Chronogram December 2005 by Chronogram

Chronogram ARTS.CULTURE.SPIRIT.

FOUNDERS Jason Stern & Amara Projansky

PUBLISHER

Jason Stern

EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Brian K. Mahoney ART DIRECTOR

David Perry NEWS & POLITICS EDITOR

Lorna Tychostup ASSOCIATE EDITOR

news and politics 16 DR. PILL TO THE RESCUE Lynn Harris reports on the efforts of Dr. Matt Wise, founder of Getthepill.com, to provide the emergency contraceptive pill Plan B.

Susan Piperato CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Jim Andrews MUSIC EDITOR

Sharon Nichols BOOKS EDITOR

community notebook 20 LEONARDO'S TROUT Jen May visits inventor Leonardo Busciglio in Bearsville.

22 ART OF BUSINESS Ann Braybrooks spends time at the Breakthrough Cafe. 24 SUSTAINABILITY Susan Piperato talks about chaotic weather with Bob Reiss.

Nina Shengold WHOLE LIVING EDITOR

Lorrie Klosterman POETRY EDITOR

Phillip Levine COPY EDITOR

Andrea Birnbaum EDITORIAL INTERNS

arts & culture 28 PORTFOLIO The pulp-paper paintings of Ken Polinskie. 30 LUCID DREAMING Beth E. Wilson compares and contrasts the landscapes of Thomas Sarrantonio (at Albert Shahinian) and Chris Gonyea (at The Living Room).

33 GALLERY DIRECTORY A list of what's hanging around the region. 36 MUSIC Sharon Nichols profiles silent-film composer Donald Sosin. 40 BOOKS Nina Shengold reports from the Ariel Booksellers closing party. 42 BOOK REVIEWS Book Doctor by Esther Cohen; Kingston: City on the Hudson by Alf Evers; Mary Magdalene by Bruce Chilton; Tetched by Thaddeus Rutkowski. 48 FICTION The Heart of the Cottonwood Tree by Karen Unger. 52 POETRY Poems by Craig R. Berger, C. Michael Bufi, Al Desetta, Jacob Eisman, Lewis Gardner, Carol Graser, Ralph Hubbell, and Matthew J. Spireng.

Marleina Booth-Levy, Brianne Johnson, Max Shmookler PROOFREADERS

Laura McLaughlin, Barbara Ross

PRODUCTION PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Yulia Zarubina-Brill PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Kiersten Miench PRODUCTION DESIGNERS

Jim Maximowicz, Julie Novak DESIGN ASSISTANT

Lorie Kellogg

PUBLISHING ADVERTISING SALES

Jamaine Bell, Ralph Jenkins, Jordan Parker OFFICE MANAGER

Lisa Mitchel-Shapiro TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR

food 54 SIPPING WITH THE SOMMELIER Jen May discusses the finer points of ordering

wine in a restaurant with Finn Anson of the Emerson at Woodstock. 57 TASTINGS A directory of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cooking and where to get it.

holiday supplement 65 ARTICLES, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES FOR THE HOLIDAYS

whole living guide 90 TRANSPERSONAL ACUPUNCTURE Jipala Reicher-Kagan examines the use of acupuncture as a treatment for emotional and spiritual imbalances. 94 INNER VISION Hudson Valley artists discuss the spiritual dimensions of their work. 96 FRANKLY SPEAKING Frank Crocitto remembers Christmas in Brooklyn. 98 WHOLE LIVING DIRECTORY Products and services for a positive lifestyle.

business services 94

114 BUSINESS DIRECTORY A compendium of advertiser services.

Justin Zipperle MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION

Tamara Zipperle OFFICE ASSISTANT

Matthew Watzka CONTRIBUTORS Emil Alzamora, Cassondra Bazelow, Carolyn Bennett, Anne Braybrooks, Eric Francis Coppolino, DJ Wavy Davy, Mike Dubisch, Philip Ehrensaft, Donna Paul Flayhan, Lynn Harris, Hillary Harvey, Teresa Horgan, Grady Horrigan, Mike Jurkovic, Jonathan D. King, Susan Krawitz, Jason Kremkau, Rebecca Leopold, Jennifer May, Patrick Milbourn, Anne Pyburn, Jipala Reicher-Kagan, Fionn Reilly, Andy Singer, Sparrow, Karen Unger, Beth E. Wilson, Vladimir Zimakov ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2005

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314 Wall St. Kingston, NY 12401 845.334.8600 fax 334.8610 www.chronogram.com info@chronogram.com SUBMISSIONS

planet waves horoscopes 138 CHIRON, NESSUS, AND THE RACAILLE Eric Francis Coppolino reports from Paris on the recent riots in France and the country's colonial past. Plus horoscopes.

121 6

parting shot 144 UNTITLED A painting from the "Karkhana" collaborative exhibition at the Aldrich.

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On the Cover

The Black Shirt

PATRICK MILBOURN | OIL ON CANVAS | 2002

atrick Milbourn started painting at the age of five. Though he has no formal training, Milbourn considers the Metropolitan Museum of Art (which he did not visit until he was in his 20s) and his large collection of magazine illustrations from the 1860s through the 1940s to have been invaluable teaching tools. After moving to NewYork City from his native Kansas, Milbourn began his career as an artist illustrating for magazines, including the NewYorker, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, and GQ, among other publications. Earlier this year, Milbourn and his wife Alyson opened the M Gallery on Main Street in Catskill in a storefront beneath his painting studio after a year-long renovation of the space. Their second show, “American Tonalism: Poetically Correct,” which closed on November 15, featured portraits and landscapes by Milbourn. As evidenced by this month’s cover image, The Black Shirt, Milbourn is not interested in portraiture as a process of airbrushing for longevity, or rendering beautiful models in bucolic settings; he searches out models with unique features and faces with interesting shapes. Most of the work in the "AmericanTonalism" show was painted from studies of non-comissioned models; sometimes Milbourn brings people right in off the street to pose for him. (Many of Milbourn’s portraits are painted on commission.) “I like faces with character,” Milbourn told Catskill Mountain Region Guide in 2002. “If a person has big ears or a lazy eye, I’ll put it in. I find that much more interesting than a conventionally pretty person. The models are very important to me. If they’re interesting or odd, I know I can create the shapes I need and get more and more excited about what I’m doing.” Milbourn’s portraits possess an edgy quality that moves beyond simple mimesis into expressionism. It’s no surprise that he counts William Bouguereau and Jean-Auguste Ingres as significant influences. Milbourn has been received recognition for his painting from the National Academy of Art, the Pastel Society of America, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. An exhibition of vintage magazine illustrations curated by Milbourn from his swelling collection, “Social Distinctions: The Have or Have-Nots,” will be exhibited at M Gallery, 350 Main Street, in Catskill, December 10 through January 15. There will be an opening reception on Saturday, December 10, 5 to 7pm. For more information, call (518) 943-0380.

Editor’s Note

or the past few weeks I’ve been looking back through 2005, rereading news stories big and small, searching for a coherent narrative of media trends. I engaged in this exercise not only as a journalist and editor—but also as a concerned citizen—someone who has watched corporations buy up independent media companies, who has noted the stenography to power that often passes for reportage, and who believes, as Bill Moyers has said, that “the quality of our journalism and the quality of our democracy are deeply intertwined.” I must be a poor trendspotter, because I could not concoct a unified-field theory of media dynamics from the available evidence. So instead, I bring you the lowlights from 2005. Punching Judy Here’s the latest leak from inside the Beltway: Journalists are part of the establishment they cover. Plamegate has pulled back the curtain on the culture of insider journalism at play in the corridors of power, and it is an ugly machine to watch at work. (Which juicy tidbit of administration propaganda will I publish today? Which confidential source will I try to bogusly protect under the First Amendment?) I won’t belabor the point, as I explained how Judith Miller betrayed her profession in the last issue, but now legendary investigative reporter Bob Woodward has come under scrutiny for not spilling the beans to his editor about a phone call he received from an as-yet-unnamed administration official outing Plame (and for subsequently appearing on “Larry King Live” and belittling the importance of the leak.) It’s beginning to look like the story that could topple the Bush administration might take down more than one journalist with it. Partisan Hacks at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting In our June issue, we published an excerpt of a speech Bill Moyers gave at the National Conference on Media Reform in St. Louis earlier this year. The speech was an impassioned defense of independent journalism, and was in part a response to charges of “liberal bias” made by Kenneth Tomlinson, then chairman of the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), about Moyers’s weekly new show “NOW” on PBS. (Never mind that the CPB, as per its charter, is supposed to act as a buffering agent between where public radio and TV get their money—Congress, for the most part—and their programming, allowing them to operate without political interference.) Fast forward to mid November. It turns out that not only did Tomlinson repeatedly break the law, as well as CPB’s own guidelines, in a campaign to combat liberal bias, including putting White House staffers on the payroll to watch “NOW” and report back on Moyers, but he also promoted and secured funding for “The Journal Editorial Report,” a program which would serve as a platform for the conservative editorial page of The Wall St. Journal. (Tomlinson is also under investigation for financial chicanery in his hiring of outside consultants. My inner conspiracy monger wonders if the Bush administration didn’t appoint Tomlinson to act as a one-man wrecking ball, tarnishing the reputation of public broadcasting so badly that they would finally have the rationale—mismanagement, see!—to stop funding the CPB.) Tomlinson’s maneuvers clearly explicate one enduring theme from the past year: It’s not hard to spot a political hatchet man on a partisan crusade. We’re Not a Huge Corporation, Really Everyone’s favorite radio giant, Clear Channel Communications, decided earlier this year that its reputation as the evil, homogenizing demon of radio was bruising sales of concert tickets. So how did the corporate behemoth rebrand itself? In a change that the company never formally announced, Clear Channel’s name began disappearing from concert promotion offices across the country. Its concert office in San Francisco is again known as Bill Graham Presents. Cellar Door is back in Detroit, and Ron Delsener Presents is back in business in New York. But all of these promoters—who were bought by Clear Channel in the great wave of consolidation following the Telecommunications Act of 1996—are still part of the Clear Channel empire. Only the names have changed. A brilliant piece of wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing repositioning by the corporation, which now gets indy cachet without indy hassles (first among them fighting Clear Channel’s monopolistic market share) while keeping its extensive promotional resources. Alt-Merger Village Voice Media and New Times Media announced in late October that they would merge, creating the largest chain of metro weeklies in the country, with 17 newspapers and $400 million in assets. What this merger means is unclear as of yet. The Village Voice is nothing like the paper founded by Norman Mailer 50 years ago—it’s been a multi-million dollar, corporate-run entity for the last 15 years like many of the alt-weeklies. And as the loss of classified revenue (a major source of income for alt-weeklies) to Craigslist and other Internet advertising intensifies, the alt-weeklies are staking their bets on national corporate advertising—think liquor and cigarettes—and the merger will surely strengthen its marketing appeal in that regard. We’ll have to wait until next year to see what effect this merger has in the pages of the combined entity, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for any Pulitzer-winning stories. —Brian K. Mahoney

��

Angelika Rinnhofer

Dept. of Corrections

In our November issue, we neglected to credit a photo (above) on the splash page of our Holiday Supplement. The photo was taken by Beacon-based photographer Angelika Rinnhofer, a frequent contributor. Her work appears in the current issue on page 65.

Due to an editing error, a line was omitted from a review of In a Slinky Style by Suttle in our November issue. For more information on the band or to purchase a CD, visit www.slinkystyle.com.

Esteemed Reader Gratitude increases capacity. —Frank Crocitto, Principlex

Esteemed Reader of Our Magazine: There is a hackneyed platitude that says “there is so much to be grateful for.” Usually it is wielded as a consolation for failure. But like most clichés it has the ring of truth. For if you and I are fortunate enough to take the next breath, we have received a gift. But how often do we feel the gift of breath, or even another moment of life? Mostly these things are taken as givens, the underpinning of our lives, upon which our all-important personal desires are thwarted or fulfilled. That is until air becomes unavailable for a few moments, or we have a near-death experience. Then the preciousness of breath and life are felt at the core. Then, all the small complaints become petty in comparison. For a little while, anyway. And then the old ways of seeing set in again. Though I do not now adhere to a particular religion, I have, in the past, made some forays into religiosity. My motivation was at times curiosity—to experience different forms of worship and spiritual practice. At other times I felt a profound disillusionment with my life, and the tendencies and patterns which had produced so much suffering and disappointment, and I wished to resort to an intelligence greater than my own. For me at least, assuming the beliefs and practices of religion produced a profound feeling of humility, and out of that fertile soil (the word humble comes from the Latin humus, meaning ground, or soil) grew a slender stalk of gratitude. For in relating to what is called God, Adonai, Allah, Brahman, Buddha (I use this loosely since, as we know, Buddhism is non-theistic) I felt the largeness of what sustains all life, mine included. I needed to practice religion with belief suspended, for I eschew belief as weakness. Of course it didn’t require disbelief either, which is equally weak. Instead I practiced religion experimentally, while still giving all of my attention, openness, and willingness to the effort. So when I prayed “There is no God but Allah”; or, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is your God, the Lord is One,” I was compelled to understand them not at the level of words with pat definitions—for instance differentiating Allah from Elohanu—but to strive, through my religious practice, to experientially fathom the gist of what these words meant. What arose was a practical experience of God, which I provisionally defined as “that which is at a higher level than I am.” I defined God this way so that I would have something to remember in every moment, something to relate to in every person, something to strive to see in every object, and something to serve in every situation. There is an admonition from the teacher Gurdjieff to “realize your own nothingness” (though he sometimes expressed it differently to compensate for his students grandiose notions of themselves—particularly the French—calling them “merde de la merde”). This is not a directive to despise or belittle oneself, and certainly not to feel meaningless insignificance in the face of an infinite universe, but instead to recognize that the “me” that is always claiming the position of the personal pronoun is a fiction; that we are really completely helpless to and dependent on a force or intelligence that is much larger. First of all one has to see that one is nothing, in order to be open to receiving help toward becoming something. Religious practices of worship, prayer, or supplication, are means to recognizing the meaningful smallness of our own person, our interdependence with all life, and our dependence on a vast Being responsible not only for the form and life of the body, but even for the neural phenomena that gives rise to the sense of self we call “I”. A deep, tender gratitude flows from the recognition of this dependence and interdependence. But formal religious practice is only a means to this end. What we are after is the disposition of wakeful gratitude that invites appreciation for all the otherwise burdensome, annoying, or even infuriating minutia; a disposition that puts us in a position to serve—to be useful not to our petty, personal selves, but to the Self that is the life that flows in all and everyone; a disposition that enables us to say (and mean): “To serve the situation, is to serve my Self.” —Jason Stern 14

DR. PILL TO THE RESCUE A CONTRACEPTIVE CRUSADE As the Food and Drug Administration continues to deny over-the-counter status to Barr Pharmaceutical's emergency contraception pill Plan B—in an apparent show of partisan manipulation—one doctor in New Mexico is writing prescriptions for women in need via his website, Getthepill.com.

omen have been waiting for more than two years for the FDA to grant over-the-counter status to Plan B, Barr Pharmaceuticals’ brand of emergency contraception. On August 26, in its latest non-move, the FDA—ignoring recommendations from its own advisory panel in 2003—postponed indefinitely a decision on the matter, instead opening a period of “public comment” that ended November 1. On November 3, four frustrated members of Congress attempted to end the runaround with the FDA, introducing a bill in the House that would allow over-the-counter sales of Plan B until the FDA makes a decision. Meanwhile, women have long been left scrambling for prescriptions—and even for a pharmacy willing to fill them. Fortunately, however, one doctor in New Mexico, having seen firsthand the vast demand for the medication as well as the roadblocks in its way, has spent the last five years quietly making sure emergency contraception gets into the hands of women who need it, when they need it. In 2000, Dr. Matt Wise launched the website Getthepill.com, which provides prescriptions for emergency contraception, as a short-term maneuver around the obstacles women face while trying to get the drug. “We thought emergency contraception would be over-the-counter, literally, within months,” he says. He assumed, therefore, that demand for the site’s services would be short-lived. Five years later, however, Dr. Wise, 35, a practicing gynecologist by day, still may not be quitting his night job anytime soon. “I would happily walk away from this project. I mean, I’m hanging on by a thread here,” says Wise, who hasn’t taken an e-mail and cell-free vacation since launching the site. “I’ve had state medical boards not happy with me. I’ve had pharmacists read me the riot act about how what I’m prescribing is wrong,” he

says. “The only thing keeping me in here is realizing that we’re really making a difference. At this point we’ve helped thousands of women. And it’s part of a much bigger battle to get this stuff over-the-counter. We’re not going to go anywhere until this medicine is widely available for patients.” Emergency contraception has been prescribed fairly commonly to women at risk of unintended pregnancy at least since the mid to late 1990s. The medication typically consists of two pills, each containing a high dose of a hormone found in birth-control pills, to be taken in sequence starting within 72 hours of unprotected sex. Not to be confused with mifepristone (the “abortion pill” formerly known as RU-486), EC is designed to avert pregnancy by preventing fertilization or implantation. It will not terminate an existing pregnancy. Given that the drug’s contraindications are few and that, when it’s needed, time is of the essence, a prescription for emergency contraception does not require a faceto-face doctor’s visit. In fact, the medical establishment and a majority of doctors take the position that the drug should require no prescription at all; it is already available over-the-counter in seven states, with Massachusetts soon to follow. Despite the fact that EC is known to prevent pregnancy, rather than induce abortion, political opposition to emergency contraception remains powerful. Many have decried the FDA’s August 26 postponement as “political”—including two FDA experts who resigned in protest. According to congressional staffers who saw an early draft of a Government Accountability Office report in response to the FDA’s initial delay in May 2004, it suggests that the decision was actually made months before it was announced and involved an unusual number of top-level officials. The implication is that the process was guided more by internal machina-

BY LYNN HARRIS 16 NEWS & POLITICS

credit

Emergency contraception has been prescribed fairly commonly to women at risk of unintended pregnancy since the mid-90s. The medication typically consists of two pills, each containing a high dose of a hormone found in birth-control pills, to be taken in sequence starting within 72 hours of unprotected sex. Not to be confused with mifepristone (the "abortion pill"), EC is designed to avert pregnancy by preventing fertilization. NEWS & POLITICS 17

tions than by medical realities. Back in 2000, when Wise was a medical resident at the University of North Carolina Hospital in Chapel Hill, one of his jobs was to answer the phone. “I was surprised by the number of calls from women with questions about emergency contraception,” he says. “Since we were receiving that many phone calls in our small community from women with no doctor or insurance, or who had encountered some sort of ‘moral objection’ to emergency contraception from doctors and pharmacists, I just thought, ‘Gosh, on a nationwide basis there’s got to be an enormous need.’” Wise was inspired to try to help meet that need by one of his mentors, contraceptive expert Dr. David Grimes. Grimes, he says, had always told him, “Hey, if there’s something out there you can do to help women that is morally and medically appropriate, you ought to be doing it.” Hence the website. Wise launched Getthepill.com with the help of his brother—conveniently a website designer—who created the site’s architecture and its system for maintaining medical records. Three other people, all family or close friends, help answer phones and do other clerical work. The $24.95 prescription fee (separate from a pharmacy’s price for the medicine) covers their salaries and all other operating costs; Wise derives his income only from his in-person gynecology practice. “When we started the site I had zero money—I was in debt from med school! So we wouldn’t have put this operation together if we couldn’t have done it in a way that was very efficient,” says Wise, who has actually declined offers of cash donations. Getthepill.com logs 30 to 50 prescription requests or inquiries per day, most from women who have found the site via a search engine or a public-health website; some college health services also recommend the site for use on weekends, when they’re closed. Women seeking a prescription are asked to fill out a questionnaire designed, in part, to confirm that they are at risk of pregnancy but not already pregnant. (Plan B will not harm an existing pregnancy, says Wise, but it is a waste of time for a pregnant patient to use the drug.) “If patients get confused about when their last period was, I’ll get on the phone with them and pull out my calendar and we’ll try to do the best math we can to figure it out,” says Wise. When a patient’s need is confirmed, a prescription is called or sent in to the pharmacy of her choice. If a pharmacy or pharmacist turns out to be hostile to dispensing emergency contraception—which happens once every other day or so, Wise says—his staff goes back through their extensive database of pharmacies across the country that they have used successfully until they find a friendlier one. While Wise has gone through the cumbersome process of getting licensed to practice medicine in about 20 states, far more than your average MD, 26 remain in which he 18 NEWS & POLITICS

cannot write prescriptions. (The numbers don’t add up to 50 because of the states with over-the-counter status and those with more flexible laws about prescriptions.) He has also decided that Getthepill.com will provide prescriptions only to patients 18 and older, even though many argue—counter to the FDA’s stated concerns—that teenagers need easy access to EC as much, if not more, than adults do. “From a moral standpoint, I have no problem at all prescribing to younger patients,” he says, noting that he does so, along with plenty of counseling, in his own practice. “But I realize that what we’re doing already places us under increased scrutiny from medical boards, citizens, and so forth, and we want to be cautious. So we made a difficult decision—one not based on law, but just to make sure that we are able to continue the services that we provide—that we’re going to provide medical consults and prescribe EC only for legal adults.” For minors and those in the 26 off-the-list states, Wise or his staff will at least try to guide them to a Planned Parenthood or other available resource.

Getthepill.com logs 30 to 50 prescription requests and inquiries per day, most from women who have found the site via a search engine or a public-health website. Squeezing online clients in between and after his work commitments, Wise also takes follow-up calls or e-mails, talking patients through pregnancy scares or bouts of nausea (one of the drug’s few side effects). “If I ever have a patient who comes back a second time needing emergency contraception, she always gets a phone call from me,” he adds. “I’m not trying to make her feel guilty, obviously; I’m trying to make sure she does all she can to sort of replan her sexual activities so that she doesn’t find herself in that situation again.” Wise makes himself available for such calls 24/362. The site is “closed” on Christmas and Thanksgiving, and from about 3pm New Year’s Eve to 3pm New Year’s Day—but only because that’s when pharmacies are closed. In the five years since the site’s launch, he’s taken one vacation—sort of. “I had to get a hotel room right in the Grand Canyon, go out for a couple of hours for a hike, and come back up to check my e-mail, cell phone, and pager,” he says.

Who are all the women keeping him so busy? Why aren’t they calling their own doctors? “First of all, it’s actually surprising how many actually don’t have a women’s health care provider at all,” says Wise. Some have changed jobs or insurance; some just don’t have one. Other women simply find themselves unable to contact their provider (or college health service) over a weekend or holiday. Still others feel much more comfortable talking to Dr. Internet than to Dr.

"I've had state medical boards not happy with me. I've had pharmacists read me the riot act about how what I'm prescribing is wrong. The only thing keeping me in here is realizing that we're really making a difference." —Dr. Matt Wise Disapproval. Remarkably, says Wise, there are doctors out there who still confuse emergency contraception with mifepristone, and refuse to dispense it. Then there are those who, he says, “give their patients an enormous guilt trip before prescribing the medication.” Wise cites one recent patient, a nurse at a small hospital who knew every doctor in town and felt uncomfortable approaching them “for fear she’d be judged in some way,” he says—for having unprotected sex, for having sex at all, for dodging the “consequences” when she does. “This is clearly a woman who has a provider, who has major access, who has good health insurance—but because of the stigma that’s out there, she chose to get the medication through us.” Dr. Joe DeCook is one doctor who does not prescribe emergency contraception, and who hopes Wise is careful when he does. “If he’s going to give people this medication, he better give them informed consent, because [EC] doesn’t hardly work,” says DeCook, who is vice president of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. DeCook cites several studies that appear to call the effectiveness of EC into question, and bemoans what he sees as a dearth of information on side effects on women and on pregnancies undetected before EC is taken. “It probably does prevent some

pregnancies some of the time, but women are fertile for only about 36 hours a month,” so it’s unclear, he says, when the pill is actually doing its job—and what it’s doing to women’s bodies when it’s not. Of course, given that EC (also often used: Lo/Ovral) is on the market in the first place, the FDA has already deemed it safe and effective. By and large, studies that question the drug’s effectiveness find fault not with its medical properties but with the way the drug is presented and described to women—and, indeed, with the stigmas that prevent them from asking for it when they need it. Some physicians unfamiliar with Getthepill.com declined to comment on the site directly. But by reiterating the organization’s support of over-the-counter status for Plan B, a spokesperson for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists implied that if the drug should be available with no prescription at all, then a prescription from an online doctor would be more than sufficient. Dr. Beth Jordan is willing to go further. “The fact that this site exists tells you something about the great need for it,” says Jordan, medical director of the pro-abortion rights Association of Reproductive Health Professionals. “Any mechanism that makes emergency contraception more available is a good thing, so that women have timely access to a very time-sensitive reproductive technology.” Jordan’s only concern? “What about women who don’t have the computer technology? We need over-the-counter access for them.” Editor’s Note: On Monday, November 14, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, released a report concluding that top officials at the FDA decided to reject over-the-counter Barr’s application for over-the-counter sales of Plan B months before scientific review of the drug was completed. The report went on to state that the FDA’s handling of the application process was unusual in many respects. Some of the irregularities noted in the GAO report: From 1994 to 2004, FDA advisory committees reviewed 23 applications to switch from prescription to over-the-counter status. Plan B was the only drug of 23 reviewed in which the agency went against the committee’s advice. (The December 2003 advisory committee voted 23-4 in favor of giving Plan B OTC status.) The FDA used a novel rationale to reject the application. Dr. Steven Galson, acting director of the FDA drug center, said that the reason he rejected Plan B was because only 29 of 585 participants in a Barr study of the drug had been ages 14 to 16. The GAO’s report found that this approach was not in keeping with earlier agency decisions in which the behavior of older adolescents was used to predict that of younger ones. The report also noted that the advisroy comittee had voted 27 to 1 that Barr’s study had demonstrated that consumers, adolescents incouded, could use the drug safely. ” This article was originally published by Salon.com. NEWS & POLITICS 19

COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK

Leonardo’s Trout text and photos by jennifer may

n an era in which flavors are created in factories and industries earn millions by manufacturing palatable textures, Leonardo Busciglio, an inventor in Bearsville, uses old-fashioned tools to craft gourmet delicacies prized by food connoisseurs throughout the Hudson Valley and Manhattan. Busciglio’s property is part home, part workshop, and part small farm, and the products of his life are honey, wine, and smoked fish. A tall, dark-haired 53-year-old of Lithuanian desent, his given name is Leonardo, but his friends call him Lenny. He is also known as Lenny B. Just don’t call him Leonard. “I feel honored to be named after the father of invention. Why would anyone take off the o? How would people feel if I cut letters off of their names?” he asks, referring to former schoolteachers and credit card companies. Most of Busciglio’s utterances express excitement at the possibilities of his projects, but there is also an undercurrent of outrage toward any person or organization that would impose unfairness on others: He is acutely aware of local and world politics, and of price-gouging oil companies in particular. (He will later explain how he received a grant from Vermont to work on a project to convert water into hydrogen gas using power from the windmill in his backyard. “It’s the wave of the future,” he says.) When Busciglio was five he learned the mechanics of plumbing from his father, “the best pipe man in New York City.” At 12, his parents moved the family from Brooklyn to an old farm in Bearsville, and he spent his youth learning how to fish and hunt. His earliest mentor was his neighbor Nelson Schultis, a lumberjack and outdoorsman who turned him onto bees and taught him how to smoke fish with a

20 COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK

wood fire. At 15, Busciglio befriended Jack Soltanoff, an internationally recognized authority on natural health. Soltanoff introduced Busciglio to herbal medicine, and Lenny found it was easier and cheaper to cure his ills (like asthma) through remedying vitamin deficiencies than by seeing doctors. As an adult, Busciglio is full of youthful energy and is the center of a large social circle that congregates around the smokehouse at least once a week. His phone always seems to be ringing. Busciglio once dreamed of becoming an artist, and for a time he supported his pursuits by working with his father. Although money never particularly interested him, at a certain point he realized it is easier to sell food than art and he began directing his creative energy into the art of edibles. It seems a perfect blending of his passions, and as one friend says, “Lenny knows the metaphysics of trout.” On smoking days, friends and friends-of-friends begin arriving at noon, and if they are helping Busciglio make wine they might stay until 5am. All kinds of people come: Busciglio’s girlfriend, Cathie, is always there. (The couple met 10 years ago, when she used to sell his bee propolis at a health food store in Woodstock. “It was the propolis that brought us together,” Cathie says. She sold the tincture as a cure for colds. “It works every time.”) Carpenters, musicians, masseuses, actors, writers, and farmers are also in attendance. But the rule is: You have to be invited. “It’s the local, local social club,” Busciglio says. Wine begins to flow with the first guest’s arrival. And wine there is in abundance—homemade in huge stainless-steel tanks and later transferred into bottles and 30-gallon French oak kegs. The stacks of empty grape crates, labeled “zinfandel, Madera, California,” form a wall much higher than a person. The wine is for personal

OPPOSITE: LENNY BUSCIGLIO DISPLAYS FRESHLY SMOKED TROUT; ABOVE (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): BOTTLES OF BUSCIGLIO’S HOMEMADE WINE, NAMED FOR A FRIEND: “GIZMO PETIT SIRAH”; BUSCIGLIO TENDS THE SMOKEHOUSE’S WOODSTOVE; 1.5 TONS OF BEESWAX STORED IN BLOCKS AND READY TO BE FORMED INTO CANDLES.

consumption, but when his recipe is right, he plans on opening a small winery. Busciglio likes to look after people, and no friend of his will ever go hungry. Musician pals who are between gigs receive the Starving Artist’s Discount, which means they come, they eat, and they drink. In return, they may strum their guitars and blow their harps around the fire and infuse the fish with energy. When Lenny lights a fire in the gigantic outdoor woodstove, smoke seeps into the air. It is soothing: the faint smell of smoking fish and the crackling and popping of the wood. As guests sample the huge spread of sandwiches, quiche, eggplant parmesan, venison chili, and salad Lenny’s mother has made, Lenny pulls last week’s trays out of the smoker to scrape, scrub, and prepare them with olive oil; the 250 trout have already been cleaned, brined, and washed. He is precise and takes no chances: “I do hot-smoked fish, the old-fashioned way,” he says. It’s a similar process to the one his grandfather used as a young man in Lithuania. No additives or preservatives are added, and in the end it is purely fish, salt, and smoke, safe for a month. “The art of smoking is in the fire,” Lenny says, while explaining how he balances the flames with the smoke through every kind of weather. “Cooking with wood is different from cooking with gas or electric, and that’s why the flavor is so good,” he adds, as he checks the internal temperature of the smokehouse and marks it on a chart for the FDA and the New York State Board of Health. Twice a year the premises are inspected, and one year a health department official brought a group of people along to take photos. “He called me the last of the woodhouse smokers,” Lenny says. “He wanted people to see how it’s done.” Lenny isn’t as famous as his cousin, the late tennis champion Vitas Gerulaitis, but

he’s a celebrity in an underground sort of way. Says one friend: “I use Lenny’s name all the time. It opens doors for me.” People know and remember him for any one of the products he sells. There is: honey—a sweet distillation of the Catskill Mountains; Baba’s honey-mustard—a Lithuanian recipe passed down from his grandmother; vials of propolis—dark brown like tar, the bees use it to coat mouse intruders in a mummylike fashion, people use it for its antibacterial properties; pure beeswax candles—they fill a room with a warm, summery, buttery essence; and, of course, fish—smoked and always mouth watering. Guests who are standing by the moment Lenny pulls the trout from the smoker are rewarded with morsels of soft and warm flesh that slips easily from the bones. The flavor is gentle and smoky and impossible to imitate. “The farmers have been eating like gourmets for years and the gourmets are just realizing it,” says Lenny with a wry laugh. Fine local restaurants (such as the Emerson, the Reservoir Inn, and the Red Onion) serve his smoked trout and incorporate his honey into regionally inspired dishes. The Swedish Hill Winery presents the fish between sips at wine tastings. Caterers and delis place orders from New York City. He adds: “I might not make a million dollars, but I like doing this because it makes people feel good. Just from a taste, people forget their worries, and the troubles in the world. Even for just a little bit. Even for just five seconds.” He rises from his chair and heaves a shovelful of sawdust onto the fire. It’s a windy day and the smoke billows around him. In the distance, way up high, the blades of his windmill whip against the sky. Lenny’s Bee Productions is located at 403 Wittenberg Road in Bearsville. (845) 679-4514 for wholesale orders; (845) 679-2653 for retail. COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK 21

the art of business

COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK

EAT,

DRINK,

BE CREATIVE T HE B REAKTHROUGH C AFE

piphanies don’t happen every day. But Mitchell Ditkoff and John C. Havens, the men responsible for the Breakthrough Cafe, hope that their customers will have at least one “a-ha!” moment during the course of an evening. Their goal for this combination “party, restaurant, and brainstorming session,” as they describe it, is to help people get unstuck, to move past the obstacles that bar the way to a more ecstatic existence. The cafe is a place where procrastinators, the creatively challenged, and the eternally perplexed can get together to exchange ideas, stories, and solutions, and to support one another. Two Breakthrough Cafes have been held at the Blue Mountain Bistro in Woodstock. Paying customers arrive with an intention or goal (usually business-related), which is spelled out on a fluorescent name badge. As hors d’oeuvres are being served, cafe-goers circulate, squint at one another’s nametags, and start chatting. Each nametag begins with the same words: How can I…? At the second cafe, questions (quests) included: How can I combine my passions (creative artistic expression, nature, and spirituality) to serve the world and earn a living? How can I get my professional catering business off the ground? How can I find strategies to enable me to move my jewelry business to the next level? While the questions are serious, the atmosphere is playful. The cafe promises in its promotional material to serve “great food for thought, not just great food.” Patrons don’t give tips. Instead, InnoWaiters do. Men and women garbed as waiters wander

ann braybrooks 22 COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK

the room to stimulate conversation and facilitate brainstorming. After a buffet dinner, each cafe-goer is given a “whine list,” a compendium of excuses for avoiding action: I don’t have the time…I don’t have the money…My day job saps my energy…Mercury is in retrograde. (In places like Woodstock, the last excuse may not be a joke.) In groups of three, each person picks their favorite whine, and the other two conjure visions of what life will be like in 10 years if the whiner doesn’t get past the obstacle, and what life will be like (much rosier) if the person moves ahead and attains his or her goal. A “reality check” is presented at the end of the evening. It arrives in the form of a card, similar to a credit-card receipt, with spaces to answer questions and fill in next steps. Attendees are asked to rate, on a scale of one to ten, how committed they are to succeeding with their project. A line for a signature is included. At the bottom of the card, in tiny type, a quote reads: “You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.” Ditkoff, Havens, and their team of InnoWaiters and Archetypes—such as Madame Natasha (an “oracle” who helps fuel creative thinking) and the Sovereign (responsible for showing guests how to be sovereign over their own lives)—hope to expand the concept to New York City and, ultimately, to businesses that want to help employees achieve breakthroughs and results.

photos by

teresa horgan

I’M SO INSPIRED To get a full sense of the Breakthrough Cafe, I decided to participate on a Friday night in October. As soon as I arrived at the Blue Mountain Bistro, I was ushered upstairs to meet Laurie Schwartz, the Intention Maven. Schwartz helps those people who are having trouble articulate the intention that will be written on their name badges. Since I’m on the verge of seeking a job in Manhattan, I wanted to ask how I could find a meaningful position that utilized my background in publishing and public relations. Schwartz steered me away from the idea of simply looking for a job. She suggested that I think about the big picture. Did I want to find a job, or pursue a passion? How would my career choice fit with the rest of my life? Finally I scribbled on my nametag: How can I balance having a fulfilling career and caring for my six-year-old? Downstairs, I found people excitedly reading each other’s nametags and tossing out ideas. I spoke to a handful of people, one of whom deflated my fantasy of being a fundraiser for a nonprofit. (She said the bureaucracy would depress me. Still, I wasn’t entirely deterred.) Another cafe-goer suggested that I become a teacher, which would allow me to spend more time with my family. These kinds of discussions continued through dinner and during the "whine" hour. While I didn’t have a breakthrough that night, I did enjoy interacting with other people and providing suggestions that might help them. It was fun. Perhaps I was given a gift, though, by the Intention Maven. She reminded me that I don’t want a job that eats up 60 hours of my week (40, maybe, but not 60). I do want to figure out how to create a great, balanced life. Perhaps I should pull out a random card from the Genie pack and see what happens. Here’s one: Immerse. Name three ways you can immerse yourself more deeply in your most compelling project. What’s the simplest way you can begin? I’d better get started.

—AB

OPPOSITE (L-R): BARBARA CERNAK, MITCH DITKOFF, JOAN APTER, ELISE PITTLEMAN, AND LAURIE SCHWARTZ BRAINSTORMING AT THE BREAKTHROUGH CAFE; SELECTIONS FROM THE CAFE’S LIST OF CREATIVE EXCUSES; ABOVE: PITTLEMAN AND SCHWARTZ CONSULTING THE “FREE THE GENIE” CARDS.

The cafe is an extension of Idea Champions, the business that Ditkoff founded in 1986 with partner Steven McHugh. The Woodstock-based management consulting and training company specializes in creativity, innovation, team-building, leadership, and out-of-the-box product. Clients include GE, AT&T, Lucent Technologies, MTV Networks, Pfizer, and General Mills. According to Ditkoff, the Breakthrough Cafe is “partly a result of what we’ve learned, and what we’ve discovered people need. I asked thousands of people, anecdotally and through online polls: Where do you get your best ideas? What is the catalyst—the time of day, the place—that helps you tap into your creativity? Less than one percent said that they get their ideas at work. They get their ideas when they are happy, not sad; offline, away from the office; late at night; and in the company of friends and people they trust. “I looked at the places where I go for renewal and refreshment, and at the Left Bank in Paris, where artists and writers seek each other out in cafes. That’s where they connect. They create a community, then go back to do their thinking in isolation. I wanted to find a soulful, lighthearted, organic, entertaining way to spark the best creative thinking, the inspiration, the “a-ha’s.” I think of the Breakthrough Cafe as an incubation chamber for great ideas. It’s not a place to browse or schmooze. People come to the cafe having already identified an idea, a problem, a need. Those people may be stuck, or they may be doing fine, but they want to accelerate the process. It’s not a seminar or a workshop or a lecture or a training session. It’s interactive, participatory. The immersive environment increases the possibility of “a-ha” moments. Our goal is to provide as much support as we can to help people move forward.”

Ditkoff envisions taking this “moveable feast” to companies in the US and beyond. “We can travel to a business and set up the Breakthrough Cafe as part of the flow of their meeting or conference. Our ultimate goal is to empower clients to do it themselves. We could offer clients half a day or a day of training to teach their team how to conduct a Breakthrough Cafe. The people who are trained, who get the message, will be capable of being a ‘freelance innovation catalyst’ in their organizations.” While Ditkoff acts as the mâitre d’ for the Breakthrough Cafe, Havens acts as the concierge. He met Ditkoff while working for Idea Champions on the Free the Genie card deck, which features 55 playing cards that promote out-of-the-lamp thinking and commitment to a passion or project. Says Havens, “The Breakthrough Cafe brings together a lot of my skill sets: acting, teaching, writing, marketing. I love connecting people, introducing people who can help each other. After each cafe, participants can go home to their computers and access the InnoWiki, an interactive website that allows them to continue working on their ideas and goals. I hope that the InnoWiki becomes a knowledge base for innovation. If someone comes to a cafe, whether it’s the second or the fiftieth down the road, they can have continued opportunities to discover the people and resources to make their goals a reality. I want the Breakthrough Cafe to give people a new tool, a new paradigm, to help them shift their ways of thinking, to help them break beyond what they know, move beyond their obstacles—the things that hold them back from living the most fulfilling life possible.” How’s that for a tall order? Information about the Breakthrough Cafe, Idea Champions, and the Free the Genie card deck can be found at www.ideachampions.com or by calling (800) 755-IDEA.

COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK 23

Sustainability

CASSONDRA BAZELOW

Climate Chaos

BY SUSAN PIPERATO

urricanes whose names begin with the last letters of the alphabet. Floods that come in waves. Tornados after the season is over. Perennial droughts and sweeping fires. Killer heat waves. Below-freezing temperatures that won’t quit. Are we reaching critical threshold, the point at which it’s too late to turn back from global warming? “Sure,” says journalist and environmental activist Bob Reiss. “Every five years the International Panel on Climate Change predictions always get more dire. When they start using the line ‘there might be surprises,’ which they have, then that’s when things get scary.” On November 3, Reiss, author of The Coming Storm: Extreme Weather and Our Terrifying Future (Hyperion 2001), visited Dutchess Community College to discuss the phenomenon of extreme weather and its implications. Ironically, it was 70 degrees outside.

