July 2, 2015 - WestchesterGuardian.com

Transcription

PRESORTED
STANDARD
PERMIT #3036
WHITE PLAINS NY
DUDE,
DYLANN
ROOF
GOT
BAIL...
DUDE, DYLANN ROOF GOT BAIL...
DUDE, DYLANN ROOF GOT BAIL...
Vol. X, No. XXVII
Westchester’s Most Influential Weekly
Thursday July 2, 2015 • $1.00
REALLY?
REALLY?
Editorial, Page 3
REALLY?
WWW. WESTCHESTERGUARDIAN.COM
Prosecutors have been getting away with too much for too long, says Judge
—South Carolina State Supreme Court Justice Donald Beatty, Page 3
WWW.WESTCHESTERGUARDIAN.COM
Page 2
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
Thursday, JULY 2, 2015
Community/GovernmentSection
COMMUNITY
When Will RDRXR Present a New Rochelle Plan?
By Peggy Godfrey
RDRXR, the newly
designated
Master
Developer for New
Rochelle, was confronted
at their last meeting with
the complaint that they had no local
press reports lately. Ashley Aldrich, the
company’s spokesperson, suggested that
residents visit the company’s website
(nrfuture.com) for updates. She also
reiterated the company’s interest in
having residents post stories about New
Rochelle on this site, whether they live
or work here, or just have memories of
the past.
At this June 22, 2015 meeting a
film was shown on “open streets” and
various places where an event such as
a food festival could be held. The film
featured 13 event ideas, any of which
would eventually need permission of the
city to be implemented. However, their
next meeting would have to be held
before the scheduled July 15 deadline.
The top ideas suggested will be incorporated into feasibility studies.
The film shown was a city that
had enlarged the sidewalks and many
parking spaces. Cities mentioned
included Los Angeles, New York and
European destinations, all of which
seemed to have larger populations
than New Rochelle. While the importance of public space was considered
to be important in civic life, the relevance to a smaller community such
as New Rochelle was not made clear.
Philadelphia, for example, was called
the city of neighborhoods. Similarly, in
New York City the concept that streets
are for the people was considered to be a
powerful concept.
During the discussion that followed,
it was disclosed several New Rochelle
residents have been meeting with
groups in their individual community,
such as groups of local artists. Library
Green Park was felt to be a suitable place
for activities. The Parks Department
will be involved in the New Rochelle
Street Fair on Sunday September 13,
2015. Laraine Karl reminded the group
of the art shows sponsored by former
Councilman, Teddy Green, quite a few
years ago on the perimeter of downtown
New Rochelle (North Avenue) the
area that the city is currently trying to
re-develop.
After this discussion, a set of
breakout groups, identified as “Tactical
Urbanism: short-term action for longterm change,” followed. Short-term
changes were labeled, “a pilot for the
development that is scheduled to
happen early in 2017”.
Brainstorming under the following
group titles followed: Food Trade and
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Creative Disruption.................................................................7
Travel.......................................................................................8
Eye on Theatre.......................................................................10
Fashion..................................................................................11
Local Lore.............................................................................12
Calendar................................................................................14
Cultural Perspectives.............................................................15
Mary at the Movies...............................................................16
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Editorial...................................................................................2
Government............................................................................5
Continued on page 3
Commercial • Industrial
& Residential Services
Table of Contents
Legal Ads................................................................................4
Taste Festival, Pop Rocs, Open Streets,
New Rochelle Nights and Park Making.
There was a list of questions given to
audience members to answer in each
group: 1) How many people are willing
to be supporters to make this happen?
Sam Zherka, Publisher
Mary Keon, Acting Editor /Advertising
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and/or employed in, Westchester County. The Guardian will strive to report fairly, and
objectively, reliable information without favor or compromise. Our first duty will be to
the PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO KNOW, by the exposure of truth, without fear or hesitation, no
matter where the pursuit may lead, in the finest tradition of FREEDOM OF THE PRESS.
The Guardian will cover news and events relevant to residents and businesses all over
Westchester County. As a weekly, rather than focusing on the immediacy of delivery
more associated with daily journals, we will instead seek to provide the broader, more
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analysis, where appropriate.
From amongst journalism’s classic key-words: who, what, when, where, why, and how,
the why and how will drive our pursuit. We will use our more abundant time, and our
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and around, the county. We must stay trim and flexible if we are to succeed.
Page 3
should be closed for use by this and
other groups.
The Park Making group asked
whether there is a list of available underused spaces and lots. Davenport could
create a “buzz” and the alley in back
of the Modern Restaurant could be
used. No space was out of the question.
Temporary spots could work along with
existing parks. An example given was
trade shows that could display vendor
wares.
General comments were added
such as networking to find all kinds of
parks. In France, displays of flowers at
intersections are common. Habitat for
Humanity is planting herbs. The city
needs to create a “buzz” and should look
for a famous leader such as Mariano
Rivera to help. A pocket park in front
of the Armory was suggested, as was a
free beach day at Hudson Park.The next
RDRXR meeting will follow in a few
weeks. Check their website.
Laraine Karl summarized her
views of the meeting. She said the
group assembled that evening brainstormed many ideas that seemed to be
post development. Many of their ideas
were centered on Library Green, but
the question is: will we still have Library
Green when the developer’s plans are
completed? When will the community
see a plan: in 2015, 2016 or 2017? Who
keeps changing the dates for completion
of the plan? What is the date when a
plan will be presented to the city council
and citizens of New Rochelle?
COMMUNITY
When Will RDRXR Present a New Rochelle Plan?
Continued from page 2
(Please identify these supporters within
your group). 2) What is needed to
implement this event? 3) Assuming
financial resources are taken care of, how
can we involve NR Future members
and the New Rochelle Community? 4)
How can we ensure the event reflects
NR Future and the Community? 5)
Who are potential contacts that you
feel would be interested in participating
in the event (a volunteer yoga teacher,
a makeup artist, a dance instructor, a
balloon twister, etc,) 6) Do you know
prospective.. food Vendors? Musicians?
DJs? 7) How can we get others to participate? 8) How do we get the word out
about the event: social media, flyers and/
or networks?
After the groups met for 20
minutes, the audience reassembled and
reports from each group followed. The
group share ran longer than anticipated,
but many positive suggestions followed.
The Open Streets group wanted to
bring all ages together to connect with
activities such as dancing and open
art studios with multicultural aspects.
Health fairs, workshops, even an animal
shelter was suggested. The group felt
that people should be involved by using
a table at the train station, facebook,
radio and twitter.
Flexible ideas were proposed by the
New Rochelle Nights group, including
events for Library Green with performers, library book sales, and even asking
Councilman Hyden to keep his studios
open. Word of mouth was a favored way
of spreading the word about activities.
Hiphop bands and involvement of businesses were also suggested. Although
there was a question about how safe
downtown New Rochelle is, especially
at night, the group leader suggested
that the people visibly selling in the
downtown area “feel safe.”
The Pop Rocs group wanted to
pull together vendors. Hudson Park
Wednesday evening concerts were
mentioned. It was suggested that food
trucks need encouragement to come out
at night and retail shops should be open.
A street such as Memorial Highway
EDITORIAL
Bail Set At One Million Dollars for Alleged Shooter of Nine in Charleston, South Carolina
On Wednesday evening, June 17th,
2015 ten members of the Emanuel
African Methodist Episcopal Church,
Charleston, SC congregation were
brutally shot; nine of them fatally. The
alleged shooter, Dylann Roof, is a 21
year-old white man who joined their
bible study group that day, according
to the Charleston Courrier Post story
as reported by Andrew Knapp on June
18th.
Among those who were fatally shot
was a State Senator, the Rev. Clementa
Pinckney. Knapp reports that the group
studied the Gospel of Mark 4 16:20 and
when they came to the verse: “But since
EDITORIAL
“Prosecutors …Have Been Getting
Away With Too Much For Too Long”
South Carolina State Supreme Court
Justice Donald Beatty
At a state solicitor’s convention
in Myrtle Beach, late in 2013, South
Carolina State Supreme Court Justice
Donald Beatty cautioned “prosecutors in the state have been getting away
with too much for too long,” reported
Radley Balko of the Washington Post
(March 7, 2014). “The court will no
longer overlook unethical conduct,
such as witness tampering, selective
and retaliatory prosecutions, perjury
and suppression of evidence. You better
follow the rules or we are coming after
you and will make an example. The
pendulum has been swinging in the
wrong direction for too long and now
it’s going in the other direction. Your bar
licenses will be in jeopardy. We will take
your license.”
“Prosecutors shouldn’t suppress
evidence, and that those who do should
be disciplined--these don’t seem like
controversial things to say,” writes
Radko, but apparently a prosecutor in
South Carolina’s 9th Judicial District
took offense and accused him of bias,
asking him to recuse himself from her
case. “Beatty is biased,” Radko points
out, “but that’s a bias you probably want
in a judge, particularly one that sits on a
state supreme court.”
When prosecutors intimidate witnesses and pressure them into pleading
to crimes they did not commit, to implicate others, Justice is thwarted. A source
who is a professional person and connected to the Sam Zherka case, states
C
M
Y
CM
they have no root, they last only a short time.
When trouble or persecution comes because
of the word, they quickly fall away ...” the
shooter stood up, expressed disdain for
African Americans and opened fire.
The other 8 victims ranged in age
from 26 to 87 and included a librarian, a
young college graduate and a girl’s track
and field coach, according to Knapp.
Two survived by playing dead and the
third, a church trustee, hid under a table
as shots were fired. The trustee was told
she was allowed to survive “so she could
tell what happened.”
Following an intense manhunt,
Roof was taken into custody the
following morning. At his arraignment,
his bail was set at $1,000,000 for the
gun charge; he also faces nine murder
charges. With 9 people dead it is outrageous that he is eligible for bail at all.
Really.
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Page 4
EDITORIAL
“Prosecutors …Have Been Getting Away With Too Much For Too Long”
that prosecutors inferred they would
go after a person of interest’s wife: “Did
they threaten to prosecute his wife?”
“Yes that’s another reason.” “Did they
mention his wife by name?” “Not by
name but by inference. They showed
us taxes for both; so yeah, sort of an
unspoken, veil threat.”
This occurred in the same meeting
that they were “haranguing him to
plead guilty” (to bank fraud), a crime he
maintains he did not commit while also
discussing jail. “At one point the man…
started talking about if you go to jail
or you will go to jail if convicted…and
you’re going to prison and this prison
and that prison and all of a sudden he
is talking about a prison in Colorado
where they house terrorists and they
lock down prisoners 23 hours a day….
he literally didn’t say he’d go there; he
just decided he’d give this little exposé
on the Bureau of Prison system, ranging
from camps to this place in Colorado….
