Students begin to lose gains made throughout the academic year almost as soon as the final bell rings for summer vacation. An open forum tomorrow at the Jones Center in Springdale will address opportunities to keep students' minds active during out of school times. Many organizations will be involved, including the Arkansas Out of School Network.
Ozarks At Large
Congressman Tom Cotton and Mark Pryor traded verbal blows late last week as each addressed the Delta Grassroots Caucus, which held its annual meeting in Little Rock. Enrollment in the state's Private Option continued to grow last month, as evidenced by a new report released by the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and the University of Arkansas System moved forward with its future online university programs last week by hiring the school's first three employees.

Here are our ten clips inspired by monster trucks...well, all monster---no trucks.
1. Bobby Pickett sings Monster Mash.
2. Boris Karloff and O.P. Heggie in an iconic (if often misquoted) scene from The Bride of Frankenstein.
3. Warren Zevon's song Werewolves of London.
4. Maria Ouspenskaya and Lon Chaney, Jr. in The Wolf Man.
5. Godzilla, the song by Blue Oyster Cult.
6. Godzilla, the fire-breathing monster.
7. Edgar Winter and the classic rock instrumental, Frankenstein.
8. King Kong's roar. You get credit if you guessed a lion's roar played backwards...because that's what it is.
9. Imagine Dragons' song Monster.
10. Bela Lugosi's Dracula doesn't lie...he just doesn't tell the whole truth.
Apologies to: Lon Chaney, Sr. (silent films are not good Sunday Montage fodder), the Creature From the Black Lagoon and Of Monsters and Men. Maybe next time.
1. Bobby Pickett sings Monster Mash.
2. Boris Karloff and O.P. Heggie in an iconic (if often misquoted) scene from The Bride of Frankenstein.
3. Warren Zevon's song Werewolves of London.
4. Maria Ouspenskaya and Lon Chaney, Jr. in The Wolf Man.
5. Godzilla, the song by Blue Oyster Cult.
6. Godzilla, the fire-breathing monster.
7. Edgar Winter and the classic rock instrumental, Frankenstein.
8. King Kong's roar. You get credit if you guessed a lion's roar played backwards...because that's what it is.
9. Imagine Dragons' song Monster.
10. Bela Lugosi's Dracula doesn't lie...he just doesn't tell the whole truth.
Apologies to: Lon Chaney, Sr. (silent films are not good Sunday Montage fodder), the Creature From the Black Lagoon and Of Monsters and Men. Maybe next time.
In just more than a decade, Mark Landon Smith, director of Arts Live Theatre, has taken the program to new heights. Becca Martin Brown has more on their upcoming season.

Picking a name for a new magazine is part art, part science, part luck. We talk with editors and publishers of three regional publications for the latest "what's in a name" feature.


Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Friday, June 27, 2014
Ahead on Ozarks, can e-cigarettes help smokers reduce their nicotine consumption? More than 20 vapor shops have recently opened in northwest Arkansas alone. We take a look at the phenomenon, and Johnathan Story talks about his upcoming concert in Fayetteville, and sits down at the Mary Rumsey Baker Steinway piano in our studio.
Jazz entertainer Barbara Mashburn visited KUAF to discuss the 18th Annual Mashburn Scholarship Foundation Fundraiser.
Wayne Bell from www.fayettevilleflyer.com talks about local blogs and how they've affected the consumption of local information by Northwest Arkansans.
Claudio Sanchez, education correspondent at NPR, was the keynote speaker for the 10th anniversary celebration of the Lemke Journalism Project. While he was in town this weekend, he stopped by KUAF's Anthony and Susan Hui News Studio.
A local gardening company not only provides services to residents but also shows how to get the job done from start to finish.
Fayetteville chef William McCormick of Farrell's Lounge and restaurateur Jerrmy Gawthrop of Greenhouse Grille talk about participating in Walton Arts Center's Chopped in the Ozarks competition. The event will begin at 6 p.m. today in Starr Theater.