24 COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK

Some states, some cities are embracing the idea of global warming, but [the Bush] administration isn’t touching it,” Reiss said. “Why? The answer is five words that I hate to hear: ‘It’s a very complicated situation.’ Whenever anyone says that, it really means, ‘I want you to shut up.’ This administration isn’t smart. They haven’t learned enough. They just want to get their own way. And global warming is the mother of all complicated situations. “In his first debate with Al Gore, George W. Bush said, ‘I don’t believe in global warming.’ That’s the greatest hoax ever concocted. But it’s natural for a person who’s a head of industry to find it hard to accept that their industry is damaging, and easy for someone who’s far away from the damage to be in denial.” Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was the first to call for an international treaty against and studies of global warming, said Reiss. “Why? Because

she was a scientist. [Thatcher had a background in chemistry.] The first George Bush actually gave the study [begun during his and Thatcher’s respective administrations] his blessing. We’re now 20 years into it, so the next time you hear the White House say we need to start studying global warming, we’ve already been studying global warming for two decades. They just don’t like the results.” The Bush administration, says Reiss, like New Hampshire Republican Senator John Sununu, doesn’t “believe” in global warming. “He asked, ‘How does a computer know what weather is going to be like in the future? Do we really want to change commerce and everything because a computer says in 200 years there will be a climate change?’” Reiss said. “To a computer, there’s no difference between 2300 and 2005. We have records of 1500 years of weather, ice cores from Antarctica, and tree rings, to compare past weather with the present and we can predict what it will be like in 2050. If the computer keeps getting it right, we’ll be able to predict the climate in 2300.” The concept of global warming developed in the late 1970s, following the 20 percent rise in carbon dioxide emissions between 1958 and 1975, said Reiss. “In 1979 the National Research Council, comprised of scientists from the University of Stockholm, the University of California, Harvard, and others, issued a statement saying that it appears that the warming of the globe will eventually occur. These were the top scientists talking, and when they say something might well be happening, it’s time to listen.” NASA scientist Jim Hansen listened, and in 1988 announced the arrival of the Greenhouse Effect to Congress. “Jim Hansen predicted that we would know the effects of global warming were occurring if average people had a feeling that something was odd about the weather,” he said. “Now they do, and they’re right.” In the late 1990s, Reiss began testing Hansen’s prediction by collecting the stories of scientists as well as survivors of extreme weather. The Coming Storm is a riveting explication of global warming for the average person, and includes interviews conducted worldwide with scientists and politicians, including Maumoon Gayoom, the tsunami-fearing president of the Maldives, insurance agents, law enforcers, first responders, airplane pilots and ship captains, and the survivors of events that, literally, took the media by storm: hurricanes like Floyd, Bonnie, and Daria, the 1998 Memphis tornado, the Missouri floods, and Europe’s winter storm, Herta. In 1999 Reiss went to talk to Hansen at NASA’s New York office by Columbia University. “I was thinking, ‘How can I ask about global warming in a way that makes sense to the average person?’” he recalled. “We were looking out the window of his office. I said, ‘If all the predictions you’re making are right, then is there anything that’s going to look different out this window in 20 years?’ “Nobody had ever asked him that question before. He said, ‘Well, there’ll be more traffic.’ I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Well, the West Side Highway will be underwater.’ Then he said, ‘The trees down

there will be dead. There’ll be tape on the windows across the street, because of the wind. There might be dikes dug, like in Holland, to keep from further flooding. The birds you see flying will be extinct, and there will be more police cars.’ I said, ‘What do police have to do with global warming, are you kidding?’ He said, ‘There’s always more crime when it’s hot.’” Although there are “still some scientists who believe global warming is hooey,” said Reiss, they are fewer than ever. “The head of the National Climactic Center in North Carolina was a doubter,” he recalled. “I asked him, ‘If I write about global warming causing a tornado in Tennessee, am I being irresponsible? Because there are always tornadoes.’ And he said, ‘No weather occurs now on earth that’s not affected by global warning.’ So I asked him, ‘If it’s real, what will we see?’ He said, ‘We’ll have more Category 4 and 5 hurricanes.’ And that’s just what we’re seeing now.” Opponents of global warming argue that “if the earth is hot now, it’s possible it could have been hot in past climates, and the warming could be part of a natural variation of the climate, not caused by the people,” Reiss explained. But several recent and ongoing studies prove that rising temperatures are not part of a natural pattern. Reiss believes the strongest evidence of global warming is a University of Massachusetts watershed study using ice cores and other records taken from over 1,000 years. “This study involves a graph paper map of natural variation,” he explained. “The map looks like two banks of a river flowing through time. The top shows how hot the earth gets, and the bottom of the graph shows how cold; the space in between shows any temperature within the natural variation. The scientists want to know, did the temperature ever go outside of the natural variation? Well, the temperature stayed inside the natural variation until 1990. Then the graph suddenly makes a shape like a hockey stick. We’ve had the hottest years on earth since the 1990s, including three years out of the past four.” Although the White House resists “cataloging how much carbon dioxide is emitted by the US into the atmosphere” and giving tax breaks for using alternative energy, Reiss sees hopeful signs of an end to the “failure of imagination” preventing the government from working to stop global warming. BP and Shell Oil are doing research on alternative energy, and scientists at Princeton are currently working on removing carbon dioxide from coal. “But a prudent government takes out insurance on something like global warming, whether it believes in it or not,” Reiss said. “We could change mileage rules for big cars and SUVs; change building codes, like Germany did, and institute new laws that make the codes compelling for tax payers to use; push for use of coal plants, a process which the White House wants to eliminate in 20 years. We can turn off our computers when we’re not using them, cut down on our own energy use. Even taking a plastic bag at the supermarket makes a difference. We can keep modeling for other people, especially children. But more than anything we must keep politicians’ feet to the fire.” COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK 25

“A lot of my work is about a lone image surrounded by a field of movement. The image is always a surrogate—it’s always me—whether it’s a cute little poodle or a flower. The story is about how I feel about where I am in the universe.” —Ken Polinskie

DECEMBER 2005

Portfolio, Page 28

ARTS & CULTURE

CHRONOGRAM

SPIRIT DOG (THREE LOGS), KEN POLINSKIE, INK, LEAVES ON AMP

Portfolio

Ken Polinskie

The technique of making pulp-paper paintings is tough to describe. When you look at Ken Polinskie’s work, it seems as if there are two distinct processes at play—papermaking and painting. But as Polinskie, a master papermaker, is at pains to point out, he paints with fiber, not on fiber. Using turkey basters and syringes of various gauges, Polinskie adds pigmented pulp—literal fibers—to a wet base sheet to create his often impressively detailed images. The exhibition currently at the Modo Gallery, “Ken Polinskie: Then and Now,” is a 30-year survey of his work, including watercolors and drawings (many of which are based on Aesop’s Fables), as well as pulp-paper paintings. Polinskie’s work was recently chosen for inclusion in The Art of Pulp Painting, a limited-edition portfolio printed by Hand Papermaking magazine. His work has been exhibited in New York and across the country since 1979, and he is an adjunct professor at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center. “Ken Polinskie: Then and Now” will be exhibited through December 31 at Modo Gallery, 506 Warren St., Hudson. (518) 828-5090; www.modogallery.com.

KEN POLINSKIE TALKS ABOUT HIS WORK INTIMACY

AUNT HELEN’S FLIES

CONFLICTED SURREALIST

I was an easel painter for a very brief period of time, but I felt that the size of the brush alone kept me back from the surface. So when I started to draw [again], it took me back to my childhood when I really loved laying down on the carpet and I felt safe with a pen in my hand and a piece of cardboard and the intimacy and contact with the materials made me feel safe and happy. When I got to be more advanced as an artist, I found myself going back to the floor, to having a sheet underneath me; even at the drawing table I’m almost hunched on top of the paper. I love to draw. Even my most painterly paintings are about draftsmanship.

The fly paintings came about because of a story my aunt Helen told me from when she was a child. There was a contest to get a free admission to see Charlie Chaplin at the North Adams Theater. The contest consisted of collecting the most houseflies. Aunt Helen must have been around 10 years old and she won the contest and got to meet Charlie Chaplin.

I really come out of an expressionistic tradition. I’m sort of a conflicted surrealist—I love things with imagination but I also like to get a lot of expression in my work. Paper pulp allows that fluidity. Not only did I learn how to control it, I also learned how to let go. Because I’m so specific with my drawings, when I make paper-pulp paintings, I go nutso.

28 PORTFOLIO

When she passed away, I decided to turn the fly series into a lesson about perseverance and regeneration. Her spirit, of taking nothing and turning it into a free meeting with Charlie Chaplin, was a spirit of resource and inventiveness similar to papermaking, the spirit of recycling and regenerating materials.

IMPREGNATING THE MATERIAL

There’s a fresco aspect to papermaking. The pigment impregnates the material rather than sits on top of it. Paperpulp painting is not a work on paper, it is a work of paper.

THIS PAGE: KEN POLINSKIE HOLDS A WATERCOLOR UP TO LIGHT; (TOP TO BOTTOM): CARNIVAL GIRL & CO., INK ON LEAVES ON AMP, 1996; DRESS UP, PRESSED-PAPER PULP; 2005, LIKE A WOLF, PRESSED-PAPER PULP, 2005. OPPOSITE: POLINSKIE IN HIS GERMANTOWN STUDIO AT HIS DRAWING TABLE. PHOTOS OF KEN POLINSKIE BY HILLARY HARVEY. HOW AN ARTIST’S CAREER WORKS

THE OLD HOUND

THE NEED TO EXIST

Someone recently asked me, “How does a career work?” “Very slowly,” I said. I was told years ago that I wouldn’t come into my own as an artist until I was in my 30s, 40s, or 50s. At 53, I now understand that. I understand that the challenge of taking technique and point of view and idea and having something legitimate to say takes time. And [in the ‘80s] I got very restless with my own art career; and I’d like to tell you how convicted I was about being an artist, but in fact, I also say that life is very exciting. And I don’t think that pretending to be an artist who just has to work all night is true. I’m somebody who loves to be out there in the world and live and then I feel I have something legitimate to put down on paper later.

Aesop’s Fables connect so much to my own predicaments, like the story of the old hound, for instance. My painting of the old hound is about a dog who is no longer of use. The hound is beaten by his master for losing his teeth in the haunches of a deer. That master says, “You are no longer of any use to me.” The dog stops him and says, “Wasn’t I a great hunter for you all those years? Have you forgotten?” And the master stops beating the dog. The fable is about remembering that old age does not make us useless, and remembering what you’ve accomplished. The fable became a symbol for this show—to remind myself that I’m the old hound who can stop the stick from beating him; that there’s still life in the old dog yet.

The moment I started drawing as a child I really never stopped. I say that art saved my life, but art is my life. There are times when I want to give up and not do it, and times when I’ve hated being an artist because it just didn’t seem to make any sense, but it’s the only thing that has gotten me this far and kept me sane. All of my work is about the need to exist, the need to feel safe in the world and the need to feel understood. They say the worst thing you can ask for is to be understood, but really it’s not that bad.

PORTFOLIO 29

Lucid Dreaming BY BETH E. WILSON

Trees of Knowledge

TWO PAINTINGS BY TOM SARRANTONIO: (L-R): MORE THAN FOUR TREES, OIL ON WOOD; CONCESSION, OIL ON WOOD

ver the years, I’ve spent a fair part of my life looking at and contemplating art. On the one hand, you could say that I’ve returned, time and again, to this practice because it’s enjoyable (and of course it is), but the more interesting question is—what have I gained through all this looking and thinking? What new knowledge or understanding has it given me? I’m thinking about this because of a recent conversation I had with a member of the art faculty at SUNY New Paltz, in which she casually tossed in the word “research” to describe her recent work. Now, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard this term used in an academic setting, but it always takes me aback somehow. When a historian or a physicist talks about doing research, it’s easy to imagine what he or she means—defining a field of inquiry, using (or even inventing) a method of analysis, and then arriving at various conclusions based on primary contact with the object of study (whether through archival research or conducting experiments, etc.). This framework can sort of work as a way to describe art making, but with one crucial difference: Even when the development of some specific knowledge comes as a surprise, the historian or the physicist usually has a pretty good grasp going on of what type of answers they’ll get to the questions they’re asking. The same cannot be said for artists. Art has this odd way of answering questions you didn’t even realize you were asking at the time, or of easing itself into your consciousness long afterward, so that even when the work is physically complete, you’re never quite certain that it’s told you all that it has to say. Even artists who work to realize a strongly previsualized image, something that seems planned in 30 LUCID DREAMING

advance down to the smallest detail, encounter something new in working through the resistance of their materials to construct the work. Process opens a dialogue that arrives in the final product; the product (the work) then opens a dialogue with its viewers, and the whole thing continues on in a theoretically endless, open-ended fashion. Somehow this doesn’t sound like your average body of “research” to me. Tom Sarrantonio is a painter who opens himself up to his process in this way quite clearly. As evidenced in the results of his recent “research,” now on view at the Albert Shahinian Gallery in Poughkeepsie, Tom learns, and learns deeply, only through doing—through the very act of painting itself. His primary mode is plein-air landscape, that is, tromping out into the fields, setting up his easel, and responding directly to the scene before him. Through years of this dedicated practice, his painting has developed into a wonderfully rich and nuanced thing, filled with not only the light and color of the place depicted in the work, but with deep art-historical resonances (Corot, Rousseau, Cézanne), and the sheer skill demonstrated by the painterly licks of his brush across the surface. Sarrantonio is no slavish imitator of his subject. Painting is, for him, nothing more nor less than an act of imaginative translation, a transformation of the light, the heat, the wind, and the shifting shadows that animate the living nature before him into the language of color, stroke, and representation that takes shape on his small wood panels. In recent years, he’s been succeeding more and more in taking the insights gathered through these direct, responsive expeditions and expanding them onto large-scale canvases, which of necessity must be made in the studio. The abstract nature of his painterly project becomes more apparent in these works, as

UNTITLED, CHRIS GONYEA, CHARCOAL ON PAPER

the gap between the artist and his source-motif (nature) grows more distant. In the Shahinian show, he’s exhibiting a large painting of a golden field. He tells me, with obvious excitement, that he “got to use every yellow and ochre in his kit” to make this one. His enthusiasm arises not only from his obvious attachment to nature, but even more so from his deep attachment to art, in its purest sense. The “knowledge” he develops in this body of work is literally and figuratively rooted in the grounding power of nature that is knowledge’s true source—and it is only from this basis in nature that his abstraction gains traction. An interesting (and complete) contrast with Sarrantonio’s approach can be found in the exhibition of Chris Gonyea’s recent work at The Living Room in Kingston. Over the past year or two, Gonyea has explored the motif of tall stands of trees, their branches forming an intricate filigree of line and flattened form. Better known previously as an abstract painter and collagist, this new body of work has taken a number of people by surprise. (Gonyea doesn’t exactly strike you as a “nature boy” at first glance.) But the genre of landscape offers the viewer a more generous point of entry than the earlier work, while allowing him to work out many of the same ideas. The show features a number of large charcoal drawings, which reduce the issue to line and pattern, while the oil paintings introduce the added complexities of color, shot through the vertical network of tree branches like so many ribbons tying the paintings together. Looking at the work as a coherent whole, it becomes readily apparent that Gonyea is not working in the plein-air tradition. His forest scapes derive from pure imagination, and are the product of his thoughtful abstraction, a careful working through of the basic elements of composition and design to generate the scene—just the opposite of Sarrantonio’s chain of development. As a result, the body of knowledge developed in Gonyea’s works is of a completely different nature (pardon the pun) than Sarrantonio’s: In both cases, the truth of the work lies in its method, in the same way that the knowledge of the world we gain from a journey is made of the totality of the steps that take us through it. The mistake would be to simply believe everything you see in a work by either of these artists. Nature, let alone our relationship(s) to it, is far too complex a phenomenon to be so easily summarized by “just a pretty picture.” So go ahead, enjoy the beauty presented in the work—but push yourself to dig deeper, and to grasp something more in the engagement of the artist with his or her motif. When the work is good, you’ll be rewarded with an understanding that you otherwise might never have known you were missing. “FIELD PAINTINGS,” BY THOMAS SARRANTONIO, IS ON VIEW THROUGH DECEMBER 31 AT ALBERT SHAHINIAN FINE ART, 196-198 MAIN STREET, POUGHKEEPSIE. (845) 454-0522; WWW.SHAHINIANFINEART.COM. “SEEING THE FOREST,” NEW WORK BY CHRIS GONYEA, IS ON VIEW THROUGH DECEMBER 31 AT THE LIVING ROOM, 45 NORTH FRONT ST., KINGSTON. (845) 338-8353.

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LUCID DREAMING 31

gallery directory

galleries ALBANY INSTITUTE OF HISTORY AND ART

CLERMONT STATE HISTORIC SITE

125 WASHINGTON AVENUE, ALBANY. (518) 463-4478.

GERMANTOWN. (518) 537-4240.

“Rodin.” Obsession-Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation. Through December 31.

“Small Works: The Hudson River Valley Work.” Through January 1.

“Food of the Gods.” The purchase, preparation, and consumtion of chocolate. Through April 28. “Excavating Egypt.” Through June 4. “Dearly Departed.” Through January 6.

COFFEY GALLERY 330 WALL STREET, KINGSTON. 339-6105.

“The Gift Show.” December 3-January 29. Opening Saturday, December 3, 5-7pm.

ALBERT SHAHINIAN FINE ART 198 MAIN STREET, POUGHKEEPSIE. 454-0522.

COLUMBIA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

“4 x 4- Four Solo Exhibits in Gallery.” Through December 31.

5 ALBANY AVENUE, KINDERHOOK. (518) 758-9265.

Thomas Sarrantonio. “Field Paintings.” Through December 31.

ALDRICH CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM

“Gallery of Wreaths.” Through December 23.

258 MAIN STREET, RIDGEFIELD, CT. (203) 438-4519.

DIA

“Fred Wilson: Black Like Me.”

3 BEEKMAN STREET, BEACON. 400-0100.

“Lisa Sigal: A House of Many Mansions.” Through January 8.

“Dia’s Andy: Through the Lens of Patronage.” Works by Andy Warhol. “In and Out of Place: Louise Lawler and Andy Warhol.” Includes images of work by Andy Warhol.

THE ART UPSTAIRS

“Vera Lutter: Nabisco Factory, Beacon.” 4 large scale pinhole photographs of the factory. Through April 10.

60 MAIN STREET, PHOENICIA. 688-2142.

“Small Works Show.” Group show. Through December 24.

“Agnes Martin, ‘To The Islands’”. December 2-June 27. “Agnes Martin’s Early Paintings 1957-67.” Through December 1.

ATHENS CULTURAL CENTER 24 SECOND ST, ATHENS. (518) 943-3400.

“Small Works Show.” Through December 11.

DONSKOJ & COMPANY GALLERY 93 BROADWAY, KINGSTON. 338-8473.

“Greeting Cards by Artists.” A group show. December 3-December 23. Opening Saturday, December 3, 5-8pm.

116 WARREN STREET, HUDSON. (518) 828-4539.

“Modern Day.” New artwork by Rodney Alan Greenblat. Through December 4.

EXPOSED GALLERY OF ART PHOTOGRAPHY 318 DELAWARE AVENUE, DELMAR. (518) 475-1853.

BEACON FIREHOUSE GALLERY

“Lens Gumbo Redux.” Through January 3.

162 MAIN STREET, BEACON. 679-8825.

“Transparency.” Group show. Through January 14.

FAMILY NETWORK CHIROPRACTIC

gallery directory

BCB ART

223 HURLEY AVENUE, KINGSTON. 338-3888.

BRIK GALLERY

“Photos by Amy Fenton-Shine.” Through December 10.

473 MAIN STREET, CATSKILL. (518) 943-0145.

“No Place Like Home.” Photography. Through December 4. “Small Works Show.” December 1-December 31.

FENIMORE ART MUSEUM ROUTE 80, LAKE ROAD, COOPERSTOWN. (888) 547-1450.

Reception Saturday, December 10, 6-9pm.

“Eugene & Claire Thaw Collection of American Indian Art.” Through December 31.

CAFE WITH LOVE

FARFETCHED GALLERY

85 PARTITION STREET, SAUGERTIES. 246-1795.

“Lipgar in Black and White.” Photography by Robert Lipgar. Through December 21.

65 BROADWAY, KINGSTON. (914) 907-9332.

“Alien Nature.” Photos by Rodrigo Pedrolli and Michael Murphee. December 3-31. Opening reception Saturday, December 3, 5-10pm.

CARRIE HADDAD GALLERY 609 WARREN STREET, HUDSON. (518) 526-2999.

“New Art Exhibits.” Jane Bloodgood-Abrams, Ed McCartan, Phillip Schwartz, Marlene Wiendenbaum, Danny Garcia de Alejandro. Through December 17.

CCCA GALLERY 209 WARREN STREET, HUDSON. (518) 671-6213.

“Land”. Landscapes by Columbia County artists. Through December 31.

FRANCES LEHMAN LOEB ART CENTER VASSAR COLLEGE, POUGHKEEPSIE. 437-5632.

“Danish Paintings of the 19th Century.” Rarely seen Danish works. Through December 18.

GALERIE BMG 12 TANNERY BROOK ROAD, WOODSTOCK. 679-0027.

“Rick Jelovsek: Pictorial Landscapes.” Through December 12. “Photographs by Amy Auerbach.” December 9-January 9.

CENTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY AT WOODSTOCK

Reception Saturday, December 10, 5-7pm.

59 TINKER STREET, WOODSTOCK. 679-9957.

“Fear and Hope.” Through December 18.

GALLERY AT DEEP LISTENING SPACE 73 BROADWAY, KINGSTON. 338-5984.

CLARK ART INSTITUTE 225 SOUTH STREET, WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. (413) 458-2303.

“50 Favorites.” 50 works of art follow the Institute’s 50 year history. Through May 17. “The Clark: Celebrating 50 Years of Art in Nature.” Through September 4. “Winslow Homer: Making Art, Making History.” Through January 16.

“A Multi-Media Exhibition.” Shirley Panton Parker, Omar Parker, Gorka Marquez Vilata. Through December 31.

GARRISON ART CENTER 23 GARRISON’S LANDING, GARRISON. 424-3960.

“December Member Theme Show.” December 9-January 8. Reception Friday, December 9, 7-9pm.

galleries GCCA CATSKILL GALLERY

LIVINGSKIN GALLERY

398 MAIN STREET, CATSKILL. (518) 943 -3400.

653 BROADWAY, NEWBURGH. 561-8624.

“Salon 2005: Small Works Exhibition.” Through January 14.

“Working Artists.” Industrial/fine artists of Livingskin Corporation. December 3-December 18. Opening Saturday, December 3, 6-9pm.

GCCA GALLERY 209 WARREN STREET, HUDSON. (518) 943-3400

“Land.” Group show. Through December 31.

M GALLERY 350 MAIN STREET, CATSKILL. (518) 943-0380.

GCCA MOUNTAINTOP GALLERY

“Social Distinctions: The Have or Have-Nots.” Saturday Evening Post and Puck magazine drawings. December 10-January 15.

MAIN STREET, WINDHAM. (518) 943-3400.

Opening Saturday, December 10, 5-7pm.

“Holiday in the Mountains.” Crafts exhibition and sale. Through January 8.

MARION’S COUNTRY KITCHEN 20 COUNTRY CLUB RD. WOODSTOCK. 679-3213.

HADDAD LASCANO GALLERY 297 MAIN STREET, GREAT BARRINGTON, MA. (413) 528-0471.

“Kathy Burge and John Cross.” Contemporary paintings, sculpture and carvings. Through December 4.

Vincent Serbin. New paintings. December 3-31. Opening reception Saturday, December 3, 2-4pm.

MARK GRUBER GALLERY HUDSON OPERA HOUSE 327 WARREN STREET, HUDSON. (518) 822-1438.

“Our Faces, Our Places, Our Times.” Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. December 3. Reception Saturday, December 17, 4:30-6:30pm.

HUDSON UNITED BANK

gallery directory

68 MILL HILL ROAD, WOODSTOCK. 679-3862.

NEW PALTZ PLAZA, NEW PALTZ. 255-1241.

“Eat Me.” Pictures of food. Through June 1.

MILDRED I. WASHINGTON ART GALLERY DUTCHESS COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE, POUGHKEEPSIE. 431-8622.

“About Light.” Through December 13. Reception Thursday, December 1, 5-6:30pm.

“Oil Landscapes by Ellen Perantoni.” December 1-December 30.

MODO GALLERY HUDSON VALLEY CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART

506 WARREN STREET, HUDSON. (518) 828-5090.

“Then and Now.” Ken Polinskie. Through December 31.

1701 MAIN STREET, PEEKSKILL. (914) 788-7166.

“Figure It Out.” Contemporary sculpture and video. Through March 31.

MORGAN LEHMAN GALLERY

“Nostalgia.” Eight artists from six countries. Through March 31.

“The Plough Series.” Terri Moore.

24 SHARON ROAD, LAKEVILLE, CT. (212) 268-6699.

“Just Think.” Sally Stillane. Through December 18.

INQUIRING MIND GALLERY 63 PARTITION STREET, SAUGERTIES. 679-3009.

“Holiday Small Works Exhibit.” December 3-January 10.

KARPELES MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY MUSEUM

MUSEUM OF THE HUDSON HIGHLANDS FARMHOUSE GALLERY, KENRIDGE FARM, CORNWALL. 534-5506 EXT. 204.

“Hidden Treasures of the Hudson Valley.” Through December 31.

94 BROADWAY, NEWBURGH. 569-4997.

“Fedigan and Friends.” Diverse display of work by the Hudson Valley artists. December 1-December 31.

NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM 9 GLENDALE ROAD, STOCKBRIDGE, MA. (413) 298-4121.

“National Geographic: The Art of Exploration.” Through May 31.

KIESENDAHL+CALHOUN ART GALLERY 192 MAIN STREET, BEACON. 838-1177.

“Relations.” Paintings, drawings and ceramics. December 1-January 15.

PEARL

Reception Saturday, December 3, 3-5pm.

“Sacred Webs and Lyrical Coils.” Debora Muhl and Ruth Wetzel. Through December 3.

KINGSTON LIBRARY 55 FRANKLIN STREET, KINGSTON. 331-0507.

“The Magic of Storybook Art.” Group show. Through December 10.

KLEINERT/JAMES ART CENTER 34 TINKER STREET, WOODSTOCK. (845) 679-2079.

“The 5x7 Show.” All paintings $100. December 2-23. Opening reception Friday, December 2.

THE LIVINGROOM 45 NORTH FRONT STREET, KINGSTON. 338-8353.

“Seeing in the Forest.” New work by Chris Gonyea. Through December 31.

3572 MAIN STREET, STONE RIDGE. 687-0888.

PHOTONEWBURGH 113 LIBERTY STREET, NEWBURGH. (646) 641-5888.

“Tall Tales.” Photographs by Francois Dechamps. Through December 3.

R&F ENCAUSTIC 506 BROADWAY, KINGSTON. (845) 331-3112.

“People, Places, and Things.” December 3-January 28. Opening reception Saturday, December 3, 5-7pm.

RIVERROCK HEALTH SPA 62 RICKS ROAD, WOODSTOCK. 679-7800.

“Photography by Susan Phillips.” December 10-December 31. Opening reception Saturday, December 10, 6-8pm.

SAMUEL DORSKY MUSEUM SUNY NEW PALTZ, NEW PALTZ. 257-3844.

“Encaustic Works 2005.” “Juxtapositions: Selections from the Metals Collection.” “Reading Objects 2005.” Interpretive wall text. Through December 11.

ST. JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH 352 MAIN STREET, GREAT BARRINGTON, MA. (413) 623-2068.

“Sculpture Now.” Outdoor sculpture exhibit. Through August 23.

TIME AND SPACE LIMITED 434 COLUMBIA STREET, HUDSON. (518) 822-8448.

“Katrina Benefit Art Show.” Through December 3.

UNISON ARTS AND LEARNING CENTER 68 MOUNTAIN REST ROAD, NEW PALTZ. 255-1559.

“Judith Mohns & Susan Jeffers.” Photography. Through December 31.

VAN BRUNT GALLERY 460 MAIN STREET, BEACON. (845) 838-2995.

“Christie Scheele and George Sewell Exhibitions.” Through December 5. “Buone Feste.” Holiday group show. Through December 31.

322 MAIN STREET, GREAT BARRINGTON, MA. (413) 644-0221.

“Mother Wit.” Through December 3.

WARNER GALLERY

gallery directory

VAULT GALLERY

MILLBROOK SCHOOL, MILLBROOK. 677-8261 EXT. 132.

“A Comfortable Place.” Through December 10.

WINDHAM FINE ARTS 5380 MAIN STREET, WINDHAM. (518) 734-6850.

“A Celebration of Snow.” December 18.

WOODSTOCK ARTISTS ASSOCIATION TOWBEN WONG 28 TINKER STREET, WOODSTOCK. 679-2940.

“The Art Spirit.” Artists’ writings on art with their paintings, prints, and sculpture. Through January 8.

WOODSTOCK ARTISTS’ ASSOCIATION 28 TINKER STREET, WOODSTOCK. 679-2198.

“The Shining Kingdom.” Works by Hatti Iles portray fantasy and fairytale figures. Through August 28.

YELLOW BIRD GALLERY 19 FRONT STREET. NEWBURGH. 561-7204.

“The Tree Series.” Paintings by Myron Polenberg. Through January 8. “See Through City.” Photographs by Jill Corson. December 10-January 8. Opening Saturday, December 10, 4-7pm.

Music

BY SHARON NICHOLS

The Sound of silents Donald Sosin Scores Big-Time

COMPOSER DONALD SOSIN PROVIDING PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT TO MY BEST GIRL (1927), STARRING MARY PICKFORD

ary Pickford lay sleeping upon the leaves of the forest floor, surrounded by little fairy folk, only moments before encountering her then-husband, Owen Moore.

She’s playing the role of Cinderella and Moore is her Prince Charming. The year is 1914. This is a silent film, but not really so silent. The merry couple’s chance meeting amongst the trees nearly a century ago is embellished by a fitting new score of synth, harp, and chant. This charming version of Cinderella was released earlier this year on DVD. The return to the enchantment of silent film is big business these days, as more and more of these vintage treasures are being unearthed. What most people don’t know, however, is where the music that accompanies the images originates. In bygone days, silent films were orchestrated with live instruments in theaters. But who scores these films when they’re directly released into the marketplace or premiered to live audiences? One such composer is Donald Sosin, who lives in Lakeville, Connecticut. “Silent films were first presented from around 1895 until 1929,” says Sosin. “In Asia, they went into the 1930s because technology for sound films didn’t develop there as fast as it did here. When all of those films were first shown, there was musical accompaniment, a single piano in small theaters. There was no way until the very late 1920s to synchronize a recorded accompaniment on phonograph. So any musical accompaniment

36 MUSIC

that was done at the time generally got lost.” According to Sosin, many films were accidentally thrown out or destroyed after the SARA AYERS advent of talkies, as were many scores written by major composers of the era. Only about a third of all the silent films ever made are still in existence, and they continue to turn up in attics and warehouses all over the globe. “Film archives are in existence in every country of the world,” he explains. “They have a vital interest in finding this material and preserving it as best as they can, sometimes going to enormous lengths. I read recently about this film that was in such a state of deterioration that it could no longer be projected, but the guy who found the film went through and snipped about two frames out of every single shot so he could digitally scan them and restore the film in some version because it was considered to be of such historical value.” When these films are uncovered, they need new music, and Sosin and his wife, singer/actress Joanna Seaton, provide just that. Most contemporary silent-film music doesn’t contain vocals (though popular a century ago), so the instrumental/vocal work that goes into these scores makes this talented couple quite unique. Sosin and Seaton provide both the live music for public film viewings and that for DVD releases on the

marketplace. “When people hear that we do silent films,” says Seaton, “they look at me like, what are you talking about?” She continues, “When Donald was playing at museums down in the city, he felt there wasn’t much of a future in playing for silent films. Then all of a sudden in the last 10 years, there has been an explosion of new work being done with silents, partly because of the change in technology. What’s happened is that instead of allowing films to deteriorate at the rate they were, they can go back and reexamine these films, save them, reconstruct them. The field has just exploded wide open. So, instead of getting the few bookings that he was 10 years ago, he’s now being called constantly to play for reconstructed films.” “Last year or the year before, a film that was thought to be lost forever with Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino, called Beyond the Rocks, surfaced in the Danish film archives and was restored and shown publicly for the first time this year,” says Sosin. “Now it’s out on DVD. I played for it live this year. That kind of thing happens all the time.” Sosin mentions another wonderful find, the socalled “factory-gate films.” From 1909 to 1910, a couple from northern Britain photographed people coming out of factories at the end of the day. They would later take the films to county fairs and show people themselves onscreen, knowing it was a great way to sell tickets. These films were made by the hundreds, and seven or eight years ago approximately 800 of these alluring social documentaries showed up in pristine condition in a warehouse in Britain. “Little boys are running in circles around the cameraman, again and again and again, so they would get into the film,” says Seaton, recalling her first reaction upon viewing the film. “It was ‘Wow, look at those hundreds of people in Edwardian costumes, aren’t they charming?’ Then I reminded myself, no, they’re not in costumes, this is what they wore every day. This is the past moving before my eyes, seeing how they moved, the expressions on their faces, many of them very serious, coming out of factory conditions in those days, all dressed probably in shades of gray and black, every man and woman wearing a hat. It’s historical time travel.” Sosin remarks that some of these films were shown commercially in New York earlier this year. “They’re just so precious, particularly when you consider that probably most of the boys grew up and a few years later went off and got killed in World War I.” Sosin began his current profession 35 years ago as a fluke. He was in his dorm at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor playing piano for some dinner music, and someone with a projector put on a Laurel and Hardy film. Sosin started playing music for it. When Phantom of the Opera played at the university’s film society, Sosin’s composition

teacher asked him to accompany it. Eventually, he was playing regularly for the many, many silent films being shown on campus. He got his early education in all the classic silent films from this experience, sitting down with a film professor who taught Sosin what to look for. When Sosin came to New York, he befriended the pianist at the Museum of Modern Art and was brought in to substitute for him from time to time. Eventually, he got the job and was the regular pianist there for seven years. He later worked at the American Museum of Moving Image and played at venues all over New York, including Lincoln Center and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The explosion ARLO GUTHRIE of film restoration coincided seamlessly with Sosin’s growing reputation. Seaton has been in show business since her stint as an Ivory Soap baby, today holding a theater arts degree from Cornell University. She’s performed in more than 70 stage productions, many of them off-Broadway. It was at one of these theaters that she met Sosin. He began using her vocals before or after live silent-film productions, the first being a Charlie Chaplin film. Before long, she was singing over titles and in appropriate segments during the film. When the couple performs live, they generally use keyboards and vocals, sometimes bringing in their 16-year-old son Nick for additional vocals. They also occasionally work with small bands or mixed chamber ensembles, taking the film’s style and country of origin into consideration. Sosin has played tag team with other keyboardists, jamming and going with the moment. “I try to give the audience the best interpretation of the film that I can. It seems these days there are people who think that the music comes first and the film is incidental. Our approach is absolutely not that. We really honor the films. Some of them are truly great works of art and need to be treated as that. There’s all this silence and I’m trying to enliven it. That’s a very powerful way of communicating. You see these beautiful faces on the screen, and there’s a spiritual quality to it, the fact that these people have been dead for so long. When I’m playing live, I feel I’m going into another zone, just channeling the music.” The music that Sosin channels has greatly changed over the years, morphing from honky-tonk piano to jazz, crazy electronica, and romantic orchestral scores. He’s recorded more than 30 hours of background scores for DVDs in the past year alone. There’s an enormous variety of films that come across Sosin’s desk, a few of the more recent ones being Alice in Wonderland, several Oz films, and some avant-garde films that Variety magazine claims will rewrite the history of cinema. This month, Sosin and Seaton will be performing for several Chinese films at MoMA and for Don Quixote at Lincoln Center. For a full listing of Sosin’s film scores and upcoming performances, click on www.silent-film-music.com. MUSIC 37

NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS Handpicked by local scenemaker DJ WAVY DAVY for your listening pleasure.

SUNY ULSTER HOLIDAY PERFORMANCES December 1-12. SUNY Ulster’s current artist-in-residence, Artie Traum, kicks off the month (12/1, 7pm) with an evening of improvisation, original songs, and amazing friends, including vocalist Leslie Ritter and neighbors Tony Levin (bass) and Warren Berhnhardt (piano). On Friday, enjoy classical and popular music by the college’s chorus, conducted by George Strauser (12/2, 12:15 & 7:30pm). Lee Herrington directs the 55-member SUNY Ulster College-Community Band (12/7, 7:30pm), and bring your tuba or euphonium to the increasingly-popular Tuba Christmas concert (12/10, 4pm). The season finale (12/12, 7:30pm) is a recital by students in the college’s Applied Music program. Free (except Traum, $8). Stone Ridge. (845) 687-5262. WWW.SUNYULSTER.EDU

RHYTHMDEN FEST PART DEUX December 2. This follow-up mega-fest (part one was 11/19) features more than 15 bands in all three rooms of The Chance complex. Murphy’s Law headlines the big room, while Club Crannell Street and The Loft will pump ska and hardcore from bands like makeoutmusic, Skamakazi, and the adrenaline-fueled Honeycreeper. Definitely more fun than a barrel of moshing monkeys. (The Machine channels Pink Floyd 12/3 and Rusted Root returns 12/6.) 6pm. $17. Poughkeepsie. (845) 471-1966. WWW.THECHANCETHEATER.COM

DOCTOR JOHN/NATALIE MERCHANT December 3. The Fisher Center at Bard College hosts this “Build a Levee” benefit for Hurricane Katrina/Rita response, with proceeds to benefit the Gulf Coast Chapter of the Salvation Army. The spirit of unity and compassion is buoyed by artists from here (Merchant) and there (Dr. John). Presented by the Hudson Valley Levee Board, with assistance from Jazz at Bard. 8pm. $100. Annandale-on-Hudson. (845) 758-7900. WWW.BARD.EDU/FISHERCENTER

STEVE GULLICK

WDST DECEMBER CONCERTS December 10-28. Back in the day, ’DST would score one headliner and a handful of “breaking” bands for their annual holiday show. This year the bounty is overflowing with not one but four world-class shows spread throughout the Valley, starting with Assembly of Dust at Backstage Studio Productions (12/10). Next, Kingston’s own Mercury Rev (pictured left) (12/16) and the miraculous Martin Sexton (12/17) let the fur fly at the Bearsville Theater. Save room for dessert when Robert Randolph—who credits ’DST as “the first radio station to play our records”—and the Family Band bless UPAC December 28. Times and prices vary. Kingston/Bearsville. (845) 679-7600. WWW.WDST.COM

PETER TORK AND SHOE SUEDE BLUES December 11. SSB formed in 1994 when former Monkee Tork and friends were asked to perform a benefit for Felicity House, a women’s recovery program in California. Requests then poured in for their set of rock, blues, and R&B covers, original numbers, and even some Monkees’ tunes. More than a novelty act, Tork has mastered the 5-string banjo, keyboard, drums, guitar, and bass. Bandmates on this Towne Crier gig include Michael Sunday (bass), John Palmer (drums, harmonica, vocals), and Richard Mikuls (guitar, vocals), who have collectively played with Chaka Khan, B.B. King, Ike and Tina Turner, and Ray Charles. Jeff Pitchell opens. 8pm. $20, $17.50. Pawling. (845) 855-1300. WWW.TOWNECRIER.COM

NEW YEAR’S EVE BASHES December 31. It’s always a pleasure to highlight the Valley’s best New Year’s Eve parties, if just because of the unique opportunities the night offers. Albeit still early, smart money is on these two shindigs. At press time, disco-funk sensations Monica’s Kneepads are booked into the red-hot Alamo in Rosendale, with a full buffet, lighted dance floor, and glorious specials throughout the evening. Area favorite Dave Leonard of JTD productions and his Octagon of DJs are rumored to be throwing a bash at the Bearsville Theater, so bookmark www.jtdproductions.com for info. 10pm. Rosendale/Woodstock. (845) 658-3300. WWW.EATATTHEALAMO.COM

38 MUSIC

CD REVIEWS DAVID ARNER: LIVE FROM THE CENTER DOGSTAR, 2005

Deep Listening Gallery’s adventurous Thursday night jazz and improvisation concerts are organized by the brilliant pianist David Arner. Despite scant pay, there’s a parade of prime musical talent from all over the US of A. The attraction is the high standard set by Arner’s own musicianship and integrity, and the small but dedicated audience attracted by the same. Evenings when Arner puts his hands to the keyboard are a special delight.

I had the good fortune to attend Arner’s 2003 solo performance at the Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck that’s the source material for this new disc. “Cosmos II,” its 26-minute centerpiece, stretches the piano’s sonic possibilities via mallets and plucking of the harp, gentle use of the piano case for percussion, and careful planning of overtones captured by close miking, but minus the usual New Music extreme effects of smashing keyboards with elbows and placing objects on piano strings. Everything is open to question via mercurial shifts of tempo, tonality or lack thereof, lyricism versus dissonance, loud and soft, and timbres of a hundred shapes. It takes a virtuoso of the heart and mind, as well as of the hands, to make this questioning succeed. And succeed Arner does. —Philip Ehrensaft

UNCLE ROCK: HERE WE GO! JACKPOT JACKSON, 2004

Here We Go! is an acoustic coup for kids and adults. In an era of dichotomous choices in children’s music—between “corporate everything” (buy, buy, buy) and “education everything” (plaster on a fake smile and sing about vegetables)—Uncle Rock jams with kids about everything from the sweet joys of an imaginative world where they are “runnin’ through the chocolate halls” (“Chocolate Everything”) to the amazing and otherworldly “I’ve got laser beams comin’ out my eyes” (“Superpowers”).

Uncle Rock is gifted singer-songwriter-guitarist Robert Burke Warren, who was once bassist for The Fleshtones and has cowritten with Rosanne Cash. As Uncle Rock, Warren blends rock, funky folk, and country into Americana for kids, with great picking, synthetic mixes, and real children’s voices for full-of-feeling sounds that soothe little (and big) souls. Meltdowns from “Too Many Presents,” the need to share boo-boo stories, roaring dinosaurs, things kids like “a lot, a lot, a lot”—it’s all there. It’s fun to hear Warren achieve his goal of recapturing the “unbridled joy invoked by a catchy pop song.” Here We Go! rocks and gives the feeling that with Warren’s Uncle Rock, “b-b-b-baby you just ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” www.unclerock.com. —Donna Paul Flayhan

LESLIE RITTER AND SCOTT PETITO: THIS CHRISTMAS MORNING COLLECTIVE WORKS!, 2005

In the hands of less perceptive artists, these meditative holiday hymns would have been dressed up in big production, boasting big stars with bigger voices booming the bombast in hopes of simulating a sense of seasonal celebration. Thankfully, Ritter and Petito keep these atmospheric ruminations rooted in the here and now, creating a restive pastoral of ancient yearnings for modern times.

Always an instrument of intimate clarity, Ritter’s bellclear voice was destined to sing these songs. “Can’t we give a little hope to an aching world,” she appeals on the original “Give a Little Hope”; and you know, deep down, that if we just look within ourselves instead of outside ourselves (where the salesmen count ka-chings) we would find that hope inherent. Mixing evocative originals like the wistful title track and the inspiring “If Mary Knew,” Robbie Robertson’s “Christmas Must Be Tonight,” and Cyndi Lauper’s mindful “December Child” with traditional tunes that include the achingly beautiful “In the Bleak Mid-Winter,” Ritter, Petito, and guests (among them, Jerry Marotta, Marc Shulman, Beth Reineke, and Baikida Carroll) conjure a personal space for us all to pray within and ponder the great mysteries that bind us all. —Mike Jurkovic

MUSIC 39

Books

AFTERWORD I

t’s not often that someone plays a bagpipe in a crowded bookstore, but Richmond Johnston did just that on Friday, November 11 at Ariel Booksellers in New Paltz. The occasion was a party called The Last Word, at which 14 authors, hundreds of customers, and a man in a kilt gathered to honor the store in the final days of its 34-year run. Singer-songwriter Kurt Henry, who opened the evening with an acoustic set, has a long history in this venue. “I got off a bus in New Paltz in 1971 as a college junior. Ariel was such an important place for me in my twenties and thirties. Close to half the songs I have written are based on books that I bought at Ariel.” Young adult author Nora Raleigh Baskin was so grateful for the bookstore’s support that she mentioned Ariel by name in her book Almost Home. “I’m sorry they’re leaving,” she says. “Sometimes I drive into New Paltz and just cry.” Henry and Baskin are not alone in their sentiments. When co-owners Dean and Susan Avery announced in September that the bookstore would close by the end of the year, the community response ranged from stunned disbelief to betrayal and grief. Longtime customers sent passionate letters, or lambasted employees in outrage, demanding, “How can you close?” Irish author and raconteur Malachy McCourt, who brought down the house at The Last Word, says, “Ariel by Nina Shengold photos by Jennifer May 40 BOOKS

is the heart, the soul, and the intellect of the community, a place of refuge from stupidity, cupidity, and arseholism. Whenever I entered upon those hallowed floors, I breathed a breath of relief and of joy at the welcome, the warmth, and the hospitality so generously extended to all those who live by the pen.” McCourt is among many authors who embraced Ariel as a second home. The roster of distinguished writers welcomed there includes Toni Morrison, William Kennedy, Jane Smiley, T.C. Boyle, Gail Godwin, Da Chen, Joseph Lelyveld, and many more. With a store this beloved, what happened? Susan Avery explains that for each of the past four years, sales have been flat or decreased, as operating expenses increased. “We were on life support and decided to pull the feeding tube,” she told the industry newsletter Bookselling This Week. The Averys cite multiple reasons for closing, but first and foremost is a seismic shift in the way books are sold. Major bookselling chains siphon business from independently owned local stores–Woodstock’s Golden Notebook reported a 25 percent decrease in sales since Barnes & Noble opened in Kingston–but they’re not the only competition. Big-box retailers such as Walmart and Costco offer bestsellers at slashed prices; even supermarkets and drugstores now sell books. And while Eckerd’s may not have a wide-ranging backlist of literary titles, all these retailers compete with the bottomless stockrooms of Internet giants like Amazon.com.

