Chronogram December 2006

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CONTENTS 12/06 NEWS AND POLITICS

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

22 YEAR OF THE WOMEN

78 YOU'D BETTER SHOP AROUND

The recent election witnessed historic gains for women in both the House and the Senate. More important than sheer numbers, reports Allison Stevens, is the power women like Nancy Pelosi will wield in leadership roles.

28 BEINHART'S BODY POLITIC Larry Beinhart follows the yellow brick road of corruption, incompetence, and hypocrisy that led to the triumph of Democrats in the November election and the pulling back the curtain on The Wizard of Odds.

COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK 31 FARMING THE SUN Architect and visionary Daniela Bertol's Sun Farm is not only a sprawling show ground for her sacred geometry-inspired creations, but also a work in progress itself.

By Sparrow

37 ART OF BUSINESS

The Hudson Valley is rich with inspired holiday gift ideas. Rebecca Wild Nelson makes some recommendations.

78 BOOK GIFTS: A HUDSON VALLEY GUIDE The books we're bequeathing this season. Nina Shengold & Bri Johnson

WHOLE LIVING GUIDE 94 MAKE WAY FOR PLAY Lorrie Klosterman discusses new scientific evidence that shows just how beneficial enjoyment, play, and uncontrollable laughter are to your health.

98 CREATE YOUR OWN RITUAL Acclaimed spirituality teacher and author of The Joy of Ritual and The Joy of Family Rituals Barbara Biziou offers a guide to creating your own traditions to welcome the new year.

Ann Braybrooks tours the massive Polich Art Works foundry in Rock Tavern, where the larger-than-life visions of artists like Louise Bourgeois, Fernando Botero, Jeff Koons, and Roy Lichtenstein become reality.

FIONN REILLY

86 Daniela Bertol standing in front of one of her geometric/architectural drawings at Sun Farm.

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CONTENTS 12/06 ARTS & CULTURE

PLANET WAVES HOROSCOPES

44 PORTFOLIO

134 TURNING POINT

Iain Machell’s drawings will be exhibited this month as part of “Faculty Works,” a group show at SUNY Ulster’s Muroff Kotler Gallery in Stone Ridge.

46 LUCID DREAMING Beth E. Wilson reveals how discomfort drives artist Ann Haaland's work.

49 GALLERY DIRECTORY What's hanging in galleries and museums throughout the region.

52 MUSIC Peter Aaron profiles Rich Conaty, host of "The Big Broadcast," radio's long-running program of 1920s and '30s jazz and pop.

Plus local scenester DJ Wavy Davy's Nightlife Highlights and reviews of CDs by Bernstein-Bard Trio We'll Know When We Get There.

Reviewed by David Malachowski.

The Easy Tease Bold Displays of Cowardice. Reviewed by Jason Broome.

The Kansas City Sound One for the Bishop. Reviewed by DJ Wavy Davy.

56 BOOKS Nina Shengold visits the multi-dimensional world of pop-up book creators Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart.

58 BOOK REVIEWS Bri Johnson reviews A Consequence of Ordinary by Zoli Rosen.

Susan Piperato reviews Climbing the Mango Tree by Madhur Jaffrey.

Jeffrey Shapiro reviews Three Men in a Room by Seymour Lachman.

62 POETRY Poems by Al Desetta, Peter Filkins, Mary Flanagan, Scott Hanna, Mike Ivino, Brian Liston, Luciana Lopez, Connie McCormmach, Kristine Ong Muslim, Claire Telfer, and Bill Vanaver. Edited by Phillip Levine.

64 FOOD & DRINK Eric Steinman drinks in the region's rich tradition of seasonal beer brewing.

140 PARTING SHOT Photographer Clemens Kalischer's 1958 portrait of bluesman John Lee Hooker.

THE FORECAST 136 DAILY CALENDAR Comprehensive listings of local events.

(Daily updates of calendar listings are posted at Chronogram.com).

PREVIEWS 119 Sparrow cracks the code of "The Hard Nut," the Mark Morris Dance Company's interpretation of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker," which comes to Bard College.

120 Mary Cassai highlights twin solo shows by Chris Metze and Leslie Bender at Albert Shahinian Fine Arts in Poughkeepsie.

123 Songwriter Martin Sexton's fans may be divided about his studio work, but they're in thrall to his live shows. Sharon Nichols previews his Bearsville concert.

124 Nikolaus Geyrhalter's new documentary, Our Daily Bread, slices through the unsettling back story of the mass-market food industry. Jay Blotcher previews.

125 Kathy Mattea's music combines country, bluegrass, and Celtic sounds for one that's all her own. Robert Burke Warren writes on her upcoming Kingston concert.

127 An event sponsored by Poughkeepsie's PASWORD/Project AWARE group provides a forum for young local female poets. Rebecca Wild Nelson explains.

128 Dance legend Savion Glover will perform at The Egg in Albany. Teal Hutton taps into his genius.

129 Icon-forging photographer Annie Leibovitz signs copies of her new book.

Preview by Teal Hutton.

BUSINESS SERVICES 66 TASTINGS A directory of what’s cooking and where to get it.

100 WHOLE LIVING DIRECTORY 113 BUSINESS DIRECTORY

For the positive lifestyle.

A compendium of advertiser services.

POP-UP EMERALD CITY FROM ROBERT SABUDA'S THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ

JENNIFER MAY

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Eric Francis Coppolino wonders if the outcome of the recent elections represent a transitional phase in the Universal saga. Plus horoscopes.

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EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Brian K. Mahoney bmahoney@chronogram.com ART DIRECTOR David Perry dperry@chronogram.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Peter Aaron paaron@chronogram.com NEWS & POLITICS EDITOR Lorna Tychostup tycho56@aol.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jim Andrews jandrews@chronogram.com BOOKS EDITOR Nina Shengold books@chronogram.com WHOLE LIVING EDITOR Lorrie Klosterman wholeliving@chronogram.com POETRY EDITOR Phillip Levine poetry@chronogram.com COPY EDITOR Andrea Birnbaum INTERN Rebecca Wild Nelson PROOFREADERS Laura McLaughlin, Barbara Ross CONTRIBUTORS Emil Alzamora, Larry Beinhart, Barbara Bizou, Jay Blotcher, Ann Braybrooks, Mary Cassai, Eric Francis Coppolino, DJ Wavy Davy, Al Desetta, Peter Filkins, F-Stop Fitzgerald, Roy Gumpel, Scott Hanna, Hillary Harvey, Teal Hutton, Annie Internicola, Mike Ivino, Bri Johnson, Clemens Kalischer, Lorrie Klosterman, Brain Liston, Luciana Lopez, Jennifer May, Connie McCormmach, Kristine Ong Muslim, Sharon Nichols, Dion Ogust, Susan Piperato, Fionn Reilly, Jeremy Schwartz, Jeffrey Shapiro, Andy Singer, Sparrow, Eric Steinman, Allison Stevens, Claire Telfer, Tom Tomorrow, Bill Vanaver, Robert Burke Warren, Beth E. Wilson

SUBMISSIONS CALENDAR To submit calendar listings, visit www.chronogram.com/calendar, click on "Add My Event" and fill out the form.

E-mail: events@chronogram.com / Fax: (845) 334-8610 Mail: 314 Wall Street, Kingston, NY 12401 Deadline: December15

POETRY Submissions of up to three poems at a time can be sent to poetry@chronogram.com or our street address. See above.

FICTION/NONFICTION Fiction: Submissions can be sent to fiction@chronogram.com.

Nonfiction: Succinct queries about stories of regional interest can be sent to bmahoney@chronogram.com.

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Come M New O eet wner Joe Ch armell o

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PUBLISHING FOUNDERS Jason Stern & Amara Projansky PUBLISHER Jason Stern jstern@chronogram.com ADVERTISING SALES Tania Amrod tamrod@chronogram.com, x121 Jamaine Bell jbell@chronogram.com, x112 Ralph Jenkins rjenkins@chronogram.com, x105 MARKETING & PUBLICITY DIRECTOR Elissa Jane Mastel emastel@chronogram.com ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE MANAGER Lisa Mitchel-Shapiro lshapiro@chronogram.com, x101 ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Becca Friedman bfriedman@chronogram.com, x120 OFFICE ASSISTANT Matthew Watzka mwatzka@chronogram.com, x113 TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR Justin Zipperle PRODUCTION PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Yulia Zarubina-Brill yzarubina@chronogram.com, x108 PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Kiersten Miench kmiench@chronogram.com, x116 PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Julie Novak jnovak@chronogram.com, x102 Teal Hutton thutton@chronogram.com, x106 BUSINESS CONSULTANT Ajax Greene OFFICES 314 Wall St. Kingston, NY 12401 845.334.8600 fax 334.8610 SUBSCRIBE $36 for 12 issues www.chronogram.com/subscribe MISSION Chronogram is a regional magazine dedicated to stimulating and supporting the creative and cultural life of the Hudson Valley.

ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2006

LU M I N A R Y

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FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS

Jeffrey Shapiro was born and raised in Newburgh. In 1981, he graduated from SUNY Albany with a BA in political science and history. In 1984, he received a JD from the Rutgers-Camden School of Law. He spent 12 years in private practice before moving into government law, first as Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Newburgh, and, since 2001, as a senior attorney with the New York State Department of Labor. (The views expressed in Jeff’s review of Three Men in a Room by Seymour Lachman, which appears on page 60, do not reflect those of the Department of Labor or the State of New York.)

Jason Broome operates Diablo Dulce Records, an independent label that champions sounds of the avant-garde, including those of his own bands, Tulula, the Westport Sunrise Sessions, and Gilding the Lily. He tours Europe and the US and writes, records, and produces in the Hudson Valley and beyond.

Music from the Diablo Dulce catalog has infected radio playlists around the world and found many a home on film and TV soundtracks. Jason’s musical efforts have also raised money for non-violence advocacy group Wheels of Justice, the Middle East Children’s Alliance, and the Coalition on Homelessness. He is a strong advocate for justice in Palestine and likes to walk his dogs in the woods. He lives in Ellenville. Jason’s review of The Easy Tease’s new CD is on page 55.

During her four-year tenure as a graphic designer and then associate editor with Ulster Publishing’s Kingston Times, Teal Hutton quite literally and eagerly leaped into her adventures as a freelance writer with an assignment for which there were no other takers: a first-person account of a first-timer’s skydive.

She lives in Kingston with her two dogs, who enjoy the company of cats, and a cat, who loathes the presence of dogs. Teal recently joined Luminary Publishing’s production department as a graphic designer, and in this issue previews an appearance and book signing by Annie Leibovitz (page 129), and an upcoming Albany performance by Savion Glover (page 128).

Roy Gumpel has been a photographer for 35 years. He studied at Pratt Institute and School of Visual Arts before taking a job as a fashion photographer’s assistant. Roy began getting his own photo assignments around 1980 and has been shooting a wide range of imagery since, from fashion and portrait work to architecture, still lifes, magazine stories, and annual reports. He is now working on finishing up a short black-and-white film project titled Night of the Living Jews…Not Just Another Hasidic Zombie Movie. Roy is also working on a photo book documenting the Accord Speedway.

His photos of seasonal brews appear on pages 64 and 65.

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ON THE COVER

Golden Mosaic Buddha

CHRISTINA VARGA | WOOD MOSAIC AND MIXED MEDIA | 2006

Believe it or not, the beginnings of the Buddha on this month’s cover were rescued from a pile of garbage.

When Christina Varga found the figure, she didn’t yet know that it would become a Buddha, only that “It looked like a reverential object, something that someone had made with respect. And didn’t, for some reason, get finished.”

Varga has been considered a visionary artist, but she doesn’t claim to have any visions. Her iconographic work depicts subjects as varied as Jesus, Mohammed, and David Bowie. One can see where she gets her reputation. The dumpster-dived Buddha came to her during a phase when she had been putting gold glitter halos on everything that she could get her hands on, from magazine cutouts to religious effigies. So, naturally, this was the first touch she put on the figure.

The piece transcends an isolated phase in the artists’ work. After her halo phase, Varga notes, she moved on to mosaic and mixed media cutouts. And as the Buddha remained unfinished, Varga became increasingly involved in her new gallery in Woodstock.

“Being a businessperson has caused me to go more abstract.

Which has led me to do cutouts,” she explains. “The wood mosaics, the canvas mosaics, the mixed media cutouts that I glue down...and incorporating that with my representational and figurative work.”

It wasn’t until she outlined it in wood mosaic that Varga realized that the figure was Buddha, donned in a Chinese ancestral robe.

Varga began her work as an artist primarily as an oil painter. From the outset, she worked with iconography and figurative pieces. Since her transition into mosaics, she has gotten more experimental. Old dominoes, Scrabble pieces, and metal objects found on sidewalks are among the preferred mediums in her current work.

Varga marries the religious world with the world of rejected trash. Her tryptic of Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammad serves as a bridge to her current found-object work, which includes All Seeing Eye, another wood mosaic, and other introspections on the spiritual life in found art.

Varga’s work will be on view at the Varga a-Go-Go event at the Varga Gallery & Studio in Woodstock on December 9.

(845) 679 4005; www.christinavarga.com.

—Rebecca Wild Nelson

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CHRONOGRAM SEEN PHOTO CREDITS: WSW AUCTION PHOTO BY TANA KELLNER; CHRONOGRAM LITERARY PARTY PHOTOS BY JENNIFER MAY; CHRONOGRAM HALLOWEEN PHOTO BT FIONN REILLY.

The events we sponsor, the people who make a difference, the Chronogram community. Here's some of what we saw in November: CHRONOGRAM HALLOWEEN PARTY / WOMEN'S STUDIO WORKSHOP BENEFIT AUCTION / CHRONOGRAM LITERARY SUPPLEMENT PARTY

Clockwise from top left: Women's Studio Workshop Auction at Bearsville Theater; Literary party at the Blue Mountain Bistro: Editors Mikhail Horowitz, Nina Shengold, and Phillip Levine; Da Chen and Jo Treggiari; Amlin Gray and short-story winner Jacob Ritari; Donald Westlake reading. Halloween party at Skytop Steakhouse: Production Director Yuliya Zarubina-Brill with heartless husband Tim.

CHRONOGRAM SPONSORS IN DECEMBER: CAFE CHRONOGRAM (12/2), WITH MARCELLUS HALL & TEAL HUTTON; SUSTAINABLE FOOD SALON 101 (12/14), CO-SPONSORED BY FLEISHER'S MEATS. For more info, visit www.chronogram.com.

Going to be there? Take a picture and if we print it, you'll win a stylish Chronogram tee-shirt! E-mail 300 dpi JPEGS (up to 10MB) to seen@chronogram.com.

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FIRST IMPRESSION

Chronogram often receives submissions that do not fit into the categories of the magazine—arts and culture, news and politics, et al.

Itinerant contributor Patricia Anderson sent us this short but insightful piece below, which we created a category for.

—The Editors

What Will Become Of Us? I’m sitting at a stop light, alone in my car, listening to the radio, waiting for the light to change. I look over in the lane next to me and there’s a woman sitting alone in her car, waiting for the light to change—with tears streaming down her face. She’s sitting perfectly still, staring straight ahead, and quietly crying.

So I’m wondering what happened. Maybe she left her husband or lost her job or maybe she’s listening to the news and just can’t believe how awful it is, or maybe it’s a song she’s hearing on the radio—a song she used to dance to with a guy she went out with in high school, a guy who was killed in a car crash or who married someone else and broke her heart or made her feel beautiful like no one else has done before or since. Or maybe she’s remembering how she wanted to be a singer but wound up working at Wal-Mart and she sees her life slipping away, the life she was going to have, the life she thought would be exciting, would brighten any day now but hadn’t, had instead stayed hard and ordinary, was now a life alone, sitting in a car, waiting for the light to change, hearing a song that makes her sad and no one asking why.

Suddenly a whispering came and the god of those who are alone touched her forehead and stroked her cheek and she sighed deeply, her mouth softening and her lips turning up ever so slightly in a sad little smile. Pulling a Kleenex out of her purse she wiped her eyes, blew her nose and drove away.

Okay, that part about the whispering god didn’t really happen, but the rest of it did. I saw this woman, sitting alone in her car, crying silently, and I felt for her and I wondered, what will become of us, alone in our cars.What will become of us now that the gods no longer whisper in our ears?

—Patricia Anderson

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Esteemed Reader re·volt (rĭ-vōlt’), origin: French revolter, to turn round

Esteemed Reader of Our Magazine: Is there a better role than Revolutionary?

It doesn’t get more significant than the motion of the turning of the earth; the earth’s revolution around its sun; the sun’s revolving about the galaxy, and the galaxy around something altogether too large for our merely human minds to contain.