I think they are just trying to pick people
off around you (Mr. Zherka) to put
pressure on you,” said the source.
Why are they out to get Mr.
Zherka? Another professional person
involved in the case said it best: “In my
opinion, the investigation was nothing
more than a fishing expedition because
of Mr. Zherka’s very vocal political
beliefs and his first amendment protected activities.
COMMUNITY
Philipse Manor Hall Creating New
Immigration Exhibit Site is Seeking Local
Immigrants to Share Their Stories
(Yonkers, NY, June 23, 2015) –
Philipse Manor Hall State Historic
Site is designing an exhibit about the
rise of Yonkers as an immigrant city,
set for a phased opening beginning
in September 2016. From its start as
a Lenape fishing village and Dutch
patroonship, to the industrious peak
of the 1900s, and beyond to modern
times, the growth of Yonkers can
be attributed to the different ethnic
groups that have settled in the area.
The site is seeking local first- and
second-generation immigrants to
assist with the creation of this exhibit.
Interviews will be conducted on an
ongoing basis through the remaining
months of 2015.
Through oral history interviews,
participants will be given a chance
to discuss their personal immigration story; translation services are
available upon request. Audio and/
or visual recordings of participants’
interviews will be on display in the
Gothic Chamber at Philipse Manor
Hall as part of the exhibit. Following
the exhibit’s display, those interviews
will be stored permanently in the
records at the Westchester Historical
Society and Archives. While the
immigration stories will not be
altered, participants’ names may be
changed, if desired. Participation in the oral history
project is free. For additional information or to set up an appointment,
please call Philipse Manor Hall’s
Public Programs Coordinator,
Robert Lee at (914) 965-4027 x102.
Philipse Manor Hall State
Historic Site, the oldest standing
building in Westchester County, is
located at 29 Warburton Avenue,
just blocks from the train station in
Yonkers, N.Y. The site is one of six
historic sites and 15 parks administered by New York State Office
of Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation – Taconic Region. The historic Manor Hall is regularly open for tours Tuesday through
Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00
p.m. For additional information
about Philipse Manor Hall, please
visit http://nysparks.com/historicsites/37/details.aspx. For information
on the Friends of Philipse Manor
Hall, visit http://philipsemanorfriends.blogspot.com/.
The New York State Office
of Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation oversees 180 state
parks and 35 historic sites, which
are visited by 60 million people
annually. A recent study found that
New York State Parks generates $1.9
billion in economic activity annually
and supports 20,000 jobs. For more
information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or
visit www.nysparks.com, connect on
Facebook, or follow on Twitter.
www.nysparks.com
WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN LEGAL ADVERTISING
[email protected]
New Rochelle Bond Refinancing
Nets Savings to City
Taking advantage of continued
low market interest rates, the City last
week sold approximately $4.5 million
of general obligation refunding bonds
(“refunding bonds”) to replace higherinterest bonds issued in 2005 and 2007.
The maturity schedule of the refunding
bonds mirrors that of the issue being
refunded and will produce budgetary savings of $260,000 over the next
thirteen years for an average savings to
taxpayers of about $20,000 per year.
“This is another example of our
diligent efforts to reduce our budgetary
expenses without impacting the services
provided to our taxpayers,” noted City
Manager Charles B. Strome, III. “The
sale of the refunding bonds at very
favorable interest rates attests to the
strength of the City’s credit worthiness.”
The City is scheduled to close on
these bonds on July 8th. The refunding bonds will be held in escrow until
the respective redemption dates of the
existing bonds.
h elp wante d
LE G A L N O T I C E S
M Industry USA, Inc., Supply Chain Manager,
White Plains, NY – Analyze and coordinate
supply chain processes for North American
subsidiary of Swiss-based confectionery &
non-food consumer products coop, in ind’l
contributor role. Position is fixed location
based in White Plains, NY office, however,
part-time telecommuting from home office
may be allowed. Up to 10% domestic & int’l
travel to third party warehouses & co-packers
for annual inspections & mtgs, & retail appts.
Send resumes to: Attn: Human Resources, M
Industry USA, Inc., 333 Westchester Avenue,
Suite E-105, White Plains, NY 10604.
THE SIERRA GROUP HOME INSPECTIONS, LLC
Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 2/24/15.
Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of
LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall
mail copy of process to Registered Agent: Incorp
Services, Inc 99 Washington Ave Ste. 805-A Albany,
NY 12210. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Marketing Specialist-(Elmsford NY) Collect
and analyze data on customer demographics,
preferences, requirements and buying habits;
create marketing campaign, gather information on competitors, prices,sales; measure
effectiveness of marketing program ; prepare
reports of findings. Must have min. 1 yr exp
in job offered or Market Analyst + Bachelor’s
degree Business Administration major
Marketing Resume to: Anchor Tech Products
Corp., 4 Vernon Lane, Elmsford, NY 10523 Attn:
Daniel Esposito
Notice of formation of Makletta Enterprises, LLC. Arts.
of Org. filed with SSNY on 4/20/15. Office location:
Westchester County. SSNY designated agent of LLC
upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail
process to: US Corp. Agents, Inc. 7014 13th Ave, Suite
202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: any lawful act or
activity.
New Rochelle, NY
Notice of Formation of New York Huaqi BioEngineering, LLC, filed with SSNY on 5/18/15. Offc.
Loc: Westchester Cty. SSNY desig. as agent of the
LLC upon whom process against it may be served.
SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 2 Montross
St, White Plains, NY 10603. Purpose: Biosciences
research.
Notice of formation of NINEBAR, LLC. Art. of org. filed
with SSNY on 06/11/2015. Off. location: Westchester
County. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 2828
Broadway 9E, New York, NY 11025. Purpose: Any
lawful activity. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC
upon whom process against it may be served.
PUBLICATION EVERY THURSDAY: 914.216.1674 M-F 11A- 5P
SUBMIT ADS TUESDAY, 10 DAYS PRIOR TO RUN DATE
Page 5
GOVERNMENT
Westchester County Legislators Authorizes Memo of Understanding With
Standard Amusements For Rye Playland Park Improvements
By Limus Woods
The
Westchester
County
Board
of
Legislators announced
at the June 15th
Legislative
meeting
that the Committee on Budgets and
Appropriations and Labor Parks
Planning and Housing, recommended
item 8265, an act authorizing the County
of Westchester to enter into a memorandum of understanding regarding county
capitol improvements to Playland Park
with Standard Amusements LLC.
The fact that Nicholas Singer, the
President of Standard Amusements,
is a Westchester resident sits well with
the legislators and Singer has publically thanked the Westchester Board of
Legislators for supporting his plans for
Playland, a place he has fond memories
of from his own childhood. “In hearings
over the last two months,” he said, “we’ve
made a detailed effort to inform the
community of the steps we’ll take to
restore the park, and we’re excited to have
received its strong vote of confidence.
We’re excited to now move to the next
phase, and begin the co-management
arrangement under the experienced eye
of our CEO, Jack Falfas.”
Though several legislators had different views that were expressed at
the meeting, overall, they seemed to
be happy with the deal that was made
with Standard Amusements. “I’m going
to speak on behalf of the Budget and
Appropriations Committee on the
financials, if you will, on the overall agreement,” said County Legislator Sheila
Marcotte at the Monday, June 15th
meeting. “The agreement before us this
evening is a management agreement
with Standard Amusements for a period
of 15 years with an additional option
to renew for another 15 years. To date,
Westchester County has received a good
faith deposit currently being held by an
escrow agent of $250,000. If this agreement is approved by this board, Standard
will place an additional $250,000 with
the escrow agent, which will be paid
to Westchester County upon the full
execution of the Playland Management
Agreement. This will be considered the
first initial payment. The second initial
payment of $1,750,000 shall take place
one day after the management commencement date. Additionally, there will
be an annual management fee paid to the
county of $300,000 a year, with an escalator based on an agreed upon formula
which will increase each year.”
Profit Sharing was also a part
of the Standard Amusements deal.
“Additionally,” said Marcotte, “Standard
has agreed to pay the county annually
a sum of 7.5% of net profits generated
from Playland Park. These payments will
commence once Standard has recouped
its initial investment. The manager has
agreed to invest a total of $22,750,000
worth of improvements.”
The 280-acre Playland opened in
May of 1928. From its inception, experts
labeled it one of the finest recreational
centers of its kind in the United States.
The original design of the park had
numerous amenities, including skating
rinks, swimming pools, restaurants and
picnic areas in addition to the many
thrilling rides there and Playland still has
several of the original rides that were set
up before the 1930’s
Some of the planned improvements were more specifically pointed
out by Legislator Catherine Parker at
the meeting and include: “the Playland
Parkway lights and the pathway along
Playland Parkway that actually is attached
with Federal grant money and has had
money appropriated since 2009 as well as
the smaller buildings of Playland which
really need a lot of restoration. And then,
to protect our asset, a fire-suppression
system. These are all very important
things and working again in partnership
with Standard I do think that it makes it
a better agreement.”
Legislator Ken Jenkins endorsed
Legislator Parker’s statement. “We’ve
been going through this particular item
since 2010,” he said, “when the Board of
Legislators passed its own resolution to
kind of try to set some framework on the
things that we’d like to see. That was one
of my first concerns. As Chair Marcotte
indicated with the 60-day window, I know
that the administration has this theory
that by setting deadlines and trying to try
to ensure that we have a scenario set where
the legislature has to act because it’s an
emergency, and have an artificial date. But
it’s better for it to be done right than to be
done by a date.”
“The positon that I’ve had through
this particular process,” he continued,
“as leader Borgia had indicated, is that it
has been a multi-prong approach, where
then Chair Borgia of the Government
Operations Committee conducted the
study where respondents got and opportunity show their stuff. At the end of the
day, we had two real operators, and we had
a person who was in a group of really nice
people,but who were not amusement park
operators and managers.”
The current deal with Standard
Amusements is much better than previously considered ones, and Westchester
Legislators epress more confidencein
moving forward. “I think that this project
has probably been the one thing that’s
been a continuous bit of work that we’ve
been investigating, working on and
thinking about in the three and a half years
that I’ve sat on this board,” said Legislator
Catherine Borgia. “I think that we can
attribute where we are today to the efforts
of a lot of people. Certainly the legislators,
but also the fact that neighbors around
Playland and the people of Rye, after a
little bit of delay, actually came out and
said a lot about what they wanted from
this park. I think that as a beautiful, iconic
park owned by the people of Westchester,
Playland has a special place in the hearts of
a lot of the people of the county.”