The American Booksellers Association, a not-for-profit trade association representing independent bookstores across the country, cites a dropoff during the last decade from 4,000 to 2,000 retailers. Even with such dire statistics, a college town bookstore would seem to have a built-in textbook market. Not so, says Dean Avery, “The textbook industry has all jumped onto the Internet.” The exodus doesn’t end with textbooks. Some publishers, including Viking, now offer direct sales to the public via their websites. Google Print has already started to scan over 10,000 public domain titles for online perusal; Amazon.com and Random House are experimenting with pay-per-view downloads. Such news can make a booklover feel like an ox-cart drover on the information superhighway. Frank Sirak, a sales rep for indy publishers, says, “We’re entering the autumnal phase of our industry.” Sirak, who’s made sales calls to Ariel for 25 years, calls the store’s closing “an unseen blow.” Along with changes in book-buying habits, he fingers the publishing industry for a bottom-line, marketplace mentality incompatible with literary standards. As publishers pay for desirable front-table space and display books in pop-up “dump bins,” the book business starts to resemble a supermarket. “The American public will buy Wonder Bread if that’s what you advertise. You get your rye, your pumpernickel, and your cracked wheat from the independents.” Like the Averys, Sirak “came out of a 60s/70s ethos. I went into bookselling because it was acceptable capitalism,” he grins. Susan agrees. “I never planned to be in

OPPOSITE: DEAN AND SUSAN AVERY, CO-OWNERS OF ARIEL BOOKSELLERS; ABOVE: FRIENDS, WRITERS, AND NEIGHBORS GATHERED TO BID FAREWELL TO ARIEL ON NOVEMBER 11.

retail. I got into this business because I love books.” She recalls Ariel’s early days, when she and Dean and their two young daughters rented the 625-square-foot gas station on the corner of Plattekill and Main, inviting friends from New York to help renovate in the August heat. “We had six or seven guys camped out on our living room floor. My father-in-law was out there banging nails. I stained every shelf in the place,” Susan muses fondly. She remembers Ariel’s first inventory: The Last Whole Earth Catalogue, The Tassajara Bread Book, Our Bodies Ourselves—and the ubiquitous Lord of the Rings series. The Averys bought the building in 1975. A year later, they knocked down a wall and renovated, introducing such amenities as a receiving room for deliveries and an indoor-access bathroom. The store expanded twice more, and the stock changed with the space. In the 1990s, Ariel started marketing toys and gift items. “We tried to keep pace, even be on the cutting edge. We started a newsletter, a website,” Susan explains, “It was almost a curse that we were so successful. We just kept expanding, and then it’s hard to cut back.” The Averys drew controversy by opening a Starbucks franchise on Ariel’s corner. The Poughkeepsie Journal recently quoted Dean as blaming village government opposition to chains for driving people to Kingston and Poughkeepsie to shop for essentials at malls with Barnes & Noble. The coming of chain stores to New Paltz would, of course, affect other mom-and-pop retailers, and Main Street versus Chain Street remains a hot-button topic at

town meetings. But if things go according to plan, Malachy McCourt’s “hallowed ground” will house another franchise: a Mexican restaurant called Blockheads, part of a mini-chain with five locations in Manhattan. Susan doesn’t regret Ariel’s growth, but she can’t hide a note of nostalgia. “When we opened in 1971, we sold books. We didn’t have couches or coffee or cards or toys, all this stuff. We had books.” Still, 34 years is an impressive run for a family business. “It goes far beyond Dean and I, or even our wonderful staff, who deserve far more credit than they’re getting. It’s the community that made the store,” Susan says. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine New Paltz without a new bookstore. (Veteran Barner Books sells used books only.) The New Paltz Book Coop Project hopes to step into the breach with a cooperatively owned, not-for-profit bookstore. Founded by bookseller Caitlin Welles, writer Greg Olear, and school principal Linda Welles, the Coop is still in the planning stage, seeking seed money and volunteers. At least one recently closed bookstore has found a way to reopen. Kepler’s Books and Magazines, a Bay area institution run by friends of the Averys, shocked many by locking its doors without notice on August 31. The community rallied, digging into the deep pockets of Silicon Valley donors to reopen the store with new shareholders and a new business model. (www.savekeplers.com.) Reflecting on Kepler’s near-demise, a San Jose Mercury News columnist wrote of independent bookstores, “We love to browse in them, hang out in them, pepper the

staff with questions as if they were reference librarians. Then we buy our books from Amazon because it’s more convenient, or from Walmart because it’s cheaper.” The Hudson Valley boasts an exceptional group of independent booksellers. The Golden Notebook is going strong at 27 years old; Dutchess County’s Oblong Books has two locations, and Merritt Books three. A relative newcomer, Inquiring Mind, carved out a niche on a well-trafficked corner in Saugerties. There are even a few ambitious new kids on the block. The Spotty Dog Books & Ale, which opened this July on Hudson’s historic Warren Street, may set new standards for diversity: besides offering over 10,000 books, the former Victorian firehouse also sells art supplies, and its vintage bar serves artisanal beers including Kick-Ass Brown and Espresso Stout. Warwick’s newly opened Baby Grand Café is another multitasker, combining an antiquarian book business with a coffeehouse music series, a gallery, and space for community events. Co-owner Ruth Siegel acknowledges that bookselling is “a dying business,” but waxes eloquent about the tactile pleasures of browsing and handling books, and the importance of reading. “Literature is about freedom of independent thought. Books have been banned and burned throughout history. It’s so important to be there, especially in this cultural climate,” says the new mother, who opened the store with her husband in spite of financial duress and a flood that decimated their stock. “A bookstore is just a positive place. It really is.” BOOKS 41

SHORT TAKES Face it: your friends’ coffee tables are already full. Why not choose a gift book that tickles the brain? Here are six geese a’laying.

THE EVOLUTIONARY MIND: CONVERSATIONS ON SCIENCE, IMAGINATION & SPIRIT

Counterpoint Books, 2005, $23.00

RUPERT SHELDRAKE, TERRENCE MCKENNA,

book, said Franz Kafka, should serve as an axe for the frozen sea within us. But New York City tax attorney Harbinger Singh wants the book he plans to write to be used in another way: as a tool of revenge upon the wife who’s left him. When he has trouble starting it, Harbinger turns to professional book doctor Arlette Rosen for help. Arlette’s clients all ask the same kinds of questions: Has it been said before? Do their characters have originality or depth or, even better, both? Are they alive? Will the book stay in print for more than a few weeks? Will everyone love them because they wrote it? Arlette is like an alcoholism counselor who drinks. Though she’s great at helping others create and polish books, she’s unable to write the novel stirring in her own heart. Finding time is part of the problem; she’s besieged by letters pitching projects like The Alzheimer’s Joke Book, Faggot Kike (a tale of a gay rabbi), and How to Make Love to a Man, a Woman, or Anything Else! She reads her favorite pleas to her emotionally constrained boyfriend Jake, and carefully files them, but she’s meticulous about selecting books to nurse. Arlette’s not quite sure why she agrees to work with Harbinger. He doesn’t seem very serious about his project, and she suspects he’s visiting her the way someone might visit a regular doctor for health. The two meet weekly to do writing exercises. Between-session assignments turn into a more personal correspondence and then, an increasingly intimate relationship. Free-spirited Harbinger gives Arlette new names—Haldora, Aretha, Yvette—and sings to her in public. Soon she’s singing back to him and wondering, why doesn’t my boyfriend sing? Why haven’t I sung before? Book Doctor’s setting is Woody Allen’s New York; characters dress in black, their default emotional setting is anxiety, and they speak and write in wry, declaratory outbursts. Though the story is occasionally streamed through other characters, it is Arlette’s determinedly unsentimental yet palpably sensitive viewpoint that prevails. Her feelings emerge most fluidly when she writes; written creation is almost another character here: the players discuss it, engage in it, and ponder it sagaciously, as in this letter to Harbinger, offering advice of value to any writer: “The point is not the book, but the writing. Once you are able to make writing a part of your life, and that isn’t easy, your life will be changed. I don’t mean in a big way necessarily. You won’t get another job or marry a different kind of woman, or walk to work down different streets. But once you let yourself begin to describe whatever you see, the process of seeing itself is altered. You have a way to put the pieces together, or pretend. The kind of writing you do doesn’t matter. Neither does its future.” Written expression is king in Arlette’s world. The characters seem to be writing even when they speak, which occasionally makes the book’s pace seem ponderous. But overall, this is a dryly humorous and tenderly observed tale, rich with insight into writer’s block and its related maladies, love and life block. Author Esther Cohen, a New York City resident with a weekend home in Greene County, once worked as a literary medic; at times her lead character seems to lack a comfortably fictional distance. But Book Doctor, Cohen’s second novel, will have special value to those who tinker with words, as will its conclusion: by the story’s end, Kafka’s axe has triumphed over Harbinger’s poison dart. Once again, the act of writing cleaves open everyone fortunate enough to come near it.

RALPH ABRAHAM MONKFISH, 2005, $16.95

Three very smart men with wide-open minds interact in this series of “trialogues,” highoctane mental jam sessions on chaos theory, human evolution, magic mushrooms, alternate intelligences, and the urgent need to reconnect spirituality and science.

THE THEORY OF OZ: REDISCOVERING THE AIMS OF EDUCATION HOWARD GOOD ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, 2005, $23.95

SUNY New Paltz professor of journalism Good weds the Ivory Tower to the Yellow Brick Road in a heavily footnoted book that challenges the primacy of standardized testing, urging teachers to frame education as a search for Brains, Heart, Courage, and Home.

DEADLY FARCE SIDNEY NORINSKY LLUMINA PRESS, 2005, $15.95

Rosendale author Sidney Norinsky sets his stinging political drama in 1956, “the coldest of Cold War years.” When the FBI recruits technical writer Max Karpilov to infiltrate the Communist party, his refusal sets off a series of professional and personal depth charges.

THE OCTOPUS CONSPIRACY AND OTHER VIGNETTES OF THE COUNTERCULTURE: FROM HIPPIES TO HIGH TIMES TO HIP HOP & BEYOND STEVEN HAGER TRINE DAY, 2005, $19.95

Woodstock resident and former High Times editor Hager made every scene in the ’60s, and not only remembers it, but describes it with passion and lucidity. On into the ’90s, he unmasks government cover-ups and celebrates hip hop, grass, and Rainbow gatherings.

GIRL STORIES & GAME PLAYS BETSY ROBINSON IUNIVERSE, 2005, $15.95

This diverse, lively, often hilarious anthology of female-centric fiction and short plays by award-winning novelist Robinson (Plan Z by Leslie Kove) includes the 2003 winner of Chronogram’s Fiction contest, “Jakey, Get Out of the Buggy.”

THE HISTORICAL ATLAS OF AMERICAN CRIME FRED ROSEN CHECKMARK BOOKS, 2005, $24.95

There’s someone on everyone’s gift list that wants to spend the sugarplum season reading about every crook from Baby Face Nelson to Wyatt Earp. True Crime guru Rosen starts with the Salem witch-hunt murders and spins a Who’s Who of American Bad.

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Book Doctor Esther Cohen

—Susan Krawitz CHRONOGRAM IS NOW PUBLISHING SHORT FICTION. SUBMIT YOUR STORY TODAY! GUIDELINES: WWW.CHRONOGRAM.COM/SUBMISSIONS. FICTION@CHRONOGRAM.COM / 314 WALL ST., KINGSTON, NY 12401

Kingston: City on the Hudson Alf Evers The Overlook Press, November, 2005, $37.95

n October 30, 2004, Mayor James Sottile of Kingston, New York, hosted a reception in honor of the upcoming publication of Alf Evers’s book Kingston: City on the Hudson. Evers, the region’s preeminent historian, took up his pen at the age of 86 to begin his 640-page history of the City of Kingston, completing it just before his death in 2004 at the age of 99. On hand to take part in the celebration were Overlook Press’s publisher Peter Mayer, distinguished poet/musician Ed Sanders, and crowds of Kingstonians and other lovers of regional history who had long awaited the publication of this important contribution to American history. To many, Alf Evers’s name is synonymous with the Catskills, and for good reason. In 1984, Evers wrote Catskills: From Wilderness to Woodstock, a seminal work about the importance of the region from the time of its earliest settlement through the original Woodstock Festival and beyond. This book was followed in 1995 by In Catskill Country: Collected Essays on Mountain History, Life and Lore, a collection of essays on a variety of subjects, including Kaaterskill Falls, the Ulster & Delaware Railroad, and steamboats on Halcottsville Pond. In 1997, Evers published Woodstock: History of an American Town, an up-close-and-personal look at that larger-than-life small town in Ulster County. Somewhere in between these books, the indefatigable Evers managed to find the time to research and write his last, and perhaps his most important work. With his Kingston history, Evers has written a great book about a great city. Although the book is not intended for scholars, the average reader may have trouble with what Ed Sanders, Evers’s amanuensis in the last years of Evers’s life, and himself a noted writer, describes as Evers’s “mature” style. The sentences are long, like a dozen train cars held together with commas and semi-colons; still, they are worth every bit of time it takes for the train to leave the station. Once the capital of New York State (a fact that still seems to surprise some of its residents) the City of Kingston has a surprisingly rich and deep history. Evers describes its prehistoric ice age era around 12,000 BCE, the struggles of the Esopus Native Americans with the early Dutch settlers, the further struggles of Dutch settlers with their British brethren, the success of the steamboat industry, the creation of the D&H Canal, the coming of the railroads, the rise of baseball and more, through the 20th century and into the 21st. Evers’s sympathy for the Esopus Native Americans and the rough treatment they received at the hands of early Dutch and British settlers, though indirect, is moving. Here, finally, is an American history that tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Evers relates these attitudes and incidents matter-of-factly, without fanfare or sensation, as a part of our cultural heritage. Kingston: City on the Hudson was fittingly published by Overlook Press, a distinguished literary publisher with roots in both Woodstock and another city on the Hudson, Manhattan. Perhaps the most striking thing about Evers’s book, besides his meticulous research and impressive breadth and depth of knowledge, is his prescience about the need for such a book at this time. The present and potential future of Kingston, the renewed Rondout waterfront, a keener awareness of the uptown Old Stockade area, restoration of the City’s 17th- and early 18th-century Dutch stone houses all point to a greater appreciation of more than 350 years of written European history, not to mention the oral traditions of generation upon generation of Native Americans before the coming of the white man. All this adds up to a proud—and sometimes ignominious—history that Kingstonians have a right to celebrate, honor, and use as a yardstick for the future. For his part, Alf Evers has taken his place alongside that other great chronicler of the Catskills, Roland Van Zandt, as one of the region’s most talented and revered historians. —Carolyn Bennett BOOKS 43

OUT & ALOUD

n eclectic sampling of upcoming literary events.

CURATED BY PHILLIP LEVINE. Send your events listings to outaloud@chronogram.com.

Mary Magdalene, A Biography Bruce Chilton Doubleday, 2005, $23.95

SATURDAY, 12/3 7:30PM Reading and book-signing by Tom Lewis for The Hudson: A History (Yale University Press); Oblong Books & Music, Rhinebeck. (845)876-0500; www.oblongbooks.com.

THURSDAY, 12/8, 7PM Poetry reading and open mike with Leslie Gerber & Dennis Bressack; The Hudson Valley Book Stop, Kings Mall, Kingston. Hosted by Teresa M. Costa. manxcat12491@yahoo.com; $2.

FRIDAY, 12/9 7:30PM Reading and book-signing by Richard G. Geldard, editor of The Essential Transcendentalists (Tarcher Penguin); Oblong Books & Music, Rhinebeck. (845)876-0500; www.oblongbooks.com.

FRIDAY, 12/9 7PM Poetry Reading and book-signing for Becoming, poems 20022005 by Christopher Porpora, a frequent contributor to Chronogram. Hudson Beach Glass, Beacon. (845)440-0068; www.hudsonbeachglass.com.

SATURDAY, 12/10, 2PM Woodstock Poetry Society: Susan Sindall, Barbara Elovic, Victoria Hallerman, poets & editors of Heliotrope (Vol #6). Poetry reading & open mike. Woodstock Town Hall. Hosted by Phillip Levine. www.woodstockpoetry.com.

SUNDAY, 12/11 9AM & 11AM The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Catskills presents: Phillip Levine, (yours truly), w/Meredith Levine in “Approximate Poet Falls in Love & Can’t Get Up” (a performance piece of movement and word tracing the overreaching arc of yearning). Universalist Unitarian Congregation of the Catskills, Kingston. (845) 331-2884.

SUNDAY, 12/11 2PM Author, Author benefit for the Stone Ridge Library at the Inn at Stone Ridge, with refreshments, readings, and booksignings by over 20 area authors including Barbara Bash, Laura Shaine Cunningham, Roger Kahn, and Nina Shengold. Stone Ridge Library, Stone Ridge. (845) 687-7023; www.stoneridgelibrary.org. $12.

SUNDAY, 12/11 2:30PM Reading and book-signing for author and illustrator Iza Trapani’s children’s book Jingle Bells (Charles Bridge); Oblong Books & Music, Rhinebeck. (845) 876-0500; www.oblongbooks.com.

SATURDAY, 12/10, 5PM Reading and book-signing for Alison Gaylin’s novel You Kill Me; Upstairs at Joshua’s, 51 Tinker St., Woodstock. Info: Golden Notebook: (845) 679-8000; www.goldennotebook.com.

SUNDAY, 12/18 3PM Reading and book-signing for Simone Felice’s novel Hail Mary Full of Holes; Kleinert/James Gallery, Woodstock. Info: Golden Notebook: (845) 679-8000, www.goldennotebook.com.

EVERY MONDAY, 7PM Spoken Word Open Mike: Poetry/Prose/Performance w/features. 12/5 Victoria Sullivan, Baron James Ashanti; 12/12 Susan Hoover w/Sera Smolen; Patricia Martin w/Gus Mancini; 12/19 Mikhail Horowitz, Donald Lev. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. (845) 679-5342; pprod@mindspring.com. Hosted by Phillip Levine. $3.

44 BOOKS

ard professor Bruce Chilton loves giving guided tours of the faraway times and places that birthed modern religious tradition. What he reveals is often surprising and never dogmatic. Like any good investigator, the author of Rabbi Jesus and Rabbi Paul simply lays the evidence before his readers instead of telling them what to think. Mary Magdalene: A Biography takes on a timely bit of ancient history indeed. Females in positions of influence—from Condoleezza Rice to Martha Stewart, Hillary Clinton to Oprah Winfrey—have never been more evident. The idea that there was a woman in a position of influence in Christianity’s newborn period, before the religion was even named, is intriguing. Who was Mary to Jesus, and he to her? Leaving aside questions that no one presently incarnate can reliably answer, Chilton presents them as spiritual colleagues. There were, he tells us, more than a dozen apostles in any case, and many sources for the oral history that was to become, a generation after the Crucifixion, the New Testament. And as Christianity evolved, a fair amount of editing took place. Mary’s role, however, was too crucial to be completely expunged: she was, the stories tell us, the first to be aware of the Resurrection. When the gal from Magdala met the guy from Nazareth, she had a big problem: a tough case of possession. Later revisionists have presented her as a former prostitute, and medieval historians portrayed her as wealthy and spoiled, but Chilton points out that Magdala was a simple fishing village, not an early metropolis, and that any woman still unwed in her twenties bore a stigma. Women, back in the day, were meant to be handed over from father to husband somewhere around puberty. It apparently took Jesus about a year to rid Mary of her unclean spirits (a timeframe that a modern therapist might envy), and during this time and after she evidenced a talent for spiritual good works as potent as her problems had been. She was to walk beside Jesus as a student, companion, healer, and anointer. “Mary Magdalene approached the right rabbi when she sought out Jesus,” Chilton observes. “He reveled in his reputation for consorting with allegedly loose women (the word loose being applicable to any woman who did not bear her husband’s or father’s name, or some other token of male protection.)” In Capernaum, where people gathered to hear an extraordinary rabbi speak about how a God of love and mercy could change the world, Mary was a part of the inner circle. Though there is no definitive evidence to prove or disprove the speculation that they were lovers, it is reliably reported that they did seem to kiss quite a bit. Uncovering women’s roles in ancient times is tough detective work, not least because of political revisionism. “By getting the converted Magdalene away from her mirror, out of bed, and into postures of penitential prayer, proponents of a Christian piety during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance provided a powerful model for appropriate feminine behavior,” Chilton observes. The association of her name with repentance and self-abnegation was more useful than recognition of her as a practitioner of exorcism, healing, and anointment in her own right. The Gnostics kept more of Mary’s contribution intact, connecting her tradition to that of Sophia, goddess of wisdom. (The Gnostics were forever being accused of encouraging orgies or worse, demonstrating that scare talk about the competition is hardly a new tactic in pulpit or politics.) How Christianity and the world got from there to here is a fascinating mystery, and it’s great fun to follow Chilton as he ventures out to shine a beam of neutral scholarship into the corners. —Anne Pyburn

BOOKS 45

MON - SAT 11:30 - 7:30,

46 BOOKS

Tetched: A Novel in Fractals Thaddeus Rutkowski Behler Publications, 2005, $13.95

haddeus Rutkowski’s experimental second novel, Tetched: A Novel in Fractals, provoked a telling remark from a writer friend suffering from creative blockage. After reading a few of the novel’s “fractals”—chapters composed of several paragraph-sized vignettes—he said in a puzzled, awed tone, “This is just like my journal—but it works as a book.” True, Tetched reads like journal entries written in the thick of things (not, as in most journal-style books, which are written obviously after the fact, with the luxury of having processed and judged the reported events). But don’t let Tetched’s fits-and-starts fragments fool you. Rutkowski’s novel has the depth and complexity required to engage the reader utterly in a seamless, forwardmoving narrative. Fractals are, after all, repeating geometric forms hat have complex and often changing shapes, such as clouds. Or dysfunctional families. Rutkowski successfully navigates his narrator’s strange childhood by using 38 literary fractals, each of which is evocatively titled (“Woman with Breast,” “Peculiar Needs”) and could stand alone as flash fiction or one-act play. His paragraphs are written like film script scenes, with implied fade-in and fade-out, which are in turn composed of sentences that are tiny, no-frills portraits (“Her former boyfriend stared at the marks and said, ‘My God!’”). The novel’s quirky title is key to both its structure and subjects. This spare, edgy bildungsroman opens with a dictionary definition of the adjective it takes as its title: “somewhat unbalanced mentally; touched.” With an alcoholic, ex-military, failed-artist, stay-at-home father prone to anger and occasional demands for pushups so that his oldest son won’t turn into a “sissy,” and a Confucian Chinese breadwinner-mother given to sudden, inexplicable commands like tasting one’s own urine (“This is Eastern urology!”), the narrator—who is not even named until the 33rd chapter—has a lot of trouble fitting into the world. His gym teacher calls him Mouse; his father advises him to marry an Asian woman or “wring your hands and become a fairy;” his little sister says she always thought she’d grow up to marry a man who looked like him, until she realized no man does. If the narrator is “touched,” it’s because nobody—save for the boy he plays “primary care physician” with or the neighbor kid who uses a failed shop class project to administer shock treatment—touches him at all as a child. Nonetheless, as we all eventually do, the narrator finds himself grown up: in college, hitching across the country, then living in the city and trying to be a writer. He seeks physical and emotional connection through the most desperate, forceful means: sadomasochism. In darkly comic prose reminiscent of Lorrie Moore and reporting so full of factual detail it’s almost literary by default (“I was sure that this person and I could build something together. We could interface in a torturous environment”), Rutkowski’s narrator tries to “get ropey” with several women and discovers how “tetched” he really is. Alone more than “hitched,” he realizes absence is as devastating a loss as forfeiture. Yet there are moments of hilarity and beauty throughout the book, bright glimmers of the underside of bleak despair. At an artists’ colony, a composer who “liked to vacuum objects with his mouth,” advises the narrator, “Learn to be a bubble blower or a rubber hose.” Finally, after years alone, a woman who can match wits with him locks her arms around his neck and says, “Now you’re stuck with me.” When he tells her, “Please don’t give me any static,” she answers, “Cling...I’ll give you static cling.” In the end, their child lights up so much from her father’s joking that she grins and covers her eyes every time he asks her, “What’s happening?” Rutkowski, who shares his narrator’s biracial heritage, has taught at the Hudson Valley Writers Center and has been published in local literary journals. His first novel, Roughhouse was a finalist for an Asian American Literary Award. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and daughter. The message of Tetched, he recently told interviewer Mickey Z., “is obvious, though it isn’t simple. I’m saying, among other things, that behavior patterns don’t go away quickly, so you “best think hard before you go setting patterns.” —Susan Piperato BOOKS 47

Fiction

BY KAREN UNGER ILLUSTRATIONS BY VLADIMIR ZIMAKOV

eep within the hearts of cottonwood trees sleep old souls. Nestled in the sapwood, fluff balls of kapok twined around thick veins form their soft refuges. Rains tear at the branches. The winds of the harmattan shrivel the cottonwoods’ long-rooted toes. The crack of a fighter plane and the rumble of an army convoy shiver their leaves. But the souls rest, dreaming. I am the one who knows their dreams. I put their dreams in my songs.

Once I sang songs of my own dreams. Famous among the Kru, the Grebo, the Krahn, the Bassa, the Vai, even the Fanti fishermen sang my songs as their narrow canoes broke through the reefs to the ocean. Their voices would rise high above the noise of the tides and the whistles of the dolphins as they cast their nets and the fish would come, tuna and shark and mackerel, distending the nets so that the cod, attracted from the remote depths, would need to jump into the boats to hear the beauty of the music. Their fish dreams would swell the songs and the Fanti would shout, “Ayi, Aye,” and turn their boats to shore, where the women had set up the flat stones and wooden frames ready to smoke the fish, and as the smoke drifted upward, the tangled branches of the cottonwoods would gather their piscean souls to join their ancestors, floating in sleep. While I was a tiny fish like being myself, floating in my mother’s womb, I would hear the rhythms of her mahogany mortar crush the cassava into fu-fu. She would sing with the rhythm of the pestle, a song that would turn the tubers into thick paste. I would rock in her rhythm and send my songs up through her body until she could sing notes so high and brilliant that the village would hush. The men would turn from thatching the hut roofs or brewing the palm wine and listen. Green mamba snakes would coil themselves around the branches of the cottonwoods guarding the palaver hut and sway to her music. She would pound faster and faster and sing higher and higher until the 48 FICTION

monkeys would flee into the thickest parts of the forest and the village dogs would burrow themselves under the huts and the children would dance around and around in circles until they fell to the ground and she, sweat drenching the ground under her into mud, would collapse senseless over the mortar. Her sisters would carry her into her hut to rest and the juju men would gather up the mud and form little clay dolls for childbirth magic. The midwives would place their ears against my mother’s belly to hear me humming. When the humming grew loud enough to be heard across the hut, the midwives decided it was time to break the threads that bound my mother’s labia and crack the scar tissue from her circumcision. The midwife most skilled with a knife made a quick cut, but the blood still gushed and my mother still screamed with the agony of the fresh wound. I was silent. I couldn’t move. A bony arm invaded my moist place and hooked a finger around my ankle and dragged me out as my mother’s shrieks made bats fly in the daytime. I didn’t speak a word until I was nine years old. A missionary had built a whitewashed church on the ridge above the village and a small two-room whitewashed house next door. He was a red-haired man with brown skin and blue eyes and a pentecostal way of speaking. Every word boomed out of him with force and energy. In the hottest of days, he had a white collar and black shirt and black jacket and pants and thick black shoes. He had a house boy from the village who did his washing in huge enamel pots and we would see black clothing hanging from the line behind his house at all times. He would preach loud sermons about possession by devils and stare down at me and my mother on our third-row bench. He was fascinated by me. “Jesus wrestled with the devil—Praise the Lord—He wrestled with Beelzebub—that caster of spells—the enemy of the true Christ—the weaver of magic who gathers souls to take with him into his inferno of eternal hellfire. Yes, I’m telling you, Jesus, yes, Jesus, the Son of God himself, would wrestle that old devil until he had him on his knees, begging for mercy, and Jesus would not give Satan mercy, no he wouldn’t, Praise the Lord, Blessed Be His Name, because that old Trickster shows no mercy to the Lord’s People, but tempts them

and even possesses them and casts all sorts of afflictions upon them. Come unto Me, He said, and Ye shall be healed. Come Unto Me—Come Forward—and Ye Shall be Healed and Washed in the Righteousness of the Lord.” At this point of the sermon, he would be leaning so far forward that his spit would land on my mother’s braids and glisten there like small jewels of salvation, but we never went forward and I never spoke. He came to visit my mother in our hut. The juju men in the village were very angry. “Why do you provide him with courtesy?” they surrounded my mother. “Why do you serve him tea and give him biscuits? “ My mother would stand very tall and straight and stare at them. “My son could sing while he was still in my womb. He has not forgotten his songs. This man may help—he may not. But I will not shut the door on him. But you, I know you think my son will never grow to manhood. I see you look at him when the cassava grows poorly or the rains come late. Women know why some boys never return from hunting for the softly-softly in the deep forests.” The juju men would leave, but they would mutter whenever the missionary entered our hut. I would sit between my mother’s feet and play with her brass anklets and listen to the two of them argue about me. “Let me pull the devil from inside him. Let me pray over him. He will speak and his first words will be, Praise the Lord.” “He is listening. He is gathering in the music of the rice birds in the morning and the small wind in the mangoes at sunset. He will speak when he is ready and he will sing.” “He is possessed. Jesus unstopped the tongues of the dumb. Let me loosen his tongue. Let me save him. Give him to me and he can live in the Lord’s house.” “He will never leave me. I drained my heart and liver giving birth to him. He will not leave.” “His father was probably the devil himself. He came to you in the night and tempted you, for women are weak and easily led astray. Did you smell the brimstone and smoke he carries in his hairy back? Did you feel his goatish muscles against your thighs? Did you cry as his metallic hooves scarred you?”

“His father was a Fanti fisherman lost in a typhoon. Forty men never came back and we can still hear their cries when the wind blows from the sea.” “They cry because they were not washed in the blood of the Lamb.” “They cry because they loved life and mourn their unborn children.” Their palaver continued until the day I entered the whitewashed church and saw a large crate, with the word “Hammond” stamped on its side. “Come here, boy, come here and help me with this thing,” cried the missionary, a crowbar in his hand, and I added my small-boy strength to his and we were enough to split the wood. Small curls of sawdust flew through the air of the church as we uncovered a polished wooden object. “ Do you know what this is? Have you ever seen anything like this? Left to me in a will, it was. A righteous woman, bless her soul, to help convert the heathen—do it with music so the angels can bend their ears closer to this lonely spot—and cover us with their graces—a pump organ. And you know what’s so funny, boy, what’s the rub of it all? I’m tone deaf—you could be singing the tune to ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ or ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ and I couldn’t tell the difference. Can’t play a note—and in this humidity, the wood’ll rot before it ever plays a note. See, you press these with your feet and touch these keys—it is a beauty—better than what we had in Ephrata—still, clothing or Bibles or schoolbooks—or tools or a ham radio—all of those would’ve been a sight more useful. But, here it is...you want to try it? Can’t see what’s the harm.” So, I put my very dark fingers against the sand-white keys and what I heard was the sounds of the bulbul bird along the Dugbe River and mother elephants calling for their children playing in the Grebo Forest and the waters of the St. John Falls after the rainy season and the bamboos shrieking in the makore trees at the yellow-eyed leopard on the forest floor. The python spoke through me with his narrow tongue, and the palmnut vulture perched in a spoke of an umbrella tree, and the crocodile rose above Jubo Creek and stretched his spiky mouth and begged me to sing his songs. I played as the missionary ran to the village, shouting my mother’s name. I played as my people abandoned the swamp rice and yam fields. The village chief and his wives and the juju men and the people of the village filled the whitewashed church and listened to my song. FICTION 49

Three lepers watched their feet grow toes and Kwame Peter’s face, so scarred with smallpox pits that his eyes were the only sorrowless things in it, became as smooth as ebony wood. Barren women, tossed aside for younger wives, saw their bellies swell, and my mother sobbed and the missionary danced. “Thank You, Thank You, Jesus, for allowing me to witness Your wondrous ways.” My fame spread throughout the country. The missionary built a larger church with 40 villagers forming a church choir. The village expanded and became a town with a poured-concrete two-story green-painted government office building. The village chief became town mayor and his brother the chief of police and his oldest son the collector of taxes and his daughter the town clerk in charge of all licenses and permits and contracts and other money matters. The state senator built a plantation house on the edges of the town and donated a stained-glass window modeled after one in a famous French cathedral to the missionary’s church. I played the organ every Sunday at four

services, and even with four services the missionary had needed to hook up a simple loudspeaker system so that those who squatted in the dust outside could hear. My mother would not leave her thatched hut so I built a small plaster house next door and gave music lessons to the small children. They surrounded me from the moment I stepped outside to fetch my morning water from the well to the time I turned the key of the kerosene lamp at night. I gave my music lessons under the branches of the village cottonwoods, praising the spirits resting inside, softening their sleep with pleasing melodies, as on Sundays I praised Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The juju men, who made most of their money selling small cures for the many diseases of the village, were furious. They were cunning and waited to see if the magic of my music would cease. But, as I sang, I became stronger. All that I named became part of me, so I, myself, became a cottonwood. Cassava fish swam in my veins and the softly-softly curled up in my heart. The pygmy hippopotamus was my liver and the water buffalo my stomach. My penis was the black python and my fingers formed of mangrove trees. My music was the harmony of this place. It was of this place as I was of this place and it could not live beyond this place. But who knew that very thing except those whose own hearts could harbor a softly-softly? Who could believe? The cleverest of the juju men went to the state senator. The senator came to town one month a year to check that his overseer and the town mayor were only stealing what was reasonable from his accounts. The senator left his country wife to watch 50 FICTION

over his 13 country children. Only five were hers. He felt more comfortable with his city wife, a woman who never wore country cloth or braided her hair, a woman who could speak English and French and who had a degree from an American university, as he himself did. His country wife cooked him peanut soup and cassava greens and palmnut stew and annoyed him with her constant chewing on kola nuts and her hardened bare feet and her rough Bakwe accent. He was sitting on his porch, swatting at the termites hovering near his electric lights, blowing out the smoke from his Cuban cigar to keep them away from his face when the juju men approached him. “Who is that who approaches me without calling out his name?” the senator shouted. “I have five guards with rifles in my compound and seven hungry dogs.” “Please, your Excellency, your most honorable self, it is just us, the juju men from the village, who beg most humbly to speak with you on a matter that could only bring you wealth and fame beyond your dreams.” The senator was no greedier than other senators of his small country, no more gullible, no more venial; in other words, he was insatiable. “Come forward and tell me of this matter. But, do not waste the time of important men with small things or it will go badly for all of you,” he said. The juju men spoke softly in his ears. I was sleeping in the plaster house next to my mother’s and did not hear the juju men enter my bedroom and drop, into my open mouth, the poison they distill from the cassava snake, which numbs the body but leaves the brain wakeful and aware. My mother did not awake when they carried me past her house and past the rice fields and into the elephant grass to the mangrove swamp bordering the sea. The cottonwood trees shook their leaves at us as we passed. Bats flew overhead and crickets trilled from the fields but the village slept. The state senator and the town mayor and his brother and the juju men were circling a small fire burning in the swamp clearing. As the numbness wore off, I felt the liana vines that tied me scrape my ankles and wrists and I felt the fire ants crawl into my ears and my eyes and bite and burrow with stinging pain. The juju men were passing palm wine in a gourd and chanting in a language older than Bakwe and I saw the senator sway and his eyes narrow until he looked like the mongoose that peers from the dead leaves of the forest. I saw the oldest juju man raise a knife made of bone and ivory and I heard the weeping of the elephant over the carcass of her wrinkled lover, slain for tusks and teeth, and I felt the tearing, evil pain as my liver was wrenched from my body, purple with blood, dripping into the mouth of the brother of the mayor, and snot ran from my nose and thin gruel-like bile dribbled from my mouth as my manhood was wrenched from its hiding place and sawed off my body, shredded and stained, stuffed into the mayor’s mouth as he gagged it down his gullet and I started to sing, higher and higher my song rose, above the trees, and I could hear the bats bark, “Brother we hear you, have courage” and the leopards cried, “Be brave” and the liana vines holding my wrists loosened and the fire ants trilled, “Hang on” and the juju man pierced my tongue with his little finger with its long, curved nail and grasped my tongue by this hole and ripped it out of my mouth and still I sang as he chewed on my tongue and then he raised his knife for the last time and cracked my ribs and pulled them open, splitting the skin to bare my still-beating heart and the senator squeezed my heart in his filthy hand, as the juju man carved the veins and arteries and sinew that held it to my body and with each cut, I sang a new song, each more glorious and vivid. My songs became the dreams of all who slept and freed the sleepers from their pains. The senator ate my heart while it still beat, sucking at its muscular core, and only when he had swallowed the last blood-filled morsel did they no longer hear my song. “Will I become the ambassador to France?” he asked the juju men. “Will I become the senator?” asked the mayor. “Will I become the mayor?” asked the mayor’s brother. “There is no more powerful magic in the world,” answered the juju men. And they left my carcass in the mangrove swamp to be discovered by my mother. The missionary buried my body behind his church and burned the organ as part of the village funeral pyre. My mother planted a cottonwood on the grave. Its roots grabbed my bones and drew them up to sprout as knobby branches and used my hair to weave its kapok nests. My skin became its leathery leaves and my heart was reborn in its pithy core. I grew taller than the church in three months and soon could be seen in neighboring Bong and Nimba counties. The president of the country himself watched as the senator and mayor and mayor’s brother and the juju men were hanged from my femur branch for my murder. My mother watched as they were eviscerated and shown their own entrails before their eyes closed in death. And still I grew with the cottonwood and people of the village rested under its branches and would drift into sleep as I sang for them my songs and all the songs of those who had become a part of me, the very strongest magic, and who now lived with me within the heart of the cottonwood. Karen Unger, A former Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa, lives in Millbrook.

CHRONOGRAM PARTY 2005

Thanks to all our readers who joined us on November 16 at the Steel House in Kingston for a great night, celebrating Chronogram’s 12th birthday. Sorry for the crappy weather. (Looking toward next year, we’re consulting the Farmer’s Almanac and we hope to coincide the event with either a blizzard or a plague of frogs.) It looked like all of us had a smashing time schmoozing, grooving with DJ Dave Leonard, and enjoying a few alcoholfueled libations. Thank you for supporting our ongoing project in community-based, independent publishing. We couldn’t do it without you.

CAPTIONS:

(1) HRANA JANTO ROCKS THE DANCE FLOOR (2) AJAX GREENE, BUD CLARKE, AND PUBLISHER JASON STERN (3) DJ WAVY DAVY (4) ART COLUMNIST BETH E. WILSON, PATRICK DECKER, AND STEPHAN HENGST (5) OWEN HARVEY AND BETH E. WILSON (6) MARKETING DIRECTOR TAMARA ZIPPERLE, JESSICA BARRY, AND PRODUCTION DIRECTOR YULIYA ZARUBINA-BRILL (7) PILAR OTTO AND JAMES SCHUBERT (8) UPSTATE HOUSE ART DIRECTOR LINDA BELL HALL AND UPSTATE HOUSE EDITOR JIM ANDREWS (9) REBECCA ZILINSKI (WITH DRINK) AND TAMARA ZIPPERLE (10) UNIDENTIFIED DANCERS (11) NEWS & POLITICS EDITOR LORNA TYCHOSTUP AND AFGHAN CORRESPONDENT VANNI CAPPELLI PHOTOS BY HILLARY HARVEY

FICTION 51

POETRY Kneeling

EDITED BY PHILLIP LEVINE. You can submit up to three poems to Chronogram at a time. Send ‘em if you got ‘em, either via snail-

mail or e-mail. Deadline: December 10. 314 Wall St., Kingston, NY 12401. E-mail: poetry@chronogram.com. Subject: Poetry.

To Bleed

Thread Here, take this thread.

Whenever mother kneeled to scrub the floor, my sister screamed in terror. Not a protest, mind you, but a tantrum that nothing could appease. The psychiatrist said she might have feared that mother’s lower legs had disappeared. So we reminded ourselves always to stoop or bend, and never to drop down spontaneously in the attitude of prayer. Thus, we made it through Antietam without incident, lulling into complacency at Gettysburg, until, in the darkness of the wax museum, we approached the amputation scene, Clara Barton tending, with soaked bandages, to the bite of the bone saw just below the soldier’s knee. Don’t kneel, my sister screamed at Clara, reaching forward to grab her, don’t kneel, get up, get up! She’s not real, we kept insisting, can’t you see? Finally mother led her away. I didn’t turn to look, but felt the tourists staring behind me, as I bounced my body against the exhibit’s railing in the rhythm of shame.

Fresh, spurts this open wound rubbed raw and rushed in pain each week anew.

Consider it, caress it Run it through your fingers

To awake is to bleed.

This back and forth will weave a world We can do this

The levied flood releases in bursts then yawns then tears with pulse tepid rivers spring forth. To listen is to bleed. All the world splattering in painted murky hues with some sad song’s sappy dolor drip. To recall is to bleed. Placid visions warped by the viscid dark flow that bends your face upon ruby rippled waves. To create is to bleed To drop by drop taint page and slice deep into the sage-root verse ever sharper, this pen. —Craig R Berger

—Al Desetta

Ode to Darwin The Nature of Things

If you finally wish Thread it through your single eye, Hand me back the end and I will do the same.

“It is the nature of things,” he said, knowing it is the nature of things to let such sweeping statements pass unquestioned. It is the nature of things.