Fortunately the universe is a lawful place, and the laws that are active in the largest world are also active in our own (almost smallest) level of existence. As the Hermeticists say “As above, so below”—whirling above, whirling below.

Westerners are inclined to ignore the revolutionary nature of existence. We are enamored with straight lines. We build skyscrapers and expressways. We look for the shortest route between points. The Eastern mindset is more oriented to the circular and cyclic conception. These are the believers in reincarnation and the karmic wheel. In their view we go around in temporal circles until, through refinement in the crucible of lives, we are thrown free to compassionately view the great gyre of time. The Easterners aren’t in as much of a hurry.

But my purpose isn’t to compare cosmologies. I am talking about Revolution. I think we agree that violent overthrow or even demonstration against anything is not true revolution. It is reaction. It is a straight-line view that ignores the fundamental cyclic law of the universe.

Left to its own devices everything inevitably becomes its opposite anyway, so why push the river? Think of Jesus’s preaching of love leading to the Inquisition; the Founding Fathers model of a free society culminating in the Bush Regime—there are innumerable examples. Without a conscious influence every process changes course and goes in a converse direction. The insidious thing is that is that the entity that has become its opposite retains its original name. But this is no cause for impatience. Revolution is a turn, not an assault.

Revolution is what a dervish is doing when she whirls; left foot held to the earth; hands raised above her head, receiving, transmitting; head cocked slightly to aim the ear for a heaven-heard word. She becomes a world unto herself. A transmitter in a cosmic medium; a celestial body.

Revolution is what my beloved mother meant when I tested her patience as a child. She said, “You had better turn your head around, Jason.”

Revolution is like the motion of a hawk circling on an updraft—a beautiful line described; a larger view achieved.

To Revolt against established assumptions is to turn away from conventional values, to transcend them, and turn toward a new world. That new world is not some distant location. It is here, where I am, only larger.

The post-revolutionary paradise is a world in which opposing views are seen as one; where apparently disparate prophets and their religions are understood to arise from the same source; where flawed institutions, like our government and monetary system, are understood to be inherently unsound and unworthy of our attention and concern; where the sense and purpose of our lives is be an agent of an intelligence higher and more rarefied than our own.

To begin, here’s a poem from the Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa, called “The Wind of Peace”: May the great revolutionary banner Blow in the wind of peace.

May it blow in the wind of karma.

May it blow in the wind of fearlessness.

One’s own mind is revolutionized: There is no need to conquer others.

Like the warriors of ancient times Going to war by imperial command, Like seasoned masters of the martial arts, We will destroy the fortress of erroneous thinking.

We will no longer tolerate the confused way of life Controlled by the impersonal forces of materialism, Since these forces may snatch away The freedom of human dignity.

One must first give up the ego And enter the war with one’s mind.

That is the first step to freedom.

But we will never be free By following the voice of desire.

Liberation is only gained By treading the path of what is.

—Jason Stern 12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM 19

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At dinner recently with friends, talk turned the wedding of TomKat, and before you could say, “Scientology,” or “Baby Suri looks decidedly non-Caucasian,” or “Didn’t Tom look a bit plump in his three-piece?” Lee Anne inquired as to who this TomKat person was. Someone at the table then explained, “Brian and Lee Anne don’t have TV.” A collective “Oh,” went up—the word stretched to three or four syllables, as if our dining companions were elongating its pronunciation while their brains forged new synaptic links, creating a new taxonomic designation, like pescatarian or Medievalist: TV opter-outers.

(NB: A devotee of all media, great and small, and possessed of a particular skill for always choosing the slowest checkout line at the supermarket—giving myself ample time between the covers of People and US Weekly—I keep myself apprised of the latest celebrity shenanigans, and I know all the celebrity couple nicknames: TomKat = Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes; Brangelina = Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie; Bennifer = Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez; and—an oldie but a goodie—LizBurt = Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.)

The discussion of the TomKat wedding continued afresh, and the teeming mass of ephemeral information surrounding the event—who flew in to Rome on the private jet, who was not invited, the competing theories as to why Katie wore a black dress when she arrived in Italy, etc., ad nasuem—known by seemingly all at the table, by some in almost Talmudic detail, made Lee Anne, and even I—for I had not been to the supermarket that week—feel ignorant indeed. Someone the table, an occasional contributor to this magazine, then suggested that contrary to the oft-heard criticism that TV is a stupefying force in our culture, not watching TV was obviously making Lee Anne and me dumber.

(Which I thought was a fair point, given our ignorance of the subject at hand.

Luckily, the conversation then careered off toward other topics and we did not engage in a discussion of what are generally believed to be the points of intellectual uplift on TV—the History Channel, PBS, the “news”—and how they are used to justify watching reruns of “Match Game” on the Game Show Channel.)

The discussion of how TV was making those of us who choose not to watch it dumber was an elegant inverse of a type of conversation I have been engaging in recently. When people find out that I don’t watch TV—I don’t sport a “Kill Your Television” bumper sticker or anything, it just seems to come up

in conversation—they seem to immediately become self-conscious, as if they were being judged. The logic goes like this: If I have chosen not to watch TV, I must believe there is something wrong with watching TV. And if there is something wrong with watching TV, I must be judging them for this perceived perversion on their part. (Maybe I am, a little. I’m not perfect; in fact, I am a bit judgmental. As Charles Barkley succinctly put it: “I ain’t no role model.”) Mostly, however, I find TV contrived, its pacing downright schizophrenic, and its narratives—both news and entertainment—broken up by annoying, in-your-face advertising that jars the psyche. I simply prefer my visual entertainments in uninterrupted blocks of 90 to 120 minutes.

Inside the disquieting cloud of judgment that now envelops the conversation between myself and the TV viewer, there exists an uneasy peace. Usually, I sense the expectation of a critique, a jeremiad about the evils of TV from me, which is almost always pre-empted by a monologue on the good personal habits of the viewer, and how TV, while odious (and the viewer knows it to be detrimental to their character in some way, a way in which I have in no way suggested or even insinuated, despite a twinge of inner judging), is nevertheless not as unhealthy a leisure activity as it would appear, and that the damage to self and society is not catastrophic. And then they look to Father Mahoney for absolution.

Here is my message to those who feel that they wallow in the pale blue halflight of sin: TV enthusiasts of the world, be not guilty, feel not depraved. Prostrate yourself before your little (or not so little wall-mounted flat-screen) boxes joyfully.

Endure the slings and arrows of public radio listeners contented in the knowledge that their enjoyments lack the visual dimension. And lastly—and most importantly—let not your cable subscriptions lapse lest your friends without TVs be completely bereft of sanctuary to watch their favorite programs and engage in the guilty pleasure of it all.

—Brian K. Mahoney

YOEL MEYERS

Editor’s Note

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING Slow News Day Dept: The headline of the lead article below the fold on the front page of the November 18 New York Times read: “No Grunting, They Said, and He Was at the Gym.” The grunter in question, Albert Argibay, was a 40-year old corrections officer and bodybuilder. The gym was Planet Fitness in Wappingers Falls, and after explaining to health club manager Carol Palazzolo that “I’m not grunting, I’m heavy breathing,” Argibay was soon surrounded by police officers and escorted from the gym. Argibay is considering suing the club, located, according to the Times “in this cozy 5,000-person town 75 miles north of Manhattan” because the notoriety he has earned is “tantamount to defamation.” (In the front-page photo Argibay is pictured in his kitchen in front of floral-patterned sink curtains holding a mid-size terrier under each muscled arm. The caption reads: “Albert Argibay, a corrections officer ejected from Planet Fitness for grunting, says he endured ridicule from his colleagues.”

The reason for Argibay’s dismissal from the gym is due to Planet Fitness’s “No Lunks” policy, designed to make novice exercisers—Planet Fitness’s target clientele—feel comfortable. Planet Fitness defines a lunk as “one who grunts, drops weights, or judges.”

If a lunkish behavior is spotted by management, an earsplitting siren with flashing blue lights goes off, and the offender is treated to a public scolding.

Source: New York Times According to a survey of international travelers by the polling firm RT Strategies for the Discover America Partnership, a business group, rude immigration officials and long delays in processing visas have turned the United States into the world’s most unfriendly country for international travelers. The surveys showed that the United States was ranked “the worst” in terms of visas and immigration procedures by twice the percentage of travelers as the next destination regarded as unfriendly—the Middle East and Asia.

More than half of the travelers surveyed said US immigration officials were rude and two-thirds said they feared they would be detained on arriving in the United States for a simple mistake in their paper work or for saying the wrong thing to an immigration official.