She also expressed her concern for
the workers at Playland. “I’m often surprised how Playland is a significant youth
employer in my hometown,” she said.
“And, as I go around my district and into
other parts of the county,how many people
have a real love of Playland. They have
wonderful memories, family memories
from their own childhood or from when
they had brought their children or grandchildren there.I think that,maybe contrary
to what some other legislators think, that
this is a valuable amenity in recreation,
especially this unique kind that I think
that is a county responsibility. So, with
that, I have for a long time wanted to see a
solution that would enable us to really put
the necessary resources into this park, and
to be able to partner with someone who
has our same mission, which is to make
this a successful place, to keep this a beautiful asset for the people of Westchester.”
“I agree that this deal is not 100%
perfect,” she added, “but I believe it is
one that gives the people of Westchester
an opportunity to have money invested
in by a private entity. We have also made
a commitment that we will keep up the
infrastructure of Playland Park. And, part
of the reason that Playland has fallen into
the level of disrepair, is because we have
not been consistent about that commitment. So, I like this structure because it
does increase the county’s commitment to
Playland.”
“I also think,” she continued, “that
one of the key elements, for me at least,
was to make sure that the employees
who have worked at Playland for many,
many years, all who have shown incredible devotion and love and dedication and
fortitude, and who really have worked
some magic (especially in the last couple
of years), that they would be protected.
So, I think that, with the addition of the
Legislative oversight that we’ve provided
and with the able partnership of both the
administration and our vendor, who has
really been nothing but professional, who
has given us all the information that we
needed, who was willing to work with us,
willing to compromise, really did a good
job of reaching out to all of the stakeholders. They have been really willing to listen,
to modify their business plans to meet the
needs of all of them.So,I think that this is a
good deal for Westchester. It is something
that the legislative oversight made a better
deal for the county. And, I don’t think that
we are ever guaranteed success in life, but
I feel very optimistic that this is going to
turn out to be a good thing. Private-public
partnerships can work, especially when
there is a lot of collaboration, cooperation, and frankly continuous oversight by
the public part of the partnership. That’s
something that we have provided and
will continue to provide. So, I am voting
in favor of these pieces of legislation. I
am looking forward to seeing Playland
restored to its former glory.”
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Page 6
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Charleston Martyrs
On the evening of June 18, around
9:30 or so, a young man, after being
invited to sit in on a prayer service,
stood up and slaughtered 9 members
of the prayer group. 9 men and women
in the Emanuel AME Church in
Charleston, South Carolina laid down
their lives for no other reason than
they were African American.
No, they were more, much more.
The young man sat there about one
hour, before pulling his 45 pistol and
shooting each one multiple times.
Sometime after being apprehended
in North Carolina, he mentioned that
the dead looked like very nice people.
Yes, young man, they were but, as I
said earlier, they were much more.
They were and are martyrs, faithful to
their creator and, perhaps, even a part
of a plan by God to begin the process
of national healing where at long last,
all vestiges of separation and hate will
be eradicated from our communities; perhaps even the community of
nations. Even now, we can see their
seeds landing and settling into fertile
soil as people of all colors, faiths; a
broad panoply of who and what we
are, have come to Charleston to pray
and lay flowers and other signs of love
and respect for the martyrs.
Clementa, Depayne, Sharonda,
Cynthia, Susie, Tywanza, Daniel,
Ethel Lee, and Myra have joined
others throughout the world in being
living sacrifices and in a smaller way,
shared the crucifixion of the Christ
they loved so well. They truly gave
their lives for their faith. It would have
been a betrayed sacrifice if their loved
ones and others did not take the next
necessary step. But, truly they did! The
families spoke out to this young man
and forgave him.
Yet, we know and can already see
that the seeds they planted and which
are growing in strength and full bloom,
are not fully understood even by many
of the men and women of many faiths,
by civil rights organizations, and of
course, by many, no most, in political
office. Not surprisingly our current
roadblocks to an enlightened nation,
an educated, morally uplifted nation,
are almost united in their prattle and
recriminatory and inflammatory
statements that damn the sinner, not
the sin. This young murderer is not
innocent, but his judgment comes
from the Ultimate Source. Whether
he is a terrorist or committed a hate
crime, is meaningless. Pick One! He
may be sane, insane, that matters more,
but what really matters is the issue of
guns. What matters more is the celebration of separation that infects our
communities and this is an infection
nurtured by those afflicted as well as
the carriers of this plague.
The open doors of the Emanuel
AME Church knew that as did the
martyrs. All were welcome; black,
white, brown, yellow, rich, poor, men,
women, gay, straight, pick your “ism”
as so many organizations that serve
an ism, or politicians who separate
community members to serve their
interests, and even clergy who wrap
their beliefs around words like “institutional” to serve as an adjective.
What is not understood that too
strict adherence to these adjectives
promote separation. It may be more
overt on some who seek out ways of
self-expression and inclusion; through
means that proclaim “this is who we
are.” Perhaps a name, an adoption of a
cultural norm, or even a form of censorship around a word. Others may
employ their own way of separatism;
and this often is not directly expressed
because language becomes a way of
labeling an attitude even of one that is
just being formed.
If someone slips up and employs
Diana O’Neill
Holistic Health
Services
a word that demeans a race, a sex, a
sexual orientation, more….. There
are usually consequences. There is
no escape from these consequences;
the punishment may be shunning
on a social media or dismissal from
employment, even a physical act of
violence. So, attitudes, even random
thoughts cause great harm and attitudes strengthen and infect. Somehow
in all of this behavior, which is the
way most judicial and social systems
operate effectively, are not separated
from attitudes; in fact, the party who
employed the word may simply have
echoed what others are saying who are
not caught or just may have misspoke.
So we add one more to the
pantheon of racism, sexism, and
homophobia; pick your ism. Powerful
forces control these isms and eagerly
embrace them to keep their movements going. Years back these same
organizations promoted inclusion
as their memberships were often
composed of people from a broader
spectrum; in truth, a rainbow coalition.
Martin Luther King knew this and so
did the martyrs and their families.
Worse are those who verbalize
inclusion but lack any understanding
of the belittlement of their verbalizations. Simply, they pander. They
say the right things, but do not do
or model the right things. You know
them; they lay their bodies down overnight on apartments floors in high rise
housing that incarcerates too many
good people; most often the poor
among us. They create a photo op
or two and then they are gone. The
housing continues to stagnate, infect,
and even kill residents through disease,
neglect, even crime. The housing issue
in New York City is the best example
that comes to mind. Tragically there
are many instances of lives, too often
innocent young children, who are lost
by drug fueled territorial battles. But in
a few years, innocence is lost.
It is difficult for me to come to
grips with these feelings and thoughts
as it has only been for a decade or so
that I have seen what this all means
from multiple perspectives and I am
furious at myself for not being more
aware and active in working such
issues. Belonging to the NAACP
or SPLC is not enough as they have
not seen the effects of separation of
the panoply of true diversity, or questioned the sincerity within and outside
of their ranks. Too few of us have
abandoned the prison and poison of
social media and cable news and less
have rejected the abuse brought upon
us by the advances of technology. So
many people are unemployed; and
we cluck our tongues and say shame
while going to a terminal check out
in CVS or talk to a customer service
representative for a banking issue who
works outsourced in India. When
finished our IPODs can connect
to the Internet if we choose to learn
how to build a bomb, watch a free
movie, or connect to social media and
………………… well you get it but
fail to internalize that these addictive
little beauties cause unemployment,
hunger, and so much more.
I do think that our moral decay as a
society is caused by these contributing
causes and so much more. Our world
is reaching a level of no return; Pope
Francis issues an encyclical on climate
correctly putting the responsibility
where it belongs, and, for example,
Rick Santorum who four years earlier,
could not tell you just how much of
a committed Catholic he was; comes
out in 2015 and says, what does this
Holy Man really know?
Santorum he knows what the
9 martyrs of Charleston knew. He
knows what the Amish community
knew when a number of their little
girls were slaughtered by a non-Amish
neighbor. This community readily
forgave the killer and visited his family
bearing gifts and expressions of love.
We are a mess; the world is
spinning out of control, we argue
about the size of governments, who
is empowered to do what, We give a
pass to performers who label women
b______ and ho’s while applauding
someone who was fired for saying
the same thing. We do not become
involved when some misguided soul
decides that a flag, representing many
wrongs, is allowed to fly next to our
own flag. We do no not question or
ask why some of the homilies presented by men and women in the
pulpit sound as if they can support
separation and not inclusion. That is
no longer okay to do I think as the
world has become a place where even
such a correct statement of fighting for
inclusion is interpreted by too many
people as labeling them as being an
outsider or someone who lost something that was given to someone else.
In 2015 this becomes a reality.
There must be other ways to promote
oneness, social and economic justice.
Words that would have been positive
impactors of justice and fair play no
longer work.
Me? I want to find a way to
emulate in small measure, a St Paul.
He pointed out to his newly formed
communities of the faith that “we are
putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so
that no fault may be found with our
ministry.” I am looking for the endurance, the faith to do somethings that
bear fruit, grown in whatever soil they
land.
I want to remember the martyrs
who knew not what was ahead when
they entered Emmanuel AME that
evening to pray. I want to walk where
I stand and be a little more worthy of
what I am and do than I was a few
hours before I learned of our loss. God
Bless the 9 martyrs and their families.
Warren Gross
New Rochelle, NY
I will journey with you during challenging times such as
grieving the loss of a loved one or recovering from a negative relationship.
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Page 7
www.amazon.com/Age-SpiritualMachines-Computers-Intelligence/
dp/0140282025) and his 2006 book
“The Singularity Is Near: When Humans
Transcend Biology.”
I had
almost
d e s p a i re d
of
ever
seeing both
Teilhard and
Kurzweil
mentioned
in any article
which
I
didn’t write
until just yesterday when I came across a
wonderfully wide ranging (to the point of
overwhelming) piece by Bella Bathurst
in the European edition of Newsweek
Magazine, “Could artificial intelligence
kill us off?” (http://europe.newsweek.
com/could-artificial-intelligencekill-us-off-329208).