Little creatures from the sea Came to land and up a tree It isn’t hard for me to see That in some time they became ...... me

—Matthew J. Spireng

—C. Michael Bufi

This mystic stitch, this slender line that runs from me to you and back again We live along its length. —p

Dancing Fathers In the old film, transferred from DVD, of my brother’s bar mitzvah reception, we’re all in tuxedos, us Gardner men, even 4-year-old me, cuter than ever with my curly hair and a black bowtie. Maybe it’s from Seagram’s, but my father smiles as he dances with me—he holds my hands and we stomp around and around. The film is silent but I remember the band playing that year’s hit, “Papa, Won’t You Dance With Me?” In the show it’s from, “High Button Shoes,” Papa’s what the leading lady calls her husband; no one would have known that, hearing the peppy tune we danced to as we circled the floor of the social hall, formal dudes cutting loose. It’s likely enough that Theodore Roethke based his famous poem on his own drunken papa clutching him tight in a waltz through the kitchen. And a novelist, James Brown—not the singer and not white anyway—wrote of his boozing dad, as Patsy Cline sang “Crazy” on a reel-to-reel: I let him take my hands and guide me across the cracked and yellowed linoleum... Who would imagine that—so many fathers dancing with their little sons! I remember, or think I remember, holding my young son and moving rhythmic and joyful to something on the stereo. Maybe I’d been drinking. There we’ve been, like Hasids, like Greek men in the tavernas, fathers and sons, dancing—dancing—dancing till time spun us apart and silenced the music. —Lewis Gardner

52 POETRY

Flower of the Moon Sage, Nettles, and Lavender all grow in the garden next to my barn. We call this garden, the Goddess Garden because of the beauty of the main focal point. The area of interest is a flower called the Moonflower. This majestical plant is located in the center of the other herbs. Its leaves and sepals emit a bright purple, dark green, black, and the flower is untainted white. The moonflower contains lunar properties within the plants DNA that arouse during the night. On a chemical level, this phenomenon can only be described as verbose. There are so many words to describe this process, but actually being, seeing, and smelling the moonflower open is beyond this world. As the moonlight shines, the protective layer surrounding the flower begins to quake the garden with the feeling of rebirth. As the flower slowly stretches its sepal and breathes in the nighttime sky, a smell pours out of its petals flooding the air. One smell of this and a natural love floats through the third eye. Nature’s device of lovemaking is pinpointed to this moment of pure wonder. Nocturnal flowers dawn a refreshing comfort to the dark. Although the flower still breathes on sun, dirt, water, and love just like all other plants. Its precious jewel lies in the pollen. Bees cannot keep their salivating tongues off this warm, white jewel. —Jacob Eisman

Hooding Ceremony “…and Candace plans to attend Michigan State Law school In the fall,” says the Mrs. Dr. Meyer, While the mothers murmur low, harmonious “oohs.” “…and David will begin seminary at Princeton To earn his Divinity,” she continues. He’s a boy, so all the fathers grunt approval Or gruffly remark, “Very good.” “Elizabeth is going to Japan to teach English,” she says with a grin, “and Roger is moving to London to write.” No shit, I think to myself, that is pretty God-damn impressive. My turn soon arrives and I throw my chest out. “After he graduates,” reads the Mrs. Dr. Meyer slowly, As if searching for a pot of gold beneath my colorless words, He plans to—” she pauses, looking up incredulously, “He plans to stock produce at Natural Bliss Organic Foods.” I have triumphed.

The Young Poet Calls From a Psyche Ward in Binghamton Hauled in by police, he battled the bed sheets, deflected like a goalie the doctor’s attempt. His rapid words skittered lost into thick fog, could not be called home Concern wound close around him; plane rides phone calls, someone placed their cool palm against his cheek, smoothed his revolution hair Days later he woke from this jagged rock dream, began nodding to doctors believably, swallowed advice like clockwork began to speak in thoughts whole as apples Soon, he’ll climb into his mother’s car, drive south from the city that tangled him. This precipice summer he might watch all day TV, lie down under khaki blankets pulled up to his tearless eyes. He might learn to swim clean dripping strokes, his body sluicing through sunlight on water. Or he might pace like a maze these sweltering sidewalks, shout verses into the hot tar streets that will never embrace him

—Ralph Hubbell —Carol Graser

POETRY 53

Food

Sipping With the Sommelier Finn Anson of the Emerson at Woodstock

text & photos by jennifer may

o the novice wine drinker on a budget, no one is more feared than the sommelier at a stylish restaurant. This is the person you expect to frown when you order the least expensive bottle of wine, and the person who will later terrorize you by offering a fraction of a glass of that cheap bottle, while he stands by, ostensibly awaiting your approval. But despite the formal exterior and unpronounceable title, not all sommeliers are creatures of intimidation. Finn Anson, wine steward for the Emerson at Woodstock, is the kind of person people fall in love with. Single and married women of all ages adore him, as do the men who accompany them. Warm hearted and generous, he welcomes anyone into his wine-drenched world, and makes even a neophyte oenophile feel as if he or she belongs. An Irish citizen who was raised outside London, Anson, 37, recently lived for several years with his wife in the Dordogne region of France, an area that attracts poets, artists, and inspirationists—as well as epicureans who come for its food and wine. A few years ago, an influential member of the wine trade imported Anson to America, and he eventually moved to the Hudson Valley with his wife and two children. Anson has toiled in the mud pruning vines in a monastery’s vineyard, is schooled in the science of viticulture, has been wine director for a famous wine-producing estate, and has learned his craft—sip by sip—from some of the world’s finest collections. He istext a friend&to photos bishops, barons, bymonks, jennifer and peasants, mayand if anyone can inspire a person to soar beyond their fears, and to begin an education—its him. “Wine does not have to be expensive to be good,” says Anson, breaking down the fundamental myth that quality wining does not permit budgeting. “On the contrary, some very expensive wines are not particularly good.” 54 FOOD

Indeed, the finest wine Anson ever tasted was a non-vintage made from grapes so young that they never should have been harvested: “But it was a fantastic wine,” he says. However, ask Anson to describe his most memorable wine, and he will fairly faint upon recalling his experience with a vintage from an ancient barrel in a Spanish cellar, dating back to 1789, the year of the French Revolution. Anson will blush and stutter as he tries to describe the taste. The words I can make out, through his bubbling British accent, tell of an experience that sent him “elsewhere.” It’s not just Anson’s accent that keeps me from understanding; there is a language of scent, sight, and emotion in which wine aficionados speak. French, Italian, and Spanish words roll off their tongues, and they refer to palate, texture, and tannins. To help in understanding, there are books to read, videos to watch, tastings to attend, and most importantly—there are many different people to speak with. Ask Carol Matthews, manager of Hurley Ridge Wines & Spirits, what the first step is to understanding wine, and she will answer: “Honey, you should taste a wine with all your senses.” If you catch her on a day when sales representatives are offering their wares, she will demonstrate the tasting procedure. Before her first sip, she prepares her palate by holding the glass to eye level and looking closely at its color. Then she plunges her nose below the rim and smells quick and deep. These steps reveal clues to a wine’s character. A swirl unlocks aromas, and the sheets of liquid which then drip slowly down the inside of a glass expose the body. “Fat legs are a good thing in wine,” Matthews says with a laugh. (“Legs” are the beads of wine that adhere to the side of the glass after it is swirled; “fat legs” indicate high alcohol content.)

OPPOSITE: FINN ANSON, SOMMELIER OF THE EMERSON AT WOODSTOCK, DEMONSTRATES THE PROPER TECHNIQUE FOR APPRECIATING A WINE’S BOUQUET.

So much of taste is aromatic recognition, and linking scents with words can be a challenge. In a group, people sip and announce their perceptions, and someone’s mention of a specific smell will clue another taster into recognizing what they can’t place. To assist wine connoisseurs, whatever their level of understanding, Anson has begun thematic wine events at the Emerson. At a recent two-hour tasting, he poured six wines he had chosen to illustrate historical points. One was made by a monastery in northern Italy that has been making wine since the 1100s. Another was pressed out of sun-dried grapes; we sipped this sweet, brownish, raisin-scented elixir, admired its ‘fat legs,’ and traveled back in time as Anson read a passage from Homer’s Odyssey. As a wine director, Anson has no desire to terrorize his guests. And when I admitted to him that, in my experience, ignorance begets terror, he was puzzled over the information for days—the thought had never occurred to him that someone could fear so intensely the bearer of libation. In fact, he says the trial sip he pours into your glass is not for you to determine spoilage, or the presence of “cork.” Anson knows every bottle he pours is fresh because after he presents it he carries it back to the wine room where he opens it and tastes a tiny fraction. Rather, the customer’s sip, the approval, and the transfer of the liquid into a decanter are all part of a ritual that Anson adores. Anson does realize that, to many, the appreciation of wine seems to be an elitist pursuit. He disagrees with this idea whole-heartedly, and while he appreciates the finest qualities of the very best wines (as only someone who has tasted 50,000 wines can), he reminds us to look where credit is due: “Wine is made by the common man, I don’t care who says the contrary. Most wine makers are farmers.”

Most nights, Anson moves from table to table at the Emerson, asking diners their impression of a wine, or suggesting another he feels they might find exciting. Every night before the doors are opened, he clusters the staff around a table to taste the wine of the evening—something special he has chosen to offer by the glass that is usually only available by the bottle. Anson asks each person what he or she senses, and he describes his own impressions. Chef de cuisine Jessica Winchell joins the tasters and suggests the menu items she thinks the wine would best suit. It’s one thing to feel like an insider when Anson is transporting you to sunny vineyards on French hillsides through his florid descriptions as you sip—but how to renew that feeling later, in less-forgiving company? “Begin by awakening your palate by training your nose to be aware of smells,” says Anson. From the pleasant bursts of citrus orange peel, to spicy floral, to pencil shavings, these will become your tools when struggling to describe the mysteries of the fermented grape. And, whether you prefer an inexpensive bottle of brand name wine, or swoon over the rarest vintage, people who know and love wine agree that, above all, you should drink it because it gives you pleasure. In her store, surrounded by salesmen awaiting her opinion, Carol Matthews swirls a burgundy-colored liquid in her glass: “I learned a long time ago, when I first got into the industry, that there’s a serious mystique surrounding wine. The bottom line is, wine is for drinking, it’s not for worship. Although, if you want to worship, go to the hilt.” December wnie events at the Emerson include: The Wines of the Pacific North West, Holiday Suggestions, and A Tasting of Grape Varietals. For details, e-mail Finn Anson at fanson@emersonplace.com, or phone the Emerson at Woodstock at (845) 679-7500. FOOD 55

56 FOOD

tastings directory BAKERIES

RESTAURANTS

The Alternative Baker

23 Broadway

“The Village Baker of the Rondout.” 100% Scratch Bakery. Stickybuns, Scones, Muffins, Breads, Focaccia, Tartes, Tortes, Seasonal Desserts featuring local produce, plus Sugar-free, Wheat-free, Dairy-free, Vegan, Gluten-free, and Organic Treats! Cakes and Wedding Cakes by Special Order. We ship our Lemon Cakes nationwide, $30 2-pound bundts. Open ThursdayMonday 8am-6pm; Sunday 8am-4pm. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Well Worth The Trip! 35 Broadway, at the historic waterfront district, Kingston. (845) 331-5517 or (800) 399-3589. www.lemoncakes.com.

A wine-friendly bistro with creative Mediterranean cuisine. Chef Rich Reeve has developed a menu featuring Spanish tapas, fine steaks, fresh seafood and pastas. In a restored historic building with exposed brick walls, brasstop bar, and a glass-enclosed, temperature-controlled wine room. This is a casual, cool spot with big, bright, bold flavors, Zagat rated, and a CIA destination restaurant (SoHo and Kingston). Dinner Wednesday through Sunday; Brunch Sunday. www.23broadway.com, 23 Broadway, Kingston. (845) 339-2322.

CATERING Blue Mountain Bistro Catering Co. On and off-premise catering. Sophisticated Zagat-rated food and atmosphere in a rustic country setting - wide plank floors, rough hewn beams and a stunning zinc bar. Chef-owner Erickson’s Mediterranean cuisine has garnered praise from Gourmet and New York Magazines to Hudson Valley Magazine (Best Tapas in the Hudson Valley 2004). 1633 Glasco Turnpike, Woodstock, NY 12498. www.bluemountainbistro.com. (845) 679-8519.

Agra Tandoor Restaurant Now open: “The Area’s Finest Indian Cuisine.” Open seven days a week with $7.95 lunch specials and $6.95 take-out boxes. BYOB. Open for Lunch: 12-2:30pm and Dinner: 4:30-10pm. Saturday and Sunday Brunch: 123pm. Buffet Dinner on Wednesdays: 5-9:30pm. 5856 Route 9 South, Rhinebeck, NY. (845) 876-7510.

Aroma Osteria 114 Old Post Road, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590. (845) 298-6790.

Bacchus Claudia’s Kitchen

Pad Thai Catering Delicious, affordable, and authentic Thai cuisine served with authentic Thai hospitality to your group of six or more. Lunch or dinner served in your home by Chef & Owner Nuch Chaweewan. Please call (845) 687-2334 for prices and information.

HOME MEAL DELIVERY Healthy Gourmet to Go (845) 339-7171. www.carrottalk.com. See Vegan Lifestyle in the Whole Living Directory.

NATURAL FOOD MARKETS Beacon Natural Market

Celebrating our 28th Year! Enjoy creative cuisine with seafood and Southwest specialties in a casual, relaxed atmosphere. Offering a full salad bar; over 300 varieties of bottled beers, 13 on tap, plus a full wine list. Open Daily. Lunch 11am-4:30pm; Dinner 4:30-10pm. Weekend Brunch, late-night menu, and takeout available. 4 South Chestnut Street, New Paltz. (845) 255-8636.

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Personalized celebrations and weddings, using fresh local ingredients to create delicious and elegant menus. Homemade artisanal breads, Hudson Valley cheese, fabulous appetizers, meat and vegetarian entrées, out-of-this-world desserts. Claudia works one on one to custom design your menu, your party, your wedding or special event. (845) 868-7338 or (914) 4759695. www.claudiascatering.com.

Beso Located on Main St. in the heart of New Paltz is Beso, formerly The Loft. Spanish for “kiss”, Beso offers casual fine dining by owners Chef Chadwick Greer and Tammy Ogletree. Fresh, modern American cuisine, seasonally inspired by local Hudson Valley farmers. Get cozy in the intimate dining room under skylights and glowing candlelit tables, or sit at the bar for a more casual experience. Housemade pastas like Acorn Squash Raviolis, Hazelnut Crusted Halibut, or Braised Beef Short Ribs. And for dessert, Maple Mascarpone Cheesecake. Private parties, families, children welcome. Open for Dinner 5pm-10pm, 5pm-11pm Fri & Sat, closed Tuesdays, Brunch begins in August. (845) 255-1426 or website: www.beso-restaurant.com.

Catamount Waterside Dining & Bar at Emerson Place

Lighting the Way for a Healthier World... Located in the heart of historic Beacon at 348 Main Street. Featuring organic prepared foods deli & juice bar as well as organic and regional produce, meats and cheeses. Newly opened in Aug. ‘05, proprietors L.T. & Kitty Sherpa are dedicated to serving the Hudson Valley with a complete selection of products that are good for you and good for the planet, including an extensive alternative health dept. Nutritionist on staff. (845) 838-1288.

Located near Phoenicia and Woodstock, Catamount Waterside Dining & Bar is a great place to experience the beauty of the Catskills while you enjoy mouthwatering food. Dine Waterside and take in the vistas provided by the Esopus Creek and Mt.Tremper as you choose from a menu that includes right-off-the-grill steaks, chops, chicken and fish, homemade pastas with delectable sauces, several dinner-sized salads, and irresistible desserts. The “Cat”, as locals call it, has a full bar including local micro-brews and international wines PASTA that can be taken out onto our streamside patio. Join us for dinner & cocktails for a fun and relaxed atmosphere La Bella Pasta that is children friendly. 5368 Route 28, Mt. Tremper, Fresh pasta made locally. Large variety of ravioli, NY 12457. We are currently open for dinner 5:00 pm tortellini, pastas, and sauces at the factory outlet. We Wednesday through Sunday. Panoramic views are also manufacture and deliver our excellent selection of the signature of weddings and banquets, featuring a pastas to fine restaurants, gourmet shops, and caterers beautiful outdoor pavilion. For reservations call: (845) throughout the Hudson Valley. Call for our full product list 688-2444. www.emersonplace.com. and samples. Open to the public Monday through Friday 10am to 6pm, Saturday 11am to 3pm. Located on Route Catskill Rose Restaurant 28W between Kingston and Woodstock. (845) 331-9130. Four-star dining and catering in a comfortable and www.labellapasta.com. elegant dining room with antique art deco bar plus

tastings

gorgeous gardens and outdoor dining. Chefs and proprietors Peter and Rose draw on years of creative experience to prepare the familiar and comforting to the classical and innovative. Soups and desserts made in-house from scratch. Route 212, Mt. Tremper. (845) 688-7100. www.catskillrose.com.

yaki and Udon to Yellowtail and Special rolls. Eat-in, take-out, and private room is available. Hours: Tuesday-Friday Lunch 11:30am-2:30pm. Monday-Thursday Dinner 5-9pm. Friday Dinner 5-10pm. Saturday Dinner 4:30-10pm. 7270 South Broadway, Red Hook, NY. (845) 758-4333. www.hana-sushi.com.

Cosimo’s on Union Ristorante & Bar

Hickory BBQ Smokehouse

The most unique modern Italian Restaurant in Orange County, featuring wood-fired pizza, gourmet Italian pasta dishes, and other specialties from our open-air kitchen. Homemade Desserts, Espresso, Cappuccino, Full Bar, Party Rooms on request. Private Wine Cellar Dining; New Expansion; On- & OffPremise Catering; Highly Rated, Zagat’s; Award of Excellence, Wine Spectator; Winner, Best of Hudson Valley 1994-1998; “5-Star Service”–Poughkeepsie Journal. Union Avenue, Newburgh. (845) 567-1556.

Located on historic Route 28 between Kingston and Woodstock, Hickory offers diners Hudson Valley’s finest barbecue and smokehouse cuisine such as ribs, pulled pork, smoked beef, fish and free-range chicken. Whether enjoying your meal by the fireplace in Hickory’s three-star dining room or sipping a cocktail at the wood bar, Hickory’s staff is trained to make you feel as comfortable as you would at home. Hickory also features several vegetarian options, steaks, homemade desserts, happy hour specials, a complete take-out menu, and catering and special events in our private dining room. You can enjoy live music featuring the area’s hottest bands on Friday and Saturday nights. Open daily for lunch and dinner. 743 Route 28 (3.5 miles from NYS Thruway Exit 19). (845) 338-2424. www.hickoryrestaurant.com.

The Emerson at Woodstock Now open! The Emerson at Woodstock brings two inspired dining experiences to historic Woodstock. Ricks’ Bistro celebrates Woodstock’s agricultural past with hearty, wholesome dishes in a casual, laid back setting with a jovial bar serving the area’s best local beers, regional wines and created cocktails. The Riseley Room continues the culinary traditions established by the Emerson Inn. Guests enjoy an intimate, elegant setting as they savor meals created by Executive Chef Michel Nischan, a James Beard Award winning author and guest chef on “Oprah.” Open Tues.-Sat. Call for reservations. (845) 679-7500 or www.emersonplace.com.

The French Corner

Gilded Otter A warm and inviting dining room and pub overlooking beautiful sunsets over the Wallkill River and Shawangunk Cliffs. Mouthwatering dinners prepared by Executive Chef Larry Chu, and handcrafted beers brewed by GABF Gold Medal Winning Brewmaster Darren Currier. Chef driven & brewed locally! 3 Main St., New Paltz. (845) 256-1700.

Hana Sushi Best authentic sushi in the Hudson Valley! Superb Japanese sushi chefs serve the best authentic sushi with extended Dining Area. Sit at the counter or tables and enjoy all your favorites from Chicken Teri-

Is it any wonder that Joyous Café is the most exciting new eating experience in Kingston? Whether it’s Breakfast, Lunch, or Sunday Brunch, the wonderfully prepared food and attentive service are outstanding. Open Monday through Friday 8 am - 4 pm. Sunday Brunch 9 am- 2 pm. Serving Dinner evenings of UPAC events. 608 Broadway, in The Heart of Broadway Theater Square, Kingston. (845) 334-9441. www.joyouscafe.com.

Kyoto Sushi 337 Washington Ave, Kingston, NY 12401. (845) 339-1128.

Luna 61 “Best Vegetarian Restaurant.” –Hudson Valley Magazine. “Food is simply delicious, four stars.” –Poughkeepsie Journal. “Imagine spicy Thai noodles, delicate spring rolls, and the best banana cream pie you’ve ever eaten. Join the Culinary Revolution.” –Dutchess Magazine. Luna 61 is relaxed and funky, candlelit tables, cozy, and romantic. Organic wine and beer. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday: 5-9pm. Friday and Saturday: 510pm. Now Accepting Credit Cards. 61 East Market Street, Red Hook, NY 12571. (845) 758-0061.

tastings

Chef Jacques Qualin, former NY Times critically acclaimed chef of Le Perigord in NYC, impresses with his innovative style of cuisine which cleverly combines ingredients typical of his native Franche-Comtè, France with the sumptuous ingredients available from the Hudson Valley. All of The French Corner recipes are made on premise by Chef Jacques including the breads, pastries, and desserts. Route 213 West, just off Route 209, Stone Ridge. DinnerWednesday thru Sunday from 5 pm, Prix Fixe $25 available every evening. Brunch Sundays from 11am. Tel: (845) 687-0810. Web: www.frcorner.com

Joyous Café

Machu Picchu Peruvian Restaurant The only authentic Peruvian restaurant in Orange County, NY. Family owned and operated since 1990. Serving the community traditional dishes from the mountains and coast of Peru. Trained in Peru, our chefs make authentic dishes come alive. Wine list available. Serving Lunch and Dinner

Sun. through Thurs. 10am-10pm and Fri. & Sat. 10am-11pm. Closed Tuesday. 301 Broadway, Newburgh. (845) 255-2600 www. machupicchuperuvianrest.com.

Main Course Four-star, award-winning, contemporary American cuisine serving organic, natural, and free-range Hudson Valley products. Open Lunch and Dinner Tues.-Sun., & Sunday Brunch. Wed. and Thurs. nights, food & wine pairing menu available. Voted “Best Caterer in the Hudson Valley.” 232 Main Street, New Paltz. (845) 255-2600. Visit our Web site at www.maincourserestaurant.com.

Marcel’s Restaurant

tastings

Casual and comfortable dining, warm country inn atmosphere. Price range $13.95 - $32.95. Now offering daily 4-Course Prix Fixe specials starting at $15.95. House specialties: Pate Du Jour, Duck Laprousse Grand Marnier, Coquilles St Jaques, and Filet Tornodos. Marcel’s is proud to announce it is celebrating 33 years of fine food and service. Check out our web site for our seasonal menu@marcelrestaurant.net or to check the date on our next jazz night. We have a complete take-out menu, and catering is available. We have also recently added a vegetarian menu and a young guest menu. Our hours of operation are Thursday-Monday 5-10pm. Sundays 3-9pm. Located at 1746 Route 9W, West Park, NY. Call (845) 384-6700 to place an order or to make a reservation.

Mexican Radio 537 Warren St, Hudson, NY 12534. (518) 828-7770. cpmljs@ecoipm.com.

Neko Sushi & Restaurant

BISTRO & BAR

Voted “Best Sushi” Restaurant by Chronogram readers and rated four stars by Poughkeepsie Journal. Serving lunch & dinner daily. Eat-in or Take-Out. We offer many selections of Sushi & Sashimi, an extensive variety of special rolls & kitchen dishes. Live lobster prepared daily. Parking in rear available. Sun.-Thur. 1210pm; Fri. & Sat. 12-11pm. Major credit cards accepted. 49 Main Street in the Village of New Paltz. (845) 255-0162.

OII

“High quality sophisticated cooking” – The New York Times

Tel. 860.435.1011 Dinner Tuesday – Saturday Sundays – Brunch and Dinner Lakeville, CT.

Food. Tapas. Wine. Gallery. Catering. The newly opened OII in historic Beacon has wide appeal. Dine on contemporary American fusion cuisine in the elegant yet casual dining room while admiring the work of local artists. Sample a medley of tapas and wine at the bar. Call for your off-premise catering needs. 240 Main Street Beacon, NY 12508. Serving Dinner Sunday-Thursday 5-9pm; Friday and Saturday 5-10pm. Closed

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Mondays. Reservations recommended. Tel: (845) 231-1084. Web: www.oiiny.com.

Osaka Japanese Restaurant Want to taste the best Sushi in the Hudson Valley? Osaka Restaurant is the place. Vegetarian dishes available. Given four stars by the Daily Freeman. 8 Garden St., Rhinebeck. (845) 876-7338 or (845) 876-7278. Visit our second location at 74 Broadway, Tivoli. (845) 757-5055.

Pastorale Bistro & Bar Eat up, Dress down, in this hip country bistro. High quality, sophisticated cooking that could fit in anywhere says the New York Times. Serving updated bistro classics in a 1760â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s colonial. Bar with signature cocktails, lively ambience. TuesdaySaturday dinner. Brunch & Dinner on Sundays 12-8pm. Summer Patio. Private dining for up to 50. 223 Main Street (Rt. 44), Lakeville, CT 06093. (860) 435-1011.

Plaza Diner Established 1969. One of the finest family restaurants in the area. Extensive selection of entrees and daily specials, plus childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s menu. Everything prepared fresh daily. Private room for parties & conferences up to 50 people. Open 24/7. 27 New Paltz Plaza, New Paltz. Exit 18 off NYS Thruway. (845) 255-1030.

Soul Dog

tastings

Featuring a variety of hot dogs, including preservative-free and vegetarian hot dogs, chili, soup, sides, desserts & many gluten-free items prepared in-house. Open for lunch Mon.-Fri. 11am-4pm. Redefining the hot dog experience! 107 Main St., Poughkeepsie, NY. (845) 454-3254.

Wasabi Japanese Restaurant 807 Warren Street, Hudson NY, 12534. Open 7 days a week. Tel: (518) 822-1888.

tastings

Angelika Rinnhofer

CHRONOGRAM

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE DECEMBER 2005

The CHRONOGRAM 2006

Holiday Gift Guide

"The great art of giving consists in this: The gift should cost very little and yet be greatly coveted, so that it may be the more highly appreciated.” —Baltasar Gracian, 16th-century philosopher

This holiday season, let your giving cost more time, feeling, and thought than money. Our 2005 Chronogram Gift Guide features affordable gifts created locally, and cost-free ways to create change in the world.

Let Them Eat Candy

Commodore Chocolatier (420 Chocolates (41 S. Partition Street, Saugerties; 845-246-8377;

The sugarplums of which we dream this time of year don’t come from factories. At Broadway, Newburgh; (845-561-3960) and Krause’s

www.krauseschocolates.com) are both third-generation family businesses that manufacture candy the way it tastes best: using premium chocolate and high quality fruits, nuts, and other ingredients to hand-dip, hand-roll, and hand-fill small pieces of heaven. Each year Commodore and Krause’s vy for a “Best of the Hudson Valley” award, and each year they tie. Both businesses offer candy-making demonstrations and boast shelves lined with chocolate in varying shades containing every variety of filling available, plus all the holiday standards in delicious homemade form: peanut brittle, broken bark, ribbon candy, hard candy, sours, and fudge. At Krause’s, you can also purchase a box of candy to be sent to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in time for the holidays.

For the Love of Horses

Winter brings an end to racing, but the

Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame’s Winners

Circle Gift Shop stands ready to supply holiday gifts for horse lovers of any age, with toys, jewelry, giftware, kitchen wares, artwork, craft kits, and clothing featuring all things equine. Shop until 9pm on Thursday, December 15, and receive a 10 percent discount—the equivalent of which will be donated to the customer’s charity of choice. 240 Main Street, Goshen. (845) 294-6330; www.harnessmuseum.com.

Meshing Around

Veronica Evanega designs ready-to-wear chain mail garments and jewelry worn by the likes of Gwynneth Paltrow and Sarah Jessica Parker. Her bracelets, rings, gauntlets, and chokers are comprised of various combinations of anodized aluminum, raw steel, nickel-plated steel, brass-plaited steel, copper, brass, bronze, sterling, and titanium mixed with buna or neoprene rings. Accents include leather, pearls, or beads of natural stone, coral, and glass. The look is whimsical, minimalist, futuristic, Goth—and very affordable at $10 to $80.

Farfetched Gallery (65 Broadway, Kingston). (845) 339-2501; www.farfetchedgallery.com.

The Heart of Collage Outsider artist and professional writer Nicole Quinn came to collage and decoupage six years ago when her mother, brother, and sister died within a four-year stretch. “Grief counselors have told me that collage and mosaic artists are often born of grief,” she says, “the mind trying to make disparate pieces whole.” Quinn’s limited

edition, collectible collaged placemats are

double-sided “to enlarge decorating options or correspond with changes in mood.” (Available at www.nicomats.com for $10 each or $35 per set of four.) Her latest obsession—one-of-a-kind boxes are hand-painted with assembled borders—won her entrance this year to the National Collage Society’s Annual Juried Exhibit. Quinn’s boxes range widely in size, shape, and price, and can be found at The

Big Cheese in Rosendale, Saunderskill Farmstand in Accord, or at her home business, Blue Barn Productions, also in Accord, at (845) 706-6790.

Support the Soldiers My Soldier, launched on Veteran’s Day 2004, was founded by Army Sgt Juan Salas, now a student at Manhattanville College. After returning from duty in Iraq, Salas decided to start this nonpolitical organization, reminiscent of the POW/MIA bracelet program founded in 1970, to support his fellow soldiers overseas. Participants come from both sides of the red/blue divide, and provide pen pal companionship, as well as much appreciated holiday care packages, to those on active duty. All it takes is a $10 voluntary donation to make a soldier feel a little bit closer to home. To register, visit mysoldier.com or write to Manhattanville College, My Soldier Department, 2900 Purchase Street, Purchase, NY 10577.

kids STUFF Comedians in the Making Hoping your baby will someday crack you up? Or does he already, and you want to accentuate his humorous side? Well, the folks at Wry Baby believe clothes make the kid. With “Raise funny people” as their mission, these quirky

baby fashion designers make “onesies” (all-in-one t-shirt and diaper

covers; $24) and top and leggings sets ($35) inscribed with the drollest of sayings. Let your baby proclaim “I Am Not a Boy,” and you might even smile through a bout of colic. Available at Timbuktu (2 Tannery Brook Road, Woodstock, 845-679-1169; www.wrybaby.com.)

Enviro Bags Vy & Elle caught two quintessentially contemporary kid experiences—school lessons in environmentalism and that “Are We There Yet?” experience of always traveling behind your parents—in their latest bag design. Fashioned

from durable reclaimed billboard vinyl and used seatbelts, these no-two-completely-alike urban bags come in a variety of sizes and

styles (the “Small DJ bag” is $48) designed to suit cool kids—and adults—of both sexes and all ages. “Recycling is not just for cans,” proclaim the bags’ label. Here, here. Available at Timbuktu (2 Tannery Brook Road, Woodstock, 845-679-1169; www.vyandelle.com).

Smells as Good as It Tastes Let the aroma linger from your favorite hot or cold beverage—including café latte, chai tea masala, lemon squeeze, and 14 other popular sippers—with a

naturally scented candle contained in a pretty

painted glass tumbler with a matching metal lid. And when the candle’s burned down, experience the ultimate in recycling—use its very collectible glass for drinking or as a storage jar. $17.95.

Timbuktu (2 Tannery Brook Road, Woodstock, 845-679-1169).

family FESTIVITIES Celebrate the holidays 19th-century style at Boscobel, the Hudson Valley’s arguably most elegant Federal-style mansion. Annual holiday decorating workshops (December 1-3, 10am-2pm), led by Boscobel’s horticultural staff, offer the chance to use locally grown evergreens, nuts, and berries to make hand-tied wreaths, garlands, and swags, and to decorate fruit pyramids. $45 each; bring clippers, garden gloves, and lunch. Visit Boscobel at its most enchanting on December 16-18, 5-8pm, to experience the mansion in full 19th-century holiday splendor—including evergreens and pineapples, kissing balls, mistletoe, a candlelit tree, a harpist and flautist, poetry readings, and a stunning array of traditional confections, including mulled cider from an antique Wassail Bowl, fruit pyramids, candied cherries and almonds, croquembouche, and Twelfth Night Cake. Candlelight Tours are $12 per adult; $10/seniors; $8 kids ages six to 14. Boscobel will stay open during the day through December 31. Scenic Route 9D, Garrison. (845) 265-3638, Ext. 115.

When Nava

Atlas, a local artist and cookbook author, and her husband and sons found some time

on their hands one winter, they chose to look inward together. Going into hibernation, they developed longstanding family rituals—“repeated patterns of meaningful acts,” in the words of Robert Fulghum—that enriched their life together and cost little. The result of that snow-shoeing, puzzle-doing, cooking, reading, bird-watching winter was a more connected lifestyle that stretched year-round. Atlas’s new book, Everyday Traditions: Simple Family Rituals for Connection and Comfort (Amberwood Press, $22) is chockfull of ways to make memories worth preserving.

Mountain Laurel Waldorf School’s annual gift-making fair offers the chance to celebrate the holidays the way they’re meant to be—with hearts and hands. Make fanciful wreaths, decorations, candles, paper window stars, angels, and more, while the school’s children and teachers offer traditional sweets and perform music and puppetry. Watch out for a visit from St. Nicholas and his sidekick/nemesis, Krampus. Sunday, December 11, 11am-3pm. 16 S. Chestnut Street, New Paltz; (845) 255-0033.

Adapt a Toy Help make new toys a source of joy for kids with disabilities—and their parents—at Northern Dutchess Hospital’s annual holiday toy workshop. Workshop volunteers adapt dolls, tricycles, bicycles, electric cars and other toys for special-needs kids who would otherwise don’t get many playthings, as adapted toys are generally too expensive for many parents. If you have special engineering, electrician, or woodworking skills, or would like to donate toys for modification, call (845) 871-3425. To register a child for this fun-filled holiday event, call (845) 871-3427. Saturday, December 3, 9am12pm, Northern Dutchess Hospital, Rte. 9, Rhinebeck.

gift BOOKS Airstream Living Bruce Littlefield & Simon Brown Collins Design, October 2005, $29.95 A fabulous dream book for anyone with "aluminum fever" (an addiction to those sleek, shiny, Deco-styled trailers.) Whether you already own a tricked-out 1936 Clipper or swivel your neck and yearn, you’ll enjoy Simon Brown’s luscious photos and lively text by Bruce Littlefield of the chrome-endowed Rosendale Cement Company.

John Lennon: The New York Years Text and images by Bob Gruen Stewart, Tabori, and Chang, 2005, $29.95 Gruen, a part-time Greene County resident, spent the 1970s more or less as John Lennon’s personal photographer. Think of an iconic post-Beatle image of Lennon and most likely Gruen shot it. Containing 150 photographs and reminiscences, The New York Years is an undiscovered gem of Lennoniana—an intimate portrait of the artist (and Yoko, always Yoko) in his most candid moments.

I’m No Quack: A Book of Doctor Cartoons Danny Shanahan Harry N. Abrams Inc., September 2005, $19.95 and

Funny Ladies: The New Yorker’s Greatest Woman Cartoonists & Their Cartoons Liza Donnelly, foreword by Jules Feiffer Prometheus Books, October 2005, $32 If your sides split while reading Shanahan’s recent trove of lawyer cartoons, Innocent, Your Honor, this medical compendium may send you into convulsions. Is there something funny in the water in Rhinebeck? Shanahan’s upstate neighbor and New Yorker colleague Liza Donnelly has penned an informative, insider’s account of the girls at the boys’ club, from Helen Hokinson to Roz Chast.

Cat People Michael and Margaret Korda HarperCollins, November 2005, $22.95 Dutchess County resident and Simon & Schuster editor emeritus Michael Korda co-wrote this amusing little book with his wife, Margaret. Whimsically accompanied by simple line drawings, the Kordas recount their long and passionate relationship with cats, including stories of the eccentric lengths to which people will go to accommodate their beloveds.

The Spirit of Indian Women Edited by Judith and Michael Fitzgerald World Wisdom, October 2005, $14.95 This striking book belongs to the Library of Perennial Philosophy, devoted to the exploration of Sophia Perennis, the universal truth underlying all religions. The Fitzgeralds combine vintage sepia photographs of Indian women with traditional stories, legends, and songs, ranging from the Cheyenne to the Kiowa to the Inuit.

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whole living 

TRANSPERSONAL ACUPUNCTURE An Eastern approach to treating the body, mind, and spirit ACUPUNCTURE IS A FORM OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE THAT IS BEST KNOWN FOR ALLEVIATING MUSCULAR-SKELETAL COMPLAINTS AND INTERNAL DISORDERS SUCH AS DIGESTIVE, RESPIRATORY, OR GYNECOLOGICAL AILMENTS. WHAT MOST PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW IS THAT ACUPUNCTURE IS ALSO AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL IMBALANCES.

Chinese medical theory states that a human being is composed of three levels: body, mind, and spirit. These are viewed as a continuum rather than as separate entities. An energy, qi, flows within and among these three components, creating a network. Disruptions in energy flow within one of the levels is not isolated to just that level, but can, over time, influence the others. These physical, emotional, and spiritual components are inseparable not only from one another but also from the greater environment. The matrix of energy that connects all life serves as a pathway unifying all organisms. Chinese medical philosophers view the individual as a microcosm of the surrounding earthly macrocosm, and inner bodily functions as a mirror of the status and patterns of the external world. Interruptions or blocks in this network, no matter how large or small, can cause an energetic imbalance. It’s like a garden hose with a kink in it that impedes the flow of water. The lack of water flowing through the system will influence the vitality of the plants. The connection can be very direct: A polluted river creates fish carrying toxins in their flesh; when we consume these fish, the toxicity is transferred to our bodies. This can lead to a toxic condition in our system that can be responsible for disease. Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese therapy, still widely practiced, that consists of stimulating certain anatomic points on the body with (sterilized) stainless steel needles. Its purpose is to influence various biochemical and physiological conditions in the body to bring the movement of qi back to its natural, balanced state. It makes use of the meridian system, which is an energetic network that facilitates the movement of energies throughout our physical structure. There are 14 meridians that traverse the

surface and internal structures of the human body; they are all connected and can be viewed as one long pathway. Meridians are also the pathways at which the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels of the human being interface. This article will review some fundamental concepts of health as perceived by Chinese medical theory, and describe acupuncture, particularly Transpersonal Acupuncture, which addresses the energy flow in all three levels.

THE PHYSICAL BEING The physical level is considered by Chinese medicine to be the most superficial aspect of a being, and is mostly concerned with aches and pains of the muscles and bones. It can be the first and last level affected in a disease process. According to Chinese medical theory, physical pain is caused by blocks in the meridian channels. Therefore, aiding the movement of qi along the meridian pathway can relieve pain. There are specific acupuncture techniques that manually release taut bands or trigger points that reside in the muscle fibers, thereby forcing the muscles to relax and reducing inflammation. Physical problems can arise from an emotional or spiritual source. For example, a person who has carried a lot of responsibility from an early age might feel as though there were a large weight on her or his back, causing chronic tension in the neck and shoulder muscles. Emancipating the energy lodged within those muscles not only relieves the physical discomfort, but also releases the emotional and spiritual blocks that are integrated with it.

  -,      90 WHOLE LIVING GUIDE

WHOLE LIVING GUIDE 91

THE EMOTIONAL BEING There are seven main emotions considered in Chinese medicine: anger, joy, worry, pensiveness, sadness, fear, and shock. These seven emotions are viewed as broad categories containing many other types of feelings. Each emotion has a particular effect on the movement of qi within the body, and each emotion is related to a certain organ. The liver is most influenced by the emotion of anger, for example. Emotions that are out of balance, meaning that they are experienced in an amount disproportionate to the other emotions, will compromise the energy of internal organs over time by disrupting the flow of energy through the meridian pathway that supplies the internal organs. Shock suspends energy, worry ties it up in knots, and fear directs qi to descend, temporarily suspending a person’s connection with his or her energy. Emotions can lead to disease when they are experienced for a long period of time, are particularly intense, go unacknowledged, or are suppressed. Under those conditions, emotions can be responsible for certain internal organ deficiencies or excesses, which can lead to physical disorders. For example, if a person experiences a lot of anger and does not express it, over time qi can become constrained, which can lead to headaches, aches and pains, tiredness, and anxiety.

THE SPIRITUAL BEING The spirit level infuses life with depth and meaning. In order to grasp a deeper understanding of the spiritual basis of Chinese medicine we have to understand that there are five spirits that make up the human psyche. Lorie Dechar, an acupuncturist from Nyack, explains in her book Five Spirits: Alchemical Acupuncture for Psychological and Spiritual Healing, “These five spirits are thought of as psychic entities, animating deities who reside in us, each with its own nature and psychospiritual function.” The spirits are omnipresent, guiding our life force and influencing the direction of our existence. Without them, there is no life. In addition, they link the individual to the greater energetic life force. The five spirits are: Shen—the spirit of fire, associated with inspiration, destiny, awareness, and consciousness.

Hun—the spirit of wood, associated with vision and imagination.

Yi—the spirit of earth, associated with intention, clear thought, and manifestation. 92 WHOLE LIVING GUIDE

Po—the spirit of metal, associated with receptivity, knowing, and sensation.

Zhi—the spirit of water, associated instinctual power, life force, will, and wisdom. If the spirits are not in harmony with each other, people will recognize an imbalance in their lives. The spirits are particularly sensitive to changes in one’s environment. They get overwhelmed easily by events that take place in our daily lives and respond well to respectful treatment, which includes acknowledging the role they play in our existence and having an ongoing awareness of them. People who are good candidates for treatment of imbalances or blockages at the spirit level are those who demonstrate incongruent behaviors, experience restlessness, describe an uncomfortable quality within their body, are depressed, or feel that life has no meaning.

TAPPING INTO OUR ENERGY FLOW WITH ACUPUNCTURE Acupuncture points (acu-points) are areas of electrical sensitivity, or gateways, along the body’s meridians, which allow access to the pathways of the body’s energy flow to correct imbalances. From a scientific perspective, the needles, when inserted at specific acu-points, stimulate sensory receptors and nerves that are responsible for releasing neurotransmitters, which aid in pain relief. Researchers have found unique electrical properties at acu-points. When measured with a directcurrent electrical amplifier, acu-points are found to have lower electrical resistance and higher conductivity than the surrounding skin. Altered states of consciousness, such as sleeping or hypnosis, can produce a significant change in the conductivity of the acu-points. Also, a disturbance in the electrical circuit, for example some sort of block such as a disease, interferes with the electrical current flow at the acu-points. When the acu-points do not have a high enough conductivity, it indicates that there is a block in the flow of energies somewhere along the meridian pathway. In addition, the measurable electrical current at acu-points has been found to change with emotional fluctuations. In the United States, people are most familiar with the use of acupuncture to relieve pain on a physical level. Clinical studies have proven acupuncture to be effective at doing so. Less familiar, however, is the idea that acupuncture is one of a very few healing practices that has the capacity to support all levels of the human being simultaneously. Transpersonal Acupuncture in particular creates a forum within the human being, allowing the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels to interface.