Source: Reuters In late November, the Bush administration named Dr. Eric Keroack to head the Office of Population Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The OPA funds birth control, pregnancy tests, breastcancer screening and other health services for 5 million poor people each year, with an annual budget of $280 million.

Keroack previously served as medical director for A Woman’s Concern, a chain of Boston-area pregnancy clinics that advise against the use of contraception and advocate abstinence as a way to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Keroack has spoken at abstinence conferences across the country and has written that people who have more than one sex partner have a diminished neurological capacity to experience loving relationships.

Keroack’s appointment does not need to be approved by the Senate, but Democrats can force him to testify once they control Congress.

US funds intended to promote democracy in Cuba have been used to buy crab meat, cashmere sweaters, computer games, and chocolates, according to an audit by the Government Accountability Office published on November 15. The GAO found little oversight and accountability in the program, which paid out $76 million between 1996 and 2005 to support Cuban dissidents, independent journalists, and academics.

To protect recipients from prosecution—Cuban law sends citizens to jail for receiving money from the US government—none of the money from the US Agency for International Development or State Department is

paid in cash to people in Cuba. Instead, the funds are distributed to Cuban-American groups in Miami and Washington, DC, and used to buy medicines, books, shortwave radios, and other goods that are smuggled into Cuba.

President George W. Bush has proposed increasing spending on Cuba-related programs, including propaganda transmissions by Cuban-exile Radio Marti and TV Marti, by $80 million over the next two years.

One grantee “could not justify some purchases made with USAID funds, including a gas chain saw, computer gaming equipment and software (including Nintendo Game Boys and Sony PlayStations), a mountain bike, leather coats, cashmere sweaters, crab meat, and Godiva chocolates,” the report said.

Juan Carlos Acosta, executive director of Miamibased anti-Castro group Cuban Democratic Action, said he had sent those items to Cuba, apart from the chain saw. “These people are going hungry. They never get any chocolate there,” Acosta said.

Source: Miami Herald The Agriculture Department released in its annual “Hunger Report” in mid-November—except the word hunger was nowhere to be found in the document.

Instead of using the term hunger to describe those who can least afford to put food on the table, this year’s USDA report characterized the 35 million Americans who could not put food on the table at least part of the year as experiencing “low food security.” Lead author of the report Mark Nord described hunger as “not a scientifically accurate term.”

In 1999, Texas Governor George W. Bush said he thought the annual USDA report—which continually found his home state one of the hungriest in the nation—was fabricated, stating, “I’m sure there are some people in my state who are hungry. I don’t believe five percent are hungry.”

Source: Washington Post

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NEWS & POLITICS

YEAR OF THE WOMEN

REUTERS/STRINGER

World, Nation, & Region

Recapping a Historic Election Season By Allison Stevens

For a year that ended up on a historic high for women’s rights activists, 2006 started out with a series of lows.

In January, the Senate confirmed the appointment of Justice Samuel Alito, a pro-life conservative, to take the place of retiring centrist Sandra Day O’Connor.

In February, Governor Mike Rounds of South Dakota signed the country’s first statewide ban on virtually all abortions, a law abortion opponents hoped would serve as a legislative vehicle to challenge Roe v.Wade. And in April, the Republican-controlled Congress passed a budget resolution that called for steep cuts to federal programs that aid low-income women and children; shortly afterward, House appropriators got to work enacting much of the GOP’s plan.

But in November, the year took a dramatic turn. On November 7, women won unprecedented political power in the midterm elections and made historic gains in Congress, and voters backed a repeal of the South Dakota abortion ban and turned down a pair of initiatives to restrict abortion rights—repudiating religious conservative views on abortion and the restrictive legislative mechanisms regarding abortion they tried to implement.

TRIUMPH FOR WOMEN In the single most important triumph for women, California Democrat Nancy Pelosi smashed through the glass ceiling that has kept women out of the upper echelons of political power throughout US history. As leader of the incoming majority party, Pelosi is the next Speaker of the House, the most powerful position in the legislative branch of government and second in the line of succession in the case of a presidential death. She will formally assume the post when the 110th Congress convenes in January.

In addition to Pelosi’s pending coronation, Democratic women are poised to take key leadership positions in the House and Senate and are in line to chair a record number of congressional committees and subcommittees. In these positions, women will wield enormous power because they will be able to determine the shape of legislation that comes before their committees.

This is where 2006 stands out from previous election years. In the so-called 22 NEWS & POLITICS CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

“Year of the Woman,” in 1992, women picked up a record number of seats in Congress but were shut out from most high-ranking leadership positions and had not acquired enough seniority to wield much power on congressional committees—the fulcrum of the legislative process. In the years since, women—especially Democrats—rose in seniority on committees and in party leadership, putting many in positions of power when the Democrats retook control of Congress on November 7.

“Was this the new ‘Year of theWoman?’” asked Martha Burk, former chair of the National Council of Women’s Organizations, at a post-election press conference in Washington, DC. “Our answer is ‘Yes,’” she crowed. “It is the new ‘Year of the Woman,’ because it is now normal for women to take leadership along with men.

Every election year from now on will be the ‘Year of the Woman.’”

In addition to reaching new heights of political influence, women also added to their ranks this year.The number of women in the Senate grew by two, from 14 to 16—or 16 percent of the chamber—and the number of women in the House rose from 67 to 71, and, depending on the outcome of one still undecided race, could jump by one more seat this year, which would make women an unprecedented 17 percent of the House. Another defeated challenger is taking legal action to challenge the result of her race in Florida.

Although women’s performance doesn’t match 1992, it beats every other election year in history. In 1992, women picked up 19 House seats and three Senate seats, putting 47 women in the House and seven women in the Senate. In the following election year—the so-called Republican Revolution of 1994—women picked up only one seat in the House and two in the Senate. In the years since, women have made incremental gains, with a high of seven in 2004. Prior to 1992, women made much slower progress.They made history in 1916, when the first woman entered the House; but there were only 32 women in Congress in 1990, 84 years later.

And yet women’s advances are still moving at a turtle’s pace, said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation in Arlington, Virginia.

Women now hold a record number of seats, but so far this year they have advanced

REUTERS/JIM YOUNG (UNITED STATES)

ABOVE: REPRESENTATIVE NANCY PELOSI ANSWERS QUESTIONS DURING A NEWS CONFERENCE ON CAPITOL HILL THE DAY AFTER DEMOCRATS TOOK CONTROL OF THE HOUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 12 YEARS, NOVEMBER 8, 2006. PELOSI WILL BE THE FIRST WOMAN TO HOLD THE POST OF HOUSE SPEAKER. OPPOSITE: A WOMAN VOTING VIA ELECTRONIC BALLOT IN DENVER, COLORADO ON NOVEMBER 7.

their numbers only by about 1 percent this—from 15 to 16 percent (although women could get to 17 percent if they win some as-yet undecided races). “At that rate, it will take two generations” to reach the 20-percent “critical mass” benchmark that political experts say is necessary for women to push their own agenda in Congress, she said, adding: “That is not satisfactory.”

But if women didn’t make unprecedented strides in quantity, they did in quality.

IT’S PELOSI TIME A California Democrat who is a solid supporter of women’s rights, Nancy Pelosi will be the first woman to become Speaker of the House in history. As Speaker, Pelosi will be responsible for blocking out the congressional calendar, a power that will give her the key ability to set the chamber’s legislative agenda.

House Speakers also have at their disposal a number of powers they can use as leverage to build coalitions for their pet causes. For example, they can assign bills to committees and appoint 9 of the 13 members of the powerful Rules Committee, which sets the parameters of floor debate and determines which amendments will get a floor vote. And they have the ability to dole out committee assignments, which can make or break a lawmaker’s career. (A lawmaker, for example, who wins a seat on the Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for spending taxpayer money, usually has an easier time securing federal funding for at-home projects and can tout those accomplishments at election time.

Getting assigned to a low-profile committee, meanwhile, can make it tough for lawmakers to convince voters of their influence.)

“In many ways a woman Speaker will be more important” than a female president, said Harriett Woods, a lecturer and author who served as Missouri’s lieutenant governor from 1985 to 1989 and directed the National Women’s Political Caucus, a group in Washington, DC, that backs pro-choice female candidates. “Just think of Newt Gingrich,” she said, referring to the Georgia

Republican who became Speaker in 1995 after the GOP wrested control of Congress from the Democratic Party.