Not only does Bathurst, in this
over 8,500 word essay, use Teilhard and
Kurzweil in explaining the possibilities
of a global intelligence but also brings
in the contributions or opinions of
Gaia theorist James Lovelock; Vinge;
philosophers Daniel C Dennett
& David Chalmers; developer of
LSD Albert Hofmann; physicists
Newton, Einstein, Schroedinger &
Stephen Hawking; writers Samuel
Butler & William Blake; mathematician John von Neumann; Intel
co-founder Gordon Moore (author
of Moore’s Law – an observation and
prediction, rather than a law); Bill
Gates; Tesla founder Elon Musk;
Alan Turing; Edward Snowden;
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg;
writer and LSD experimenter Aldous
Huxley; LSD users Ken Kesey,
Timothy Leary & Pink Floyd’s Syd
Barrett; Drug advisor David Nutt;
consciousness researchers and authors
Sam Parnia & Raymond Moody;
neuroscientist Susan Greenfield;
neurosurgeon Henry Marsh; and Dr.
Duncan Macdougall (who performed
experiments to show that “the soul has
mass”) – as I wrote above, the essay
is somewhat overwhelming but, as
Jeffrey Young wrote about another
great philosopher Steve Jobs, “the
journey is the reward;” the knowledge
imparted is worth the effort.
Bathurst concludes with “So maybe
de Chardin was right about the Omega
Point, and maybe he wasn’t. His ideas
are gaining traction not so much because
of their content but because, starting from
a place of faith, he synthesised science,
artificial intelligence and divinity. His
advantage was that he was a multidisciplinarian and that he gave the old hope
for a better heaven a catchphrase. But
his noosphere can only really work as a
point of departure for more questions.
He envisaged his point of complexity and
convergence as a moment of revelation,
a final unified rising towards God. But
even if he’s right, we all still have free
will. And if there’s going to be a tippingpoint towards a new universe, then we
should make sure it tips the right way.”
So – we don’t have answers – after
all, it is the future but, at least it gives us
something to think about – and, while
we are thinking about it, we might
also consider the ideas and predictions
put forth in one of the best books
dealing with near-term business
and economic changes in the world,
“Future Smart: Managing the GameChanging Trends That Will Transform
Your World” by James Canton (Da
Capo Press, 2015). This is a book that
the future has not yet caught up with
– and will be the subject of a future
column.
CREATIVE DISRUPTION
The Future? When? If?
By John F. McMullen
It is very difficult
to write anything, particularly books, about
the future – if the book
is about the near-term
economic aspects of technology, by the
time the book comes out, the future is
already here or, in some cases, even past;
if on the other hand, the book is about
the long-term impact of artificial intelligence and robotics, the book often seems
too-far fetched to be taken seriously.
For years, while I have often written
about near-future technological impacts,
such as the effects of 3D imaging and
printing upon manufacturing and construction, I have also tried to determine
whether the theories of such disparate
thinkers as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
and / or Ray Kurzweil have relevancy for
the long term future and, if so, whether
there is any way to bridge the theories.
Teilhard, as he is known to most,
was a Jesuit priest, paleontologist, philosopher, and very original thinker, who
believed that, not only had we physically
evolved but that we were continuing
to mentally and spiritually evolve. He
believed that we would continue to
connect to others until the human race
achieved a global consciousness, the
“Noosphere” and eventually reached the
Omega Point – a place of divine unification. His views were considered so
radical that his writings on the subject
were censored by the Vatican until after
his death.
After Teilhard’s death in 1955,
his writings became popular with the
greatest attention being focused on what
is considered his masterpiece, “The
Phenomenon of Man” (albeit a very
difficult book). People saw a direct connection between his unified global mind
and the burgeoning Internet – the writing
that tied the two together is the still referenced June 1995 Wired Magazine
article, “A Globe, Clothing Itself with
a Brain,” by Jennifer Cobb Kreisberg
(http://archive.wired.com/wired/
archive/3.06/teilhard.html). Kreisberg
begins the piece by stressing the impact
that Teilhard has had on current (1995)
important thinking – “He has inspired Al
Gore and Mario Cuomo. Cyberbard John
Perry Barlow finds him richly prescient.
Nobel laureate Christian de Duve claims his
vision helps us find meaning in the cosmos.
Even Marshall McLuhan cited his “lyrical
testimony” when formulating his emerging
global-village vision. Whom is this eclectic
group celebrating? An obscure Jesuit priest
and paleontologist named Pierre Teilhard
de Chardin, whose quirky philosophy points,
oddly, right into cyberspace. “
She further shows the impact that
Teilhard had on modern thought –
“Teilhard de Chardin finds allies among
those searching for grains of spiritual truth
in a secular universe. As Mario Cuomo put
it, “Teilhard made negativism a sin. He
taught us how the whole universe - even
pain and imperfection - is sacred.” Marshall
McLuhan turned to Teilhard as a source of
divine insight in The Gutenberg Galaxy, his
classic analysis of Western culture’s descent
into a profane world. Al Gore, in his book
Earth in the Balance, argues that Teilhard
helps us understand the importance of faith
in the future. “Armed with such faith,” Gore
writes, “we might find it possible to resanctify the earth, identify it as God’s creation,
and accept our responsibility to protect and
defend it.””
Finally she ties Teilhard’s thought to
the Internet – “Teilhard imagined a stage
of evolution characterized by a complex
membrane of information enveloping the
globe and fueled by human consciousness.
It sounds a little off-the-wall, until you
think about the Net, that vast electronic
web encircling the Earth, running point
to point through a nervelike constellation
of wires. We live in an intertwined world
of telephone lines, wireless satellite-based
transmissions, and dedicated computer
circuits that allow us to travel electronically
from Des Moines to Delhi in the blink of an
eye.
“Teilhard saw the Net coming more
than half a century before it arrived. He
believed this vast thinking membrane
would ultimately coalesce into “the
living unity of a single tissue” containing
our collective thoughts and experiences.
In his magnum opus, The Phenomenon
of Man, Teilhard wrote, “Is this not like
some great body which is being born
- with its limbs, its nervous system, its
perceptive organs, its memory - the body
in fact of that great living Thing which
had to come to fulfill the ambitions
aroused in the reflective being by the
newly acquired consciousness?”
“What Teilhard was saying here can
easily be summed up in a few words,”
says John Perry Barlow. “The point of all
evolution up to this stage is the creation
of a collective organism of Mind.”’
Kurzweil’s vision, on the other hand,
does not begin with philosophy or have a
theological bent. He is a computer scientist, a developer of artificial intelligence
tools, and a technology historian and
he has come to his view of the future by
simply studying the exponential growth
of technological power (Moore’s Law,
et al) since the beginnings of punched
card processing at the turn of the 20th
century. Based on this study he predicts
that computer brainpower will pass
that of humans by the year 2030 and,
in fact, will be melded together in what
Vernor Vinge has called “Technological
Singularity.” Kurzweil writes about this
joining in his 1999 “The Age of Spiritual
Machines: When Computers Exceed
Human Intelligence” (the book is worth its
$11.25 price just for the detailed technology
timeline in the rear of the book, stretching from the “Big Bang” to Kurzweil’s
view of the world in 2300 -- http://
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John F. McMullen is a writer, poet, college
professor and radio host. Links to other
writings, Podcasts, & Radio Broadcasts
at www.johnmac13.com, and his books
are available on Amazon.
© 2015 John F. McMullen
Page 8
TRAVEL
The Romantic “Isle of Capri”
By Richard Levy
Back in 1958 most
Americans had never
heard of Capri, but
thanks to Frank Sinatra’s
huge hit song, “Isle of Capri,” this island
off the coast of Naples became one of
the world’s most romantic places for
Americans to go on vacation and the
song became part of Frank’s repertoire
for the rest of his career:
“T’was on the Isle of Capri
that I found her
Beneath the shade of an old walnut tree
Oh, I can still see the flowers bloomin’
‘round her
Where we met on the Isle of Capri”.
Before “Old Blue Eyes” let the cat
out of the bag, so to speak, Capri was
one of the best-kept secrets of famous
writers, world leaders, super-models,
movie stars, European royalty and pretenders to various thrones. Emperor
Augustus made Capri his hedonistic
get-a-way and Tiberius retired here in
AD 27. This island off the coast of Italy
was also Bolshevik writer-revolutionary
Max Gorky’s retreat. (Lenin loved
visiting Gorky’s villa.) You can take your
Maiden Aunt or your kid who just graduated high school to Capri and they’d
have a fabulous time as well.
Capri is surrounded by beautiful deep blue water that laps into its
secluded coves and hidden grottoes. The
island is dotted with luxurious villas,
sprawling hillside vegetable plots, pastel
colored, sun-bleached stucco homes and
bougainvillea is everywhere. Old fishing
boats sit side-by-side in the harbor with
luxurious multi-million dollar yachts,
speedy Hydrofoils and small cruise
ships that shuttle back and forth to the
mainland.
Take a dinner flight from NY to
Rome. You’ll arrive about 8AM and be
in your hotel about 10AM. (Take a taxi
into town, not the train.) Stay in Rome
for your first night and consider staying
at the lovely, boutique Hotel Fellini near
the Fontana di Trevi. Don’t unpack,
just freshen up and change into something comfortable (Especially shoes)
then head out to see Rome and all it’s
wonders. Take a taxi to the Coliseum (If
you take a personal tour, you’ll go to the
front of the usual long line and this is
expensive but worth it.)
Afterwards, walk over to the
Forum and lose yourself in the history
of the Roman Empire. Taxi over to the
historic Piazza Navona and lunch at any
Isola di Capri, Campania District: Napoli Town: Capri Nature Copyright: Fototeca ENIT Photo by: Paola Ghirotti
of the outdoor cafes that ring the spectacular Bernini fountains. After lunch,
wander over towards the historic domed
Pantheon, built between 27 BC and
14 AD, still the largest dome ever built
Isola di Capri Region: Campania, District: Napoli Town: Capri Copyright: Fototeca ENIT Photo by: Paola Ghirotti
Capri: the Faraglioni, marvellous rocks ... Region: Campania District: Napoli Town:
Capri ©Fototeca ENIT
train to Naple and then a taxi from
2000 years later.
Nearby is the spectacular Fontana the station to the harbor which is not
di Trevi, made famous by the movie and far away. (When your train arrives in
song, “Three Coins in the Fountain;” Naples ignore the guys offering to “take your
also popularized by, “Old Blue Eyes”. luggage” to the taxi: you’ll never see them
Throw three coins into the fountain for again.) The speedy Hydrofoil boat will
good luck and make a wish. (Your hotel take you to Capri, as will the ferry, which
is close by so crash for an hour before is slower
Capri has three levels. The Harbor,
dinner.) Have dinner at La Rampa, my
favorite outdoor restaurant in a small Capri Town which you get to on a
piazza not far from Spanish Steps. Start lovely fast Funicular right in the middle
with their delicious fried artichokes, of the Harbor and at the top is beautiful
followed by vongole: baby clams over Anacapri, where for centuries the rich
and famous have had luxurious villas.
linguini.