TRANSPERSONAL ACUPUNCTURE

MOVING TOWARD WHOLENESS

Transpersonal Acupuncture works with the adaptive qualities of the body and the body’s innate ability to heal itself. By influencing the flow of energy with the insertion of thin metal needles, the practice corrects root imbalances in the body that lead to symptoms and disease. Those imbalances can affect not just the individual on all levels (spiritually, emotionally, and physically), but influence interactions with the outer world. Transpersonal Acupuncture also nurtures the connections between the self and the outer world. By balancing the energetics in the network and breaking through blockages that have formed as a result of past disease, trauma, or established pattern, Transpersonal Acupuncture improves health, outlook, and lifestyle. Transpersonal Acupuncture shares the same theory and anatomical acu-point location as traditional acupuncture. What makes it different is the attitude of the practitioner. The intent is to view the person as part of an integrated network and to reestablish a balanced flow of energy through the three levels of body, mind, and spirit, as well as in relation to the outside world. Here is an example. A client, Betty, had been plagued with allergies and asthma since early childhood. She came to me seeking help with the symptoms of those ailments. During the intake evaluation, she described that her house was damp, since it is nestled at the bottom of a hill and had a tendency to collect water in the basement. We believed that there was a connection between the frequency of the allergy attacks and wheezing that she was experiencing and the water that was harbored in her dwelling. In addition, Betty is a spiritual teacher, and as a part of her career she sometimes internalizes her patient’s imbalances. The intent of one of our treatments was to remove what we call External Dragons (forces from the outside that get detained in the body) with a specific needling technique, from the lineage of Dr. J. R. Worsley, acupuncturist and founder of TAI Sophia Institute in Columbia, Maryland. In Betty’s case there were two different Dragons: the dampness in the house, and the emotional/spiritual imbalances of her clients. During the treatment it became very clear to her that it was time to break the cycle of using her body as a retainer for other people’s imbalanced psychologies. When the needles were taken out, she reported feeling as if this pattern had been broken. The week following the treatment she relived and let go of certain memories that had negative emotions attached to them, and she said that she felt as if a wind were moving through her. Her allergies decreased and her wheezing lessened significantly. She still lives in the same house, so the dampness will continue to be a negotiated factor in her health process. However, she felt as if the pattern of internalizing other people’s psychologies had been broken.

Alternative therapists have the freedom to focus on more than one aspect of patients’ health care. They have the liberty to address emotional and spiritual concerns as well as physical complaints, as in the example of Betty. Bestowing full attention on patients and attending to their physical, emotional, and spiritual compnonents allows them to feel that all aspects of their being are finally recognized. Adopting a holistic perspective can pose a challenge. Most of us are educated in a dualistic society, whose the theoretical underpinnings are forged in part from the philosophies of René Descartes. We are taught to value reason over intuition and to view the world through a linear framework: A certain activity will bring a particular outcome. The focus of Western medical theory is on quantification as opposed to qualification. Descartes is considered to be the father of modern philosophy, and many of his ideas influenced current Western medical theory. Descartes was convinced that reason was the only path to knowledge. Nothing could be accepted as truth unless it was clearly perceived. He stated that humans could rise above their body’s feelings and think rationally, and believed that the mind had the capacity to dominate the mechanical body—even operate independently from it. Western medical theory derived its inherently dualistic qualities from such reasoning. This is demonstrated when illness is treated on a symptomatic basis, as opposed to identifying a root cause and practicing preventive medicine. Mark Seem, Director of Tri-State College of Acupuncture, has written extensively on what he believes to be the emergence of a new model of health care, one that integrates the three levels of the physical, emotional, and spiritual. As he describes in his book Bodymind Energetics, “A premise of the new paradigm will be that if a patient feels something is wrong, then something really is out of balance and requires some sort of body-mind reintegration. Therapies will be judged no longer on the basis of their scientific validity alone, but rather in terms of how effective they are in understanding and treating the problem, as the patient experiences it.” The job of a Transpersonal Acupuncturist is to look at the patient with open eyes, viewing his or her spiritual, emotional, and physical components as one fluid energy matrix that is interconnected with the larger world. This kind of treatment lifts us out of our limited self-identity and reunites us with our origin—a place of wholeness and of continuous, undisturbed energy, where true healing is found. Jipala Reicher-Kagan is a New York State-licensed acupuncturist, with an MS in acupuncture. She practices three kinds of acupuncture in Kingston, with a focus on Transpersonal Acupuncture. To learn more about Reicher-Kagan’s work, visit www.transpersonalacupuncture.com.

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TOUCHING SPIRIT THROUGH ART HUDSON VALLEY ARTISTS ON SELF-DISCOVERY AND SPIRITUALITY BY LORRIE KLOSTERMAN The relationship between art and spirituality, between creativity and self-knowing, is vast and multifaceted, certainly—and challenging to put into words. Several of the Hudson Valley’s visual artists kindly tackled some hard questions in recent interviews. Here are some of their musings. Nancy Ward, an artist, writer, and healer in Stone Ridge, describes a moment in her mid-20s when “I had what I consider a spiritual awakening. My inner sight and clairvoyant capabilities were being revealed to me. I began to see with my ‘inner eye.’ I began to paint the images I saw—inner landscapes.” She describes her work as having “the feeling of depths, and flowing…I feel I paint energy, and it’s developed and grown within me.” Her desire to depict this in visual form “feels like a tug from deep inside, like a part of myself saying ‘get to know me a little better,’ down deep into some essence of myself. Whatever this process is that makes us create or want to grow, it feels expansive.” It also aids emotional work. “My own path of emotional healing has come through very strongly in my artwork.” She describes a painting that evolved into a landscape of thorns and darkness, as recollections of childhood came up, bringing a sense of blocked, tangled energy. “But there also were valleys, allowing an easy flow of energy between the thorns”—a visual metaphor that aided her emotionally. “We’re talking about something that’s an inward mystical experience,” says Lucinda Sisniega Abra of Athens, who started oil painting at three and has seven generations of painters “in her blood.” She speaks easily of creativity and metaphysics in the same breath. “In second grade, I started thinking about molecules, and the spaces between everything, and I realized that nothing was exactly as I saw it. I think that’s why I don’t prefer to paint what I see.” Instead, she creates whatever comes to her in the moment. “One of the great things about art is, it’s the expression of that moment, like so many spiritual practices teach: Be here, now. When I pick up the brushes, it’s

94 WHOLE LIVING GUIDE

a wide-open canvas.” She lets impulses flow through her. “You just have to be willing to accept that there is something much bigger than you. There are things that happen in these paintings that astound me.” Andres San Millan of Red Hook is a painter, muralist, sculptor, and designer of sets and costumes for Cocoon Theater in Rhinebeck. “It’s an ongoing question: How do I bring my spiritual beliefs into my art? It’s a heady notion. My spirituality is important to me all the time. But it doesn’t necessarily come out in my work. The way I’ve learned art as an expression of myself doesn’t necessarily go in the direction of my spiritual beliefs—it’s more my personal expression. When you are painting, everything in you becomes very much alive. You have to deal with everything you are made of—what’s in your heart, your mind, fears, desires, what you are willing to expose or not—everything together. You are thrust against yourself. My most exciting times are when I can paint for eight hours. I’m in a different realm, dealing with everything that comes up.” It can even be a little scary, he says, going that deep. How, then, does that experience get expressed on canvas or in a sculpture? “Usually I go by my gut feeling, almost at an instinctive level. That is the most real part of who I am. Hopefully, I find the truth.” The paintings of Melissa Harris from West Hurley are featured on cards, prints, posters, and many other items (through her business Creatrix, www.melissaharris.com). She also paints Spirit Essence Portraits—custom-made paintings depicting a person’s spiritual essence, as she perceives it through clairvoyance. She explains: “In my late 20s I began to channel, and had a series of psychic experiences.” That has influenced her art and evolved over the years. “I used to do more esoteric occult painting then, but now the imagery doesn’t need to be so literal. When I create just for myself, I paint images of whatever calls me. There is a certain state of being that I feel when I paint.

FAR LEFT: NUDE LOOKING FOR TRUTH, ANDRES SAN MILLAN, OIL ON MASONITE MIDDLE LEFT: STROMA, KAREN CAPOBIANCO, LAYERED PHOTOGRAPH NEAR LEFT: TREE OF LIFE, NANCY WARD, OIL ON CANVAS ABOVE: INVISIBLE WOUNDS, ANDRES SAN MILLAN, CHARCOAL ON PAPER

I experience it as a lifted state, a semi–trance state. It is a very healing place to be.” She describes it as an experience of connection with self and spirit that isn’t easy to access within the everyday activities of a world that expects us to think linearly. “But when we make art, we are shifting sides of our brain. We become connected to the core of our being. We’re also very connected to spirit, or God, Goddess. We are in our bliss. I see the joy on the faces of students I teach after they’ve worked for a couple of hours. It really opens people’s hearts.” Gary O’Connor of Mountainville muses about the link between art and spirituality this way: “What isn’t spiritual in art? In my Buddhist practice, and others I ran into before Buddhism, people would talk about the ‘spiritual part’ of things. I couldn’t figure out what wasn’t the spiritual part.” He likes to combine images and materials from both “the sacred and the profane,” to suggest that spiritual awakening is possible anywhere, not just in settings traditionally thought of as religious. For instance, his installation The Carnal Prayer Mat included materials reflecting religious traditions (prayer rug, offering bowl, incense burner), and painted panels hanging to either side that depicted sexual imagery (created by Linda Lesley Brown). “As long as you insist on a duality, like a split between sacred and profane, there is a lot of separateness going on.” He also has come to see all actions as having the potential for spiritual connection. “Sweeping the walk well, if you are putting your attention to it, is as valuable as creating art—I’ve come to experience it that way.” Karen Capobianco of New Paltz creates multilayered digital photographs of the natural world,

especially of light and water. She describes her creations as a three-step process. “I go into nature to be on my own, to reenergize, and meditate. Eventually, I zone into something that’s drawing me in. Photographing that becomes its own meditation. There’s a transcendence of time and matter, to a place of connectedness and unconscious being.” The second step is in the studio, layering the images with the aid of a computer. “I get back into that meditative state. It’s like prayer in a lot of ways, with repetition, and quiet. By the time I’m done, hours have passed.” The third part is when others view the work. “Hopefully, the images transfer the experience, so the viewer is there at that same moment, having their own meditation.” She especially wishes people will perceive that we are not separate from nature, but of it, fused with it, “and remember the psychological and emotional benefits of nature. We don’t always think of the whole benefit of just having incredible beauty around us, and what it can do psychologically.” Her images remind us that ecological and spiritual awareness go together—an understanding that Native Americans obviously had, she points out, but which we have gotten away from. That is a mere sampling of thoughts from creative beings in the region—which includes you. “But I’m not an artist,” you say, to which Sisniega Abra offers: “We’re all creative. We have a rich dimension available inside of us. I have several friends who aren’t trained as artists, but the greatest joy they get out of the week is when they do art, because they are letting themselves experience their inner life. The inner self is fully aware that there is no right and no wrong in creating art.” WHOLE LIVING GUIDE 95

Frankly Speaking BY FRANK CROCITTO

Christmas Presence Nothing holds a candle to Christmas, not summertime, not Coney Island, not even Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Lone Ranger all chasing the same crook. I keep the tree with its happy lights up almost to the brink of spring, and I have a Christmas cup that I drink out of all year long. This is an excerpt from my book A Child’s Christmas in Brooklyn. You don’t have to be from Brooklyn to enjoy it either. You just have to be grown up enough to treasure the amazing time when we saw the world as a place of beauty and wonder. It goes without saying at this time of year, but I’ll say it anyway—Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Christmas morning, oh Christmas morning! Your freshness shames the springtime. Your crisp innocence, your unbounded hopefulness, your fullness, like a dear promise kept. Oh, if I could have all my Christmas mornings rolled up into a great red ball again, you could have all the years, you could keep them, all of them. And if my life was made of Christmas mornings, I’d have the life I always wanted. Ah, to awaken as the world snores. To hear the house poised and expectant, cracking its floorboards like they were knuckles. I sit up. I am one essential sense—eyes wide, ears perked. Awake! My heart swells like the sea inside of me. And outside, along the streets and avenues, a great hush holds all of Brooklyn in its fond embrace. I peek through the blinds and there, there is the snow. Soft and tender, graciously, compassionately absorbing the least crackle. Draped over the block on the nubs and pickets of the fences, upon the sleeping hedges, over the fat thighs of the sycamore outside my window, on the stoops and gardens, on sidewalk and street, over the cars, on top of my grandfather’s mulberry tree like a mischievous giant who nothing and no one can gainsay, sprawling grandiosely across public and private property, king of the winter. The fat sun came up smiling that Christmas day, flinging sparkles off the crystalline robe of snow. It might be the right kind of snowfall, I thought, I hoped. I toss away the covers. I swing my feet onto the cold floorboards, (the scatter-rug is rarely in the right spot). The heat isn’t up yet. But before I get my slippers on the radiators start to clear their throats. I can smell the comfort of the coming heat already. Throwing open the window I scoop up snow from the sill, taste some, test some, and press some more into a ball. Good packing, oh boy, oh boy, good packing, I mutter to myself, fiendishly. I rear back and hurl one—side arm—at George Durand’s fancy green Buick. A beaut: with a resounding thud it sticks to the back fender, creating a round white pattern like a bull’s-eye. George, who lives to gnash his teeth at the state of the world, is going to be delightfully livid. 96 WHOLE LIVING GUIDE

God, there was such good packing in those days! Now I’m in the living room. And the lights on the tree are off. Somebody turned them off. I didn’t. There on the coffee table is a glass of milk, half drunk, and the crumbs of my grandmother’s formidablesounding but wonderful-tasting “een-gart-a-debt.” What this might mean is too much for me to grapple with so early in the morning. There, under the tree, are piles and piles of presents. I’m as giddy as a kid tumbleweeding down a hill. I plug in the lights. The tree is magnificent. I yip like a cowboy and dive into the silvery joys of Christmas, pushing aside all my thoughts of who and where and when and why. Under the tree I find everything I asked for—and more— just as there had always been throughout the years. Well, not everything I asked for—everything I wanted. I always asked for a goodly sack-full of things, trusting that Santa could tell which ones I really wanted. All at once in a vision I see—careening down upon me, down the coal chute of the cheery years, all my Christmas gifts—the toy soldiers, the cowboy outfit with white hat and bandanna and chaps, the golden six-gun with a revolving barrel, the little car you sat in and could pump with your feet, the red scooter with the rubber strip on it so you didn’t slip off so easy, the successively bigger tricycles and then the bicycles and the books—Tom Sawyer and Penrod, the whole set, and Robinson Crusoe and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea with the dark and brooding Captain Nemo—and roller skates and ice skates and the basketball smelling of new rubber and the baseball bat signed by Duke Snider and the gray Pentron tape recorder that came with a wah-wah underwater sound and had to be sent back to the shop 15 times and still never worked right—so that I cursed all machines and the dullness of all men’s ears that couldn’t hear the wah-wah or the hardness of their hearts that made them deny it—and the airplane, a bright canary of a Piper Cub, cardboard not plastic, steered in flight with strings like a marionette but which I couldn’t put together in a million years and my father and my Uncle Nickie spent every evening through New Year’s

Illustrations by Grady Horrigan

sweating at till it flew and then there were the sets of chemistry and magic and the microscope and the erector set and there were the boats—an endless flotilla of ships—square-riggers and junks, clippers and galleons, and motor boats and tugs, submarines, too, and ocean liners and aircraft carriers and battleships and…

But all my gifts are mingled in my mind now. I can’t tell if the gifts I got were the gifts I got or the gifts I wished for and never got, or if they were gifts I gave my own children. The lines between what was, what might have been, and what I yearned for or experienced in dreams have become very porous. Sometimes when I’m weary of well-doing I wonder what’s the good of getting gifts if you can’t remember what you got? Or what’s worse, thinking you got things you never got at all? Ah, from what source flow the rivers of desire and into what evanescent ocean do they flow? Frank Crocitto is executive director of Discovery Institute.

WHOLE LIVING GUIDE 97

whole living guide ACUPUNCTURE

ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE

Dylana Accolla, LAc

Judith Youett The Alexander Technique

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Treat yourself to a renewed sense of health and well-being with acupuncture, herbal medicine, Chinese bodywork, and nutritional counseling. My emphasis is on empowering patients by teaching them how to practice preventative medicine. Great for gynecological problems, chronic pain, and managing chronic illness. Two locations: Haven Spa, 6464 Montgomery Street, Rhinebeck, and Woodstock Women’s Health, 1426 Route 28, West Hurley. (914) 388-7789.

Acupuncture Health Care, PC

whole living directory

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Peter Dubitsky, L.Ac., Callie Brown, L.Ac., and Leslie Wiltshire, L.Ac. Mr. Dubitsky is a faculty member and the Director of Clinical Training at the Tri-State College of Acupuncture, and a member of the NY State Board for Acupuncture. Ms. Brown and Ms. Wiltshire each have years of acupuncture experience in private practice and in medical offices. We are all highly experienced, national board certified, NYS Licensed acupuncturists. We combine traditional Asian acupuncture techniques with a modern understanding of acupuncture and oriental medicine to provide effective treatments of acute and chronic pain conditions, and other medical disorders. In addition to our general practice we also offer a Low Cost Acupuncture Clinic which is available for all people who meet our low income guidelines. 108 Main Street, New Paltz, NY 12561, Phone 255-7178.

Stephanie Ellis, LAc, Chinese Herbalist Ms. Ellis is a magna cum laude graduate of Columbia University in pre-medical studies and has been practicing acupuncture in Rosendale since 2001. In 2003 she completed post-graduate work in the study of classical Chinese herbal medicine. Ms. Ellis trained at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for the treatment of cancer patients with acupuncture. Ms. Ellis also has speical training in infertility treatment, facial acupuncture and chronic pain. Her new, expanded location is at the medical offices of Rosendale Family Practice. Evening and weekend hours and sliding scale rates. Phone consultations available. 110 Creek Locks Road, Rosendale. www.HudsonValleyAcupuncture.com. (845) 546-5358.

Hoon J. Park, MD, PC For the past 16 years, Dr. Hoon J. Park has been practicing a natural and gentle approach to pain management for conditions such as arthritis, chronic and acute pain in neck, back, and legs, fibromyalgia, motor vehicle and work-related injuries, musculoskeletal disorders, and more by integrating physical therapy modalities along with acupuncture. Dr. Hoon Park is a board certified physician in physical medicine and rehabilitation, pain medicine, and electrodiagnostic studies. His experienced, friendly staff offer the most comprehensive and individualized rehabilitative care available. Please call the office to arrange a consultation. New patients and most insurances are accepted. 1772 Route 9, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590. Half mile south of the Galleria Mall. (845) 298-6060.

The Alexander Technique is a simple, practical skill that, when applied to ourselves, enhances coordination, promoting mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Improve the quality of your life by learning how to do less to achieve more. Judith Youett, AmSAT. (845) 677-5871.

ART THERAPY Deep Clay with Michelle Rhodes, ATR-BC, LMSW See Psychotherapy.

ASTROLOGICAL CONSULTING Eric Francis: Astrological Consultations by Phone. Special discount on follow-ups for previous clients from the Hudson Valley. (206) 854-3931. eric@ericfrancis.com. Lots to explore on the Web at www.PlanetWaves.net.

BODY & SKIN CARE Absolute Laser, LLC The leaders in innovative skin care are now offering the Biomedic Facial. A gentle, clinical, deep cleansing facial, for all skin types. Absolute Laser offers commitment to beautiful skin through outstanding care and service. Offering Laser Hair Removal, Microdermabrasion, Vitalize Peel, and Fotofacial RF. The Fotofacial RF is the next generation in high-tech skin enhancement. These gentle, no downtime treatments are used to improve cosmetic appearance of the face, neck, hands, and body. The results are brighter, smoother, more radiant and luminescent skin. This process delivers results that skin care products alone cannot do! Recover and rediscover the youth and vitality of your skin. Call for a complimentary consultation: Janice DiGiovanni, (845) 876-7100. Springbrook Medical Park, Rhinebeck.

Blissful Beauty by Brenda Relax and revive with a professional beauty treatment from Brenda Montgomery, Licensed Aesthetician. Specializing in Burnham Systems Facial Rejuvenation, Belavi Facelift Massage, Anti-Aging facials, Acne treatments, and Body treatments. Also offering airbrushed makeup for a flawless, natural look for your next big event. Your skin is not replaceable; let Brenda help you put your best face forward! Call (845) 616-9818.

Made With Love Handcrafted lotions, crèmes, and potions to nurture the skin and soul! Therapeutic oils, salves, and bath salts made with the curative properties of herbal-infused oils and pure essential oils. No petroleum, mineral oils, or chemicals are used. Host a home party! Products available at Hudson Valley Therapeutic Massage, 243 Main Street, Suite 220, New Paltz. For a full product catalogue e-mail madewithlove@hvc.rr.com or call us at (845) 255-5207.

BODY-CENTERED THERAPY Irene Humbach, LCSW, PC Body of Wisdom Counseling & Healing Services By integrating traditional and alternative therapy/ healing approaches, including Body-Centered Psychotherapy, IMAGO Couples’ Counseling, and Kabbalistic Healing, I offer tools for self healing, to assist individuals and couples to open blocks to their softer heart energy. Ten-session psychospiritual group for women in recovery. Offices in Poughkeepsie and New Paltz. (845) 485-5933.

Chi Gong prepared the body to withstand rigorous training and overcome the battle with time. Tai Chi Chuan became the expression of the energy in movement and self-defense. These practices have brought health, vitality, and youthfulness to myself and my students. The only requirement is determined practice of the principles and the will to persevere. Call Hawks, (845) 750-6488

CHILDBIRTH Catskill Mountain Midwifery See Midwifery.

Rosen Method Bodywork

Kary Broffman, RN, CH

Rosen Method is distinguished by its gentle, direct touch. Using hands that listen rather than manipulate, the practitioner focuses on chronic muscle tension. As relaxation occurs and the breath deepens, unconscious feelings, attitudes, and memories may emerge. The practitioner responds with touch and words that allow the client to begin to recognize what has been held down by unconscious muscle tension. As this process unfolds, habitual tension and old patterns may be released, freeing the client to experience more aliveness, new choices in life, and a greater sense of well-being. Julie Zweig, M.A., Certified Rosen Method Bodywork Practitioner. (845) 255-3566. www.RosenMethod.org.

See Hypnotherapy.

BODYWORK

Judy Joffee, CMN, MSN See Midwifery.

CHINESE HEALING ARTS Chinese Healing Arts Center The Wu Tang Chuan Kung Association was founded by Doctor Tzu Kuo Shih and his family for the purpose of providing the American public with instruction in the ancient Chinese arts of Tai Chi Chuan, Chi Kung, and traditional Chinese Medicine. 264 Smith Avenue, Kingston. (845) 338-6045 or (203) 748-8107.

CHIROPRACTIC

bodhi studio

BOTANICA Gypsy Janet Reverend Gypsy Janet has 30 years training and experience in SANTERIA and life long lessons in “Native American Ways” from her father, who is Mohawk. This is NOT your ordinary Botanica/Religious Supply Shop. Gypsy Janet makes unique Hand Crafted one-of-a-kind Spiritual Gifts, Ritual Supplies, Carved and Dressed 7 day candles. The shop is full of many surprises and there are also Native American, Reggae, and Belly Dancer sections. Gypsy Janet also reads TAROT and TEA LEAVES, she can “Legally Marry” couples in NY State, and loves to personalize and setup your own SACRED ALTAR. The shop is located at 100 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock, New York. (845) 679-2999.

Nori Connell, RN, DC Nori combines 28 years as a registered nurse with 18 years of chiropractic experience to offer patients a knowledgeable approach to removing the interferences in the body that lead to disease. She combines accredited techniques such as NeuroEmotional technique, kinesiology, and Network Chiropractic to work with the body’s innate intelligence and its ability for healing. Dr. Connell also offers workshops on natural health care for the family and is also one of the directors of Alternatives Health Center of Tivoli. (845) 757-5555. Also at Rhinebeck Cooperative Health Center. (845) 876-5556.

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Through bodywork one can connect with the body’s own inherent wisdom and self healing abilities. With skill, intuition, and care, we offer therapeutic massage, bodhiwork, Reiki, warm stone massage, aromatherapy, earconing, and a full range of ayurvedic treatments including Shirodara, Abyanga, and Swedna. Melinda Pizzano, LMT and Helen Andersson, D.Ay. Call for an appointment. (518) 828-2233.

Dr. David Ness Dr. David Ness is a Certified Active Release Techniques® (ART) Provider and Certified Chiropractic Sports Practitioner® specializing in helping athletes and active people quickly relieve their pain and heal their injuries. In addition to providing traditional ® chiropractic care, Dr. Ness utilizes ART to remove scar tissue and adhesions in order to restore mobility, flexibility, and strength faster than standard treatments will allow. If you have an injury that has not responded to treatment, call Dr. Ness for an appointment today. (845) 255-1200.

Dr. Bruce Schneider

CAREER AND LIFE COACHING

New Paltz, New York 12561. (845) 255-4424.

Allie Roth/ Center for Creativity and Work

COLON HYDROTHERAPY

Career and Life Coaching for those seeking more creativity, fulfillment, balance and meaning in life and work. Offers a holistic approach to career and life transitions. Also specializes in executive coaching, and coaching small business owners, consultants and private practitioners. 25 years experience. Kingston and New York City offices. Tel: (845) 336-8318. Toll Free: (800) 577-8318. Web: www.allieroth.com. Email: allie@allieroth.com.

Connie Schneider, Advanced Level I-ACT Certified Colon Hydrotherapist Colon Hydrotherapy is a safe, gentle, cleansing process. Clean and private office. A healthy functioning colon can decrease internal toxicity and improve digestion; basics for a healthy body. New Paltz, NY. (845) 256-1516. See display ad.

CHI GONG/TAI CHI CHUAN

COUNSELING SERVICES

Second Generation Yang

Elizabeth Cunningham, MSC

Spiritual alchemy practices of ancient Taoist sorcerers yielded these two treasures of internal arts.

Counselor, interfaith minister, and novelist, Elizabeth brings humor, compassion, and a deep under-

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standing of story to a spirited counseling practice for individuals and couples. If you are facing loss, crisis in faith, creative block, conflict in relationship, Elizabeth invites you to become a detective and investigate your own unfolding mystery. 44 Schultzville Road, Staatsburg. (845) 266-4477. E-mail: medb44@aol.com.

with Crystals, Space Clearings & Blessings, Long Distance Healings, End-of-Life Transitions, Guided Meditation/visualization.Thursday evenings at 7: 30 pm. Self healing is a process of self-discovery. Within the space of the heart discover what you need to heal. Kate DeChard M.Ed. The Soul Sanctuary, 6052 B Route 9, Rhinebeck, NY 12572.

CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY Craniosacral Therapy

Healing, Pathwork and Channeling by Flowing Spirit Guidance

A gentle, hands-on method for enhancing the body’s own healing capabilities through the craniosacral rhythm. Craniosacral aids in the release of stressrelated conditions such as anxiety, nervousness, insomnia, depression, digestive, menstrual, and other problems with organ function, breathing difficulties, and headaches. Increase energy, reduce pain, and improve immune system function. Effective for whiplash, TMJ, sciatica, fibromyalgia, scoliosis, arthritis, low back tension, and chronic pain. Also helpful for children with birth trauma, learning difficulties, chronic ear problems, and hyperactivity. Hudson Valley Therapeutic Massage, Michele Tomasicchio, LMT. (845) 255-4832.

It is our birthright to experience the abundance of the universe, the deep love of God, and our own divinity! It is also our birthright to share our own unique gifts with the world. We long to do it. So why don’t we? Our imperfections get in the way. As we purify, we experience more and more fully, the love and the abundance of God’s universe. We can have it in any moment. We can learn to purify our imperfections AND experience heaven on earth. Jaffe Institute Spiritual Healing; Pathwork; and Channeling available. Contact Joel Walzer for sessions. (845) 679-8989. www.flowingspirit.com.

DENTISTRY

Join us for an empowering, life-changing, six-month, transformational training. This comprehensive program includes: Meditation, Visualization, Sound work, Breath work, Movement, Sacred Ceremony, Essential Grounding and Releasing Practices, and 33 Professional Healing Techniques. School starts September 23, 2005. Free special intro evening: Self-Healing with OLHT August 26 + September 9, 7:00-9:00pm; Special Introductory Weekend: Access Your Healing Potential August 27-28 and September 10 -11. (NYSNA CEU’s available). Ron Lavin, MA, founder and director of the international OLHT schools, is a respected spiritual healer with 26 years of experience. He heads seven OLHT schools in Germany and one in Rhinebeck, NY. He has worked with the NIH in Distance Healing for eight years. Appointments and Distance Healing sessions are available in Rhinebeck, NY. Call (845) 876-0259 or e-mail ronlavin@aol.com. www.OneLig htHealingTouch.com.

The Center For Advanced Dentistry Bruce D. Kurek, DDS, FAGD; Jaime O. Stauss, DMD

FENG SHUI DeStefano and Associates Barbara DeStafano has been the owner of DeStefano and Associates, an interior design business, for 18 years. She received certification in Feng Shui from the Metropolitan Institute of Interior Design and has completed advanced work with several Feng Shui Masters. Feng Shui is the perfect marriage to interior design. It brings a spiritual dimension to your space. Barbara can create a kind of beauty that touches your spirit, and brings balance and harmony to a level that transcends the superficial. Barbara is available for consultations, guest speaker engagements, and workshops. (845) 339-4601.

CENTER FOR POSITIVE THINKING ®

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Setting the standards for excellence in dentistry for more than 25 years, the Center for Advanced Dentistry attracts clients from throughout the northeast and abroad. Their client-centered approach to providing comprehensive dental services for adults and children includes “old school” care and concern combined with the latest technologies. The office is conveniently located 1.5 miles east of the NYS Thruway, exit 18. 494 Route 299, Highland. www.thecenterforadvanced dentistry.com. (845) 691-5600. Fax (845) 691-8633.

One Light Healing Touch: Healer Training School

The Outreach Division of Guideposts

The Sanctuary: A Place for Healing A quaint healing center in a quiet part of downtown New Paltz. Specializing in Craniosacral Therapy, Stress Point Release through Chiropractic, Swedish & Sports Massage, Shiatsu, and Energetic Reiki. New offerings include meditation and nutritional counseling. 5 Academy Street, New Paltz. Call for an appointment. (845) 255-3337.

Founded by

HEALTH FOOD Feng Shui Wei Designing Your Life with Feng Shui. The intuitive practice of Feng Shui balances your individual energy with your home or workplace and harmonizes the effect your surroundings have on all aspects of life: health, wealth, relationship, emotional well-being, mental clarity, peace, self-fulfillment. Sensitive, revitalizing personal and space clearings. Intuitive Feng Shui® certification. Free 15-minute phone consultation. Contact Sharon Rothman: (201) 385-5598; www.fengshuiwei.com.

Pleasant Stone Farm 130 Dolson Avenue, Middletown, NY. pleasantstonefarm@usa.net. (845) 343-4040.

HEALTH PUBLICATIONS Hudson Valley Healthy Living

Feng Shui consultations, classes. Explore how Feng Shui can increase the flow of abundance, joy, and well-being in your life. Create your home or office to support your goals and dreams. Contact Betsy Stang at bebird@aol.com. or (845) 679-6347.

A comprehensive directory of Mid-Hudson health services, products, and practitioners, along with articles on health issues of interest. Published biannually (April/October) by Luminary Publishing, Inc., the creators of Chronogram, 50,000 copies are distributed in the region throughout the year. Contents are also available on the Web at www.hvhealthyliving.com. See www.hvhealthyliving.com for advertising rates or call the HVHL sales team at (845) 334-8600.

HEALTH & HEALING

HEALTHY EATING

Guidance of Spirit, Wisdom of Heart

Cool Cover ™

Heart-based Intuitive Healing, Karma Release

See Business Directory: Food Serving Products.

Healing By Design

NORMAN VINCENT PEALE & RUTH STAFFORD PEALE invite you to tour the Visitor’s Center 66 East Main Street Pawling, N.Y. 12564 For hours and information, please call 855-5000 GROUP TOURS WELCOME

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Monarda Herbal Apothecary Join us for medicine making and herbal studies in our outdoor classroom along the beautiful Esopus Creek. 2005 Herbal Internships

HERBS

HYPNOTHERAPY

Monarda Herbal Apothecary

Achieve Your Goals with Therapeutic Hypnosis Sharon Slotnick, MS, CHt.

In honoring the diversity, uniqueness, and strength of nature for nourishment and healing, we offer organic and ecologically wildcrafted herbs using tradition as our guide. Certified Organic Alcohol Tinctures, Teas, Salves, Essential Oils, and more. Product Catalog $1. Workshops and Internships. www.monarda.net. (845) 688-2122.

Seasonal Herbal Workshops

HOLISTIC HEALTH

Weekday & Weekend Sessions Beginning in May 2005 with Jennifer Costa, Herbalist

Julie Barone Certified Holistic Health Counselor

Monarda Offers: FULL HERBAL PRODUCTS LINE CERTIFIED ORGANIC ALCOHOL TINCTURES PRIVATE CONSULTATIONS

Website Herbal Catalog: www.monarda.net E-mail: monarda@hvc.rr.com (845) 688-2122 PRINTED HERBAL PRODUCTS CATALOG: SEND $1 TO

1305 Old Route 28 Phoenicia, New York 12464

Live with vibrant energy! Whole foods nutrition and lifestyle consulting can help you kick the junk food habit, achieve better health, tune in to your body, and eat well for life. Individual programs are customized to your health goals. Special People Pet Wellness program for you and your pet. Whole foods cooking parties – fun, educational, and delicious! Free consultation. (845) 338-4115 julieabarone@yahoo.com. www.peoplepetwellness.com.

Priscilla A. Bright, MA, Energy Healer/Counselor

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Specializing in women’s stress, emotional issues, and physical illness, including stress-related anxiety, depression, and physical burnout. Women in transition, businesswomen, mothers, all welcome. Experienced counselor. Faculty, Barbara Brennan School of Healing. Convenient offices in Kingston & New Paltz. Initial phone consultation no charge. (845) 688-7175.

John M. Carroll, Healer John Carroll is an intuitive healer, teacher, and spiritual counselor, who integrates mental imagery with the God-given gift of his hands. John has helped individuals suffering from acute and chronic disorders, including back problems and cancer. Remote healings and telephone sessions. Call for consultation. Kingston. (845) 338-8420.

Kary Broffman, RN, CH A registered nurse with a BA in psychology since 1980, Kary is certified in Ericksonian Hypnotherapy, Hypnobirthing, and Complementary Medical Hypnotherapy with the National Guild. She has also studied interactive imagery for nurses. By weaving her own healing journey and education into her work, she helps to assist others in accessing their inner resources and healing potential. Hudson Valley Healing Arts Center, Hyde Park. (845) 876-6753.

INTEGRATED ENERGY THERAPY Integrated Energy Therapy IET heals with the pure energy of SPIRIT and the gifts of the angels. Suppressed emotions, limiting beliefs, and past-life memories are cleared from the Energy Anatomy on a cellular level. Remember and live the true expression of your soul’s purpose. Also combining Spiritual Guidance, IET, and Massage. 15 years experience. Dona Ho Lightsey, LMT, IET Master. New Paltz. Web: www.learniet.com/dona_ ho_lightsey.asp. Tel: (845) 256-0443.

INTERFAITH MINISTRIES Elizabeth Cunningham, MSC See Counseling Services.

Spirittus Holistic Resource Center

Ione, Director, Ministry of Maat, Inc.

See Workshops.

Spiritual and Educational organization with goals of fostering world community. (845) 339-5776.

HOLISTIC TAROT & EXPRESSIVE HEALING ARTS Holistic Tarot/Expressive Healing Arts Discover more about your inner being and psychic energy powers, changing your life in a compassionate, creative, progressive way. Tarot, Meditation, Expressive Healing Arts/Mandala Dance, Spiritual Art Therapy, Energy/Aura Healing, Spiritual Studies. Classes/workshops for groups/individuals with Cenira - Artist, Expressive Arts Facilitator and Intuitive Counselor. (845) 594-8612. cenira@ceniraarts.com.

Reverend Kevin Kraft, Interfaith Minister

HYPNOSIS

Sacred, Intimate, Joyful. “Honor Tradition and Have the Ceremony You Want.” Together we develop a meaningful ceremony that expresses who you are while considering sensitive concerns. Personal attention to details ensures your needs are thoughtfully addressed and creates a joyful ceremony expressing your vision completely. Weddings, Unions, Renewals, Rites of Passage, and Spiritual Counseling. Hudson Valley Interfaith Fellowship. 89 N. Front Street, Kingston. (845) 338-8313. Email: Kevin@spirittus.org.

One-Session Hypnosis with Frayda Kafka CHT

JEWISH MYSTICISM/KABBALAH

Practicing for over 29 years, Frayda has helped people with smoke cessation, weight loss, pain, childbirth, worry, habits, fears, sleep, confidence, and easing medical procedures. Almost any behavior you can think of can be mediated with hypnosis. Known for her easy, light manner and quick results, she has a knack for saying just the right thing at the right time so that a major shift can be initiated. After your session, you will have an audiotape to use at home. Employee workshops and gift certificates are available. Fees are altered for groups. Please call or email Frayda with your questions or for an appointment. Tel: (845) 336-4646. Email: info@CallTheHyp notist.com. Web: www.CallTheHypnotist.com.

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Increase self-esteem; break bad habits; manage stress; alleviate pain (e.g. childbirth, headaches, back pain); overcome fears and depression; relieve insomnia; improve study habits, public speaking, sports performance; heal through past-life journeys, other issues. Sliding scale. Certified Hypnotherapist and Counselor, two years training Therapeutic Hypnosis & Traditional Psychotherapeutic Techniques. (845) 389-2302. New Paltz, Kingston. See also Psychotherapy.

Chabad of Woodstock Providing Jewish people from all backgrounds the opportunity to experience the depth and soul of the Jewish teachings and vibrant way of life. Offering Jewish resources, workshops, gatherings, and classes. Rabbi Yisroel Arye and Ilana Gootblatt, co-directors. (845) 679-6407. www.chabadof woodstock.com.

JIN SHIN-JYUTSU Kenneth Davis, CPLT See Psychotherapy.

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MASSAGE THERAPY bodhi studio See Bodywork.

Hudson Valley Therapeutic Massage Michele Tomasicchio, LMT, specializes in Integrative Massage—incorporation of various healing modalities: Swedish, Myofascial Deep Tissue, Craniosacral, and stretching to facilitate the body’s healing process. A session may include all or just one modality. No fault accepted. Gift certificates available. By appointment only. 243 Main Street, Suite 220 New Paltz. (845) 255-4832.

Shiatsu Massage Therapy Leigh Scott is a licensed Shiatsu Massage Therapist with 20 years experience and a former teacher at the Ohashi Institute in New York City. Leigh uses her skills and knowledge of Shiatsu, as well as Reflexology and Polarity, to give a very satisfying hour-long massage. (845) 679-3012.

herbs and spices; clean, pure organic products to support a healthy lifestyle; large selection of homeopathic remedies. Sunflower Natural Foods is a complete natural foods market. Open 9am-9pm daily. 10am-7pm Sundays. Bradley Meadows Shopping Center, Woodstock. (845) 679-5361.

NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE Naturopathic Medicine Dr. Thomas J. Francescott, ND. Free Your Mind – Release Your Body – Energize Your Spirit! Solve health issues, enhance wellness, and gain awareness. Scientifically proven naturopathic solutions for challenging and/or chronic health concerns. I offer naturopathic expertise in a sacred space to help you feel better. Graduate of the prestigious Bastyr University. Call Rhinebeck Cooperative Health Center: (845) 876-5556. www.drfrancescott.com.

NUTRITION Jill Malden, RD, CSW

MEDITATION Zen Mountain Monastery Offering year-round retreats geared to all levels of experience: introductions to Zen meditation and practice; programs exploring Zen arts, Buddhist studies, and social action; and intensive meditation retreats. South Plank Road, Mt. Tremper.(845) 688-2228.

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MIDWIFERY Catskill Mountain Midwifery, Home Birth Services Give birth as you wish, in an environment in which you feel nurtured and secure; where your emotional well-being, privacy, and personal preferences are respected. Be supported by a tradition that trusts the natural process. Excellent MD consult, hospital backup. (845) 687-BABY.

Suzanne Berger Certified nurse midwife at the Women's Care Center offering a full range of holistic, alternative and traditional services. Serving Kingston, Benedictine and Northern Dutchess Hospitals. Rhinebeck (845) 876-2496. Kingston (845) 338-5575.

NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING Julie Barone Certified Holistic Health Counselor Live with vibrant energy! Whole foods nutrition and lifestyle consulting can help you kick the junk food habit, achieve better health, tune in to your body, and eat well for life. Individual programs are customized to your health goals. Special People Pet Wellness program for you and your pet. Whole foods cooking parties – fun, educational, and delicious! Free consultation. (845) 338-4115. julieabarone@yahoo.com. www.peoplepetwellness.com.

OSTEOPATHY Applied Osteopathy

NATURAL FOODS

Joseph Tieri, DO, & Ari Rosen, DO. Drs. Tieri and Rosen are New York State Licensed Osteopathic physicians specializing in Cranial Osteopathy. As specialists in Osteopathic manipulation, we are dedicated to the traditional philosophy and hands-on treatment of our predecessors. We have studied with Robert Fulford, DO, Viola Freyman, DO, James Jealous, DO, and Bonnie Gintis, DO, and completed a two-year residency in Osteopathic Manipulation. We treat newborns, children, and adults. 3457 Main Street, Stone Ridge, (845) 687-7589. 138 Market Street, Rhinebeck, (845) 876-1700. By Appointment. For more info call or visit www.appliedosteopathy.com.

Beacon Natural Market

PHYSICIANS

Homebirth and Gynecology Practice of Judy Joffee, CNM This practice offers a unique and exquisite opportunity for woman care in a powerfully compassionate and sacred manner. I offer complete prenatal care focused toward homebirth. For the nonpregnant woman, individualized gynecological care, counseling, and self-determination await you. Also offering school, work, and general physicals for all ages. Call for consultation. (845) 255-2096.