Indeed, Pelosi has already demonstrated her power as it applies to the ongoing conflict in Iraq—a war opposed by many female voters and activists. On November 8, the day after Republicans took an electoral “thumping,” in the words of President Bush, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned—a move Pelosi had called for years earlier. In the first 100 hours of her tenure, Pelosi plans to pass legislation to “transform failed Bush Administration policies in Iraq” by phasing in redeployment of troops and doubling the size of special forces to destroy Osama bin Laden and terrorist networks like Al Qaeda.

Pelosi also maintains continued opposition to efforts by the Bush administration to partially privatize Social Security—an effort that will aid women because they rely on the federal entitlement program more than men. That’s because women tend to live longer than men but earn less over their lifetimes.Women are also more likely to take time out of their careers to care for children or elderly relatives and tend to have less access to private pension accounts. Finally, women tend to be paid less than men for equal work, and so benefit more from government subsidies. Women of color are especially dependent on Social Security because they tend to earn less than men and white women. African American women are also less likely to have health insurance, are more likely to be single, and are more likely to take care of young children upon retirement.

Near the top of Pelosi’s “to-do” list is a bill that will increase the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, which Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization forWomen, said will have a “dramatic impact on the quality of life for women and families.”

Women, Gandy said, are more likely than men to work at minimum wage and are also more likely to hold multiple jobs, and will therefore benefit disproportionately from an increase in hourly income. “It’s not enough,” Gandy said at the news conference in Washington, DC, “but it will have a dramatic impact on women and families.”

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REUTERS/DAVE KAUP (UNITED STATES)

MISSOURI SENATE CANDIDATE DEMOCRAT CLAIRE MCCASKILL PLACES A “DOOR HANGER” WHILE CANVASSING A KANSAS CITY NEIGHBORHOOD DURING THE LAST DAY OF HER CAMPAIGN AGAINST INCUMBENT SENATOR JIM TALENT ON NOVEMBER 6. MCCASKILL’S VICTORY OVER TALENT ASSURED A DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY IN THE SENATE.

Pelosi also plans to hold a vote early in her tenure on legislation that would allow the government to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients.That is critical for women, Gandy said, because they are more likely than men to be among the elderly poor and less likely to be able to afford costly prescription drugs.

POSSIBLE LEGISLATIVE SPEED BUMPS Enacting these measures is no guarantee, even in a Congress controlled by Democrats. In the House, Pelosi must balance her more liberal instincts with those of the conservative Democrats, who, thanks to a surge in this year’s elections, now command about a fifth of the House Democratic caucus. In the Senate, meanwhile, incoming Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada must muscle his party’s agenda through a narrowly divided chamber, where a single senator can stop up debate for any reason whatsoever. But that’s the easy part, at least compared to winning the support of a conservative president who has not been known to compromise with the opposition. Bush, in other words, will likely break out his veto pen much more often than he did when Congress was controlled by conservative Republicans.

Gandy conceded as much at the press conference. “The initial legislative plans from the new leaders do bode well for women, if they are not blocked by Bush allies still stung by the voters’ repudiation of their agenda,” she said. Still, giddy with victory, Gandy couldn’t help but throw out a few other items on her wish list now that she’s got a confidante in the Speaker’s office and a more friendly political party in charge.

One of her biggest concerns is the lack of pay parity between men and women, 24 NEWS & POLITICS CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

and Gandy cited pending legislation that would help resolve that. More than 40 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which made it illegal for employers to pay men and women unequal wages if they hold the same job, women’s wages still lag behind their male counterparts’ wages, according to the National Women’s Law Center. Women make only 76 cents for every dollar; at the time the Equal Pay Act was signed, women earned only 58 cents for every dollar men earned, according to the Center.

Another priority is a measure called “The Balancing Act,” sponsored by Rep. Lynn Woolsey, a California Democrat who co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which would help both women and men better manage the demands of work and family life by providing greater access to family and medical leave from work, expanding child care options, increasing funding for after-school programs, and encouraging family-friendly workplaces.

Women’s rights groups also hope to pass legislation that includes gender, sexual orientation, and disability in existing hate crimes legislation. The Amish school shootings, Gandy said, “showed us vividly that women and girls can be segregated and targeted because of their gender.” Those shootings, she said, would have been considered hate crimes under federal law if the victims had been targeted for their race or religion.

At a minimum, women’s rights activists are simply relieved that they are no longer on the legislative defensive. In power for a dozen years, Republicans, for example, passed a series of restrictions on reproductive rights, such as a ban on a procedure known by its opponents as “partial-birth” abortion, and a bill that would make it a crime to transport pregnant minors across state lines to circumvent parental notification laws. “One of the best things is we won’t have

all this negative legislation,” Smeal said. “I have to say, that’s big. So much time was taken up with these horrible” bills pushed by social conservatives, she said. “So at least that stops.”

WOMEN IN POWER POSITIONS When it comes to their proactive agenda, women’s rights activists can bank on the fact that they will have receptive ears in the office of the new Speaker, a committed feminist. But they will also find new allies in key committee and subcommittee offices, where women will hold the panel gavels for the first time in history.

In the most significant development, NewYork Rep. Louise Slaughter is poised to become the new chair of House Rules. “It’s one of those murky, insider-Washington things,” Gandy said. “But the Rules Committee is where so much of our legislation has been tied up—and screwed up—for years now.To have Louise Slaughter in Rules is going to make a huge difference.” Also, Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald of California is in line to chair the House Administration Committee, which oversees federal elections and day-to-day operations in the chamber. And New York Rep. Nydia Velazquez will chair the Small Business Committee, a panel of special significance to women because they are becoming independent entrepreneurs in disproportionate numbers. Between 1997 and 2002, the number of female business owners jumped 20 percent, according to a 2006 study conducted by the Small Business Administration. Rep. Jane Harman of California, meanwhile, is next in line to take over control of the House Intelligence Committee, which oversees the intelligence community, a key position in the post-9/11 security environment. But she is not expected to assume the position because of a reportedly sour relationship with Pelosi.

House women will also serve as chairs of two major Democratic Party caucuses. Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey of California—are the new chairs of the Progressive Caucus, the largest partisan caucus in the House. Rep. Ellen Tauscher of California, meanwhile, currently co-chairs the New Democrat Coalition, a growing group of centrists. On the Senate side of the Capitol, there will be two new female committee chairs, both from California: Barbara Boxer will head the Committee on the Environment and PublicWorks, and Dianne Feinstein will chair her chamber’s Rules Committee. “To have women who are feminists and supporters of women’s rights chairing the Rules Committees in both houses of Congress will really be a sea change,” Gandy said. “There are no guarantees, but we’re no longer guaranteed to have everything blocked.”

Two new female committee chairs does not, however, represent a significant achievement for women in the Senate. In the 109th Congress, two Republican women chaired committees, but they have to give up their gavels because their party is out of power. These women are Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, who preside over the Small Business and Homeland Security panels. Women did not make significant headway in Democratic leadership either. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington was named Secretary of the Democratic Conference, the fourth ranking position. She will replace Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, who left the post, which helps shape the party’s agenda, and now chairs the party’s steering committee, which had been held

by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. The Steering Committee chair is responsible for building support for Democratic policy positions.

On the Republican side, Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas was elected Republican Policy Committee chairwoman and will oversee and coordinate the party’s policy positions. In the House, Pelosi was the only woman from either party elected to innermost-circle of party leadership.

HISTORIC GAINS MADE While 2006 outpaced 1992 in qualitative terms, with more women holding more power than ever, it did not match 1992 in quantity.The unprecedented gains of 1992 were due to a combination of factors that aren’t present today, the main one being an unusually high number of open seats, the best opportunities for female political aspirants to enter Congress. In addition, House districts are less competitive now than they were in 1992, thanks to a 2001 redistricting process that strengthened most incumbents, most of whom are male. And although there are several scandals on Capitol Hill this year, none has engaged the female electorate in the same way that the sexual harassment investigation into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas did in 1992.

Still, women made historic gains this year.

The Senate will see two new female faces. Democrat Amy Klobuchar, a county prosecutor, turned what was expected to be close contest in the independent-minded swing state of Minnesota into a rout on Election Day. She trounced her Republican opponent, Rep. Mark Kennedy, by 20 points, and won 58 to 38 percent. Democrat Claire McCaskill, meanwhile, scratched out a victory after running an uphill battle against freshman Republican Sen. Jim Talent. She ousted Talent with 50 percent of the vote and, in so doing, helped hand Democrats control of the Senate.