The next morning take an express The bus to Anacapri leaves every 15
Page 9
TRAVEL
The Romantic “Isle of Capri”
minutes from Capri Town or you can
take a taxi.
A chairlift will take you to Capri’s
highest peak, Seggiovia del Monte
Solaro in Anacapri, where you can
see the Bay of Naples and the Amalfi
Coast from the top; a short and scenic
12 minute ride. Then stop for lunch at
any of the terraced restaurants. (They all
have such a great views, you probably
won’t notice the delicious food.)
Afterwards head back down to
Capri Town and stop for a drink at
an outdoor café and enjoy people
watching in Capri’s most important
square, Piazzetta. Stroll down the Via
Camerelle, lined with cutting edge
designer shops.
Have dinner at the fabulous
Restaurante il Geranio. The lovely
terrace has stunning views of the sea and
of the two huge “Faraglioni di Capri”
rocks rising out of the water. Order their
salt-baked fish, it’s unlike any fish you’ve
ever eaten, or octopus salad and linguini
with saffron and mussels.
Were to stay in Capri? There
are three classic but pricey hotels, if
you budget permits and they all offer
spectacular accommodations. The
Caesar Augustus Hotel in Anacapri is
perched on a cliff and it is like staying
in Heaven. The Capri Tiberio Palace is
a 19th Century hotel near town. The J.K.
Palace, an 1876 Villa with a great pool, is
near the beach.
Historians might gravitate to the
charming Villa Krupp, once owned by
Max Gorky, who often entertained his
old Bolshevik pal Lenin here. Gorky
was a very famous Russian writer, a
Marxist political activist and very close
friend of Tolstoy and Chekov. The only
negative is that there are a number of
steps to navigate.
Ladies, bring fashionable stuff
to wear in Capri, where it is always
“casual dress-up time.” (No sweat suits
here, please!) Buy yourself a fabulous
designer bathing suit before you go. And
guys, instead of wearing a long droopy
bathing suit, buy something fashionable. I’m not talking “Speedos;” there
are shorter boxer bathing suits. Splurge
and buy what European guys will be
wearing: a “Vilebrequin” French bathing
suit, ($250 at Blue Fly.com).
Be sure to visit the magnificent Villa
San Michelle, then take the short path
over to the statue of the Sphinx facing
the water. (Legend has it that if you pat
the Sphinx’s rear end with your left hand
it will bring you good luck.) Have lunch
up there in any outdoor places; they all
have amazing views of the sea.
Take the bus down to Capri town
and wander around and shop. As the
sun sets, linger in a café and have dinner
at the very fashionable La Capannina.
Order the ravioli caprese or the squid
ink pasta with local casiotta cheese.
The next day, get up early and take
a taxi to the “Gratta Azzora” or Blue
Grotto (you must get there before the
day-trippers arrive.) Take a bus or taxi to
Marina Grande, which is the departure
point for boat tours for the Blue Grotto.
Purchase a ticket for the complete circle
tour that includes sailing through the
arch in the dramatic Faraglioni rock
formations. The Gratta Azzora a very
unique sea cave illuminated by an otherworldly blue light and is Capri’s most
famous attraction. The Blue Grotto
was discovered in 1826, but it was
later learned that Emperor Tiberius
built a quay in the cave around AD
30, complete with a nymphaeum . (An
ancient Roman sanctuary consecrated
to water nymphs filled with sculpture,
plants, flowers, fountains, and paintings.) You can still see the Roman
platform at the rear of the cave. Over
time, the grotto has sunk 20 meters,
blocking every opening except the high
entrance to the cave and this is the key
to the magical blue light. Sunlight enters
through a small underwater aperture
and is refracted through the water.
This, combined with the reflection of
the light off the white sandy seafloor,
produces the vivid blue, almost mystical
glowing effect to which the cave owes
its name. Remember to spring for the
more expensive boat tour package. Trust
me, experiencing the blue water of the
grotto is a lifetime experience you will
never forget.
On your third day in Capri get up
early and take a morning Hydrofoil to
the spectacular former fishing village
Positano for the day. Renowned as
the crown jewel of the Amalfi Coast,
Positano was made famous by John
Steinbeck, Picasso, Stravinsky and
others.
Wander all the way up to the top of
the twisting and winding cobblestone
Torre dell’Orologio Naples - Clock Tower in Capri Region: Campania District:
Napoli Town: Napoli ©Fototeca ENIT Photo by: Gino Cianci
main streets filled with fashionable
boutiques, cafes restaurants and unique
stores. Have lunch on the beach at my
favorite restaurant, La Cambusa. Order
their mixed seafood appetizer and
grilled fish of the day then head back to
Capri.
The next day sleep late and after
breakfast hire a taxi for flat fee and take
a scenic two-hour tour of the island’s
impressive villas and vistas. Have lunch
someplace on a cliff overlooking the sea.
(If you buy your driver lunch, he’ll wait
forever.) I really loved hiking around the
island for a few hours. (Your hotel can
you plan a scenic and not too difficult
hike. They will also be happy to make
you a lovely box lunch. Bring a bottle of
wine and a corkscrew.)
Walk down the very long winding
stone stairs to Capri’s shoreline where
you’ll some lovely hidden beaches: minibeach clubs that charge only about 20
Euros for the day. (Ask your hotel for
suggestions on which beach club to go
to.) These are rocky not sandy beaches:
weathered wide rocks with spectacular vistas with perfect places for lunch.
Before dinner take a romantic sunset
boat ride around the island.
Have dinner one night at the
stunning Restaurante Faraglionii in
Capri Town. You must order their
fabulous, traditional dishes like spaghetti
with crab and sea urchin sauce (todie-for) and legendary lemon risotto.
Their fish was probably swimming the
morning they served it and you can
choose your lobster or crab from their
fish tank.
On another day after breakfast,
take an early ferry back to Naples, drop
your bags at the Hotel de Chiaja, ask
them to book you an afternoon tour of
Pompeii. History lesson: In AD 79 Mt.
Vesuvius erupted, covering the resort
city of Pompeii with a mountain of ash.
Modern excavations revealed that the
people of Pompeii were instantly vaporized by the hot molten lava. (It’s one of
the most tragic, haunting and unforgettable places you’ll ever visit.)
Upon your return to Naples have
dinner at the infamous L’Antica Pizzeria
da Michelle where Julia Roberts ate in
the movie “Eat, Love, Pray”. The next
day take an early morning express train
back to Rome.
Whatever you do, don’t come to
Capri during July and August when it
is over-run with wall-to-wall day-tripping tourists from Naples and Sorrento.
The perfect time to come is during
September or October; the tourists have
gone, the weather is still gorgeous and
the water is at it’s warmest. Be sure to
make reservations as early as possible.
Another reason to book early is because
the dollar is very strong now against the
Euro. So I suggest not only booking
now, but paying for your hotel in full
now, this way you’ll save 20% if when
you arrive the Euro is stronger against
the dollar.
Now I know all you romanticists
are dying to know how Frank Sinatra’s
song “Isle of Capri” ends, so as not
to disappoint you, here are the lyrics.
They probably sound more corny than
romantic these days, but don’t forget,
this song which helped make Capri
“The Romance Capital of the World”
was made popular back in 1958.
“She whispered softly, “It’s best not to
linger”
And then as I kissed her hand I could
see
She wore a lovely meatball on her
finger
‘Twas goodbye at the Villa Capri”.
Only Frank Sinatra could ever get
away with these lyrics, When you get
back home and walk into your office
on Monday morning looking tan and
refreshed, be sure to announce boldly, “I
just got back from Capri”. Then wait for
the girls to exclaim, “Ohhhh Capri, it’s
soooooo romantic!” Buon Viaggio!!!
Page 10
EYE ON THEATRE
From Clever to Cloddish
By John Simon
The Qualms
Bruce Norris is both
an actor and a playwright.
I am not sure about how
much this affects his acting, but it surely
influences his writing, featuring fine,
effectively playable roles for actors. But
he is also very good at reproducing how
a certain class—usually middle-high to
high-middle—talks and behaves. So
there abound scenes in which a group,
say a family or party of several persons
engages in conversation, rather than
mere duologues, and thus captures the
essence of a largely would-be-with-it
aggregation.
something different. Chris, though he
denies it, is an outspoken conservative,
and worried Kristy says she will have to
take things a bit more slowly.
They will be joined by fifty-something Deb, a rather recent widow and
“quite heavy,” coupled with a much
younger, black and handsome physical
therapist of somewhat ambiguous
sexuality, who was tending her dying
husband. Still later comes the fortyish
Regine, Martinican, French-schooled
and sophisticated, to be still later followed
by her tough, foul-spoken, ex-Marine
lover, fiftyish Roger. All bring food, and
Chris also an expensive wine he keeps
proudly pushing. Much is made of their
cooking, eating and drinking mojitos.
to which Chris, drily, “Palestinians.”
Or take Gary’s reference to the Thirty
Years’ War, eliciting from Teri “When
was that?” and from Gary, “Seventeenth
Century.” At this, Teri’s, “No wonder I
don’t remember it.”
Probably the most dramatic aspect
is the way Chris and Kristy become
part of the game afoot and thus into
strong conflict with their bourgeois
status. Chris becomes more and more
inarticulately defensive of his position,
with not only his sentences but also
many of his words becoming truncated.
Stammering to Roger, he asks, “I mean
shouldn’t there be some kind of emotional or spiritual component to sex?”
and gets the answer, “If you are f . . . ing
the baby Jesus.”
Tension reaches one of several high
points when Regine, seated in Chris’s
Pictured -R: Noah Emmerich, Chinasa Ogbuagu, Sarah Goldberg, Jeremy Shamos, Donna Lynne Champlin, Andy Lucien and
Kate Arrington in a scene from THE QUALMS by Bruce Norris. Photo by Joan Marcus.
In his Pulitzer Prize-winning
“Clybourne Park,” a kind of sequel
to “Raisin in the Sun,” he showed us
how racial prejudice exists not only
among whites against blacks, but also
vice versa; in “Domesticated,” he traced
how politics can undermine a marriage.