Sunflower Natural Foods Market At Sunflower we know the food we eat is our greatest source of health. Sunflower carries certified organic produce, milk, cheeses, and eggs; non-irradiated

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Prominent Nutritionist specializing in eating behavior and eating disorders for 15 years. Warm, nonjudgmental treatment. Understand the effects of nutrition on your mood, anxiety level, cravings, concentration, energy level, and sleep, in addition to body weight. Recover from your eating issues and enjoy a full life! 199 Main Street, New Paltz. (845) 489-4732.

Aruna Bakhru, MD, FACP Dr. Bakhru is board certified in internal medicine and is a fellow of the American College of Physicians. She also offers energy medicine by measuring the energy flow at the meridians. Herbal, homeopathic, nutritional, or flower remedies can be found, and tailor-made for your individual needs. It takes the guesswork out of spending hundreds of dollars at the health food store without knowing if the product is helpful to you. Toxic emotions, thought patterns, chakra imbalances, dental issues can be identified and dealt with. Hidden toxins, energetic imprints of past infections, vaccinations, etc. can be uncovered. Poughkeepsie (845) 463-1044.

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Women Care Center Empowerment through information. Located in Rhinebeck and Kingston. Massage and acupuncture available. Gynecology—treating our patients through the most up-to-date medical and surgical technologies available, combined with alternative therapies. Obstetrics—working with you to create the birth experience you desire. Many insurances accepted. Evening hours available. Rhinebeck (845) 876-2496. Kingston (845) 338-5575.

PILATES Pilates of New Paltz We are a fully equipped studio of certified, experienced, caring instructors with the knowledge to challenge students while respecting their limitations (injury/illness, age, etc.). We are offering a special ackage price for four introductory lessons and offer small group reformer classes and mat classes. We are open 6 days a week with a very flexible appointment schedule. (845) 255-0559.

PSYCHOLOGISTS James Cancienne, PhD Licensed Clinical Psychologist offering adult psychotherapy and couples counseling. Jungian-based psychotherapy for people in crisis, those with ongoing mental health difficulties, and those wishing to expand their personality and gain greater satisfaction from their relationships and work. Some insurance accepted and sliding scale. Hudson. (518) 828-2528.

Carla J. Mazzeo, PhD

Mark L. Parisi, PhD Licensed psychologist. Offering individual psychotherapy for adults. Specializing in gay men’s issues, anxiety, depression, relationship concerns, adjustment, issues related to aging, disordered eating, body image, sexual identity, and personal growth. Medicare and some insurance accepted. 52 South Manheim Boulevard, New Paltz. (845) 255-2259.

Jonathan D. Raskin, PhD Licensed psychologist. Insight-oriented, meaningbased, problem-focused, person-centered psychotherapy for adults and adolescents facing problems including, but not limited to, self-esteem, interpersonal relationships, life transitions, family issues, career concerns, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and bereavement. 199 Main Street, New Paltz. Free initial consultation. Sliding scale. (845) 257-3471.

PSYCHOTHERAPY Kent Babcock, LMSW Counseling & Psychotherapy Development of solutions through simple self-observation, reflection, and conversation. Short- or longterm work around difficult relationships; life or career transitions; ethical, spiritual, or psychic dilemmas; and creative blocks. Roots in yoga, dreamwork, spiritual psychology, and existential psychotherapy. Sliding scale. Offices in Woodstock and Uptown Kingston. (845) 679-5511 x4.

Debra Budnik, CSW-R Traditional insight-oriented psychotherapy for long- or short-term work. Aimed at identifying and changing

Deep Clay Art and Therapy Deep Clay with Michelle Rhodes ATR-BC, LMSW. Individual, couple, parent and child, and group artsbased psychotherapy. “Dreamfigures” Clay Psychotherapy group for women. Expressive clay group and individual sessions for children and teens. A unique, creative, and grounding approach for crisis management, transitions, and deep healing. Sessions in Gardiner and NYC. (845) 417-1369. deepclay@mac.com.

Peter M. del Rosario, PhD Licensed psychologist. Insight-oriented, culturally sensitive psychotherapy for adults and adolescents concerned with: relationship difficulties, codependency, depression, anxiety, sexual/physical trauma, grief and bereavement, eating disorders, dealing with divorce, gay/lesbian issues. 199 Main Street, New Paltz. Free initial consult. Sliding scale. Tel: (914) 262-8595.

Rachael Diamond, CSW,CHt Holistically-oriented therapist offering counseling, psychotherapy, and hypnotherapy. Specializing in issues pertaining to relationships, personal growth, life transitions, alternative lifestyles, childhood abuse, codependency, addiction, recovery illness, and grief. Some insurance accepted. Office convenient to New Paltz and surrounding areas. (845) 883-9642.

Eidetic Image Therapy A fast moving, positive psychotherapy that gets to problem areas quickly and creates change by using eidetic (eye-DET-ic) images to promote insight and growth. The eidetic is a bright, lively picture seen in the mind like a movie or filmstrip. It is unique in its ability to reproduce important life events in exact detail, revealing both the cause and solution of problem areas. Dr. Toni Nixon, EdD, director. Port Ewen. (845) 339-1684.

whole living directory

Licensed Clinical Psychologist offering psychodynamic psychotherapy for adolescents and adults. I have experience working with trauma, mood disturbances, sexual assault, depression, anxiety, grief/bereavement, eating/body image difficulties, alcohol/ substance concerns, teenage problems, relationship difficulties, sexuality issues, or general self-exploration. Dream work also available. New Paltz location. Reduced fee for initial consultation. (845) 255-2259.

self-defeating attitudes and behaviors, underlying anxiety, depression, and relationship problems. Sliding scale, most insurances accepted, including Medicare/Medicaid. NYS-licensed. Experience working with trauma victims, including physical and sexual abuse. Educator on mental health topics. Located in New Paltz, one mile from SUNY. (845) 255-4218.

Amy R. Frisch, CSWR Psychotherapist. Individual, family, and group sessions for adolescents and adults. Currently accepting registration for It’s a Girl Thing: an expressive arts therapy group for adolescent girls, and The Healing Circle: an adult bereavement group offering a safe place to begin the healing process after the death of a loved one. Most insurances accepted. Located in New Paltz. (914) 706-0229.

Irene Humbach, LCSW, PC See Body-Centered Therapy.

Ione Author and psychotherapist: Qigong, Meditation, Hypnotherapy, and Dreams. Specializing in the creative process. Healing retreats, Local and Worldwide. (845) 339-5776.

Martin Knowles, LCSW Taking a systemic approach to well-being and relationships for over 20 years, Martin Knowles works with individuals, couples and families in Uptown Kingston. His effective, down-to-earth style amplifies and encourages natural talents and resources, bringing out the best in each of us. (845) 338-5450, ext. 301.

Elise Lark, LCSW, LMT Body & Creativity-Centered Psychotherapy SYNtegration Therapy utilizes acupuncture and muscular releases, sensation awareness, active imagination, and body-centered dialogue to explore physical symptoms, behavioral patterns, and inner

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conflicts. Fast-acting, highly effective, it will give you the practical tools, insight, and direction needed to move forward in your life. Sliding Scale. Free Consult. Tel: (845) 657-2516.

SHIATSU

Dr. Nancy Rowe, PhD, CET Heart Centered Counseling & Expressive Arts Therapy

SPAS & RESORTS

Emotional healing for children and adults using talk, imagery, sandplay, expressive arts, and/or movement. Background in transpersonal psychology, play therapy, family therapy, spiritual guidance, authentic movement, and expressive arts therapy. Offices in Woodstock and Kingston. Call Nancy, (845) 679-4827. www.wisdomheart.com.

The Emerson Spa is open! This Asian-inspired design invites guests into an oasis of relaxation that is surrounded by the Catskills’ pastoral beauty. Individually-tailored treatments are created by the European-trained staff who are skilled at delivering virtually all the Emerson Spa’s 40+ treatments. Men and women alike will enjoy the personalized attention they receive while enjoying experiences such as Ayruvedic Rituals, Aromatherapy Massage, Deep-Tissue and Four-Hand Massage, Hot Stone Therapy and Detoxifying Algae Wraps. Call (845) 6881000 or visit our website at: www.emersonplace.com.

Change Your Outlook, Heal, and Grow Sharon Slotnick, MS, CHt. With combination of “talk” therapy for self-knowledge and hypnotherapy to transform negative, self-defeating thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Faster symptom relief. Feel better and make healthier choices. Sliding scale, Certified Hypnotherapist and Counselor. (845) 389-2302. New Paltz, Kingston. See also Hypnotherapy.

whole living directory

Richard Smith, CSW-R, CASAC Potential-Centered Therapy (PCT) alters thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that block growth. A psychodynamic approach incorporating NLP, EMDR, and hypnosis, PCT resolves addictions, trauma, limiting beliefs, and destructive behaviors. Twenty years experience and a gentle spirit guide you through an accelerated process of profound healing. Gardiner. Tel: (845) 256-6456. Email: richardsmithcsw @earthlink.net.

Judy Swallow, MA, TEP

Leigh Scott See Massage Therapy.

The Spa at Emerson Place

SPIRITUAL Bioenergetics/Kabbalistic Healing, Irene Humbach, LCSW, PC See Body-Centered Therapy.

Healing, Pathwork and Channeling by Flowing Spirit Guidance It is our birthright to experience the abundance of the universe, the deep love of God, and our own divinity! It is also our birthright to share our own unique gifts with the world. We long to do it. So why don’t we? Our imperfections get in the way. As we purify, we experience more and more fully, the love and the abundance of God’s universe. We can have it in any moment. We can learn to purify our imperfections AND experience heaven on earth. Jaffe Institute Spiritual Healing; Pathwork; and Channeling available. Contact Joel Walzer for sessions. Call (845) 679-8989 or visit our website at: www.flowingspirit.com.

Integrative body/mind therapist using Rubenfeld synergy and psychodrama in her work with individuals, couples, groups, and families. Inquire for workshops and training, as well as therapy. New Paltz. (845) 255-5613.

Egyptian Mysteries, Scarab Teachings™, Journeys to Sacred Sites. (845) 339-5776.

Wellspring

New York Region Pathwork

Evolutionary coaching using movement and breath to access and clear lifelong patterns and transform relationships. Rodney and Sandra Wells, certified by Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks. (845) 534-7668.

The Pathwork is a way of life, a community of seekers, a school, and a philosophy. It is based in a profound set of teachings channeled over a 30-year period by Eva Pierrakos that show a way to live in this world with complete inner freedom and happiness. Learn more at Pathworkny.org, or (845) 688-2211.

Ione

Julie Zweig, MA Verbal Body-Centered Psychotherapy utilizing doctoral level training in psychology and 15+ years of experience as a therapist, as well as the principles of Rosen Method Bodywork, but without touch. See also Body-Centered Therapy. New Paltz, New York. (845) 255-3566.

REBIRTHING Susan DeStefano Heart-centered therapy for healing the body, mind, and emotions. Improve relationships, release the past, heal the inner child through personal empowerment. (845) 255-6482.

SCHOOLS & TRAINING

Spirittus Holistic Resource Center See Workshops.

STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION Hudson Valley Structural Integration Structural integration is a form of soft tissue manipulation based on the lifelong work of Dr. Ida P. Rolf. It is a process-oriented whole systems approach that seeks to improve one’s health and vitality by balancing the body and re-establishing appropriate relationships. Benefits include feeling lighter, more energy, greater freedom of movement, relief from chronic pain, and positive psychological effects. We offer a safe place for exploration and work with sensitivity and compassion. Krisha Showalter and Ryan Flowers are certified practitioners of the KMI method. Rhinebeck, (845) 876-4654.

Institute of Transpersonal Psychology ITP is an accredited graduate psychology school offering clinical and nonclinical certificates, MA and PhD degrees. The curriculum combines mind, body, and spiritual inquiry with scholarly research and self-discovery. Graduates have strong clinical skills and can communicate in a variety of complex relational circumstances. Tel: (650) 493-4430. Email: itpinfo@itp.edu.Web: www.itp.edu.

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TAROT CARD READING Tarot Card Reading Need some direction in your life? Have a question that needs to be answered? Call Melissa for a confidential tarot card reading. Melissa is available for solo readings as well as private and corporate parties. Call Melissa today at (845) 728-8474. Reasonable rates.

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Tarot-on-the-Hudson Rachel Pollack

WORKSHOPS

Exploratory, experiential play with the Tarot as oracle and sacred tool, in a monthly class, with Certified Tarot Grand Master and international Tarot author Rachel Pollack. All levels welcome. Tarot Readings in person or by phone. Appointment/Info: rachel@rachelpollack.com. (845) 8765797. Rhinebeck. Also see ad.

Back to Basics at “The Barn”

THERAPY Toni D. Nixon, EdD Therapist and Buddhist Practitioner Offering a unique combination of techniques that integrate therapeutic goals & spiritual practice. The basic principles of Buddhism and psychotherapy are concerned with the goal of ending human suffering. Both paths to liberation are through greater self-awareness, a broader view of one’s world, the realization of the possibility of freedom, and finding the means to achieve it. In essence, effective psychotherapy moves toward liberation, and Buddhist practice is therapeutic in nature. Eidetic Image therapy is a unique and powerful method that encourages the liberation of the mind and spirit from obstacles that block the way to inner peace. Specializing in life improvement skills, habit cessation, career issues, women’s issues, & blocked creativity. By phone, online, and in person. (845) 3391684. www.eidetictherapy.com.

VEGAN LIFESTYLES

Life Transformational Metaphysical Workshop Series begins August 5 in Gardiner. Set in idyllic location - 130-year old renovated barn abutting Shawangunk Mountains, Author, Hand Analyst/Life Coach shares joyous process of Evolving Consciously. Discover your Life Purpose/Life Lesson through your unchangeable Soul Goal hidden in your unique fingerprint patterns! To register for this workshop, call (845) 256-1294 or visit www.terrasoleil.com/ workshops.

Spirittus Holistic Resource Center The Spirittus Holistic Resource Center is a healing environment where people gather to explore Spirituality, Health, and Holistic Living. Each month we host 25 + workshops. Weekly meditation, monthly Nutrition, Astrology, and Reiki Study groups. We have a private healing room offering Reiki, Counseling, Hypnotherapy, and CranioSacral Therapy. We provide access to a holistic library, holistic referral network, and the holistic gift shop. 89 North Front Street, Kingston, New York. Visit our website at: www.spirittus.org or call (845) 338-8313. Kevin@spirittus.org.

StoneWater Sanctuary See Holistic Wellness Centers.

YOGA The Children’s School Of Yoga

whole living directory

Andrew Glick - Vegan Lifestyle Coach Certified Holistic Health Counselor. The single most important step an individual can take to help save the planet’s precious resources, improve and protect one’s health, and to stop the senseless slaughter of over 50 billion animals a year...is to Go Vegan. What could make you feel better about yourself than knowing you are helping the planet, your own health, and the lives of countless animals all at the same time? If the idea is daunting and seems undoable to you, then let your personal Vegan Lifestyle Coach take you through steps A to Z. Whether you’re a cattle rancher eating meat three times a day or a lacto-vegetarian wanting to give up dairy, it’s a process that can be fun, easy and meaningful. You can do it easily with the proper support, guidance and encouragement from your Vegan Lifestyle Coach. (845) 679-7979. andy@meatfreezone.org or www.meatfreezone.org. See display ad.

Offering yoga classes to children from infant to teen. We offer classes to Daycares / Preschool, Camps & After School programs. We offer Parent/Child & Family yoga classes, school aged yoga classes and teen yoga classes. We are currently in over 25+ locations throughout Orange, Dutchess, & Sullivan Counties. Call for your free trial class today at: (845) 791-1553 or contact us directly at: www.thechildrensschoolofyoga.com. Email: thechildrensschoolofyoga@juno.com.

Jai Ma Yoga Center Offering a wide array of Yoga classes, seven days a week, from Gentle/Restorative Yoga to Advanced. Meditation classes free to all enrolled. Chanting Friday evenings. New expanded studio space. Private consultations and Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy sessions available. Gina Bassinette, RYT & Ami Hirschstein, RYT, Owners. New Paltz. (845) 256-0465.

Healthy Gourmet To Go Try our colossal coconut macaroons dipped in dark chocolate or our delectable pan-seared cornmeal crusted homemade seitan cutlets over rosemary smashed potatoes with mushroom gravy. From old-fashioned home cooking with a new healthful twist to live/raw foods and macrobiotics, HGTG has dishes to please every palate. Weekly Meal Delivery right to your door. Organic, vegan, kosher. Baby Registry. Gift Certificates. Catering. www.carrottalk.com. (845) 339-7171.

WEDDINGS & COUNSELING Reverend Kevin Kraft, Interfaith Minister See Interfaith Ministries.

WOMEN’S GROUPS Honoring the Soul with Adele Marcus, LCSW-R, ACHT See Psychotherapy.

WOMEN’S HEALTH Women’s Health & Fitness Expo womensexpo@hotmail.com. (845) 338-7140.

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The Living Seed Sivananda Yoga offered five days a week. Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize–Sivananda. 521 Main Street (Rte. 299, across from Econo Lodge), New Paltz. (845) 255-8212.

Satya Hudson Valley Yoga Center Satya Hudson Valley Yoga Center is located in the heart of Rhinebeck village, on the third floor of the Rhinebeck Department Store building. We offer classes for all levels, 7 days a week. There is no need to pre-register: we invite you to just show up. For more information, visit www.hudsonvalleyyoga.com or call (845) 876-2528.

Yoga on Duck Pond Grounded in the alignment of the inner and outer body, yoga can reduce your stress, reshape your body, recharge your mind. “Working with Donna is a spiritual and physical adventure for me. I experience a renewed sense of well-being, increased mobility, clarity of mind, and a natural diet adjustment. She is helping me change my life.” –Carlo Travaglia, sculptor. Donna Nisha Cohen, director and certified instructor, over 20 years experience. Stone Ridge. Classes Sunday through Friday. Call for times, and information on prenatal and private sessions. (845) 687-4836.

CHRONOGRAM

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CHRONOGRAM

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business directory ACTING Sande Shurin Acting Classes Revolutionary new acting technique for Film/Stage/TV. The book: Transformational Acting...A Step Beyond, Limelight Editions. The technique: Transform into character using current emotions. No recall. No forward imagining. Shurin privately coaches many celebrities. The classes: Thursday eves. at 7pm, Woodstock. Master classes at the Times Square Sande Shurin Theatre. (917) 545-5713 or (212) 262-6848.

R & F Handmade Paints

ANTIQUE RESTORATION

Internationally known manufacturer of Pigment Sticks and Encaustic paint right here in the Hudson Valley. Stop in for a tour of our factory, get paints at discounted prices, sign up for an Encaustic or Pigment Stick workshop, or check out bi-monthly exhibits in the Gallery. Open Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm. 506 Broadway, Kingston. (845) 331-3112. www.rfpaints.com.

Antique Clock Repair and Restoration

ART THERAPY

Specializing in Grandfather clocks, Tubular chime clocks, European, Atmos and Carriage Clocks, Antique Music boxes. Pickup and delivery. House calls available. Free estimates. One year warranty. References available. For appointment call Ian D.Pomfret at (845) 687-9885 or email idp1@verizon.net.

ARCHITECTURE DiGuiseppe Architecture

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supplies, and the best selection of handmade and decorative papers north of Manhattan. Manny’s, it’s more than just an art store. 83 Main Street, New Paltz. (845) 255-9902.

Inspired, Sensitive, and Luxurious…these are the words that describe the quintessential design work that is DiGuiseppe. The firm, with Design Studios in Accord, New York City, and Boca Raton, provides personalized Architecture and Interiors for each and every client. Whether the project is a Sensitive Historic Renovation, a Hudson Valley Inspired Home or Luxurious Interiors, each project receives the attention of the firm’s principal, Anthony J. DiGuiseppe, AIA RIBA, an internationally published architect and award-winning furniture designer. Accord (845) 687-8989, New York City (212) 439-9611. diarcht@msn.com, www.diguiseppe.com.

ART CENTERS The Living Seed Yoga & Holistic Center Open to the community for over 5 years. Inspiring movements of inner freedom and awareness. We offer Yoga classes for all levels of students, gentle/beginner to advanced. Including Pre & Post Natal Yoga, Family & Kids Yoga, as well as a variety of Dance classes, Massage, Acupuncture, Sauna & Organic Yoga Clothing. New Paltz. (845) 255-8212. www.thelivingseed.com. The Living Seed Yoga & Holistic Health Center 521 Main St. New Paltz, NY 12561. Phone: (845) 255-8212. Web: www.thelivingseed.com. Email: contact@thelivin gseed.com

ART GALLERIES

Deep Clay Art and Therapy with Michelle Rhodes ATR-BC, LMSW See Psychotherapy in Whole Living Guide.

ATTORNEYS Law Offices of Andrea Lowenthal, PLLC Offices in Hudson and Manhattan, serving individuals and businesses throughout the Hudson Valley and New York City. Estate Planning (wills and trusts) and Elder Law (planning for you or your aging relatives), Domestic Partnerships (for GLBT families), Family Matters, Business Formations and Transactions, and Real Estate. Intelligent and sensitive approach to your personal and business legal matters. Please call (518) 671-6200 or (917) 301-6524, or email Andrea@LowenthalLaw.com

Schneider, Pfahl & Rahmé, LLP Manhattan law firm with offices in Woodstock, provides legal services to individuals, institutions, professional firms, companies, and family businesses. Specific areas include: Real Estate, Estate Planning, Corporate, New Media and Arts, and Entertainment Law. Each matter is attended to by a senior attorney who develops a comprehensive legal plan with the client. (845) 6799868 or (212) 629-7744. See website www.nycrealestat eattorneys.com or www.schneiderpfahl.com.

AUTOMOTIVE Roberti Motor Cars Specializing in previously owned SAABs. Over 150 preowned SAABs in stock at all times. Authorized SAAB service center. Large selection of new and used SAAB parts available. Prices range from $1,500 to $25,000. All cars warranteed bumper to bumper. (845) 339-SAAB. 385 Foxhall Avenue, Kingston, NY. www.roberti.com.

BEVERAGES

Van Brunt Gallery Exhibiting the work of contemporary artists. Featuring abstract painting, sculpture, digital art, photography, and video, the gallery has new shows each month. The innovative gallery Web site, www.vanbruntgallery.com, has online artist portfolios and videos of the artists discussing their work. 460 Main Street, Beacon, NY 12508. (845) 838-2995.

ART SUPPLIES

Esotec Ltd. Now Located in Tech-City Kingston, NY. Choose Esotec to be your wholesale beverage provider. For 20 years we’ve carried a complete line of natural, organic, and unusual juices, spritzers, waters, sodas, iced teas, and iced coffees. If you are a store owner, call for details or a catalog of our full line. sales@esotecltd.com. or www.esotecltd.com. (845) 336-3369.

Leisure Time Spring Water Catskill Art & Office Supply Traditional fine art materials, studio furnishings, office products, journals, cards, maps, and gifts. Creative services, too, at all three locations: photo processing, custom printing, rubber stamps, color copies, custom picture framing, and full-color digital output. Pushing the envelope and creative spirit for over 20 years. Woodstock store: (845) 679-2251; Kingston (845) 331-7780; Poughkeepsie (845) 452-1250.

Manny’s Since 1962, big city selection and small town service have made Manny’s special. We offer a full range of art materials, custom picture framing, bookmaking

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Pure spring water from a natural artesian spring located in the Catskill Mountains. The spring delivers water at 42oF year-round. The water is filtered under high pressure through fine white sand. Hot and cold dispensers available. Weekly delivery. (845) 331-0504.

BOOKSTORES Barner Books Used books. From kitsch to culture, Thoreau to thrillers, serious and silly. We have the books you read. Monday - Saturday 10-7pm, Sunday 12-6pm. Located at 69 Main Street, New Paltz, NY. Tel: (845) 255-2635. E-mail: barnerbk@ulster.net.

The Golden Notebook A feast for book lovers located in the heart of Woodstock, we are proud to be a part of Book Sense: Independent Bookstores for Independent Minds. In addition to our huge database, we can special order any book in or out of print. Our Children’s Store located right next door has an extensive selection of books and products exclusively for the under-14 set. We also carry the complete line of Woodstock Chimes. 25-29 Tinker Street, Woodstock. Tel: (845) 679-8000, fax (845) 679-3054. Email: thegoldennotebook@hvc.rr.com. Web:www.goldennotebook.com.

Mirabai of Woodstock The Hudson Valley’s oldest spiritual/holistic bookstore, providing a vast array of books, music, and gifts that transform, renew, and elevate the spirit. Exquisite statuary and other art works from Nepal, Tibet, Bali. Expert Tarot reading, astrological charts/interpretation available. 23 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock. (845) 679-2100. www.mirabai.com.

CARPETS / RUGS Anatolia Tribal Rugs & Weavings Direct importers since 1981– Natural-dyed Afghan carpets; Balouchi tribal kilims; Russian sumaks; antique Caucasian carpets; silk Persian sumaks; Turkish kilims. Hundreds to choose from 2’x3’ to 9’x12’. Kilim pillows, $20-$55. We encourage customers to try our rugs in their homes without obligation. Open 6 days a week 12-6pm. Closed Tues. MC/Visa/AmEx. 54G Tinker Street, Woodstock. (845) 679-5311.

CHILDREN’S ART CLASSES The School for Young Artists An Extraordinary Art Experience! The School for Young Artists provides you with the tools, materials, instruction and support to achieve your goals. Our studio is about the joy of learning and the power of making art. Classes and individual sessions for children and adults. Call Kathy Anderson (845) 679-9541.

CINEMA Great International Cinema. Contemporary & Classic. 26 Montgomery Street, Rhinebeck. (845) 876-2515. www.upstatefilms.com.

CLOTHING Haldora Haldora, a family name from Iceland meaning Goddess of the Mountains. Haldora designs a lifestyle in women’s clothing and scarves— styles which are timeless, understated, and have a forgiving elegance. She designs and cuts her own line, then sends it to her seamstress where it is sewn locally in New York State. Her fabrics are mostly natural, including many kinds of silk, linens, and cotton in many colors, with wool added in winter. Also at Haldora, you will find other complimentary lines. In season, she has wool, cotton, and cashmere sweaters, which include Margaret O’Leary and Kincross Cashmere. Haldora carries a full line of Hanro of Switzerland undergarments and sleepwear. Shoes are also important to finish your look. Some of the lines carried are Arche, Lisa Nading, and Gentle Souls. Haldora also carries jewelry in a wide range of prices. Open Daily. 28 East Market Street, Rhinebeck, New York. Call (845) 876-6250, or visit us on the web at www.haldora.com.

COLLEGES Dutchess Community College Dutchess Community College, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, was founded in 1957. The College offers an educational policy of access, quality, opportunity, diversity, and social responsibility. DCC’s main campus in Poughkeepsie is situated on 130 scenic acres with facilities that are aesthetically pleasing and technologically advanced. The College has a satellite campus, Dutchess South, in Wappinger Falls, and learning centers in Carmel, Staatsburg, and Pawling. (845) 431-8020. www.sunydutchess.edu.

Mount Saint Mary College

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business directory

Upstate Films

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An independent liberal arts college offering more than 30 undergraduate programs; graduate programs in business (MBA), education, and nursing; and noncredit courses. 2,500 women and men. Its beautiful campus overlooks the Hudson River and is conveniently located off I-84 in Newburgh. (845) 569-3222. www.msmc.edu.

CONSIGNMENT SHOPS Past ‘n’ Perfect A quaint consignment boutique that offers distinctive clothing, jewelry, shoes, and accessories, and a unique variety of high quality furs and leathers. Always a generous supply of merchandise from casual to chic,

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contemporary to vintage, with sizes from infant to adult. Featuring a diverse and illuminating jewelry collection. Open Tuesday to Friday 10am-5pm, and Saturday 10am4pm. Conveniently located at 1629 Main Street (Route 44), Pleasant Valley, NY–only 9 miles east of the Mid-Hudson Bridge. (845) 635-3115. www.pastnperfect.com.

DIVORCE SERVICES

The Present Perfect

Manuscript Consultant

Designer consignments of the utmost quality for men, women, and children. Current styles, jewelry accessories, and knickknacks. Featuring beautiful furs and leathers. Open Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm, and Sunday 12-5pm. Located at 23G Village Plaza, Rhinebeck, NY 12572. (845) 876-2939.

See Literary.

COSMETIC & PLASTIC SURGERY M. T. Abraham, MD

business directory

Facial Plastic, Reconstructive & Laser Surgery, PLLC. Dr. Abraham is one of few surgeons double board certified and fellowship trained exclusively in Facial Plastic Surgery. He is an expert in the latest minimally invasive and non-surgical techniques (Botox™, Restylane™, Thermage™, Photofacial™), and also specializes in functional nasal surgery. Offices in Poughkeepsie, Fishkill, & Rhinebeck with affiliated MediSpas. (845) 454-8025. www.NYfaceMD.com.

See Attorneys.

EDITING

Bethany Saltman I am a professor of writing & literature as well as a professional writer & editor who most recently edited local writer Erin Quinn’s Pride and Politics. I have over a decade of experience working with teens, grad students, professionals and editors and I am available to help you with your writing projects. References available. Call or email for a free consultation. (845) 688-7015, bethanysal tman@gmail.com.

EVOLUTION Discovery Institute To Know. To Understand. To Be. Offering intensive training in a living school of psycho-transformism in the tradition of G.I. Gurdjieff. (845) 255-5548. discover@bestweb.net.

CRAFTS

FAUX FINISHES

Crafts People

Faux Intentions

Representing over 500 artisans, Crafts People boasts four buildings brimming with fine crafts, the largest selection in the Hudson Valley. All media represented, including sterling silver & 14K gold jewelry, blown glass, pottery, turned wood, kaleidoscopes, wind chimes, leather, clothing, stained glass, etc. Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday 10:30am-6pm. 262 Spillway Road, West Hurley. (845) 331-3859.

Cat Quinn, professional decorative artist, setting the standard for excellence in Custom Faux Finishes for your home and business. With infinite possibilities, your walls, floors, ceilings, fireplaces and furniture can be transformed using my faux finishing techniques. A full spectrum of decorative finishes using plasters, glazes, and many other mediums, help to fill your home full of your unique personality and spirit. Don’t miss the beauty and exhiliration of transforming the rooms you live and work in every day into spaces that reflect your sense of style. Portfolio showing a phone call away. (845) 532-3067.

DANCEWEAR First Street Dancewear First Street Dancewear in Saugerties, NY offers quality dancewear for Adults and Children. We have dancewear, knit warm-ups, ballet, jazz, tap shoes, gymnastics wear, skatewear, accessories, and gift items. We also feature a line of women’s active wear clothing suitable for Yoga and Pilates. Tel: (845) 247-4517. Web:www.firststreetdancew ear.com.

DESIGN Actionpact Solutions Actionpact Solutions is your premiere, award-winning, full-service graphic, Web, and multi-media design firm located in Kingston, New York. We offer fresh, fun, and functional advertising and design solutions for businesses of all sizes. Make a pact for action and contact us today for your free consultation! Call (845) 532-5398 or email support@actionpactsolutions.com.

Bluebird Artworks Studio Get your ugly mug on one of our beautiful ceramic mugs. Let Bluebird design for you. We can create elegant and efficient websites, clean business cards, effective print ads or just create a great logo. Visit the studio of multimedia artist Jonathan James. Use his web & graphic services. Buy a gift mug, a freeform crochet hat or a fine oil painting by artist Dahlia Nichols. A small studio with big ideas. 8 Tinker Street, Woodstock, behind Walkabout. (845) 679-4659. BluebirdArtworks.com or email mrwander@gmail.com.

DISTRIBUTION Chronogram Is Everywhere! Have you ever noticed that wherever you go, Chronogram is there? That’s because our distribution is so damn good. We can distribute your flyer, brochure, business card, or publication to over 800 establishments in Ulster, Dutchess, Columbia, Greene, Putnam, and Orange counties, and now with new stops in Peekskill, Westchester County. Call us at (845) 334-8600 x107 or e-mail distribution@chronogram.com.

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Lois M. Brenner

FINANCIAL SERVICES Center for Financial Wellness, Inc. I don’t sell anything! I help you become financially independent – retire early, reduce your taxes, build an investment portfolio, do work that you love, get out of debt! Robin Vaccai-Yess, Certified Financial Planner™, Registered Investment Advisor, Fee-Only. Visit www.financiallywell.com to receive my free E-newsletter and to register for workshops. (845) 255-6052. www.financiallywell.com.

FOOD SERVING PRODUCTS Cool Cover™ CoolCover™ keeps food cool, fresh and visible for hours using patent-pending air flow design. Perfect for entertaining at home, indoors and outdoors. CoolCover™ can be tipped back into stable, upright position for easy self serving. Clear, durable, food safe polycarbonate protects food from insects and pets. Great for everyday use as practical tool for healthy eating. No ice. 15 7/8” L x 11 7/8” W x 5 5/8” H. Price - $34.99. Web www.coolcover.us. Toll Free: (800) 601-5757.

FRAMING Catskill Art & Office See Art Supplies.

Manny’s See Art Supplies.

GARDENING & GARDEN SUPPLIES Blue Mountain Gardens Ulster County’s newest garden center specializing in unusual annuals, proven perennials, shrubs and vines and located next to Beyond The Pail, a fine gift store offering accessories for the gardening lifestyle. 3524 Rt. 32 North, Saugerties. Open daily 9am-6pm. (845) 246-6978.

Mac’s Agway in Red Hook/New Paltz Agway Specializing in all your lawn and garden needs. We carry topsoil, peat moss, fertilizers, organics, grass seed, shavings, straw, fencing, pet food, bird seed, bird houses, and more. Mac’s Agway, 68 Firehouse Lane, Red Hook, NY (845) 876-1559; New Paltz Agway, 145 Route 32N, New Paltz, NY (845) 255-0050. Hours for both locations: Mon.-Fri. 8am5:30pm; Sat. 8am-5pm; Sun. 9am-3pm.

The Phantom Gardener At Phantom we provide everything you need to create and enjoy an organic, beautiful landscape. Our dedicated and knowledgeable staff will help you choose from an unbeatable selection of herbaceous or woody plants, garden products and books. We offer professional design, installation, and maintenance services. Visit us! Rhinebeck, NY. 9am – 5pm daily. (845) 876-8606. www.thephantomgardener.com. See display ad.

GIFTS Earth Lore Walk into a World of Wonder: Amethyst and citrine geodes; Quartz crystal clusters, spheres, and obelisks; Moldavite and meteorite pendants; Designer jewelry from Amy Kahn Russell; Peyote Bird and WatchCraft; a dazzling array of Baltic Amber; a Thai rain drum from Woodstock Percussion; a sterling silver Buddha from Bali; fossilized salt lamps from the Royal Polish salt mines; tabletop fountains of Italian marble. These and other exotic Gifts from around the globe at Earth Lore. 2 Fairway Drive in Pawling, N.Y. Open Tues. thru Fri. 10 am-6 pm; Sat. 10-5.

Sapphire The newly opened Sapphire is a unique gift shop like none other. Featuring handmade quality gifts of pottery, stained glass, jewelry, wooden bowls, bags, prints, cards, and home accents made by American and Hudson Valley artisans. Located in downtown Rosendale, Sapphire is open Monday, Thursday & Friday: 2-7:30pm, Saturday: 12-7:30pm, and Sunday: 12-5pm. Closed Tues. & Wed. 415 Main Street, Rosendale. (845) 658-3315. sapphireskyllc@hvc.rr.com.

Glassblowing.com The glassblowing.com studio offers Beginner Workshops in both Glassblowing and Beadmaking. Lee Kind has been teaching glassblowing since 1990 and has the ability to make this hot medium safe for anyone to try. In addition to teaching, Lee creates a line of “one of a kind” lamps and lighting installations for both homes and businesses. For more information call (845) 297-7334 or www.glassblowing.com.

business directory

GLASSBLOWING

HAIR SALONS Trends Hair Design Trends is a cutting-edge hair design center offering New York City styles at Hudson Valley prices, specializing in modern color, cut, and chemical techniques for men and women. Waxing and nail services available. Open Tues. through Fri, 9am to 7pm; Sat. 10am to 3pm. Gift certificates available. 29-31 West Strand, Kingston. (845) 340-9100.

HOME DESIGNS Eco-Arch Design Works - Janus Welton, AIA, BBEI An award-winning design architect, offering over 15 years of Traditional Chinese Feng Shui expertise to her Ecological and Healthy Building Design Practice: combining Building Biology, Solar Architecture, and Feng Shui to promote “Inspiring and Sustainable” environments for the 21st Century. Unlock the potentials of your site, home, or office to foster greater harmony, prosperity, spirit, health, and ecological integrity. Services include: Architecture, Planning, Commercial Interiors, Professional Seminars and Consultations. E-mail: ecoarchitect@hvc.rr.com or see www.JanusWelton DesignWorks.com. (845) 247-4620.

HOME FURNISHINGS & GIFTS White Rice 531 Warren St, Hudson, NY 12534. (518) 697-3500. shaunwr03@aol.com.

HORSEBACK RIDING LESSONS Frog Hollow Farm English riding lessons for adults and children. Solar-heated indoor, large outdoor, cross-country course, extensive trails. Summer camp, boarding, training, and sales. Emphasis on Dressage as a way of enhancing all horse disciplines. Holistic teaching and horse care. 572 Old Post Road, Esopus. (845) 384-6424. www.dressageatfroghollowfarm.com.

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HOUSE ORGANIZING House Organizing Do you own your stuff or does it own you? Take back your home! Joyous hands-on support in de-cluttering given by an experienced teacher. Contact April Lynn Sponaugle, MS. at (845) 795-5189 for a Free Consultation.

INTERIOR DESIGN DeStefano and Associates Barbara DeStafano has been the owner of DeStefano and Associates, an interior design business, for 18 years. She received certification in Feng Shui from the Metropolitan Institute of Interior Design and has completed advanced work with several Feng Shui Masters. Feng Shui is the perfect marriage to interior design. It brings a spiritual dimension to your space. Barbara can create a kind of beauty that touches your spirit, and brings balance and harmony to a level that transcends the superficial. Barbara is available for consultations, guest speaker engagements, and workshops. Tel: (845) 339-4601.

INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS Hudson Valley Internet Local Internet access and commercial Web site hosting. Fast, reliable, easy to use, flexible pricing…Want more? How about: free software, extra e-mail, K56Flex support, personal web space, helpful customer service, and no setup charges. Call (845) 255-2799. Visit us on the web at www.hvi.net.

business directory

Webjogger Blazing fast broadband Internet access. Featuring symmetrical bandwidth, superior personal attention and technical support, rock-solid security and reliability, and flexible rates. Complementary services include e-mail, Web hosting, accelerated dialup, server collocation and management, and customized networking solutions. Webjogger is a locally grown company with offices in Tivoli and Kingston. Call (845) 757-4000 or visit us online at www.webjogger.net.

LITERARY

30 years as a Matrimonial & Family Law Attorney, and Myra Schwartz has 30 years as a Guidance Counselor. This male/female team can effectively address all your legal and family issues. Use our one-hour free consultation to find out about us. (845) 331-0100.

Rodney Wells, CFP, Member AFM & NYSCDM If you’re separating, divorcing, or have issues with child support, custody, or visitation, choose mediation. On average, mediated agreements are fulfilled twice as often as litigated court decisions and cost half as much. I draw on my experience as a financial planner, psychotherapist, and pro se litigant to guide couples in a responsible process of unraveling their entanglements, preserving their assets, and creating a satisfying future. Cornwall, New Paltz, and NYC. (845) 534-7668. www.mediated-divorce.com.

MUSIC Burt’s Electronics Good music deserves quality sound! Avoid the malls and shop where quality and personal service are valued above all else. Bring Burt and his staff your favorite album and let them teach you how to choose the right audio equipment for your listening needs. 549 Albany Avenue, Kingston. Monday through Friday 9am-7pm; Saturday 9am-5pm; and Sunday 12pm-4pm. (845) 331-5011.

Drums of Woodstock The ultimate source for all your jammin’ needs. Check out our diverse collection of Djembe, Dun Dun, Conga, Bougarabou Drums, Didgeridoos, Rain Sticks, Chimes, and Hand-Held Musical Instruments. 77 Tinker Street, Woodstock, New York 12498. Tel: (845) 810-0442. Web: www.drumsofwoodstock.com.

WVKR 91.3 FM Vassar College, Poughkeepsie. A listener-supported, non-commercial, student-run, alternative music station. Programming is provided by students and community members, and includes jazz, new music, folk, hip hop, polka, new age, international, blues, metal, news, and public affairs programming. WVKR Web casts at www.wvkr.org. Tel:(845) 437-7010.

MONTESSORI SCHOOL

Bethany Saltman The long winter is the perfect time to get to work on your writing. I am a professor of writing & literature/ professional writer & editor who is available to help with your writing projects. I have over a decade of experience working with teens, grad students, professionals and editors. Call for a free consultation: (845) 688 -7015.

Submit to Chronogram Seeking submissions of poems, short stories, essays, and article proposals. Accepting pieces of all sorts. With SASE, send submissions to Chronogram, 314 Wall Street, 2nd floor, Kingston, NY 12401. info@chronogram.com or check out our web site: www.chronogram.com.

Cultivating creativity, compassion- and a lifelong love of learning. Serving children 3 years through second grade in a country schoolhouse surrounded by gardens, woodlands and streams. Combining the outstanding materials and attention to detail of Montessori education with an emphasis on creativity and child-generated curriculum inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. 8:30 am-3:30 pm, with part-time options for preschoolers. Half or full day kindergarten. 62 Plains Road, New Paltz, NY 12561. (845) 256-1875. info@mariasgardenmontessori.com.

MUSIC LESSONS

Ione

Guitar and Bass Lessons

Writing workshops and private instruction for writers. (845) 339-5776.

Guitar lessons: all levels and ages welcome. Electric or acoustic. Pop /rock / folk. Learn to play your favorite songs. Develop strength and coordination. Learn music theory. Songwriters: move beyond generic chords. Lessons in your home or mine. Minnewaska / New Paltz area. Bibi Farber (845) 626-7944. Visit our website at www.bibifarber.com.

MAGAZINES Chronogram The only complete arts and cultural events resource for the Hudson Valley. Subscribe and get the lowdown first. Whether you live in the Hudson Valley or just visit, you’ll know what’s going on. Send $36 for yearly subscription to: Chronogram, 314 Wall Street, 2nd floor, Kingston, NY 12401. info@chronogram.com. www.chronogram.com.

MEDIATION & CONFLICT RESOLUTION Pathways Mediation Center A unique mediation practice for couples going through divorce, or families in conflict, with the innovative, combined services of two professionals. Josh Koplovitz has

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Maria’s Garden Montessori School

NURSERIES See Landscape Products & Services.