No incumbent female senators retired or resigned their seats this year, and the six who stood for reelection won easily.Those were Democrats Stabenow, Feinstein, Clinton, and Maria Cantwell of Washington state, and Republicans Snowe and Hutchison. Other female senators are Republicans Collins, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and Democrats Lincoln, Boxer, Murray, Barbara Mikulsky of Maryland, and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.

In the House, women also made significant advances, picking up at least 10 and possibly 11 seats, depending on the outcome of a runoff election in Luisiana.There, Democrat Karen Carter was one of the top two vote-getters in an Election Day-primary race; she will face Democratic Rep. William Jefferson in a Decmber runoff. Women are also hanging on to the slim hope that Democrat Christine Jennings, who lost to Republican Vern Buchanan by a narrow margin, will prevail in a lawsuit challenging the elction results.

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM NEWS & POLITICS 25

The vast majority of this year’s victors hailed from the Democratic Party, with eight Democratic challengers winning House seats and two Republican challengers prevailing. Among the Democratic victors were three women who pulled off stunning upsets against entrenched Republican incumbents.They were Nancy Boyda of Kansas, who ousted Rep. Jim Ryun; Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who unseated Rep. John Sweeney; and Carol Shea-Porter, a former social worker who came from behind to beat Rep. Jeb Bradley in New Hampshire. Four other women won open-seat races: Kathy Castor of Florida, Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, and Betty Sutton of Ohio. Meanwhile, all female Democratic incumbents in the House who were on the November ballot won. Only one—Cynthia McKinney of Georgia—was not able to stand for reelection. McKinney was defeated in her state’s primary race after a highly publicized run-in with the Capitol Police.

been for a number of female losses. Some of the more formidable candidates who fell to male challengers include Darcy Burner of Washington state, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Lois Murphy of Pennsylvania, Diane Farrell of Connecticut, Angie Paccione of Colorado, Tessa Hafen and Jill Derby of Nevada, Linda Stender of New Jersey, Ellen Simon of Arizona, Judy Feder of Virginia, and Francine Busby of California.

WOMEN PROVED CRITICAL AT POLLS As voters, women played a critical role in the elections, Susan Carroll, a senior scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics, said in a post-election statement. She cited figures that showed that women provided the critical margin of victory in Senate races in Virginia, Missouri, and Montana—the three races that gave Democrats control of the Senate. In Virginia, 55 percent of women voted for Democrat Jim Webb, compared to 45 percent of men. In REPUBLICAN LOSSES Missouri, 51 percent of women but only 46 percent of men backed McCaskill.

Republican women had a much tougher time on Election Day, with only two And in Montana, 52 percent of women, compared with 48 percent of men, challengers winning and at least four incumbents losing. The victors were Mi- voted for Democrat Jon Tester. chele Bachmann, who defeated child safety advocate Patty Wetterling, a Min“Generally, the size of the gender gap in midterm election is only three nesota Democrat who became nationally known after her son was abducted in points, this time it was five points,” Smeal said. “And we saw a number of the 1989, and Mary Fallin, who claimed an easy victory against Democrat David races where a very, very large gender gap made the difference.”

Hunter in an open-seat race in Oklahoma.

Women also saw victories at the state level, with Alaska Republican Sarah But GOP women suffered a devastating loss early on election night, when Palin becoming her state’s first female governor, and a number of women winthe most senior woman in the House, 12-term Rep. Nancy Johnson of Con- ning second-tier statewide offices such as secretary of state, state treasurer and necticut, lost her race to state Sen. Chris lieutenant governor.

Murphy. A centrist, Johnson lost to Murphy But the biggest surprises involved the state Women now hold a record number by 12 points. At least three other Republiballot initiatives that affect women—most sigcan women—and possibly more depending of seats in Congress, but so far this nificantly the victory of an initiative to repeal on the outcome of two outstanding races the South Dakota abortion ban.That outcome year they have only advanced their nullifies a law that would have banned all aborinvolving incumbent GOP women—also lost their seats on November 7. Those tions except those threatening a woman’s life. numbers by about 1 percent—from The ban was supposed to take effect in July. were Sue Kelly, a moderate from New York’s 19th district (representing portions activists gathered enough signatures to put 15 or 16 percent. “At that rate,” But of Dutchess, Orange, Westchester, Rockthe law on November’s referendum ballot, a land, and Putnam counties), who lost a that prevented the law from taking imsaid Eleanor Smeal, president of move come-from-behind challenge by John Hall, mediate effect.Voters rejected the law, which a musician and environmental activist who the Feminist Majority Foundation, would have criminalized abortions for victims in 2004 publicly asked President Bush to of rape or incest, by a decisive vote of 56 to stop playing his song, “Still the One,” at his “it will take two generations” to 44 percent. reelection campaign rallies. Hall beat Kelly Voters also rejected a pair of initiatives reach the 20-percent “critical mass” in California and Oregon that represented with 51 percent of the vote.

Another House veteran, Rep. Anne the latest efforts of the incrementalist wing benchmark that political experts say of the anti-choice movement, which seeks Northup, lost reelection in a hotly contested race in Kentucky. After surviving chip away at abortion rights rather than is necessary for women to push their to Democratic attacks for five terms, Norpush an outright ban, as the South Dakota law thup finally succumbed to Democratic do.The measures would have required own agenda in Congress. Smeal would challenger John Yarmuth, a newspaper physicians to give a pregnant minor’s parents columnist who won by a three-percentage added: “That is not satisfactory.” written notice before performing an abortion. point margin. In Pennsylvania, Republican Proponents of the initiatives said such laws are Melissa Hart was one of several casualties to a Democratic onslaught in the the kind of modest restrictions favored by the majority of the electorate and state. Hart fell to Democrat Jason Altmire, a former legislative aide in the note that more than 30 states have passed similar laws. But opponents said the House of Representatives. Altmire won 52 to 48 percent. measures might put teens in vulnerable positions because it might force some Another serious loss for moderate Republican women could still come if to confront potentially abusive parents with news of their pregnancies. Voters Rep. Deborah Pryce of Ohio—currently the highest ranking woman in the sided with the opponents of the initiative, rejecting it in both states by a vote Republican Party—loses her seat to Democratic challenger Mary Jo Kilroy. of 54 to 46 percent.

Pryce, who did not seek reelection to the GOP Conference Chair, is locked Women will also benefit from a series of initiatives passed by voters that in a race that is still too close to call. With an edge of more than 3,000 votes, will raise the minimum wage, women’s rights activists said. Women are more Pryce appears to have the edge as election workers continue to count bal- likely than men to live in low-wage jobs, and will get a bigger share of the boost lots. Two other Republican women are also still in jeopardy of losing their when the minimum wage is raised in the six states that passed ballot initiatives seats. One other Republican woman—Rep. Jean Schmidt of Ohio—is still to do so.They are Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and Ohio. A in jeopardy of losing her seat. Election officials are counting the provisional loss for women’s rights activists came in Michigan, where voters supported an ballots in her race against Democrat Victoria Wulsin. anti-affirmative action ballot initiative by 58 to 42 percent. The initiative bans Achieving more equal representation for women in politics will have the use of gender- and race-based affirmative action in public institutions. an affect beyond simple fairness, according to the Center for American But women’s rights activists looked past the few losses and celebrated what Women and Politics at Rutgers University. The center’s studies show that was clearly a good year for women. “1992 was the ‘Year of the Woman,’ but women of both parties not only hold more liberal and more feminist at- 2006 is the beginning of the new women’s political movement,” said Marie titudes than their male colleagues but also are more likely to prioritize Wilson, president of The White House Project, an organization dedicated to policies that directly affect women and frame issues in ways that take electing women to all levels of office, including the presidency. “There’s greater women’s unique circumstances into consideration. In addition, women acceptance of women as leaders in politics than ever before, and I think that are more likely to work in a bipartisan fashion to advance a collective this could be a predictor of gains to come for women on the road to the White agenda, studies indicate.

House in 2008.”

Allison Stevens is Washington Bureau Chief of Women’s eNews.

Women were in a position to come closer to “critical mass” had it not 26 NEWS & POLITICS CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

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Commentary

Beinhart’s Body Politic

CELEBRATION AND PROGNOSTICATION The black cloud from Mordor has lifted. Life has reappeared.

We’ve pulled back the curtain. The Wizard of Odds is revealed as just a man.

Fallible. Defeatable.

We believed in the Wizard.

We believed that with a wave of his wand he could convince the whole world—or at least the United States—that black was white and day was night.