Currently, “The Qualms” begins with
the young middle-aged, married Gary
wondering when and why monogamy
was hardwired into our mindset, and
whether we couldn’t get along as well
without it.
A sex party is in the offing in their
beachside condominium hosted by
Gary and Teri (note the rhyming), with
a bowl full of condoms on the center
of the coffee table. Much younger is
the visiting couple of fairly recently
married Chris and Kristy (note similar
names), uneasy newcomers in pursuit of
Out of this octet, Norris gets
animated conversation of a frequently
sexual kind. It is stipulated that a
couple can occupy the “play room” for
20 minutes, a threesome for 30. The
women have even brought along sexy
attire to slip into, but the proposed
orgy never takes place. Some hostilities
do arise: Deb will be briefly reduced to
tears; Chris will launch on a formidably
passive aggressive monologue defending his traditional values and becoming
unmoored.
Interest never flags as the women
tend to bond together, and the men
assume positions of implicit superiority.
Mutual outsmarting is a steady theme in
Norris’s plays. Here, for instance, curvaceous but dim Teri asserts, “Think of the
problems we could solve if all the Israelis
and Pakistanis had sex with each other,”
lap, administers playfully teasing slaps
that he takes rather badly, and again
when the bowl gets lofted and all the
condoms scattered all over. Even funnier
is the long late silence, during which
everyone toils to restore order to the
ravaged premises.
The one thing that these putative
sophisticates cannot take is the brutal
truth, as when Chris asserts he won’t
have sex with Deb: “The reason is I find
you physically unattractive.” A “horrid
silence” from all ensues. Lesser pauses
abound.
But chatter always resumes, with
all the actors experts at it. Norris always
gets sparkling casts, perhaps because, as
an actor, he knows how to pick them.
Here the good Jeremy Shamos is particularly brilliant as Chris, traversing rhe
rocky path of precarious self-assertion
to helpless discombobulation. Or take
Sarah Goldberg as Kristy, and note
her reaction when Gary, at the end of
a politicizing speech. concludes sans
transition with the observation of her
having perfect legs. No less adept is Kate
Arrington as a charmingly sexy nitwit.
There is admirable work also from
John Proccacino’s quasi-hip Gary, Noah
Emmerich’s rough-hewn Roger, Donna
Lee Champlin jolly but perturbable fat
Deb, Chinasa Ogbuagbu’s provocative Regine, and Andy Lucien’s dapper,
probably bisexual Ken. All are wonderfully directed by Pat MacKinnon, the
ideal director for such fraught conversation pieces, managing to provide hugely
imaginative movement and, as needed,
thrilling pace, smoothly contributing to
turning talk into drama.
quantity if not quality is beyond my
comprehension. To fully discuss this
production’s faults would take inordinate space for me and excessive patience
from the reader. So let me stick to some
signal failures:
There is, first and foremost, the
Faustus, portrayed by Chris Noth. A
perfectly suitable actor from contemporary film, TV, and even stage, he is not
cut out for classical, poetic, and period
drama, to which he is about as suited as
a pennywhistle to a symphony.This does
have much to do with my oft-repeated
point that flat American English,
lacking the melody of the British, falters
in verse drama. But Noth’s own contribution must not be overlooked: neither
in voice nor in a sense of the lyrical does
he supply even the basics.
Zach Grenier, as Mephistopheles, is
Chris Noth and Zach Grenier in DR. FAUSTUS. Photo by Joan Marcus
Doctor Faustus
Christopher Marlowe’s “Doctor
Faustus,” a play of enormous complexity, a multitude of characters and locales,
pomp and spectacle, and long, elaborate
speeches is hardly something to perform
in a theater as limited in its means, as
moderate in its resources, as the Classic
Stage Company, shepherded by Brian
Kulick.
Its current revival, adapted by
David Bridel (movement specialist) and
Andrei Belgrader (director), displays
ambition as grandiose as that of Faustus
himself, and, like himself, destined to
end badly. It involves tremendous cuts,
modernized diction, decimation of
characters, and interpolation of modern
songs.
Chief culprit in all this is Andrei
Belgrader, in my view a second-rate
director, whose extensive career in
rather better, though I am bothered by
his physical similarity to Walker Jones
as Wagner, Faustus’ servant. He comes
across perhaps a shade too jovial, yet
given that prosaism is not incompatible
with deviltry, perfectly adequate.
For the others I have no use to
speak of, though in Helen’s wordless
nude scene, Marina Lazzaretto will pass.
Others range from poor to horrible.
Chief among the latter is Carmen
M. Herlihy, an Asian American who
is unattractive, overweight, and very
poorly spoken, and whose multiple
casting combines the irritating with the
ludicrous.
But not much more can be said for
Geoffrey Owens, as Pope, Emperor,
Cornelius and Old Man, as well as for
others who play multiple parts without
the skill to make them different.
Continued on page 11
Page 11
that lack of talent could count as the
seventh.
John Simon has written for over 50
years on theatre, film, literature, music
and fine arts for the Hudson Review,
New Leader, New Criterion, National
Review, New York Magazine, Opera
News, Weekly Standard, Broadway.com
and Bloomberg News. He reviews books
for the New York Times Book Review and
for The Washington Post. To learn more,
visit his website: www.JohnSimonuncensored.com
EYE ON THEATRE
From Clever to Cloddish
Granted, being mis- or undirected is no
great help.
Tony Straiges’s set design cannot
overcome the skimpiness of means; the
costumes by Rita Ryack and Martin
Schnellinger are marginally better. Not
much can be said for the music of Fabian
Obispo, except when, in the Helen of
Toy scene, it is by Francis Poulenc.
That leaves me wondering about
what David Bridel’s special movement
may have bestowed on the show,
especially since the most desiderated
movement would have been out of sight.
And, last comment: why were the Seven
Deadly Sins reduced to six—unless all
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Page 12
LOCAL LORE
‘Treason of the Blackest Dye’: The Arnold-André Drama, Act 2
By Robert Scott
The drama of
Benedict Arnold and
John André continues. Three new players
will soon make their
appearance:
George Washington, 48, towering,
cool-headed commander in chief of the
Continental Army, one of America’s
wealthiest men. His unfailing dignity,
courtesy and composure endear him to
all who serve under him.
Benjamin Tallmadge portrait by artist
Ezra Ames. Born February 25, 1754.
Setauket or Brookhaven, New York.
Died March 7, 1835 (aged 81) Litchfield,
Connecticut
Saturday, September 23,
1780, morning.
General George Washington,
Commander of the Continental Army
Painted & Engraged By E. Savage
1790. Image courtsey of the US Library
of Congress
Lt. Col. John Jameson, 29,
from Culpeper County in Virginia.
A wounded veteran of the campaign
in Pennsylvania, he is temporarily in
command of Col. Elisha Sheldon’s
Connecticut regiment of dragoons
patrolling the enemy lines.
Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge, 26, in
charge of Washington’s secret service.
After graduation from Yale in 1773, he
became a teacher in Connecticut. Two
years later, he joined the Continental
Army and distinguished himself in
several battles. He is Washington’s
trusted confidant in espionage matters.
Readers familiar with today’s
military will be struck by the comparative youthfulness of the officers
participating in the André affair. The
new republic in the process of being
born was indeed a “young” country.
Near a short bridge on the Albany
Post Road north of Tarrytown, three
Patriot militiamen--John Paulding,
Isaac Van Wert and David Williams-are holding an unarmed rider. He claims
to be John Anderson, and he carries a
pass signed by Major General Benedict
Arnold, commander at West Point. But
he also carries, hidden on his person,
detailed descriptions of the defenses of
that stronghold.
Paulding fires his musket, a signal
for the five other members of the
scouting party to join them.
“We have taken a prisoner, searched
him and found papers in his stockings,”
Paulding tells the others. “We don’t
know what to do with him.”
After a brief discussion, the militiamen decide to take him to the nearest
American outpost. On the way, the
dejected prisoner tells his captors, “I
would to God you had blown my brains
out when you stopped me.”
Saturday, September 23,
late afternoon.
The prisoner is turned over to Lt.
Col. John Jameson at Thomas Wright’s
mill in North Castle and held in a barn
there. (A monument at High Street and
Greenway Road in Armonk marks the
site).
Jameson finds himself in a dilemma.
A week earlier, American military
outposts had been alerted by Arnold to
be on the lookout for a John Anderson
coming from New York City. They are
to escort him to Arnold’s headquarters
at the Robinson house in Garrison.
Arnold had taken this step in case
André decided to travel overland rather
than by ship.
Jameson is puzzled. This John
Anderson came from the wrong direction and had been brought to him from
behind the lines. He is also carrying
documents that Jameson considers “of
a dangerous tendency.” Despite the
evidence--but in keeping with the order
to deliver John Anderson to Arnold’s
headquarters--he decides to have Lt.
Solomon Allen and a squad of dragoons
bring the prisoner to Benedict Arnold,
his commanding general.
André has still not revealed his true
identity. For him, the prospect of being
delivered to Arnold is almost too good
to be true. Jameson also dispatches a
rider carrying the captured documents
to General Washington, who is believed
to be somewhere on his way to Peekskill
from Danbury, Connecticut.
That evening, Maj. Benjamin
Tallmadge returns to Wright’s mill from
a patrol near White Plains. Jameson fills
him in on what has happened.
Tallmadge immediately deduces
the truth: If Arnold was anxious for a
meeting with Anderson and Anderson
has been found to be carrying military
secrets in Arnold’s handwriting, it
means that Anderson has already met
with Arnold. Arnold must be engaged
in a treasonous conspiracy.
Tallmadge argues heatedly with
Jameson, who outranks him, and persuades him to have Anderson brought
back to Wright’s mill.
Sunday, September 24,
morning.
In the nick of time, the dragoons
bringing Anderson to Arnold are intercepted in Van Cortlandtville, only an
hour away from the Robinson house,
and return with him to Wright’s mill.
Jameson, however, stubbornly insists
on notifying Arnold of Anderson’s
capture. Lt. Solomon Allen is dispatched to the Robinson house carrying
a letter describing the detention of John
Anderson.
Unable to locate Washington, the
rider carrying the incriminating docu-
ments returns. The American general
has unexpectedly made a detour to
Fishkill to inspect its defenses.
Washington’s eventual destination
is known to be Arnold’s headquarters
at the confiscated Robinson house in
Garrison. The rider is now sent there
with the papers.
Ironically, Arnold’s fate will be
decided in a dramatic race of messengers
worthy of a classic D.W. Griffith movie.