PAINTING Professional Painting Co. Hire the best for residential and commercial painting. Our skilled staff uses quality materials and combines the necessary resources to complete each job to your satisfaction. Painting improves the appearance of your residence, protects your investment, and increases its value. Call Trevor at (845) 430-1290 or (845) 679-4232.

Quadrattura Painting Interior/Exterior & Interior Decorator Finishes. Serving the area since 1997 with pristine jobs for the economy-minded homeowner, as well as decorator and faux finishes, completed with old-world craftsmanship and pride. Wallpaper removal, light carpentry, plaster. Environmental paints available. Free estimates. Call: 845-679-9036.

PERFORMING ARTS

on display in our Germantown (just north of Rhinebeck) showroom. Open by appointment only. Inventory, prices, pictures, at adamspiano.com. A second showroom will be opening in New Paltz in November. Superb service, moving, storage, rentals; we buy pianos! (518) 537-2326 or (845) 343-2326. adamspiano.com

PLUMBING & BATH N & S Supply

Powerhouse Summer Theater/ Lehman-Loeb Gallery

205 Old Route 9, Fishkill, NY 12524. (845) 896-6291. cloijas@nssupply.com.

Vassar College Box 225, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604. (845) 437-5902. befargislanc@pop.vassar.edu.

PRINTING SERVICES

PERSONAL ASSISTANTS

New York Press Direct

Personal Assistant Office and personal assistant more than able to provide full-spectrum support. Intelligent, dependable, industrious, discreet long-term resident can handle it all. Plan a travel itinerary or a dinner party? Organize a wardrobe or a year’s worth of accumulated clutter? Bring order to chaos? No problem. Treat yourself. Free yourself. Your style is my objective. Contact lucabra@earthlink.net or phone (518) 945-3311.

PET SERVICES & SUPPLIES Pussyfoot Lodge B&B

PET SITTING Why have your dog spend its day in a kennel, when it can stay comfortably at home and I’ll take care of it for you. Pine Bush, Walden, Newburgh, Middletown. (845) 406-8932.

PHOTOGRAPHY France Menk Photography & Photodesign A fine art approach to your photographic and advertising requirements. Internationally exhibited. Major communications/advertising clients. My work is 100% focused on your needs. www.photocon.com. (845) 256-0603.

Michael Gold Artistic headshots of actors, singers, models, musicians, performing artists, writers, and unusual, outlandish, off-the-wall personalities. Complete studio facilities and lighting. Creative, warm, original, professional. Unconditionally guaranteed. www.michaelgol dsphotos.com and click on to the “Headshots” page. The Corporate Image Studios, 1 Jacobs Lane, New Paltz. (845) 255-5255.

PUBLISHERS Monkfish Book Publishing Company Monkfish publishes books that combine spiritual and literary merit. Monkfish books range from memoirs to sutras, from fiction to scholarly works of thought. Monkfish also publishes Provenance Editions, an imprint devoted to elegant editions of spiritual classics. Monkfish books are available at your favorite local or online bookstores, or directly from us. Rhinebeck, NY. Tel: (845) 876-4861. Web:www.monkfishpublishing.com.

REAL ESTATE Willow Realty Willow Realty is a small, personalized Real Estate Agency in Ulster County, New York. We have access to all the properties in the Multiple Listing Service, but high-pressure tactics are not part of our sales kit. We have extensive experience in buyer agency and new construction. We listen to you! New Paltz. (845) 255-7666.

business directory

The Pioneer in Professional Pet Care! Full house-petplant-sitting service, proudly serving three counties for 32 years. Experienced, dependable, thorough, and reasonable house-sitting for your pets’ health and happiness. Also offering a cats-only resort with individual rooms. Extensive horticulture and landscaping knowledge in addition to domestic and zoo animal experience. Better Business Bureau Metro NY/ Mid-Hudson Region Member. (845) 687-0330.

At NY Press Direct we exist for one reason - to delight our customers! What does that mean to you? Worry-free shopping for all your printing and fulfillment needs. Our solutions are leading edge in the industry. Our pricing is among the most competitive in the northeast region. Call John DeSanto or Larry Read for more information. (845) 457-2442.

RESTAURANT SUPPLIES Cool Cover ™ See Food Serving Products in the Business Directory.

SAILBOAT SALES & INSTRUCTION Great Hudson Sailing Company Purchase a new Beneteau sailboat from us and receive 20 hours of free instruction. We have sales offices in Mamaroneck and W. Haverstraw, NY. Our sailing school also offers sailing lessons in private or group sessions in three locations: W. Haverstraw, Kingston, Jersey City. Tel: (800) 237-1557. Web: www.greathudsonsailing.com.

SCHOOLS Anderson School

Andy Wainwright Creative photography of artwork, architecture, people, and products. Grant proposals require outstanding 35mm slides to be successful, and your web site can be improved with fresh and imaginative images. The impact of a stunning postcard/announcement should never be underestimated. Andy possesses cutting edge digital skills and 28 years of experience exceeding the client’s expectations. Spectacular lighting, all the tools, and an impassioned interest in your goals. Take a look: andywainwright.com. Tel: (845) 757-5431.

PIANO Adam’s Piano Featuring Kawai and other fine brands. 75 pianos

Anderson School is an educational residential community, serving children and adults (ages 5-21) with autism and related developmental disabilities, in Staatsburg, New York. Education and residential programs are designed to foster continuous growth, independence and social interaction. Students are accepted year-round. Funded by NYS Dept. of Education, OCFS and OMRDD. Contact Kate Haas (845) 889-4034 x534 or visit www.andersonschool.org.

Hudson Valley Sudbury School A radically different form of education based on the belief that children are driven by a basic desire to learn and explore. We trust that children, given the freedom, will choose the most appropriate path for their education. Our democratic School Meeting expects children to take responsibility for their lives

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and their community. Year-round admissions. Sliding-scale tuition. Tel: (845) 679-1002. Web: www.hudsonvalleyschool.org.

High Meadow School Pre-kindergarten through 8th grade, committed to a child-centered education that engages the whole child. Intimate, nurturing, with small class size and hands-on learning. A program rich in academic, artistic, physical, and social skills. Fully accredited. Route 209, Stone Ridge, NY. Call Suzanne Borris, director. (845) 687-4855.

Beyond The Box Web Design Beyond the Box is a face-to-face studio developing commercial and creative website designs for Mid Hudson Valley businesses. We specialize in co-developing unique designs with clients for full-featured, accessible sites. We can also work from pre-designed templates for fast, low-cost sites. Visit us online, and request a quote for your new or upgraded site! Web: www.beyondboxweb.com. Tel: (518) 537-7667

HDS Internet See Internet Service Providers.

Maria’s Garden Montessori School Cultivating independence, confidence, compassion, peace, and a lifelong love of learning. Serving children 3 years through first grade in a one-room country schoolhouse surrounded by gardens, woodlands, and streams. 8:30 am-3:30 pm, with part time options for preschoolers. Half or full day kindergarten. Affiliated with the American Montessori Society. 62 Plains Rd., New Paltz, New York 12561. (845) 256-1875. Email: info@mariasgardenmont essori.com.

Karen Williams Design

Mountain Laurel Waldorf School

Curious Minds Media Inc.

At the Mountain Laurel Waldorf School, not only can all students do their best in academic basics, they can find and achieve a balance in rich programs of drama, speech, Spanish, Russian, painting, music, creative writing, woodwork, and more. Waldorf Education: for the head, heart, and hands. Nursery-8th Grade. 16 South Chestnut Street, New Paltz. Call Judy Jaeckel. (845) 255-0033.

Want a website that works for you? We’ve got solutions to fit any budget, and we understand the needs of small businesses. Flash, E-commerce, database applications. CMM has what it takes to get you results. Mention this ad and receive 3 months FREE hosting! Web: www.curiousm.com. Call now toll-free, at (888) 227-1645.

Your creative solution... concept to completion. Web design, maintenance, domain registration and hosting for $80 per year for sites under 50MG. All sites are custom made for your individual needs. Free estimates. Visit my website at www.karenwilliamsdesign.com. Or call (845) 883-9007.

WEB DEVELOPMENT

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

business directory

Woodstock Day School Woodstock Day School, a state-chartered, independent school and member of NYSAIS, providing quality education for pre-school through high school students since 1972. Small classes and a 6:1 student-to-teacher ratio allow us to give each child the individualized consideration necessary for a positive learning experience. PO Box 1, Woodstock. (845) 246-3744. Web: www.woodstockdayschool.org.

STONEWORK

Why choose an ordinary photographer for your extraordinary event? fete accompli offers photojournalisticstyle photography for all your gala occasions. We excel in artistic, journalistic imagery that records the most poignant and surprising moments of your event, capturing the details without interrupting the flow of the occasion. Visit our website at www.feteaccompli-photo.com or call (845) 838-3990.

See Landscape Products & Services.

WINE

TATTOOS

In Good Taste

Pats Tats

45 Main Street, New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-0110. Email: ingoodtaste@verizon.net.

Since 1976, Pat Sinatra and her team create custom, one-of-a-kind tattoos in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. Excellent portraits, tribal, gothic, Oriental, Americana, and realism. Gray, black, and color. Appointments are advised. Walk-ins available Tuesdays and Fridays. More than just a mark, it’s an experience! 948 Route 28, Kingston, NY 12401. Tel: (845) 338-8282. Email: pat_sinatra@yahoo.com.

WEB DESIGN Actionpact Solutions See Design.

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WRITING WORKSHOPS Wallkill Valley Writers Creative writing workshops in New Paltz led by Kate Hymes, poet and educator. Aspiring and experienced writers are welcome. Wallkill Valley Writers provides structured time, a supportive community and a safe place for you to fulfill the dream of writing your stories, real or imagined. Many writers find the community of a workshop benefits their work and keeps them motivated. (845) 255-7090. Email: khamherstwriters@aol.com.

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photo of Sinhalese dancer Talli by Lois Greenfield

EVENT LISTINGS FOR DECEMBER 2005

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UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF RHYTHM The gumboot dance, recreated for Earthbeat, this year’s holiday performance by the Vanaver Caravan, developed within the flooded shafts of South Africa’s gold mines in the 19th century. Using their bodies and their rubber boots, the silenced miners developed a percussive language that has echoed throughout the world in the song and dance of other cultures. The Vanaver Caravan, a company dedicated to increasing awareness and appreciation of world cultures through performance and instruction, has chosen to commemorate the universal language of rhythm and music with Earthbeat. The dance and music extravaganza will feature traditional and contemporary percussive performances from Ireland, Western Samoa, England, India, Brazil, South Africa, West Africa, and Sri Lanka, and will include performances by company performers Fode Sissoko, and Joel Hanna, a member of the original Riverdance cast, as well as the Caravan Kids and a performance of Ted Shawn’s “Singhalese Devil Dance.” “The show emphasizes peace on earth; its a good time to celebrate the gifts that all cultures have given the world through dance and music,” says Livia Vanaver, the Caravan’s artistic director. Earthbeat will be held at Ulster County Community College’s Quimby Theatre in Stone Ridge on Saturday, December 17. The concert begins at 7:30 pm. $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, students, and children (12 and under). Tickets are available at the door. (845) 256-9300; www.vanavercaravan.org. —Marly Booth-Levy

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photo of Sinhalese dancer Talli by Lois Greenfield

calendar THURS 1 ART About Light 5-6:30pm. Mildred I. Washington Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie. 431-8622.

EVENTS 3rd Annual Wine Event “Viva Vino!” 5:30-8pm. Via Nove Restaurant & Wine Bar, Fishkill. 296-0001 ext. 104. $50/$60 at the door.

FILM A State of Mind 7:30pm. Inside North Korea for the Mass Games. Time and Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448.

Raiders of the Lost Ark 8pm. Bardavon, Poughkeepsie. 473-2072. $5.

12:15/7:30. SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge. 687-5263. $8.

6-9pm. Lombardi’s Restaurant, Gardiner. 255-9779.

Louis Landon

6-9pm. Gadaleto’s Seafood & Bandstand, New Paltz. 255-1717.

A Funky Acoustic and Slide Guitar Jam 7pm. Artie Traum and Jeff Pevar. SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge. 687-5262.

Louis Landon 7:30-10:30pm. Blues, funk, hip hop, jazz, new age, pop, r&b, swing. Painter’s Tavern, Cornwall-on-Hudson. 534-2109.

SPOKEN WORD Liza Donnelly

4pm. Author of Funny Ladies. Merritt Bookstore, Millbrook. 758-BOOK.

6-9pm. Blues, funk, hip hop, jazz, new age, pop, r&b, swing. Pamela’s on the Hudson, Newburgh. 562-4505.

Duo Loco: Mark Dziuba & Studio Stu 6:30-9:30pm. Neko Sushi and Hibachi, Wappingers Falls. 298-9869.

Jay Unger and Molly Mason 7:30-10pm. Traditional. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Annie Rorick, David Kraii and Chris Victor 8-10pm. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

Leslie Costa 8-11pm. Folk, pop. Maia Restaurant and Lounge, Poughkeepsie. 486-5004.

Savoy Brown with Kim Simmonds

7pm. Orange County Community College, Middletown. 341-4891.

8:30pm. Bodles Opera House, Chester. 469-4595. $20.

Artie Traum, Artist-in-Residence Presentation

Biggy, Itchy & Friends

7pm. SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge. 687-5263. $8.

THEATER Twelfth Night 7pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $15/$13 seniors and children.

FRI 2 ART Holiday Sale Call for times. Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale. 658-9133.

Barrett Clay House Holiday Sale 12-6pm. Barrett Clay House, Poughkeepsie. (914) 474-6173.

DANCE Cajun Dancing 8pm. Music by Cleoma’s Ghost and Friends. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. 384-6673. $10.

EVENTS Christmas Displays Call for times. Clermont State Historic Site, Germantown. (518) 537-4240.

Decorated Horse and Wagon Ride 5pm. Uptown Kingston. 339-5822.

24th annual Holiday Open House 5-9pm. Organized by the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce and Arts. Woodstock. 679-5495.

Open House 5-9pm. Gnosis Magick Supply, Woodstock. 679-2626.

Yuletide Celebration 6:30pm. Music, food, drink. Staatsburgh State Historic Site, Staatsburgh. 889-8851.

WORKSHOPS Create the Life of Your Dreams: Treasure Mapping Workshop 6-9pm. With Denise Lewis. Saffir Chiropractic, Poughkeepsie. 227-3190.

9pm. Hickory BBQ Smokehouse, Kingston. 338-2424.

Don Byron Plays Junior Walker 9pm. Rosendale Cafe, Rosendale. 658-9048.

Peach Jam 9pm. Blues and rock. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Erin Hobson 9-11pm. Acoustic, contemporary, folk, jazz, Latin. Coast Restaurant, Tivoli. 757-2772.

Big Kahuna 9:30pm. Dance, rock. Kingston Holiday Inn, Kingston. 338-0400.

SAT 3 ART Relations 3-5pm. Paintings, drawings and ceramics. Kiesendahl+Calhoun Art Gallery, Beacon. 838-1177.

Holiday Artisan Show 5-7pm. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

The Gift Show 5-7pm. Coffey Gallery, Kingston. 339-6105.

Greeting Cards by Artists 5-8pm. A group show. Donskoj & Company Gallery, Kingston. 338-8473.

Open House 5-8pm. Both Studio and Gallery, Kingston. 331-2976.

Holiday Small Works 6-8pm. Inquiring Mind Gallery, Saugerties. 679-3009.

Working Artists 6-9pm. Industrial/fine artists of Livingskin Corporation. Livingskin Gallery, Newburgh. 561-8624.

BODY / MIND / SPIRIT Annual Holiday Toy Workshop 9am-12pm. Northern Dutchess Hospital, Rhinebeck. 871-3500.

Mothers’ Club Santa’s Day 10am-1pm. Northern Dutchess Hospital, Rhinebeck. 871-3500.

DANCE Contra Dance 8pm. Live music with Two Bits. Old Songs Community Arts Center, Vorheesville. (518) 765-2815. $10.

Free-Style Frolic

THE OUTDOORS Another Great Tour of the Universe Star Party

8:30pm. Barefoot, Substance & Smoke free. Knight of Columbus Hall, Kingston. 658-8319. Adults $5/Teens, Seniors $2/ Children, Volunteers Free.

7:30-9pm. Lecture, slide show, and star observation. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz. 255-0919.

EVENTS Wreath Fineries at 9 Wineries

SPOKEN WORD Iza Trapani

6-7:30pm. Reads and signs Jingle Bells. Golden Notebook, Woodstock. 679-8000.

Discussion With Bruce Chilton

6:30pm. Author of Mary Magdalene: A Biography. Merritt Bookstore, Millbrook. 677-5857.

THEATER Twelfth Night 7pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $15 adults/$13 seniors and children.

A Christmas Carol 8pm. Ulster Ballet Company. Ulster Performing Arts Center, Kingston. 339-6088.

Community Playback Theater 8pm. Improvisation based on audience members’ experiences and dreams. Boughton Place, Highland. 691-4118. $6.

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An Evening of Poetry at Holiday Time

8pm. Windham Civic Centre, Windham. (518) 989-6802.

MUSIC Holiday Choral Concerts

MUSIC Michael McCarthy Trio

Studio Stu

The Miracle Worker

Call for times. Travel the wine trail and complete your wreath. Shawangunk Wine Trail. 255-2494.

George Cole Auction Call for time. Merchandise from hundreds of estates. Red Hook. 758-9114.

Used Book Sale 10am-3pm. Woodstock Library, Woodstock. 679-2213.

Pawling Free Library Christmas Book and Bake Sale 10am-4pm. Pawling Free Library, Pawling. 855-7077.

15th Annual Holiday Crafts Fair 10am-5pm. Sponsored by Unison Arts and Learning Center. New Paltz Middle School, New Paltz. 255-1559.

Candlelit Holiday Open House 12-8pm. Benmarl Winery, Marlboro. 236-4265.

Santa Run 12-4pm. Trolley Museum, Kingston. 331-3399.

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Festival of Trees Silent Auction and Holiday Tea 1-3pm. Ellenville Public Library & Museum’s Terwilliger House, Ellenville. 647-5530.

5-8pm. Window performances, carolers, horse-drawn carriage rides, reindeer, fireworks, Santa parade. Hudson. (518) 822-1438.

Holiday Tours

SPOKEN WORD

1-4pm. Wilderstein Historic Site, Rhinebeck. 876-4818.

Joan Steiner

KIDS Tracking Coyotes 10am. Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall. 534-5506 ext. 204.

A Child’s Christmas 10-11am. Clermont State Historic Site, Germantown. (518) 537-4240. $12 per child/$2 adult.

A Christmas Carol by The Puppet People 11am. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $7/$5 children.

Uncle Rock 3pm. Family show. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. 679-5342.

MUSIC Dan Kessler and Eric Reeves 7-9:30pm. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

Choral Concert 7:30pm. Ars Choralis and Hudson Valley Youth Choral. Redeemer Lutheran Church, Kingston. 679-8172.

Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert 8pm. Featuring Natalie Merchant and Dr. John. Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 758-7900. $100.

Lewis Nash & Steve Wilson 8pm. Jazz. North Pointe Cultural Center, Kinderhook. (518) 758-9234. $20/$15 members/$10 students.

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Vassar College Orchestra 8pm. Vassar College, Poughkeepsie. 437-7404.

On Wings Of Love Benefit Concert for Angel Food East

Will LaBossier

2pm. Ulster Ballet Company. Ulster Performing Arts Center, Kingston. 339-6088. $18.

10am-3pm. Reads and signs Nervous Water. Hudson Valley Angler, Red Hook. 758-9203.

Author Tom Lewis

7:30pm. His book: The Hudson: A History. Oblong Books and Music, Rhinebeck. 876-0500.

THEATER 7pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $15 adults/$13 seniors and children.

A Christmas Carol 8pm. Ulster Ballet Company. Ulster Performing Arts Center, Kingston. 339-6088.

An Almost Holy Picture

Twelfth Night 3pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $15 adults/$13 seniors and children.

MON 5 SPOKEN WORD Book Signing with Phyllis McCabe 6:30-8:30pm. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

Gender Trouble in the Age of Reason: Mansfield Park and the Enlightenment Project

WORKSHOPS

7:45pm. Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 758-7512.

Write Saturday 8:30am-4pm. With Wallkill Valley Writers. New Paltz. 255-7090.

Professional Recording Workshop

TUES 6

12-4pm. Soundcheck Studio, Highland. 687-0554.

MUSIC Holiday Choral Concert

Mini Spa Retreat

8pm. Studley Theater, New Paltz. 257-2700. $5/$4/$3.

12:30-2:30pm. With life coach Denise Lewis. Arlington Yoga, Poughkeepsie. 227-3190. $30.

Tarot-on-the-Hudson 7-9:30pm. Rhinebeck. 876-5797. $20.

Richie Colan’s Blues Night 8-11pm. Blues. Willow Creek Inn, Stone Ridge. 340-8510.

Open Mike 10:30pm. Snug’s Tavern, New Paltz. 255-9800.

SUN 4

Rock and Roll Christmas

6:30-9pm. Arlington Reformed Church, Poughkeepsie. 339-3032. $5.

9pm. Acoustic, country, folk, original, pop, solo, vocals. Hickory BBQ Smokehouse, Kingston. 338-2424.

3pm. Bardavon, Poughkeepsie. 473-2072.

8pm. Presented by the Mohonk Mountain Stage Company. St. Andrew’s Church, New Paltz. 255-3102.

DANCE

Dorraine Scofield

A Christmas Carol

Twelfth Night

8-11pm. Folk, pop, jazz. Maia Restaurant and Lounge, Poughkeepsie. 486-5004.

8:30pm. “The Opening of the Mouth Ceremony.” Deep Listening Space, Kingston. 338-5984.

10am-3pm. Moderate 7-mile Hike with rock scrambling. Minnewaska State Park Preserve Upper Lot, New Paltz. 255-0919.

THEATER A Christmas Carol

Elana Arian

Andrea Goodman

THE OUTDOORS Mohonk Preserve Singles Hike – Castle Point

1pm. Kid’s book author speaks and signs. Kingston Library. 331-0507.

8-10pm. Kingston High School, Kingston. 339-9283.

8:30pm. Featuring The Tulips. Bodles Opera House, Chester. 469-4595.

Swing Dance Jam

EVENTS Holiday in the Village 1:15-5:30pm. Entertainment, activities, and merry-making. Saugerties. 246-0784.

International Dessert Table 3-5pm. Live music. Ellenville Public Library, Ellenville. 687-5530.

MUSIC

THE OUTDOORS Early Birds Hike 9am. Minnewaska State Park, New Paltz. 255-2011.

WED 7 EVENTS Business Lunch 12-1:30pm. New Paltz Regional Chamber of Commerce. Terrace Restaurant, New Paltz. 255-0243.

MUSIC Acoustic Open Mike

9-11pm. Rock and pop. The Cubbyhole Coffee House, Poughkeepsie. 483-7584.

3pm. Morrison Mansion, Middletown. 343-3049.

7-9pm. Music, poetry, nonsense, spoken word, and creative expression. Morning Brew Cafe and Coffeehouse, High Falls. 687-4750.

Big Kahuna

Melvin Chen and Arnold Steinhardt

Holiday Band Concert

Xoch

9:30pm. Dance, rock. Kingston Holiday Inn, Kingston. 338-0400.

Studio Stu 10pm. Brazilian jazz. Aroma Thyme Bistro, Ellenville. 647-3000.

THE OUTDOORS Minnewaska Ramble 6-8 mile moderate hike. Call for meeting place and times. 462-0142.

Early Birds Hike 9am. Minnewaska State Park, New Paltz. 255-2011.

Eric Taylor/Tom Pacheco

3pm. Piano and violin. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson. 758-7196.

Treble Choraliers 3pm. Seasonal music. Columbia Greene Community College, Hudson. (518) 828-4181 ext. 3344.

Choral Concert 4pm. Ars Choralis and Hudson Valley Youth Choral. Redeemer Lutheran Church, Kingston. 679-8172.

Traditional Irish Music

Ginger Bread Houses and Nature’s Animals

4pm. American Legion Hall, Rhinebeck. 876-4429. $5.

9:30-11:30am. Decorate a ginger bread cabin. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz. 255-0919.

Vassar Chapel

Mohonk Preserve Singles Hike – Rhododendron Bridge

Songwriters in the Round

7pm. Vassar College, Poughkeepsie. 437-7404.

10am-2pm. Moderate 7-mile hike. Mohonk Preserve Visitor’s Center, New Paltz. 255-0919.

7:30-9:30pm. Acoustic, folk, original, pop, vocals. Backstage Studio Productions, Kingston. 338-8700.

Reading the Tracks

Porter Davis

2pm. Minnewaska State Park, New Paltz. 255-2011.

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A Winter Walk on Warren Street

8pm. Featuring Open Book. Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling. 855-1300.

7:30pm. SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge. 687-5263.

Jay Unger and Molly Mason 7:30-10pm. Traditional. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Bard College Community Chorus 8pm. Haydn’s Mass in the Time of War. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson. 758-7900.

Dan Brother 9pm. Blues, r&b, soul. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

Gary from Setting Sun 10:30pm. Experimental. Oasis, New Paltz. 255-2400.

SPOKEN WORD Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architect David M. Childs 6pm. Vassar College, Poughkeepsie. 437-5233.

WORKSHOPS Networking Success Program 4-5:30pm. With Denise Lewis. Holiday Inn, Fishkill. 227-3190.

Laz Burke

SWATI WILL PERFORM AT THE CREST BAR IN WOODSTOCK ON DECEMBER

ANTIDOTE TO THE RADIO drawing comparisons to legendary indy babe Ani DiFranco. But Ani’s never been this brand of heavy. Swati admits that her lyrics can be so dark, they give her panic attacks. “It’s hard,” she says. “It’s deep for me to hear it over and over again. It’s like, wow, I’m really messed up.” Then she lets out a hearty laugh.

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The buzz on grit grrl Swati is that she bangs fiercely on her guitar to conjure “acoustic metal,” inevitably

Following in the footsteps of David Bowie and Norah Jones, Swati recorded her self-titled debut at Allaire Studios in Shokan. The CD, produced by Duke McVinnie, opens with shockingly brutal and skillful guitar picking and effects. Once she’s gotten out her ya-yas, she settles back into a raw vocal style that is both gravely and girlie, and tunes that are melodic, heartfelt, and painfully passionate. The only rule Swati follows is that there are no rules. This intense East Villager surmises that she’ll have to edit the CD for her India-born parents. “They don’t understand the language very well. When I say motherfucker, my mother’s going to take that literally.” Swati mentions another wickedly dark lyric that’s too saucy for print. After pausing to reflect on it, she says: “That song’s called ‘Happy.’” Then she lets out the biggest laugh of all. Growing up in a household full of instruments, the paradoxical girl was always thwacking the guitar strings. She’s mostly self-taught because her guitar teachers “fired” her. “They would get frustrated with me because I was ADD or something. I couldn’t follow what they were teaching, so I’d just change everything around.” She played trombone until she was 18 and made it all the way to Carnegie Hall. “Then I quit because I decided that classical music was boring,” she says. “And I started writing my own damn songs.” Those edgy songs got her all the way to Lilith Fair in 1999, which didn’t turn out to be Swati’s kind of scene. “At the end, they ask all the artists to sing a Bob Dylan song. I was pretty uncomfortable. I really don’t know Bob Dylan that well, and I had a backpack on. I get onstage and Sheryl Crow is looking at me like I just jumped the stage from the audience. I’m like, I gotta get outta here.” Swati abhors the radio, calling most music “marketed bullshit.” “Maybe it’s music, but it’s not art. I’ve never experienced a time where so many people don’t want to listen to the radio. Now, if you’re not an 18-year-old idiot who can’t think for yourself, you’re not going to listen to the radio. You don’t want to be spoon-fed. But a lot of people do. It’s frightening.” For Swati, it’s all about performance. She stresses that it’s vital to her for people to hear her play live, to communicate, to interact with her in performance. Seize this opportunity to see Swati live and prepare to be seized by her. Swati will play two sets at The Crest Bar at Marion’s, 20 Country Club Lane, Woodstock, on Saturday, December 10, at 11pm. (845) 679-3213; www.swatilive.com. —Sharon Nichols

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Fionn Reilly

THE MENDELSSOHN CLUB PERFORMING HOLIDAY FAVORITES

SINGING THE SEASON As the warmth and color of autumn follow the flocks of Canadian Geese southward, the Hudson Valley prepares for the gray of winter and the anticipatory chills of the holidays. The town of Kingston is all

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dressed up in shine and sparkle as its own independent chapter of the Mendelssohn Club is set to inaugurate the season with their 102nd annual Christmas concert on Saturday, December 10. The all-male chorus also has a major performance each spring, but the end of the year is always a special thrill for the group. “This is our most exciting time,” explains director Brian J. Steeves. “This is a singing season and these guys love to participate.” A former music teacher in the Kingston city schools, Steeves has acted as the group’s musical director for more than 20 years, a level of commitment not uncommon to the Mendelssohn Club’s 50 members. Many of the men are second- and even third-generation singers; one performer commutes 50 miles each way in order to participate. Although the vocalists range from teenagers to grandfathers, they convene at Kingston’s Dutch Reform Church weekly to rehearse their seasonal repertoire. The men derive an immense amount of pleasure and pride in their public performances. Their dedication is communicated not only through song but in the candy-cane-melting-warmth of every smile and every handshake. They will be singing a collection of classic and modern Yule-time favorites and will be joined by the Kingston High School Boys & Girl’s Choir with early arrival entertainment by the Kingston High School Brass Choir. The Mendelssohn Club will perform their 102nd annual Christmas concert on December 10 at 8pm. Old Dutch Church, 242 Wall St. Kingston. $6/$5. (845) 339-3312; (845) 331-7171. —Rebecca Leopold Wellness Revolution – The Next Millionaires 7-8:30pm. With Denise Lewis. LaGrange Town Hall, Lagrangeville. 227-3190.

THURS 8 DANCE Fresh Dance 8pm. SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz. 257-3880.

MUSIC Michael McCarthy Trio

December Member Theme Show

8pm. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. 679-5342.

7-9pm. Garrison Art Center, Garrison. 424-3960.

THEATER Twelfth Night 7pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $15 adults/$13 seniors and children.

Lunch at Lillipond’s 8pm. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-1559. $15/$11 members.

FRI 9 ART An Advent of Art

Studio Stu

Fri 5:30-7:30, Sat/Sun 10-4. Holiday art show and sale. North Pointe Cultural Center, Kinderhook. (518) 758-9234.

Jingle Bells Holiday Concert 7:30pm. Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, Goshen. 294-6330.

BODY / MIND / SPIRIT The Arts of Living Call for times. 2 sessions. Peace Village Learning & Retreat Center, Haines Falls. (518) 589-5000.

DANCE Fresh Dance 8pm. SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz. 257-3880.

6-9pm. Lombardi’s Restaurant, Gardiner. 255-9779. 6-9pm. Gadaleto’s Seafood & Bandstand, New Paltz. 255-1717.

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Bluegrass Clubhouse

Barrett Clay House Holiday Sale 12-6pm. Barrett Clay House, Poughkeepsie. (914) 474-6173.

The Nutcracker 8pm. Ulster Performing Arts Center, Kingston. 339-6088.

EVENTS Caroling 5pm. Uptown Kingston. 339-5822.

After-Hours Mixer 5:30-7:30pm. New Paltz Regional Chamber of Commerce. High Falls Café, High Falls. 255-0243.

Photo Provided

A DIGITAL RENDERING OF THE PROPOSED FREEDOM TOWER BY DAVID CHILDS

INSIDE THE FREEDOM TOWER A new icon will be rising above the Manhattan skyline in the next few years—the Freedom Tower, with an 80-foot-high lobby on the ground floor and a gleaming stainless steel/titanium base. People will be able to dine up top, and gaze out over the city from an observation deck nearly 1,400 feet in the air; an antenna will swell its spire to a total of 1,776 feet. Freedom, in this vision, is more than just another word for nothing left to lose: the tower will be building materials, recycled rainwater for cooling and irrigation, solar panels, and wind turbines. Pedestrian-friendly access and open spaces full of trees and water will surround the base. The architect tasked with creating this postcard from the future, David Childs, has been designing

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world-class in energy efficiency—with interior “daylighting,” outside-air ventilation, non-toxic, recycled

some of the nation’s most significant public spaces for some time now and has accumulated quite a resume. From 1975 to 1981, he chaired the National Capitol Planning Commission. Pennsylvania Avenue, the Washington Mall, and Constitution Garden all bear his stamp, as do a variety of Manhattan locations, from the redesigned Penn Station to the Bear Sterns headquarters on Madison Avenue. He’s dreamed up airports in Tel Aviv and Toronto, and a headquarters for National Geographic. The Freedom Tower will begin to be visible above ground in 2007 if all goes well, and ready for occupancy in 2010. It’s estimated that 8,000 new construction jobs will exist in Manhattan during the period of construction, and when it’s done, it will replace a fourth of the office space destroyed on September 11. That’s all in the future. In the meantime, you can go to Vassar College and meet the man whose vision has been chosen to create so many spaces of significance. Childs will be lecturing in Room 203 of Taylor Hall at 6pm on Wednesday, December 7. (845) 437-5233. —Anne Pyburn MUSIC Duo Loco: Mark Dziuba & Studio Stu

Annie Rorick, David Kraii and Chris Victor

6:30-9:30pm. Neko Sushi and Hibachi, Wappingers Falls. 298-9869.

8-10pm. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

Brendan James & Adriano Schiazo

Two From Galilee

8pm. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. 679-5342.

8-11pm. Musical theater. Newburgh Free Academy, Newburgh. (877) 896-3766.

David Kraai

Comfy Chair

8pm. Acoustic, country, folk, original, solo, traditional. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

9pm. Hickory BBQ Smokehouse, Kingston. 338-2424.

Gamelan Music and Dance of Bali 8pm. Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 679-8624.

9pm. Southern Italian and Brazilian music. Rosendale Café, Rosendale. 658-9048.

Holiday Concert

Leslie Costa & The Usual Suspects

Night of the Shooting Stars

8pm. D&H Canal Museum, High Falls. 687-9311.

9pm. Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling. 855-1300.

Mike Doughty’s Band 8pm. Joyous Lake, Woodstock. 679-0367.

9pm. Blues, original, R&B, rock, soul. Firebird Grille & Lounge, Rhinebeck. info@theprovidersonline.com.

Vassar College Jazz Ensemble

Bennett Harris Duo

8pm. Vassar College, Poughkeepsie. 437-7404.

The Providers

10pm. Acoustic, blues. Raccoon Saloon, Marlboro. 236-7872.

Five Points Band 10pm. Blues and rock. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Rockslyde 10pm. Alternative, heavy metal, rock. Michael’s Restaurant & Sports Cafe, Fishkill. 896-5766.

SPOKEN WORD Climbing Poetree 7pm. Poetry slam. Time & Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448.

Reading by Christopher Porpora

7pm. Author of Becoming, Poems 20022005. Hudson Beach Glass, Beacon. 440-0068.

Editor Richard G. Geldard 7:30pm. His book: The Essential Transcendentalists. Oblong Books and Music, Rhinebeck. 876-0500.

THEATER Twelfth Night 7pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $15 adults/ $13 seniors and children.

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Photo Provided

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MARIO BATALI SIGNS MOLTO ITALIANO AT HAMMERTOWN BARN IN RHINEBECK ON DECEMBER

MOLTO MARIO When Seattle native Mario Batali graduated Rutgers with a BA in Spanish Theater, he headed to London to learn how to cook. Following short stints in London restaurants, he made a pilgrimage to a small Northern Italian village—the source of his heritage—where he found what he desired to know. After spending three years cooking in a small restaurant in rural Italy he returned to the US and opened Po, his first restaurant, a 34-seat bistro in New York City. Those are the legendary beginnings of a career currently hotter than a habanero pepper, which is also the color of both his ponytail and his famous clogs. When Babbo, Batali’s second restaurant, was coronated one of the best NYC restaurants by the New York Times in 1998, Batali’s reputation as one of the culinary world’s brightest young talents was sealed. Molto Mario has not looked back. This year, after releasing his fourth cookbook Molto Italiano, (and Babbo getting another three-star review from Frank Bruni in the Times), he received the prestigious James Beard Foundation Chef of the Year Award for 2005. His sprawling empire now includes more restaurants than Bobby Flay can shake a spatula at, more TV shows than Emeril, a growing library of cookbooks, a specialty wine store in Manhattan, the Molto Sugo line of products, a line of kitchenware (“The Italian Kitchen”), all garnished with a vineyard in Tuscany. As fans of his cooking show “Molto Mario” know, the chunky, gregarious chef gives his lessons in a rapid-fire info-packed delivery. On a recent episode featuring traditional Venetian dishes of scallops and scampi, he explained how to make fresh pasta from scratch in one breath, and finished with an “of course,” as if he even needed to mention this to his educated audience. He then wove in the history of each of four sauces he was making for scallops back to ancient times while juggling frying pans. (Did you know the Romans had ginger and lost it in the Dark Ages until Marco Polo brought it back hundreds of years later?) Consistent with his rural Italian training, he prepares simple traditional recipes using the freshest ingredients available. With the fusion-cooking fad seeming to have run its course, his authentic approach is refreshing as he makes everything old, new again. Ever the fan of the traditional and regionally appropriate, Batali also pairs wines with his dishes so that by the end of the show you can virtually transport yourself to Venice for a seafood feast at a fraction of the cost of getting your tongue there. Still forthcoming from Batali is Molto Mario Tailgates NASCAR Style (no kidding), and the launch of his eighth restaurant, Del Posto, serving Brazilian cuisine in the Meatpacking District. The rise of a new Roman Empire, Molto Mario-style, continues. This amazingly busy man is somehow going to find the time to make it to Hammertown Barn to sign copies of Molto Italiano on December 10. It’s a great opportunity to meet a chef who is impossible to pin down and get a signed copy of his latest 327 recipes. Hammertown Barn, Montgomery Row, Rhinebeck. (845) 876-1450; www.mariobatali.com. —Jonathan D. King

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Photo Provided

A Christmas Carol 7:30pm. NYCA Cabaret Theater, Hurley. 339-4340.

Holiday Show 8pm. Coach House Players. Coach House Players, Kingston. 331-2476.

Christmas at Clermont Open House 11am-4pm. Clermont State Historic Site, Germantown. (518) 537-4240.

Pawling Free Library Christmas Book and Bake Sale

Lunch at Lillipond’s

12-3pm. Pawling Free Library, Pawling. 855-7077.

8pm. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-1559. $15/$11 members.

Holiday Bazaar and Ornament Sale

WORKSHOPS The Arts of Life Call for times. Peace Village Learning and Retreat Center, Haines Falls. (518) 589-5000.

12-4pm. Hudson Valley Sudbury School, Kingston. 679-1002. $5.

Holiday Tours 1-4pm. Wilderstein Historic Site, Rhinebeck. 876-4818.

Mah Jong Game Day

SAT 10 ART Holiday Sale 10am-4pm. Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale. 658-9133.

The Colony Arts Co-op Reception

2-5pm. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

Friends of Clermont Annual Holiday Reception 5-7pm. Clermont State Historic Site, Germantown. (518) 537-4240. $10 non-members.

3-6pm. The Colony Arts Co-op, Woodstock. 679-8639.

KIDS

See Through City

9am-3pm. Garrison Art Center, Garrison. 424-3960.

4-7pm. Photographs by Jill Corson. Yellow Bird Gallery, Newburgh. 561-7204.

7 Artists Exploring Paint 5-7pm. The Catskill Gallery, Saugerties. 246-5552.

Photographs by Amy Auerbach

Holiday Workshop for Kids

Tracking Coyotes 10am. Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall. 534-5506 ext. 204.

The Puppet People

5-7pm. Galerie BMG, Woodstock. 679-0027.

10:30am. Marionette theater performs “A Christmas Carol.” Kingston Library, Kingston. 331-0507.

Social Distinctions: The Haves and the Have-Nots

Babes in Toyland

5-7pm. Saturday Evening Post and Puck magazine drawings. M Gallery, Catskill. (518) 943-0380.

Photography by Susan Phillips 6-8pm. The RiverRock Health Spa, Woodstock. 679-7800. 6-9pm. Brik Gallery, Catskill. (518) 943-0145.

BODY / MIND / SPIRIT Ordinations into The Order of Melchizedek with Dan Chesbro

Family Festival Programs 11am. Winter Wonderland. Dutchess County Community College, Poughkeepsie. 431-8050.

Aladdin and His Wonderful Magical Lamp 2pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080.

MUSIC George Winston

1-6pm. Garden of One, Rensselaerville. (518) 797-3373.

Call for times. Troy Music Hall, Troy. (518) 273-0038.

Sufi Zikr - Chanting and Healing

Joe McKay

7:30pm. Potluck at 6pm. Mount Trempor. 679-7215.

2-5pm. Acoustic, folk, original, traditional. Warwick Valley Winery, Warwick. 258-4858.

CLASSES Reiki I & II Certification

Dog on Fleas

10am-5pm. Become a certified Reiki practitioner. Woodstock. 336-4609.

DANCE The Nutcracker 2pm/7:30pm. Bardavon, Poughkeepsie. 473-2072.

Performance of ZviDance ‘Territories’ 7:30pm. Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, Tivoli. 757-5107. $25.

Holiday Swing Dance Party 7:30-11pm. Lesson at 7pm. Reformed Church of the Comforter, Kingston. 236-3939. $7.

Fresh Dance 8pm. SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz. 257-3880.

The Nutcracker 8pm. Ulster Performing Arts Center, Kingston. 339-6088.

Winter Dance 8pm. Senior Project. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson. 758-7512.

EVENTS Wreath Fineries at 9 Wineries Call for times. Travel the wine trail and complete your wreath. Shawangunk Wine Trail. 255-2494.

Winter Gift Sale 10am-5:30pm. Rosendale Cafe, Rosendale. 658-9326.

Craft Fair and Bake Sale 11am-4pm. Benjamin Franklin Day School, Highland. 883-7051.

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Small Works Show

11am. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080.

3pm. Kids music. Inquiring Minds/Raising Children Bookstore, Saugerties. 2465155. $5.

Two From Galilee 3-6pm. Musical theater. Newburgh Free Academy, Newburgh. (877) 896-3766.

Tuba Christmas 4pm. SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge. 6875263.

Harvey Reid and Joyce Anderson 7pm. Morrison Mansion, Middletown. 343-3049.

Cappella Festiva Chamber Choir 8pm.Christ Episcopal Church, Poughkeepsie. 454-0715. $15/$12/$5.

A Russian Christmas 8pm. Woodstock Chamber Orchestra. Holy Cross Church, Kingston. 246-7045. $15/$5 students.

Assembly of Dust 8pm. Backstage Studio Productions, Kingston. 338-8700.