With good reason. After 9/11 he sold the delusion that failure was strength and that hysteria was courage. He conjured up a “War on Terror,” and all of the mainstream media, most of the House and Senate, and a majority of the electorate actually believed that there was one. And that he was waging it.

He had convinced many of us that torture is necessary, useful, and good. At the very same time he maintained that Americans absolutely don’t torture anyone.

We believed that he could raise up vast armies of homophobic Orcs every election day. Even though he was ripping them off from Monday to Friday and on weekends and holidays too.

We believed that he had vast sums of corporate money, a ruthless organization to transmit lies and other ones to purge the voter rolls. That even the Supreme Court would put in the fix for him. And if all of that failed, he could reach into the voting machines and change the numbers.

Reality caught up.

In the contest between salesmanship—illusion, true believer belief, a con job—and reality, the salesman always has the opening advantage. Once the sale is made, and you’ve bought the lemon, reality always wins.

The recent election was not about Conservatives vs. Liberals. It was the True Believers vs. Reality. The Democrats were running on the side of reality.

They won now because there was a perfect storm.

Which began with Katrina.

An American city was destroyed on live TV. The winds that tore the roof of the Superdome also tore the cloak of patriotism off the Bush Administration and revealed the idiocy, indifference, and incompetence.

The media woke up. CNN suddenly started doing great and serious journalism.

The NewYork Times editorial pages turned against the lies, deceits and failures.

Republican house Majority LeaderTom “The Hammer” DeLay was indicted for money laundering. Bill Frist, the Senate Majority Leader, was accused of insider trading. Randy “Top Gun” Cunningham was caught taking bribes from defense contractors and pleaded guilty. Bob Ney, of Ohio, pleaded guilty to felony corruption charges and then refused to give up his seat in Congress so he could keep on collecting his salary on the way to prison.

Then came Mark Foley.

Followed by Ted Haggard, senior pastor of the New Life Church, head of the National Association of Evangelicals, doing crystal meth with a gay hooker—in a political movement whose success depends on hysterical homophobia.

Rush Limbaugh making fun of Michael J. Fox was the cherry on top of all that whipped cream. It revealed that beneath the hearty Republican “har-har,” there was a bully who would kick the crutch out from under a cripple.

Enough of wallowing in the good news. What’s to come?

Here are my predictions for the coming year.

There will be no bipartisanship from the White House.

That’s not really a prediction. It’s already a fact.The first thing Bush asked Congress for after the election was a bill to authorize wiretaps without warrants.

28 NEWS & POLITICS CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

PHOTO: DION OGUST

BY LARRY BEINHART

Next he asked for confirmation of John Bolton as Ambassador to the UN. Bolton was a recess appointment because Congress wouldn’t confirm him in their previous session.

That was followed by a set of judicial nominations: MichaelWallace, the first federal appeals court nominee in nearly a quarter century to be unanimously rated “not qualified” by the American Bar Association.

William James Haynes II, part of the group that recommended torture and circumventing the Geneva Conventions.

Terence Boyle, one of the most reversed judges in the federal system. He often gets reversed for making the same errors that he’s made previously.The others have been taken out of nomination once; Boyle has been rejected by Congress twice.

Kenneth Y. Tomlinson used to be head of PBS. He determined that Bill Moyers, along with the rest of PBS, was too liberal. He broke PBS rules and misused funds to get right-wing propaganda to “balance” it. He had to resign. So Bush put him in charge of the Voice of America.The State Department’s inspector general charges that he misused funds there too and ran a horse-racing business out of his government office. Bush has now renominated him.

Why, you may ask?

I believe it is because his situation prevents himself from honestly expressing his feelings verbally. So he uses political appointments to say “F*** you.”

Notice that he’s nominating people who have had to resign or have already been rejected, the worst of the worse. He’s saying, in effect, “F*** you, two times!”

As for the Democrats, Nancy Pelosi is right to offer constructive legislation and cooperation. Nothing else can put George Bush in a bigger bind. What can he do with a useful, thoughtful bill, offered in a friendly way?

She is also right to say that impeachment is off the table. If the Democrats make impeachment a goal, they will look terrible.

If you’re an impeachment fan, don’t despair.

The Democrats have a duty to open investigations on the following: to find out the truth about 9/11; if the intelligence to go to war in Iraq was “fixed”; where the Iraq reconstruction billions went; if contractors defrauded the government; who screwed up in Katrina. How much torture does America engage in? Does it work? How much wiretapping without warrants was done? What did it cost?

Did it catch anyone who couldn’t have been caught legal?

How much influence did the oil companies have on energy policy? And drug companies on the Medicare bill? Was the K Street Project, to force lobbyists to employ only Republicans and give money to only Republicans, tantamount to extortion.

This has been, as Congressman Hinchey frequently says, the most corrupt administration in history. Also the most inept.

There is no need for malice. An honest search for truth will produce vast amounts of scandal. They will also tie directly to Dick Cheney and the White House.The CIA, for example, has just acknowledged that there were presidential “findings” (permission slips) to engage in torture.

At some point, and I think it will come quite early on, the executive branch will refuse to cooperate. My bet is that Scalia, Alito, and Thomas support the administration no matter what. Roberts is an unknown quantity. Without more specifics, I can’t guess how the other five will vote. However, even if the president wins in front of the Supreme Court, an impeachment is likely.

The facts that will be revealed, on the record, to demand impeachment.

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30 COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK

FARMING THE SUN Daniela Bertol’s Axis Mundi

by Sparrow photos by Fionn Reilly

D

aniela Bertol leads me on a path of white pebbles, which extends down a gentle hill. She walks three feet ahead of me, turning sometimes to speak. Then I can see her dark curious eyes, and Italian nose. In my left hand I clutch a small tape recorder.

Down the hill is a small pond, its dock perfectly aligned with our path. This path runs perfectly east-west. On the equinox, the sun rises directly ahead of us.

One speaks of the “spiritual path.” But right now Bertol and I are literally walking on a spiritual path—a walkway whose purpose is to actualize the soul.

I never expected a spiritual path to make such crunching sounds.

We walk completely and totally east. How often do I know the actual compass directions around me? This path is like a line of latitude drawn on the globe.

I feel as if I’m bowing toward Mecca.

Directly ahead, the path passes between two tall hickory trees. The scene— dramatic, serene, almost sentimental—resembles a 19th-century landscape painting, perhaps by Constable. I smell a slightly sweet scent, which I can’t place. Is it wild thyme? The sky is a troubled gray.

Before I visited, Bertol sent me an e-mail with directions. At the bottom was a quote by Anatole France: “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”

But what exactly does Bertol believe?

Daniela Bertol was born in Rome, on Via Francesco Sivori, a 15-minute walk from St. Peter’s Church. She attended a five-year program at the University of Rome to become an architect. Her thesis was on tensegrity structures, which were developed by Buckminster Fuller. “Buckminster Fuller was another spiritual leader,” Bertol told me, laughing. “In a certain way, Buckminster Fuller was similar to the Renaissance, because he had the same holistic approach to life.”

Tensegrity—short for “tensional integrity”—refers to structures where “push” and “pull” are balanced, such as a geodesic dome.

Bertol was an early computer artist, making images of three-dimensional geometrical solids. In 1985, her work was shown at the Cinque per Cinque Gallery in Rome. That same year, in a Roman nightclub, she met David Foell, an American architect studying in Italy. Soon after, she returned to the United States with Foell. Though she barely spoke English, she went on to write two books: Visualizing with CAD (1994) and Designing Digital Space: An Architect’s Guide To Virtual Reality (1996).

Bertol and her husband bought a tract of land in Claverack in 1999. The property was so overgrown that the real estate agent didn’t want to show it to them. They built the house together, in 2000 to 2001. It is completely aligned on the east-west axis, and is passive solar; i.e. tall windows face south, to take advantage of the warmest hours of sunlight, and dark-colored floors absorb the heat. But the house feels like any elegant Modernist dwelling. It doesn’t have the pure yearning of the outer grounds.

In 2002, Bertol had a major skiing injury, breaking her femur. She spent six weeks in a wheelchair. After that, she became more involved in yoga, which she had done sporadically for years. She pursued a certification as a yoga instructor at the Integral Yoga Institute in New York City. Now Bertol practices yoga daily.

She meditates on yantras and mandalas—geometric figures which balance the mind. She also practices walking meditation.

Sun Farm combines several disciplines: art, architecture, horticulture, clock making, meditation, and astronomy. It is part of what Terence McKenna, the psychedelic prophet, called the “archaic revival”—a return to the practices of Druids, Aztecs, and Dravidians. Bertol’s modern structures revive ancient skyworship. She thinks the way the builders of Stonehenge thought.