Major Tallmadge interviews John
General Benedict Arnold, Commander
of West Point. Photo Courtesy of the US
Military Academy at West Point, NY
Anderson. From his soldierly bearing, it
is obvious he is “an officer and a gentleman,” and probably of some importance.
For safety,Tallmadge convinces Jameson
to move the prisoner to South Salem,
farther away from the British lines.
With an escort of twenty heavily
armed dragoons, Tallmadge and
Anderson ride north through the Coman
Hills and Bedford Village to the unit’s
headquarters in the South Salem house of
Squire John Gilbert (marked by a plaque
on Main Street near Bouton Road).
Sunday, September 24, 3:00
p.m.
So long as there has been a chance
he might be turned over to Arnold,
Page 13
LOCAL LORE
Congress to tell them of the momentous events of the previous five days.
André and Smith are brought to
West Point. Tallmadge, a skilled intelligence officer, refuses to allow the
prisoners to talk to one another. André
is placed in a casemate in Fort Putnam;
Smith is locked in the military police
hut.
‘Treason of the Blackest Dye’: The Arnold-André Drama, Act 2
André has kept mum about his true
identity. But when Tallmadge purposely
tells him the documents he carried have
been sent to the American commander
in chief, he decides to reveal the truth.
From South Salem, André writes
a letter to Washington: “The person in
your possession is Major John André,
Adjutant General of the British Army,”
he tells him.
Careful not to name Arnold,
however, he admits he had “agreed to
meet, on ground not within the posts
of either army, a person who was to give
me intelligence.”
He adds he “was betrayed into the
vile condition of an enemy in disguise
within your posts” and asks that he “be
branded with nothing dishonourable, as
no motive could be mine but the service
of my king, and I was involuntarily an
impostor.”
Monday, September 25,
morning.
The messenger carrying Jameson’s
fateful letter arrives at the Robinson
house as Arnold and his staff are sitting
down to breakfast. His face a blank,
Arnold scans the letter quickly and
orders the messenger to say nothing of
Anderson’s capture. He rushes upstairs
to give his young wife and baby son
Edward a goodbye kiss. Because his plan
has collapsed, he tells her she must fend
for herself.
When he comes back downstairs, his aide Franks informs him
Washington was about to arrive. Arnold
immediately orders a horse to be
saddled. Leaving word that he has been
called to West Point, he rides down a
path to the dock at the river.
His eight oarsmen and coxswain
are waiting with his officer’s barge. He
orders them to row not to West Point,
but down river. He must reach the
Vulture at once.
Once aboard the British ship,
Arnold tries to induce his boatmen to
switch sides, promising them advancement in rank. His coxswain, Corporal
James Lurvey, says scornfully, “No, sir,
one coat is enough for me to wear at a
time.”
Two of the barge crew, British
deserters, agree to remain with Arnold.
The others are allowed to return upriver,
but in an inferior boat. Arnold had
Mabie Tavern
decided to keep his officer’s barge.
From the Vulture, Arnold sends a
letter to George Washington. In it, he
tries to justify his defection, assuring
Washington of his wife’s innocence and
enclosing a letter for her.
He adds a postscript affirming that
his two military aides, Lt. Col. Richard
Varick and Maj. David Solebury Franks,
and Joshua Hett Smith “are totally
ignorant of any transactions of mine.”
Both Varick and Franks had been
uneasy about Arnold’s activities in
the less than two months he has been
the new commander of West Point,
but concluded that he was engaged in
nothing more dishonorable than war
profiteering. Varick would later serve as
mayor of New York from 1789 to 1801.
Varick Street is named for him.
Washington arrives at the
Robinson House at about 10:30 a.m.
with a party that includes Lafayette,
Henry Knox and Alexander Hamilton.
He is told that Arnold has left for West
Point. After breakfast, Washington
crosses the river, only to discover that
Arnold has not been seen there.
Monday, September 25,
noon.
In the meantime, the second messenger has arrived at the Robinson
house with the incriminating documents. Washington returns about four
in the afternoon. His aide, Alexander
Hamilton, greets him with the stunning
details of Arnold’s treachery.
Among the papers that had been
carried by Anderson are a summary
of the Continental army’s strength, a
report of the troops at West Point and
vicinity, an estimate of the forces needed
to garrison the defenses properly, a
report on the ordnance on hand, the
plan of artillery deployment in the
event of an attack, a copy of the minutes
Washington had sent to Arnold on the
council of war held on Sept. 6, and a
report by Arnold on the defects of the
West Point defenses.
Washington is then handed the
letter identifying John Anderson as
André. When he learns that Arnold
received a message at the breakfast
table just before his sudden departure,
Washington knows the worst.
“Whom can we trust now?”he asks.
Washington quickly overcomes his
momentary despair. Taking command
of the situation in characteristic fashion,
he orders two officers to ride the 16
miles to Verplanck’s Point to intercept
Arnold. They are unsuccessful; Arnold’s
barge has already passed.
The entire Continental Army is
put in a state of readiness in expectation
of a British attack. Washington orders
Gen. Nathanael Greene, commanding
the main body of troops at Tappan, to
send troops to bolster the King’s Ferry
defenses.
To forestall rumors, Greene later
informs the army what has happened
in a general order that opens with,
“Treason of the blackest dye was yesterday discovered.”
Washington summons Col. James
Livingston, commander of the posts
at Verplanck’s Point and Stony Point,
replacing him with Col. John Lamb,
commander of artillery at West Point.
An officer untainted by involvement with Arnold must hold the pivotal
King’s Ferry. Livingston arrives and
convinces Washington of his loyalty. It
was Livingston who sent the cannon to
Croton Point that drove off the Vulture
days earlier.
Joshua Hett Smith, André’s escort
through northern Westchester, immediately comes under suspicion. Smith
has gone to Fishkill to join his wife and
family. Lt. Col. Jean Baptiste Gouvion,
a French military engineer and designer
of West Point’s defenses, rides to Fishkill
to arrest him.
At midnight, as his men surround
the house, Gouvion bursts into Smith’s
bedroom. He marches the hapless
prisoner on foot to the Robinson house,
18 miles away.
Mindful of the danger of an escape
or an attempt by the British to free
André, Washington orders Jameson to
send him under a heavy guard to the
Robinson house.
“He had better be conducted to this
place by some upper road rather than the
route through Crompond,” Washington
Wednesday, September 27.
The Reformed Church, Tappan, N.Y.
tells him. “I would not wish Mr. André
to be treated with insult, but he does not
appear to stand upon the footing of a
common prisoner of war. Therefore, he
is not entitled to the usual indulgencies
they receive, and is to be most closely
and narrowly watched.”
Tallmadge, three other officers
and a formidable force of a hundred
dragoons leave South Salem with André
on an all-night ride through a drenching rain. Just before reaching North
Salem, however, they are intercepted by
a courier carrying new orders.
To avoid loyalist marauders believed
to be in the vicinity, their route takes
them through Purdy’s, Croton Falls,
Mahopac and the Red Mills (now
Mahopac Falls).
After a brief stop at James Taylor’s
tavern in Van Cortlandtville (later called
the Dusenberry Tavern and the Gardner
Hollman House) they head north over
Bald Hill, or Drake’s Hill (now Gallows
Hill), past Continental Village on the
King’s Highway or Post Road, then over
the Old West Point Road to the present
Route 9, south for a half mile to Cat
Rock Road (Route 403), and down this
road to the river road (Route 9D).
From here a short ride south
brings them to the Robinson house in
Garrison. (The house burned in 1892. A
historical marker identifies the site.)
Tuesday, September 26.
André and Smith arrive separately
at the Robinson house. Washington
declines to see André, but he does get
the details of his capture and of the
disagreement between Jameson and
Tallmadge over how this should be
reported. Washington now writes to
Lt. Col. John Jameson, whose letter
about André’s capture enabled Benedict
Arnold to escape, writes an apologetic
and self-serving letter to Washington.
“I am very sorry I wrote to General
Arnold. I did not think of a British ship
being up the river, and expected that, if
he was the man he has since turned out
to be, he would have come down to the
[British] troops in this quarter, in which
case I should have secured him.”
Thursday, September 28,
morning.
André and Smith are brought
in separate boats from West Point to
Stony Point. On the way, André asks
Tallmadge what he thinks will happen
to him. Tallmadge has gotten to like his
prisoner but cannot avoid the memory
of the 1776 execution of Nathan Hale,
his Yale classmate, by the British.
“Surely, you do not consider his case
and mine alike?” André asks.
“Yes, precisely similar, and similar
will be your fate,” Tallmadge tells him,
prophetically.
They arrive at the King’s Ferry dock,
the same spot from which André had
begun his journey through Westchester
only six days before. An impressive
escort of American dragoons meets
them.
The two prisoners reach Tappan
in the afternoon. Smith is held in the
Dutch Reformed Church, and André
is kept in a room in the Mabie Tavern
(now known as the ‘76 House). André
will be tried first.
Washington arrives in Tappan and
orders a board of general officers to
take testimony. Their task is to decide
whether André should be considered a
prisoner of war or a spy. The verdict will
determine whether he lives or dies. The
curtain now comes down on the second
act in the drama of Benedict Arnold and
John André.
Editor’s note: Act 3, to be published
next week, concludes the Arnold-Andre
drama.
Page 14
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For further information:
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Rozsa Gaston is a Bronxville author who
writes playful books on serious matters.
Women getting what they want out of life
is one of them. Her novel
Paris Adieu was inspired
by time in France and
can be found on amazon.
com in paperback, eBook
or audio editions. Suitable
for ages 21 and up, Paris
Adieu is a coming-of-age tale of life lessons,
romance, and self-empowerment wrapped
in the sights, sounds, and smells of Paris.
Find Gaston at www.facebook.com/rozsagastonauthorand leave a message. Or drop
her a line at [email protected].
Live” is generously underwritten by The
Rotary Club of Peekskill.
Miracle of miracles… After a trip
to the John Jay Farmers Market on
Saturday morning, my wife got me to
eat Kale! Of course, it was roasted in
olive oil and sea salt and I thought it was
a green potato chip, but at least I ate it!
On Sunday morning July 12th
from 10:00am to noon, join naturalist
Tait Johansson at Muscoot Farm for
a walk in search of butterflies! Tait will
teach you how to identify and protect
these beautiful creatures.The walk is free
and no reservations are required!