Cappella Festiva Chamber Choir 8pm. Durante Magnificat, Purcell Magnificat, and more. Christ Episcopal Church, Poughkeepsie. 454-0715. $15 adults/$12 seniors/$5 students.

Christmas Concert 8pm. Mendelssohn Club of Kingston, Kingston. 331-7171.

Mark Raisch 8-11pm. Jazz, swing, vocals, American Standards. The Sky Top Steak House, Kingston. 464-5836.

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FATHER DANIEL BERRIGAN (PICTURED ABOVE IN THE

2001 DOCUMENTARY INVESTIGATION OF A 4

FLAME, BY LYNNE SACHS) WILL READ HIS POETRY AT THE COLONY CAFE ON DECEMBER

PLOWSHARE, MISSILE, POEM Father Daniel Berrigan: part gentle man of letters, part activist. In 1968, he and Howard Zinn flew

to Hanoi against the government’s advice and talked the North Vietnamese into releasing three captured pilots. Notoriety struck in 1968 when he, his brother Philip, and seven other “neatly dressed Catholics” set

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draft registration files alight with homemade napalm in Catonsville, Maryland. He went underground, then served 18 months. A Jesuit priest with roots in the Catholic Worker Movement, Berrigan’s built up an impressive resume, including numerous arrests, fifty books, four films, and a growing movement of Plowshares groups (non-violent direct action for nuclear disarmament) around the world who aspire to emulate his blend of activism, humility, and wit. Berrigan may be the only Jesuit in history to appear in an ice-cream commercial. With Thich Nhat Hanh, Berrigan authored The Raft is Not The Shore: Conversations Toward a Buddhist-Christian Awareness. His philosophy embraces all—from deluded imperialists to the humblest street folk. “To the banquet, to life, to love. And all are called, all are chosen,” he wrote in 2001, in an essay on the parable of the king’s banquet. He once told a judge who was sentencing him for a Gulf War-era action of the Plowshares Eight that if the president would stop building missiles, he’d stop banging on them with hammers, “and you and I can both go fishing.” At 84, Berrigan lives in a Jesuit community in Manhattan, caring for AIDS patients. An awardwinning poet since the 1950s, he still gets out and about to do the occasional reading; happily, the Center for an Examined Life has invited him to Woodstock, where he’ll read at the Colony Cafe, 22 Rock City Road, on Sunday, December 4, at 1pm. (845) 679-5342; (845) 626-3126. —Anne Pyburn

Patrick Fitzsimmons 8-11pm. Folk, pop. Maia Restaurant and Lounge, Poughkeepsie. 486-5004.

Two From Galilee 8-11pm. Musical theater. Newburgh Free Academy, Newburgh. (877) 896-3766.

JV Squad 9pm. Hickory BBQ Smokehouse, Kingston. 338-2424.

Tom Russell 9pm. Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling. 855-1300. $22.50 / $20 members.

The Outpatients 10pm. Blues, comedy, rock. Primo’s Restaurant, Clintondale. 883-6112.

Studio Stu

Chronogram

10pm. Urban jazz and folk. Aroma Thyme Bistro, Ellenville. 647-3000.

Big Kahuna 10pm. Dance, rock. Ramada Inn Newburgh, Ramada. 564-4500.

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THE OUTDOORS Signs of Nature in Winter, Snowshoe or Hike 1:30-3:30pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz. 255-0919.

SPOKEN WORD Thomas Hoving 1pm. Former Met director reads from Master Pieces. The Book Cove, Pawling. 855-9590.

Local photographer Tanya Marcuse 4pm. Undergarments and Armor. Oblong Books and Music, Rhinebeck. 876-0500.

Alison Gaylin

5pm. Reads and signs You Kill Me. Golden Notebook, Woodstock. 679-8000.

Creating a Rewarding Social Life 7:30-9pm. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

THEATER Aladdin and His Wonderful Magical Lamp 2pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080.

Twelfth Night 7pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $15 adults/ $13 seniors and children.

A Christmas Carol 7:30pm. NYCA Cabaret Theater, Hurley. 339-4340.

Holiday Show 8pm. Coach House Players. Coach House Players, Kingston. 331-2476.

What Is This Thing Called Love, Sappho? 8pm. Presented by the Mohonk Mountain Stage Company. The Cheese Plate, New Paltz. 255-3102.

WORKSHOPS Holiday Art Workshop 9-3pm. Pre-reg req. Garrison Art Center, Garrison. 424-3960.

Make a Winter Wreath 10:30am-12pm. Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, Goshen. 294-6330.

SUN 11 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT Healing with the Priest Symbol 10am-1pm. Garden of One, Rensselaerville. (518) 797-3373.

CLASSES Reiki I & II Certification 10am-5pm. Become a certified Reiki practitioner. Woodstock. 336-4609.

Traditional Irish Music 4pm. American Legion Hall, Rhinebeck. 876-4429. $5.

Two From Galilee 6-9pm. Musical theater. Newburgh Free Academy, Newburgh. (877) 896-3766.

Harvey Reid and Joyce Anderson 7pm. Morrison Mansion, Middletown. 343-3049.

Richie Havens

DANCE Fresh Dance

7pm. Folk. Bodles Opera House, Chester. 469-4595. $37.50.

2pm. SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz. 257-3880.

THE OUTDOORS Mohonk Preserve Singles Hike – Walkabout IV

The Nutcracker 2pm. Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece. Ulster Performing Arts Center, Kingston. 339-6088.

9:30am-4pm. Strenuous 8-mile hike with rock scrambling. Mohonk Preserve Visitor’s Center, New Paltz. 255-0919.

The Nutcracker

SPOKEN WORD Book Reading and Signing With Iza Trapani

3pm. Bardavon, Poughkeepsie. 473-2072.

Winter Dance 3pm. Senior Project. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson. 758-7512.

EVENTS Home for the Holidays Winter Festival 10am-6pm. Water Street Market, New Paltz. 255-1403.

Gift Making Fair 11am-4pm. Create ornaments and simple gifts. Mt. Laurel Waldorf School, New Paltz. 255-0033.

Candlelight Tour 12-5pm. Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and Hudson Highlands. Newburgh. 561-2585. $25.

2:30pm. Author of Jingle Bells. Oblong Books and Music, Rhinebeck. 876-0500.

Peace is Possible 7-8pm. Prem Rawat. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. 431-6921.

THEATER A Christmas Carol 2pm. NYCA Cabaret Theater, Hurley. 339-4340.

Holiday Show 2pm. Coach House Players. Coach House Players, Kingston. 331-2476.

Twelfth Night 3pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $15 adults/$13 seniors and children.

Humanlight Celebration 1pm. Saugerties Sr. Center, Saugerties. 247-0098.

Open House Author! Author!

Children’s Evening of Holiday Events 6-8pm. Staatsburgh State Historic Site, Staatsburgh. 889-8851.

MUSIC Hot Diggity Dog Family Radio Show 2pm. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-1559.

Trout Fishing in America 2pm. The famed duo. Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA. (413) 528-0100.

Holiday Jazz Tea

MON 12 DANCE Winter Dance

3pm. Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 758-7512.

Cappella Festiva Chamber Choir 3pm. Durante Magnificat, Purcell Magnificat, and more. Lyall Memorial Federated Church, Millbrook. 454-0715. $15 adults/$12 seniors/$5 students.

Celebrate the Holidays 3pm. Mid-Hudson Women’s Chorus. St. James United Methodist Church, Kingston. 679-7165.

Eric Mintel Quartet 3pm. North Pointe Cultural Center, Kinderhook. (518) 758-9234. $15/$12/$5 children.

Holiday Bell Concert 3pm. Newburgh Free Library, Newburgh. 563-3600.

Rhinebeck Chamber Music Society 4pm. The Church of the Messiah, Rhinebeck. 876-2870. $20/$5 students.

7:30-10pm. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Dan Brother 9pm. Blues, R&B, soul. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

SPOKEN WORD Poetry Reading with Father Daniel Berrigan 1pm. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. 679-5342.

THURS 15 CLASSES Magick 101 7pm. Gnosis Magick Supply, Woodstock. 679-2626.

DANCE The Nutcracker 7:30pm. Presented by the Hudson Valley Conservatory. New Rose Theatre, Walden. 778-2478. $12/$10/$8.

Tap Dancer Brenda Bufalino 7:30pm. Backstage Studios, Kingston. 338-8700. $20.

MUSIC Judy Collins

Michael McCarthy Trio 6-9pm. Lombardi’s Restaurant, Gardiner. 255-9779.

MUSIC Music Department Student Recital

SPOKEN WORD The River and the Web of Life

8pm. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. 679-5342.

7:30pm. SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge. 687-5263.

7:30pm. Garrison Institute, Garrison. 424-4800.

Richie Colan’s Blues Night

THEATER A Christmas Carol

8-11pm. Blues. Willow Creek Inn, Stone Ridge. 340-8510.

8pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $17 adults/$15 seniors and children.

TUES 13

A Russian Christmas

Bard College Conservatory Students and Faculty Concert

Celtic Jam Seisun

Bluegrass Clubhouse

8pm. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson. 758-7512.

8pm. Lyall Memorial Federated Church, Millbrook. 454-0715. $15/$12/$5.

7-9pm. Music, poetry, nonsense, spoken word, and creative expression. Morning Brew Cafe and Coffeehouse, High Falls. 687-4750.

8pm. Senior Project. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson. 758-7512.

DANCE Spanish Dance

Cappella Festiva Chamber Choir

MUSIC Acoustic Open Mike

Call for times. Troy Music Hall, Troy. (518) 273-0038.

2-5pm. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925. 3pm. Woodstock Chamber Orchestra. Holy Cross Church, Kingston. 246-7045. $15/$5 students.

6:30-7:30pm. Hudson Opera House, Hudson. (518) 822-1438.

EVENTS Economic Discussion Group 8-9pm. New Paltz Regional Chamber of Commerce. Chamber Office, New Paltz. 255-0243.

MUSIC Open Mike

FRI 16 DANCE The Nutcracker 7:30pm. Presented by the Hudson Valley Conservatory. New Rose Theatre, Walden. 778-2478. $12/$10/$8.

EVENTS Yuletide Candlelight Reception 4-7pm. Clermont State Historic Site, Germantown. (518) 537-4240. $5/$4/$1.

10:30pm. Snug’s Tavern, New Paltz. 255-9800.

Decorated Horse and Wagon Ride

THE OUTDOORS Early Birds Hike

MUSIC David Kraai

9am. Minnewaska State Park, New Paltz. 255-2011.

WORKSHOPS Woodstock Surreal Salon 7-9pm. Surrealists to awaken your writing, & more. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. 679-9441.

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2-5pm. Stone Ridge Library Fundraiser. Inn at Stone Ridge, Stone Ridge. 687-7023.

KIDS Rockin’ ABC’s

5pm. Uptown Kingston. 339-5822.

5-7pm. Acoustic, country, folk, original, solo, traditional. Keegan Ales Brewery, Kingston. 331-BREW.

Duo Loco: Mark Dziuba & Studio Stu 6:30-9:30pm. Neko Sushi and Hibachi, Wappingers Falls. 298-9869.

David Kraai

WED 14 BODY/MIND/SPIRIT Study group w/Alice Broner 7:30-9:30pm. Call to verify. Unitarian Fellowship, Poughkeepsie. 229-8391.

8pm. Acoustic, country, folk, original, solo, traditional. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

Sonia & Disappear Fear 8pm. Folk, rock. Bodles Opera House, Chester. 469-4595.

DANCE Spanish Dance

Annie Rorick, David Kraii and Chris Victor

8pm. Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 758-7512.

8-10pm. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

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José Enrique Zambrano

ALIXA GARCIA AND NAIMA PENNIMAN OF CLIMBING POETREE

YOUR WORD IS YOUR WEAPON “This tour is about bringing hope back into this sense of chaos everybody is experiencing right now,”

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says Alixa Garcia of the spoken word duo Climbing PoeTree. Climbing PoeTree will perform at the Time & Space Limited gallery in Hudson, New York on their “Migration Tour.” Images of birds, flight and feathers appear in both of their poems, as symbols of freedom. “It seems fitting that to go on a journey, that we would call it ‘Migration’—the way the birds migrate south—that we’d go around and cross-pollinate our stories and our songs with our family all across the country,” Naima Penniman, the other member of the team, said. They were conscious of the forced migrations taking place due to the hurricanes in the Southern Delta. Spiritually, also, this is a transition time—”as if one world is coming to a close and the new world is about to begin.” “Everybody we meet, we consider family, we consider friends—even if they’re strangers, you know?” said Garcia. Their tour is about listening as well as speaking. “We don’t want to just go out there and monologue. What’s the point of that? But we really want to create a dialogue between this nation and every state and every city that we stop,” Garcia observed. As they travel, they ask audience members to write their stories on pieces of fabric, which Garcia and Penniman sew into a large tapestry. They carry the “blanket” with them as they tour. A woman in Chicago gave them a sewing machine, which they now use on the ever-expanding blanket. I asked them what they intend to do with the artwork, when it is finished. “We’re going to present it to Bush, and ask him if this can be the new American flag,” suggested Garcia. Alixa was HBO’s Russell Simmons 2001 Def Poet, and received national attention at the 2001 and 2003 National Poetry Slams. In 2004 she was chosen as the “Groundbreaking” poet to represent the United States in a televised international event hosted in South Africa by LoveLife. Penniman was 2002 Harambe Slam Champion, and has performed at numerous venues around New York City, including the Nuyorican Cafe. Both of them use their real names. Penniman’s parents admired the John Coltrane song with that title; Garcia’s mother invented her name. (Garcia’s nickname, interestingly, is “Sparrow.” Why?, I asked her. “One of my bestest friend started calling me Sparrow. She’s like: ‘You’re a bird that could body-slam a bear.’” Garcia told me I was the first other Sparrow she ever met.) Monique Roberts first saw Climbing PoeTree as an undergraduate at Bard College; she described them as “fiery and great.” This summer Roberts organized a youth workshop on “Media Arts and Activism” at Time & Space Limited, and invited Climbing PoeTree to teach. Penniman led a poetry workshop, and supervised a mural painted on the outside of TSL, consisting of the students’ silhouettes containing poems they had written. “They were filling their bodies with poetry,” Roberts observed. “Naima said, ‘Your word is your weapon, your word is your fuel, your ammunition.’ It was incredible.” Climbing PoeTree will appear at Time & Space Limited, 434 Columbia Street, in Hudson, on December 9 at 7pm. (518) 822-8448; www.timeandspace.org. —Sparrow

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Christmas Concert

8-11pm. Pop, blues, jazz. Maia Restaurant and Lounge, Poughkeepsie. 486-5004.

8pm. Featuring Katy Taylor and Amy Fradon. Holy Cross Monastery, West Point. 687-8961. $12.

Guitarsax

Kevin Gallagher

9pm. Hickory BBQ Smokehouse, Kingston. 338-2424.

Sonando 9pm. Latin. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Big Kahuna 10pm. Dance, rock. The Captain’s Table, Monroe. 783-0209.

THEATER The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie 8pm. StageWorks Hudson, Hudson. (518) 822-9667.

A Christmas Carol 8pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $17 adults/$15 seniors and children.

Photo Provided

Maria Hickey

8pm. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-1559. $15/$11 members.

Songs in a Holiday Mood 8pm. Featuring Denise Jordan Finley. Irving Farm Coffeehouse, Millerton. (518) 789-6540.

The Flames of Discontent 8pm. Protest songs in new and daring arrangements. Chthonic Clash Coffee House, Beacon. 831-0359.

Winter Windows 8pm. Hudson Valley Philharmonic. Bardavon, Poughkeepsie. 473-2072.

Kevin Gallagher 8-10pm. Classical. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-1559.

CitiZen

SAT 17 ART Our Faces, Our Places, Our Times 4:30-6:30pm. Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. Hudson Opera House, Hudson. (518) 822-1438.

BODY / MIND / SPIRIT Ecstatic Trance Postures 9:30am-4pm. Garden of One, Rensselaerville. (518) 797-3373.

Open Healing Circle 1-4pm. Mount Tremper. 679-7215.

CLASSES Tango Essentials For All Levels 3-4:30pm. Mountain View Studio, Woodstock. 246-1122.

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One Hour group Tango Class 8pm. Mountain View Studio, Woodstock. 246-1122.

DANCE The Nutcracker 2pm/7:30pm. Presented by the Hudson Valley Conservatory. New Rose Theatre, Walden. 778-2478. $12/$10/$8.

Setting Sun 9pm. Indie, song-based, experimental. Cabaloosa, New Paltz. 255-3400.

The Kurt Henry Band 9pm. Hickory BBQ Smokehouse, Kingston. 338-2424.

The Hudson Rhythm Boys 10pm. Country swing. Aroma Thyme Bistro, Ellenville. 647-3000.

THE OUTDOORS Kaaterskill High Peak 8.8 mile snowshoe / bushwhack. Call for meeting place and times. 339-7170.

Stissing Mountain and Thompson Pond 8am. 4-mile moderate hike. McDonald’s Parking Lot, Wappingers Falls. 876-4534.

Mohonk Preserve Singles Hike – Awosting Falls 10am-2pm. Meet at the West Trapps Trailhead, New Paltz. 255-0919.

Ranger Hike

Annual Holiday Contradance Party

11am. Minnewaska State Park, New Paltz. 255-2011.

3:30-5:30 Dance, 5:30-8 Potluck, 8-11:30 Dance. Featuring Wild Asparagus. Regina Coeli School, Hyde Park. 229-8589.

SPOKEN WORD Thomas Ames

Earthbeat: A Festive World Dance Celebration 7:30pm. Ulster County Community College, Stone Ridge. 256-9300.

Free-Style Frolic 8:30pm. Barefoot, Substance & Smoke free. Knight of Columbus Hall, Kingston. 658-8319. Adults $5/Teens, Seniors $2/Children, Volunteers Free.

EVENTS Kwnazaa Umoja Night Call for times. Hudson Opera House, Hudson. (518) 828-3612.

Wreath Fineries at 9 Wineries Call for times. Travel the wine trail and complete your wreath. Shawangunk Wine Trail. 255-2494.

Holiday Tours 1-4pm. Wilderstein Historic Site, Rhinebeck. 876-4818.

Solstice Celebration 7:30pm. Happy and Artie Traum and Friends. Kleinert/James Arts Center, Woodstock. 679-2079. $25/$20 members.

KIDS Babes in Toyland 11am. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $7/$5 children.

MUSIC Yuletide Concert 2pm. Woodstock Renaissance. Overlook United Methodist Church, Woodstock. 679-9160.

A Broadway Christmas 8pm. Bodles Opera House, Chester. 469-4595.

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8-11pm. Folk, blues, jazz. Maia Restaurant and Lounge, Poughkeepsie. 486-5004.

DINI LAMOT PLAYS MRS. BOYLE IN DNA PRODUCTIONS’ STAGING OF “THE MOUSETRAP” IN HUDSON

1pm. Reads and signs Fish Bugs. Hudson Valley Angler, Red Hook. 758-9203.

AN EVIL MARY POPPINS

Susan Aberth 1pm. Lectures on Louise Bourgeois. Dia, Beacon. 440-0100.

THEATER Holiday Spectacular on Ice 2pm/7:30. Ulster Performing Arts Center, Kingston. 339-6088. $40/$33 members.

“The Mousetrap” is the longest-running play in history, playing continuously in London since November 25, 1952. (A leather chair and a mantle clock have been in every performance.) It is estimated that 10 million people have seen Agatha Christie’s tantalizing mystery. But if you lack the airfare to London, you may attend DnA Productions’ version of the same play in Hudson. “DnA” stands for Daniel Logan, the

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie

director, and Andrea Winston, assistant director and stage manager. This is their sixth annual Agatha

8pm. StageWorks Hudson, Hudson. (518) 822-9667.

Christie drama.

A Christmas Carol 8pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $17 adults/$15 seniors and children.

SUN 18 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT Terra Sonara Angel Channel 7:30pm. Spirittus, Kingston. 338-8313. $25.

“Actors love this play, because every part—there are eight characters—is so well-written,” Logan observed. One of the characters is a lesbian and one a gay man, which was unusual for the 1950s. Most community theaters delete these references, but Logan does not. Dini Lamot, (whom I saw in the wrenching post-punk band Human Sexual Response in the early 1980s), plays Mrs. Boyle, a female judge. So convincing is his portrayal that some audience members were fooled, when “The Mousetrap” played as dinner theater in Kingston. “A couple of times, people would be looking in their programs in the intermission, and they’d go, ‘Did you know that’s a man?’” Logan recalls. Dini tours as a “gender illusionist,” in the persona of torch singer Musty Chiffon. Logan himself is in the play, as Mr. Paravacini, the only uninvited guest, who arrives during a

CLASSES Junior Privates and Surprise Salsa Class

snowstorm. “We have great snow, and great wind,” he says, of their special effects. “People literally

Call for times. Mountain View Studio, Woodstock. 246-1122.

an evil Mary Poppins.”

DANCE The Nutcracker 2pm. Presented by the Hudson Valley Conservatory. New Rose Theatre, Walden. 778-2478. $12/$10/$8.

Earthbeat: A Festive World Dance Celebration 3pm. Ulster County Community College, Stone Ridge. 256-9300.

get blown into the room. Mrs. Boyle gets blown in backwards with an inside-out umbrella, arriving like Logan sets the play in the late ‘50s, with incidental music ranging from Elvis Presley to selections from “La Traviata.” The costumes are by Bethany Goldpaugh Brown, who appears in Who’s Who for her costuming talents. “The Mousetrap” will be performed Friday and Saturday, December 16 and 17 at 8 pm, and Sunday, December 18 at 2 pm at Stageworks in Hudson. (518) 822-9667; www.stageworkstheater.org. —Sparrow

Swing Dance Jam 6:30-9pm. White Eagle Hall, Kingston. 339-3032. $5.

MUSIC Red Molly 2pm. Acoustic, bluegrass, country, folk, original, traditional, vocals, Americana. Orangeburg Library, Orangeburg. 359-2244.

Yuletide Concert 2pm. Woodstock Renaissance. Overlook United Methodist Church, Woodstock. 679-9160.

MUSIC Michael McCarthy Trio 6-9pm. Lombardi’s Restaurant, Gardiner. 255-9779.

Bluegrass Clubhouse 8pm. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. 679-5342.

THEATER A Christmas Carol 8pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $17 adults/$15 seniors and children.

Dog on Fleas 3pm. Kids music. Inquiring Minds/Raising Children Bookstore, Saugerties. 246-5155. $5.

Community Messiah Sing

FRI 23 DANCE Swing Dance to The Skip Parsons Quintet

4pm. Old Dutch Church, Kingston. 338-6759.

8:30pm. Lesson at 7:30. Poughkeepsie Tennis Club, Poughkeepsie. 454-2571. $10.

Unplugged Acoustic Open Mike

EVENTS Caroling

4-6pm. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-1559. $6/$5 members.

Xoch 5-10pm. Rock, pop. Club Crannel, Poughkeepsie. 471-1966.

THE OUTDOORS Mohonk Preserve – Hike to Rock Rift 10am-2:30pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz. 255-0919.

THEATER The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie

5pm. Uptown Kingston. 339-5822.

MUSIC Exit 19 Call for times. Funky grooves. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Duo Loco: Mark Dziuba & Studio Stu 6:30-9:30pm. Neko Sushi and Hibachi, Wappingers Falls. 298-9869.

Chris Trapper

2pm. StageWorks Hudson, Hudson. (518) 822-9667.

8pm. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. 679-5342.

A Christmas Carol

8-11pm. Folk, blues, jazz. Maia Restaurant and Lounge, Poughkeepsie. 486-5004.

3pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $17 adults/$15 seniors and children.

TUES 20 5-8pm. Photography exhibit and book signing. Center for Photography at Woodstock, Woodstock. 679-9957.

MUSIC Open Mike 10:30pm. Snug’s Tavern, New Paltz. 255-9800.

THE OUTDOORS Christmas Bird Count 9am. Minnewaska State Park, New Paltz. 255-2011.

WED 21 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT Honoring the Solstice 7pm. Garden of One, Rensselaerville. (518) 797-3373.

EVENTS Living Nativity 6:30-8pm. Old Dutch Church, Kingston. 338-6759.

FILM Bob Gruen’s New York Dolls Movie All Dolled Up 8pm. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. 679-5342.

MUSIC Vienne Choir Boys Call for times. Troy Music Hall, Troy. (518) 273-0038.

Celtic Jam Seisun 7:30-10pm. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Dan Brother

THEATER A Christmas Carol 8pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $17 adults/$15 seniors and children.

SAT 24 EVENTS Christmas Eve Candlelight Service 7:30pm. Old Dutch Church, Kingston. 338-6759.

MUSIC Vickie Russell 7-10pm. Acoustic, folk, original, pop. Griffin’s Corners Cafe, Fleischmanns. 254-6300.

MON 26 MUSIC David Kraai 11pm. Acoustic, country, folk, original, solo, traditional. Oasis, New Paltz. 255-2400.

TUES 27 EVENTS Frost Valley Winter Camp Call for times. Catskill State Park, Catskill. 985-2291 ext. 203.

KIDS Mini-Camp Horse Care for Children 9am-2pm. Winslow Therapeutic Center, Warwick. 986-6686. $40.

MUSIC Community Shape Note Sing 7pm. Songs from The Sacred Harp. Holy Cross Church, Kingston. 658-3485.

Open Mike 10:30pm. Snug’s Tavern, New Paltz. 255-9800.

9pm. Blues, r&b, soul. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

WORKSHOPS Harry Potter and Advanced Robotics

WORKSHOPS Mitakuye Oyasin

9am-4pm. Grades 1-4. Ulster County Community College, Stone Ridge. 339-2025. $155.

10am-4pm. Nature and watercolor. Catskill Mountains. (518) 943-1929. $325.

THURS 22 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT Honoring Jesus: a Special Christmas Zikr 8pm. Woodstock. 679-7215.

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ART Bob Gruen’s John Lennon: The New York Years

Matt Turk

WED 28 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT Dinner & A Movie - Spiritual Cinema Circle Call for times. Garden of One, Rensselaerville. (518) 797-3373.

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MUSIC Celtic Jam Seisun 7:30-10pm. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Dan Brother 9pm. Blues, r&b, soul. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

THURS 29 DANCE Fiddle and Dance Winter Camp Call for times. Ashokan Field Campus, Ashokan. (800) 292-0905. $425.

EVENTS Pre-New Year’s Milonga 8pm. Mountain View Studio, Woodstock. 246-1122.

KIDS Holiday Adult/Child Activity 10-11:30am. Making a candleholder with a log base. Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall. 534-5506 ext. 204.

MUSIC Michael McCarthy Trio 6-9pm. Lombardi’s Restaurant, Gardiner. 255-9779.

Bluegrass Clubhouse 8pm. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. 679-5342.

FRI 30 KIDS Holiday Adult/Child Activity 10-11:30am. Learn about tracking. Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall. 534-5506 ext. 204.

MUSIC Raisenhead Call for times. Rock and roll. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

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Duo Loco: Mark Dziuba & Studio Stu 6:30-9:30pm. Neko Sushi and Hibachi, Wappingers Falls. 298-9869.

Mark Raisch 7-11pm. Jazz, swing, vocals, American Standards. Powlton Club, Kingston. 464-5836.

Two Guitars 9pm. Hickory BBQ Smokehouse, Kingston. 338-2424.

SAT 31 DANCE Free-Style Frolic 8:30pm. Barefoot, Substance & Smoke free. Knight of Columbus Hall, Kingston. 658-8319. Adults $5/Teens, Seniors $2/ Children, Volunteers Free.

EVENTS Laughfest 2006 Call for times. Garden of One, Rensselaerville. (518) 797-3373.

New Year’s Eve Celebration

The New York School of

Social Graces

9pm. Featuring Anna Cheek Trio. Bear Creek Landing, Hunter. (518) 263-3839.

New Year’s Eve Party 11pm. Featuring Bad Princess. Bacchus Restaurant, New Paltz. 255-8636.

MUSIC Monica’s Kneepads Call for times. The Alamo, Rosendale. 658-3300.

Mambo Kikongo Call for times. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

New Year’s Eve Celebration 9:30pm. Featuring Thunder Ridge. Hickory BBQ Smokehouse, Kingston. 338-2424.

Studio Stu 10pm. Jazz. Aroma Thyme Bistro, Ellenville. 647-3000.

WORKSHOPS The Tenets and Practices of Buddhism 3:30pm. By the Venerable Lama Pema Wangdak. Buddhist Center, Philmont. (518) 672-5216.

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137

Emil Alzamora

Planet Waves BY ERIC FRANCIS COPPOLINO

Chiron, Nessus, and the Racaille Paris. In 1954, Algeria, one of France’s North African experiments in colonialism, took a turn for the worse, and what began as a guerilla war killed as many as 1.5 million people on both sides through 1962. Terrorism against civilians on both sides, rioting, and many fierce battles characterized the era, and touched French society so deeply that the government was dissolved and a new one begun— something called the Fifth Republic, under Charles De Gaulle. Skip ahead half a century to the ghettoes outside Paris, theoretically a housing solution for Algerian and other North African immigrants begun in the 1960s. Called the Cités, these prison like housing projects were created as low- and moderate-income housing for the immigrants, but in reality also as a way to get them out of the inner city. These Cités were the communities that erupted in flames in late October, set off by the electrocution deaths of two teenage boys who feared they were being chased by police—a typical scene. Every night for weeks, up to 1,500 cars were burned, there were hundreds of arrests, and thousands of police were commandeered in an attempt to hold down the outrage of young men born in France but never included in French society. France’s tough-guy interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, referred to the youth of the Cités as racaille, which translates to rabble or human scum, and said he would eliminate them with Kärcher, a German air-pressure powered cleaning system, akin to sand blasting. This is the system one would rent if faced with the need to clean a few decades of pigeon shit off of one’s house. Sarko’s comments had the expected results of firing up anger, sparking more riots, and polarizing the country. (Note: He is expected to run for president next year.)

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While these words may seem like so much nasty rhetoric, there is a subtext. As Village Voice writer Doug Ireland pointed out in his blog, the people to whom the words referred are for the most part Muslims, who are considered ethnic outsiders in France. So by Kärcherize, was Sarkozy making a reference to ethnic cleansing? It’s not a big stretch. As he becomes more prominent in French politics, we shall see whether he’s just a talented publicist for hatred (who apparently meets with politicians in the United States for refresher courses), or a kleinhitler—a true miniature of the original. France does need to ponder this possibility. The apartment I am writing this article in was once Nazi-occupied territory, and all over Paris are memorials to Jews who were arrested, deported, and killed for nothing other than being born. Here’s what’s interesting: Despite this degree of animosity, the French youth riots have largely been a revolt against property, not life. There is no way to classify the burning of cars with a suicide bomber like the one who blew up a wedding in Jordan last month. As of midNovember, only one shot had been fired in the course of the entire situation. As a result of the prolonged protests, the government has restored budgets for social programs in the Cités. This is a minor conciliatory gesture; in many ways, it is beyond the power of French society to heal the deep wounds of the Cités. That these events are a throwback to the Algerian War of Independence has astrological significance. The planet with a half-century cycle is Chiron, which at the time the Algerian war broke out was in late Capricorn, and soon changed signs to Aquarius. This month, Chiron again changes signs from Capricorn to Aquarius, a transition that has been developing all year and is in many ways an indicator of the highly unusual times we’re living through. Chiron, for those unfamiliar with the name, is a small planet discovered by an American astronomer in 1977: It tends to push things to awareness and is often prominent in times of major transition of both individuals and history. It is typically strong in the charts of healers. Chiron has a long orbit and acts with the intensity of Pluto, affecting all of society and entire generations of people, as well as manifesting powerfully in the charts of certain individuals. Chiron is kind of like Planet Gestalt, drawing one’s attention in a clear way to what needs to be addressed here and now. Note that Capricorn is the sign of governments, corporate structures, and the institution of the church. To get a sense of how distinct the Chiron-in-Capricorn era

has been, consider that it began shortly after the September 11 attacks and within days of Enron declaring bankruptcy. Since then, we have seen scandal after scandal rock government, corporations, and the Catholic Church. Chiron in Capricorn has had a way of lighting up the dark halls of power and exposing more dirty secrets than we’ve seen in all of American history combined. In addition to changing signs, throughout this year Chiron has been in a rare conjunction with another newly discovered planet, called Nessus (discovered in 1993). Nessus is a little like Chiron from the dark side, and is often prominent in charts of situations and people where psychological or sexual abuse is a key factor. I have also noticed that Nessus has a theme of “the return of karma.” My colleague Melanie Reinhart gives it the key phrase, “The buck stops here.” The Chiron-Nessus conjunction has been walking across the Capricorn-Aquarius border all year. This movement toward Aquarius is a shift of focus. The energy moves from a kind of interior, dense, and earthy sign associated with structure (Capricorn), to an open, highly energetic sign associated with people, groups, communities, and society (Aquarius). The conjunction will help define the current generation and the phase of history much like the UranusPluto conjunction defined the 1960s. You’re not likely to read about Chiron-Nessus today, just like you were not likely to read about UranusPluto 40 years ago; Pluto was still ignored. But the parallel is striking, with Chiron often resembling Uranus and Nessus having the properties of Pluto. The two ignite each other. The result will be a distinct Power to the People phase of history, with on-the-ground uprisings and a sense of awakening spreading through our communities. The last time Chiron was in Aquarius, in the late 1950s, was a momentous time for the civil rights movement, and in literature, and there were many waves of revelation that prepared the way for the social consciousness of the 1960s. And this is what we are seeing the stirrings of in France at the moment. Why are there riots? For the people who live in the Cités, there is no other way to express themselves. For those of us who do have access to technology, community, or organizations, we can have the experience of Aquarian reality on what actually feels like a productive level that begins to restore some of what has been taken from us. But whatever the mode of rebellion, we are all the racaille, reclaiming what is rightfully ours, namely, the awareness that there is strength not just in numbers, but in sticking together and doing what we must to get the message across.

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Horoscopes by Eric Francis Coppolino www.planetwaves.net

ARIES March 20-April 19 One of the original art pieces for the homepage of the Planet Waves website, from the summer of 1999, was created by Aries artist Via Keller and called Under a Tangled Sky. Much of the astrology that inspired that design repeated in early November and will make additional appearances in early December and mid January—what is called a “grand cross.” For you, this represents a development area in your capacity for giving yourself credit where it’s due. If you can do that, others will too. The world is poised and waiting to meet you on the level if you respect and value your creations, your desires, and, indeed, your existence. Your recent efforts at untangling yourself, at really making a commitment to how you feel about yourself and your life, are achievements of this distinctive era in time. In our world it’s easy to decide that nothing matters. I doubt you would ever take that approach, and that is good for everyone.

TAURUS

April 19-May 20

The Yin-Yang symbol emphasizes that balance is attained by everything in the universe containing an element of its opposite. Balance may exist, but nothing is pure; or rather, what we think of as purity is a state of inner acceptance that we contain some other potential all the time. I don’t mean to sound too high-minded here, but what you have been through the past several months is based entirely on this principle; it appears to be a functioning law of nature. If during the past six months things have seemed backwards, obverse, contradictory, or just strange, consider how this applies to your life. Whatever may be the specific story, and whether it was pleasant or not, you have had an encounter with an unusual kind of potential. You have touched and embraced a hidden aspect of your “otherness.” In doing so, I trust that you’ve removed one of the biggest stumbling blocks in your relationships.

GEMINI

May 20-June 21

You have, it seems, finally got the hang of seeing the possibilities—or at least opening your mind enough to see them. The aspect of this equation you’re working out now is whether a vision for yourself must emerge from a feeling first, or whether it can enter consciousness as an idea and then take up life in your deeper spheres. Asked another way, what is the initiator of action? At times, both levels have proven to be unreliable for leading you to what we could call a valid path. Other times, both have shown their unquestionable value. Your process now involves repeatedly cross-checking between both hemispheres of your brain; between what you have outer confirmation of and what you know internally; between what is spoken and what is insinuated. I don’t suggest you invest any effort in seeking the truth. If you move gently with the flow of your reality, the truth will happily seek you.

CANCER June 21-July 22

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Finally, some new and different doors are opening. I see a mix of gateways to inner vistas and worldly ones. This is all the sweeter when you’ve endured a long era during which meeting even your most basic needs seemed to require a key and map you could never quite find, or rules you could never follow. I’ll repeat one of my favorite Patric Walker quotations yet again, which is that Saturn always gives more than he takes away. What Saturn has bestowed for the past three years, and what you are likely beginning to feel now, is that patience, endurance, and optimism really are the best policy for living. And even though there were times when people seemed unwilling or unable to give you what you needed, those who can live on sand and stones are also the ones who appreciate the smallest fruit.

Horoscopes by Eric Francis Coppolino www.planetwaves.net

LEO July 22-Aug. 23 Speaking of Saturn (please see Cancer), it is amazing how you seem to be keeping balanced in the midst of so many challenges and so much change all around you. The right mix of structure and imagination are essential in such times; there cannot be competition between intuition and the facts of life if you’re going to maintain a pleasant state of sanity. You usually do remember that you’re bigger than your problems; bigger than the challenges the world may toss your way; and that your existence is strong enough to remain tangible in the face of any doubts. This month, a rare opportunity presents itself. But you don’t need to go after it with urgent energy, or dare I say, with greed. Yes, there is a “last chance” feeling to what is developing, and whatever this is about, you want it a lot. The process of receiving will occur over a series of turning points that extend for one year from now.

VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22 You are the master of the niche; the highly specialized role that nobody can compete with, and few can imagine is possible, yet what many need. There is a catch, though. What having a singular place in the world does is withhold from you many benefits of relating to others as a sport. And there is much to be said for healthy competition, team playing, and a bit of rough-and-tumble for its own sake. You can do quite well for yourself in a state of isolation, but it’s way, way too easy for you to lose touch with the larger reality of life around you. Therefore you must be content to be different, to assess your effectiveness in a way that is fair, and be willing to do so without making too many comparisons. As you well know, comparisons bring you down, but that’s only because they are inaccurate measures of anything even worth considering. You stand on your own merits, and you always have.

LIBRA Sept. 22-Oct. 23 You stand at the brink of a creative breakthrough. This will draw you to dare a series of experiences that have tangible results and at the same time draw you deeper into your own midst. Such is the perfect creative journey, the way of art, which always reaches in at least two directions. This is in truth a journey from which you don’t return; all you do is become. Each experience at each perhaps chaotic, perhaps random, but always daring step of the way will change you just enough to allow your strong hands to touch and mold the world in your own likeness and to see the life around you in your own colors. There will be elements of your experience that you cannot share, for they are so raw or tender or unspeakable that it seems impossible. Yet this does not render what you put forth incomplete. The unknown is always the best nourishment for knowledge.

SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov.22 You have likely experienced some dramatic examples of why honesty is so important. It is easy to deceive; often it’s difficult to tell the truth. But if deception traps us, truth opens like a parachute when naught else offers protection. The opportunities to dive in either direction continue to be present. You may at times wonder what, exactly, you mean when you say something, and whether what you say can ever bring across your true intentions. Still, the opening is there to make an effort, to explore, to reach—and such things count for a great deal right now. There are times when restraint is the better part of valor, and this is not one of them. Make each decision one at a time, always based on the question, “What is real for me now?” That your personal reality (“personality”) can change so often or so quickly is truer to your nature than most would care to admit—but you know.

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Horoscopes by Eric Francis Coppolino www.planetwaves.net

SAGITTARIUSNov.22-Dec.22 You’re not made to fit in a tight space, so stay out of the corner. It is the nature of the human mind to think itself into uncomfortable angles, and the excuse for doing so is often some species of desperation. And this is a habit of thought rather than a single episode. When you arrive at a corner, remember it has an inside and an outside. If you have a sense that you’re turning but can’t see what lies to the left or the right, that’s a clue that you’re free. If you’re trying to go straight ahead and are looking into a space that just gets narrower, turn around and walk out; precisely the same circumstance that, from one angle, looks like a trap is from the most other points of view a path to independence, and the opportunity to choose between viable alternatives.

CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 20 The sudden sense of relief from a persistent psychological or emotional situation may feel too good to believe. No need to question anything, however. You can take turns looking back at the past in simple amazement, considering the future with respect, and resting gently in the present. You have been through something truly remarkable, genuinely unique in all your life. You are, as a result, not the same person you were one, two, or three years ago. There’s no way to overstate this particular case. In this stretch of time, the world has also changed. The expectations on a human conscience have shifted and the world is entering a time of ethical crisis, and a crisis of responsibility. On whatever level, you are prepared to be a leader.

AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 19 How much are you willing to stand out? You’re never afraid to do so as a token gesture; often willing to challenge any prevailing idea; rarely but in truth occasionally willing to proceed as if nothing matters but the one light in your heart. The proportion of these events is going to change. Token gestures are, at this point, nearly worthless, and you know it. Your existence is, in itself, a statement against prevailing ideas, though you need to work with them. And before long, it will be clear that every single day of your life must be lived, for what you know, feel, and see is real. Some illusions die hard. Others just fade in the light of day. Imagine if the choice was all your own, and if no fear of inconvenience could stop you from giving your gift to the world, which is another way of saying, to yourself.

PISCES Feb. 20-March 20 The moment to push your luck has arrived. I say this knowing that you tend to take a somewhat retreating approach to life, and that pushing for you is more like a friendly handshake for others. I see your goal developing with a kind of obsessive potency that will keep you on track, and likely result in a breakthrough some time between now and December 16. You are, at long last, learning the skill of refining your message, cultivating it carefully in others over a long period of time, and standing up for what you believe in. Add to this the power of focus, and you will discover certain new, undeniable ways in which you influence the flow of your life. But you must trust that you are perceived in a positive and supportive way that you may not see yourself, but which is indeed an essential ingredient to the respect and cooperation upon which this whole process is centered.

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Parting Shot

Aisha Khalid, Hasnat Mehmood, Muhammad Imran Qureshi, Nusra Latif Qureshi, Talha Rathore, Saira Wasim / Untitled

"Karkhana: A Contemporary Collaboration," exhibited through March 12 at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut, is a group of collaboratively produced paintings initiated as a creative experiment by Pakistani artist Muhammad Imran Qureshi in 2003. Qureshi contacted five other Pakistani painters, all alumni of the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan, but now living in different cities around the world, with the suggestion that each artist start two new paintings. Each work was then sent to another artist in the group, who applied a layer of imagery, marks, or other processes, and the painting was passed along until all of the artists had added to each of the 12 works. "Karkhana" includes these miniature paintings, as well as five additional paintings by each of the artists. The Urdu term karkhana describes the kind of painting workshops patronized by Mughal emperors who ruled the territories of present-day India and Pakistan. In these workshops, multiple artists worked on a single painting under the direction of a master, each contributing visual components according to their particular skills. (203) 438-4519; www.aldrichart.org.

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Profile of Silent Film Composer Donald Sosin | Holiday Supplement | Fiction: Heart of the Cottonwood Tree

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