls (without the finger holes). The target ball is called the pallina or pallino and is about 2.25 inches in diameter. The team balls are called bocce's and are about 4.25 inches in diameter. Four bocce's are used for each team and are color-coded by team. The pallina can be white, cream, or yellow but contrasts in color with the bocce balls. or

The Rules

1. Teams can consist of from 1 to 4 players on each side.


2. When multiple team members are present, a playing rotation is maintained throughout the game.


3. The first player (choose by coin toss or whatever), throws the pallina into the opposite court. That player also rolls the first bocce ball. The idea is to get as close to the pallina as possible. It doesn't matter if you hit the pallina, as long as you don't knock it out of the court. If that happens, it must be re-tossed by the opposing team.


4. Now the opposing team throws until they get a ball closer to the pallina. This is called getting "inside" your opponent's ball.


5. Play then returns to the first team who must try to get a ball "inside" that ball.


6. In each case, throwing by each team continues (in rotation) until a ball gets "inside" or all four balls are tossed.


7. The remaining balls of the opposing team are then rolled to try to get inside any opposing balls for points.


8. For "official" play,1 and 2 player teams play to 12 points. 4 player teams play to16 points. For casual play you can go to 21 and, optionally, a "win by 2 points" rule can be used.
   

Scoring

Scoring is done after all bocce balls are thrown by both teams. There is no minimum distance to the pallina. One point is awarded for each ball that is closest to the pallina and "inside" of any opponent's ball. Therefore, at least 1 and as many as 4 points may be awarded to a team in each frame.

Red scores 2 points

Strategies

This is where experience and skill really pay off in bocce. There are a bunch of tactics, both offensive and defensive, that can be employed to out-manuever your opponent. Here are some examples:

1. Spot your ball directly in front of the pallina. Although this often invites a bomb (see next), it makes it difficult for your opponent to get around your ball and be closer.


2. "Spocking" or bombing. This involves intentionally knocking your opponent's ball away from the pallina. If this is done with skill, you can end up with your ball closest to the pallina while your opponent's ball rolls down the neighbor's driveway :-)


3. You can also spock the pallina if you wish to move it away from your opponent's ball and against the other three balls that you've carefully positioned in previous rolls.


4. Sometimes you have to sacrifice. If an opponent's ball is in a solid position against the pallina, you can spock it out of contention, taking your ball with it. The starting team must now re-establish the point ball which (hopefully) will be in a better position for you to get inside.


5. If you're playing on a bocce court with backstops and sides, all kinds of bank shots are possible, making ball placement more critical. Ideally, you knock the pallina into a corner and surround it with your balls.

...Now Featured at Werthan Lofts in Germantown, Nashville

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