Looking for a fun night out…On
Saturday evening, July18th from 6:30
to 9:30pm, The Katonah Art Center
is offering parents time to themselves
if they drop the kids off for an evening
of creative, artistic fun. Their children
will spend the evening eating pizza and
creating art in a supervised, informal
environment. This event is offered to
children in grades 1-5 and costs $35/
child, $30/siblings. Reservations are
required call (914) 232-4843. Now, if
you can’t come up with an adventure
of your own, that same night The Art
Center is also offering Mud and Merlot
for the adults. Get down and get dirty
by taking a turn on the potter’s wheel.
Turn clay into attractive bowls or vases
and have a fun evening with your
spouse or friends at this adults-only art
evening. Hang out, make art and bring
some wine if you like, 6:30-9:30pm. The
Katonah Art Center is located at 131
Bedford Road in Katonah.
Our Entertainment reporter, aka
my wife tells me that Showtime’s “The
Affair” has been shooting recently in
Briarcliff. The critically acclaimed show
has been filming at a house in Briarcliff
with set up at Chilmark Park.
We hope everyone has a safe and
happy Fourth of July…see you next
week.
All photos except Coureges dress and Eric
Javtis items by Rozsa Gaston
calendar
News and Notes From Northern Westchester
By Mark Jeffers
Our
Katonah
neighbor,
Martha
Stewart, has agreed
to sell her company,
Martha Stewart Living
Omnimedia to Sequential Brand
Groups for $353 million. My kids were
wondering how much my company was
worth,.. I quickly responded “since you
all work with me, we’re not for sale!”
After our family chuckled, I wrote this
week’s “Priceless” edition of “News &
Notes.”
Get a jump-start on your Fourth
of July celebrating, as the village of
Ossining offers live music and fireworks on Thursday July 2nd in Louis
Engel Waterfront Park. Enjoy multiple
bands as well as food and fireworks.
Concertgoers are encouraged to bring
seating. Picnickers are welcome for a
7:30pm start and 9:15pm fireworks.
If you are ready for more fireworks then head out to Valhalla for the
Kensico Dam Music Fest and Fireworks
on Friday July 3rd from 6 to 9:45pm.The
program features live entertainment,
with patriotic music and fireworks.
Bring blankets and chairs for seating.
Car-pooling is strongly suggested.
On Friday, July 10th the gang at
Lasdon Park, Arboretum and Veterans
Memorial, Route 35, in Katonah
present “Music in the Park,” from 6:30
to 8:30pm with Gerard Carelli performing American standards. I must
warn everyone, I really enjoy this event
and have been known to sing along with
each great American tune…
Congratulations
and
happy
birthday to Peekskill’s Paramount
Hudson Valley Theater as they celebrate
their 85th birthday: our friend Kurt
Heitmann has done a terrific job revitalizing the theater.
The Field Library in Peekskill
will present magician and entertainer,
Bob Yorburg, at 6:30pm on Thursday
July 9th, as part of their “Library Live”
series. Yorburg will present an interactive magic show that will amaze, amuse
and delight the whole family. Yorburg
will be a featured performer at the
Worldwide Circus Summit extravaganza to be held in West Springfield,
Massachusetts, beginning July 14th. He
will perform a traditional and magical
old-time flea circus similar to the
shows that he presents on the Coney
Island Boardwalk. Yorburg is also a
master woodworker and the creator of
many carousels and mechanical music
machines. The free magic show will
be followed by refreshments, “Library
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80 West Grand Street, Fleetwood
Page 15
CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES
Diary of a Chambermaid
By Sherif Awad
French
director
Benoît Jacquot will be
jury president for the 41st
Deauville Film Festival,
running from September
4th to the 13th, festival representatives
announced last week. Known for showcasing American films making their
European and French premieres, The
Deauville Film Festival tends to invite
major Hollywood stars, perhaps even
more than the Cannes festival.
Jacquot, who was born in Paris,
began his career as assistant director in
Marguerite Duras films then turned to
writing and made his directorial debut
with the 1975 film The Musician Killer
that starred Anna Karina. To date, he
has directed over forty films; the most
notable to American audiences are La
Désenchantée (1990), starring Judith
Godrèche, and A Single Girl (1995),
starring Virginie Ledoyen.
Jacquot’s latest film, Diary of a
Chambermaid, was screened in the main
competition of the Berlin Film Festival
last February, prior to its commercial
release across some European countries
over the last few months. The novel by
Octave Mirbeau, upon which the film
is based, has been filmed several times
for cinema and television. This includes
a version by Jean Renoir in 1946
and another by Luis Buñuel in 1964.
However, each cinematic version had its
own ending.
The new version by Jacquot takes
place at the beginning of the 20th
century where the young and beautiful
Celestine is hired to work as maid for
the Lanlaire family. While repelling the
advances of Mr. Lanlaire, Celestine also
has to cope with the very strict Madame
Lanlaire, who firmly governs the house.
Celestine spends her days running up
the stairs and her nights remembering
her previous jobs, particularly one at the
house of the young bourgeois (Vincent
Lacoste), terminally ill with tuberculosis,
who died while trying to make love to
her.
Joseph, the enigmatic gardener
of the Lanlaire property, becomes
Celestine’s only friend. When he gains
her confidence, he proposes to steal the
Lanlaire’s valuable silverware and make
it appear like a robbery. Celestine, who
dreams of a better future, decides to help
him. The two succeed in pulling the
fraud off and run away together. This
is how Jacquot’s version ends. However,
Buñuel’s version had a different ending,
with Celeste marrying a neighboring
ex-officer and becoming a bourgeois
lady like her former masters. In Renoir’s
version, Madame Lanlaire agrees to
give Joseph the silverware if he leaves
the estate and takes Celestine with him.
Georges, the son of Madame Lanlaire
whose character is completely omitted
in Jacquot’s new version, manages to
catch up with them, determined to
win Celestine back after falling in love
with her. Joseph and Georges fight each
other; Joseph is killed. Georges and
Celestine go away together.
In this new adaptation, Jacquot
echoes many current socio-political
themes like gender discrimination and
domestic abuse while being very faithful
to the bulk of the novel. As played by Léa
Seydoux who won the Golden Palme in
Cannes Festival 2013 for her role in Blue
Is the Warmest Color, Celestine is a smart
survivor whose fate takes her from one
house to the other but finally decides she
will have no master. Vincent Lindon,
winner of the Best Actor Award in
Cannes Festival 2015 for his role The
Measure of a Man, plays Joseph with
mixture of magnetism and calculation,
hiding the monster inside who can exert
a violent spell on those who dare to get
closer. Both Lindon and Seydoux are
regular collaborators with Jacquot, who
manages to elicit strong performances
out of both them. As Celeste and
Joseph get away with their robbery, we
are left o wonder if we should root for
Celeste for achieving for her inner and
outer freedom or should we hate her for
finding such resolution with a partner in
crime…
Born in Cairo, Egypt, Sherif Awad is a
film/video critic and curator. He is the film
editor of Egypt Today Magazine (www.
EgyptToday.com) and the Artistic
Director for both the Alexandria film
Festival , and the Arab Rotterdam Festival
in The Netherlands. He also contributes
to Variety, in the United States and is the
Film Critic of Variety, Arabia (http://
amalmasryalyoum.com/ennode189132
and The Westchester Guardian: www.
WestchesterGuardian.com
Open 10AM - 8PM Mon-Sat.
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Celeste (Léa Seydoux)falls in love with her terminally ill
previous employer, played by Vincent Lacoste)
Joseph (Vincent Lindon) becomes the only hope for Celeste (Léa
Seydoux)
63 MAIN ST., DOBBS FERRY, NY
Page 16
MARY AT THE MOVIES
I’ll See You In My Dreams
By Mary Keon
I’ll See You In My Dreams is a
drama that will resonate with the aging
gracefully grey panther set, starring
Blythe Danner as Carol, a 70ish widow
who vaguely understands that she is
emotionally shut down and that her
ho-hum life has been somewhat circumscribed for far too long. Carol has been
alone ever since her husband died 20 year
ago and she spends her days with her
girlfriends (June Squibb, Rhea Perlman
and Mary Kay Pearce) playing cards,
lunching at the club and golfing, punctuated with occasional visits from her
daughter (Malin Akerman). She thinks
of her life as “uncomplicated”by romance,
until a new guy in town makes her realize
that complacency is no substitute for a
relationship.
Carol strikes up a friendship
with Lloyd (Martin Star), her twentysomething, pool maintenance guy who
majored in poetry and whose life is going
nowhere fast. Lloyd is into karaoke and
with a range of about 5 notes (not all of
them on-key) it is well that he has pool
maintenance and poetry to fall back on.
But the Karaoke resonates with Carol,
who used to sing in Manhattan clubs and
Lloyd persuades Carol to do a Karaoke
night with him.
Carol is vibrant and engaging. Her
girlfriends are eager to see her with
someone new in her life, so they drag her
to a speed-dating event where she learns
that guys who had bad pickup lines when
they were young have worse ones now
that they are older… Except for Bill, the
silver fox played by Sam Elliott, who
is maddeningly self-assured, magnetic
and intriguing. Bill has no need for speed
dating. Danner is well paired with Sam
Elliott and you will root for the budding
romance between Carol and Bill.
Blythe Danner and Martin Star in a scene from I’ll See You In My Dreams.
Blythe Danner completely inhabits
Carol’s world and is totally up to Karaoke
night. Although we get just one song, she
delivers it well. Carol used to sing in the
Village with “John,” whose photo is still
on her mantle,but we learn nothing about
their relationship; this could have been
developed further to give us more insight
into what makes Carol tick. Perhaps
the unanswered questions will serve as
a catalyst for another film. Martin Star
hits just the right note as the awkward,
starving poet with a prosaic daytime job
to pay the bills and Sam Elliott, as always,
is quite the charmer. The film offers an
engaging, thoughtful look at life through
the eyes of those in their 7th decade and
the resilience of the human spirit.
Written by Brett Haley and Marc
Basch. Directed by Brett Haley. Produced
by Rebecca Green, Brett Haley and
Laura D. Smith. Distributed by Bleeker
Street. MPAA Rating for sexual material,
drug use and brief strong language.
Sam Elliott and Blythe Danner in a scene from I’ll See You In My Dreams
FOR TICKETS: (877) 469-9849 OR (800) 943-4327 (TTY)
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shall not be permitted into the Stadium. Any person that could affect the safety of the Stadium, its occupants or its property shall be denied entry. All seat locations are subject to availability. Time, opponent, date and team rosters and lineups, including the
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July 2, 2015 - WestchesterGuardian.com

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