Sun Farm uses just two design elements: lines and spirals. The materials are either local or easily purchasable. Bertol opposes the kind of architecture that flies in rare mahogany from Africa as a statement of status.

P

ast the twin hickories, we turn left, onto another path. Now we are heading due north. At the end of this pathway stands a rectangular structure made of three red pine logs taken from her 60-plus acres. It looks like the Greek letter Pi. “This is the Meditation Gate,” Bertol announces. “Meditation is a state when your mind starts focusing into something—could be your breath, could be a mantra. At this point, we start focusing on this place, on the environment.” She speaks with a strong Italian accent, and looks less like a visionary than an indulgent mother.

We backtrack on the north-south trail, then continue forward 30 feet. Now we are beside Time Helix, a sculpture built of 54 wooden boards, designed by Bertol. “Time is often portrayed as a spiral,” Bertol explains. “It’s linear, since it goes forward, but at the same time it cycles—at least, astronomical time. Astronomical time is given by the earth revolving around the sun, seasons, days. These are all cycles. If you make a diagram of a circle—the cycle—and a line, which 12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK 31

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32 COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

ABOVE: LANDSCAPE DESIGN INCLUDING A ZEN-INSPIRED 24-FOOT SQUARE GRAVEL GARDEN AT SUN FARM IN CLAVERACK. PREVIOUS (L-R): DRAWING OF ASTRONOMICAL SKY SPIRAL ON THE WALL OF DANIELA BERTOL’S HOUSE—ACCORDING TO BERTOL, A SPIRAL IS THE BEST SHAPE TO EXPRESS TIME IN SPACE. TIME HELIX, A WOOD SCULPTURE DESIGNED BY BERTOL, MADE OF 54 TIMBER SEGMENTS IN 108 ROTATIONS. BERTOL SITTING ON THE JETTY OF HER SPIRAL POND.

is the arrow of time, you get a spiral. So a spiral is the shape that best expresses time in space.”

This sculpture resembles a DNA molecule.

Bertol explains her inspiration for Sun Farm. In The Sacred and the Profane, anthropologist Mircea Eliade details how traditional cultures in India, Africa, and pre-Columbian America created settlements. They would find a point mythically connected to the center of the earth. There they would erect a stake, and make human or animal sacrifices. The stake was called the “axis mundi.”

“And to me—aside from the human sacrifices!—it’s very interesting,” Bertol observes.

“You’re trying to find your own connection with your center. Connecting with the place, and finding your axis mundi, which is how you start creating your world.”

In the ancient world, a town would also be a cosmogony—a creation myth. Bertol’s own myth of creation is a theory of spirals. In bubble chamber experiments, electrons and positrons follow spiral paths. DNA is a double spiral. Leaves are arranged on plants in a spiral pattern.

According to Bertol, 78 percent of galaxies are spiral.

Next, we visit the pond. Apparently, it is difficult to excavate a pond in the exact shape of a spiral, because the result looks more like a heart, as if the Universe were speaking to Bertol, in the words of Auden: though truth and love can never really differ, when they seem to, the subaltern should be truth.

The pond is deep blue—a dye prevents the growth of algae. Around the perimeter of the pond, Bertol has outlined the intended shape with small wooden stakes—a Platonic spiral.

She and I walk back up the white-pebbled path, through the Sunrise Trellis, which also functions as a sundial. By the direction of the shadows, one can read the time. The structure is simply a row of wooden posts eight feet high, joined above by beams. Beneath the Sun Trellis, I feel a marijuana-type elation. A wordless happy humming arises in me.

Bertol turns left at her house, towards a squared-off spiral walkway, still under construction.

We proceed in silence, following the path of the spiral, from the outside inward. The labyrinth is not large—24 feet square—but walking slowly and deliberately, its inner walkway seems quite long. It’s almost like a path made of time, not space.

Finally, my feet bring me to the exact center: the womb of Claverack. I close my eyes, hearing a faint wind.

A

rt in New York City is ironic. A successful show comments on the history of art—especially the last three years of that history. The current show at the Whitney Museum by Mark Grojahn, 12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK 33

34 COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

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for example, combines op art, process art, conceptual art, and obsessional art (all very voguish right now). Upstate, however, art is sincere. A painter sits before a waterfall with her oils because she loves that waterfall. The resulting painting is bought by someone who loves waterfalls.

Bertol designs conceptual “land art,” but it is sincere. In fact, it is more than sincere.

When I was 21 years old, I lived in Gainesville, Florida. There I came to know J.J. Aaron, a gentleman who lived on 5th Street NE. When he was 81 years old, the Spirit appeared to him one night and commanded him: “Go carve!” He created images of animals and people in cypress wood, using a chainsaw, hammers, and chisels. Somehow, he formed vivid eyes for them—apparently out of resin. Though he died in 1979, Aaron is moderately famous today as an “outsider artist.”

Daniela Bertol reminds me of J.J. Aaron. She is an architect who was visited by the Divine.

She too was commanded to create art.

Bertol Googled me, and discovered that I ran for President of the United States in 1996.

“Actually, I ran in the last three elections, also,” I volunteered.

“Will you campaign in the next election?” she wondered.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted.

“You should run!”

We all have our dreams. Some build a spiral labyrinth in Columbia County. Some seek the Presidency.

To the outside world, our dreams seem arbitrary, absurd. To ourselves, as we sketch our next project on a page in a journal, lying in bed in the afternoon sunlight, our dream resembles a beautiful face.

Daniela Bertol will be teaching hatha yoga classes at Sun Farm, Saturdays at 3pm and Sundays at 10am, beginning December 2. A group meditation will be held on the winter solstice, Sunday, December 17, at 3pm. For more information visit www.sky-spirals.org.

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36 COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

THE ART OF BUSINESS

CASTING GIANT

Polich Art Works in Rock Tavern

N

ear Stewart Airport, inside a four-story skylit building the size of a football field, a man sits at a metal table polishing a section of a cast stainless-steel head for sculptor Rona Pondick. The front of the sculpture is a life mask, a cast of Pondick’s face, and to the bodiless head will be added castings of the artist’s thumb and second toe. For the past eight years or so, Pondick has entrusted Master Craftsman Jerry Tobin, and other craftspeople at the Polich Art Works foundry, to assist her in creating intriguing, amazingly durable pieces of three-dimensional art.

On the vast, open floor, sculptures by Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtenstein, and Tom Otterness await the next step, whether to be waxed, dipped, cast, finished, patinated, or restored. Large architectural castings also take up space, including a massive bronze façade that will be finished to give the appearance of water flowing over its surface. Once completed, it will be shipped to Osaka, Japan, where it will gild the front of a Harry Winston jewelry store.

With sparks flying from welding torches, hammers pounding, and machines rumbling, the foundry resembles a giant toymaker’s workshop, with one-ofa-kind, expensive pieces of art instead of dolls and model trains. When CEO Dick Polich talks about the excitement of working at the foundry, he compares it to being “like Christmas every day.”

Growing up as the son of Yugoslavian immigrants, near Cicero, Illinois, Polich was drawn simultaneously to making art and excelling in business. He remembers living in his “little house on the west side of Chicago” and being fascinated with the attenuated sculpture of Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti. He would make “things with hangers and dripping wax on them. I was doing that when I was 14, 15, something like that.”

After earning a degree in Economics from Yale in ’54, Polich worked in the engineered castings division for the American Brake Shoe Company, which manufactured jet engine parts and tire molds. A few years later, he wondered if “there was something more going on,” and joined the Navy. Polich recalls the relative ease of day-to-day life in the Navy. “After eight hours, somebody

by Ann Braybrooks photos by Hillary Harvey

comes and says, ‘Okay, I’m here now. You can [leave] now.’ Suddenly I had more time than I could remember having anywhere else, and I decided to do some painting and drawing. I decided to be an architect.”

Polich was accepted at Harvard in the Graduate School of Design. “That was a disaster, a disaster in the sense that I really had no artistic training. You’d work on a problem for what seemed like a month, and then the faculty would come and destroy it. I took it all so personally. Anyway, I left.”

Around that time, Polich met Merton Flemings, an inventor and assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was interested in bringing a science-based approach to metal casting research as well as in finding ways to unite art and technology. Polich studied with Flemings and others at MIT and received his Master’s degree there in metallurgy in 1965.

Polich took a job at the Bendix Corporation and became general manager of the foundry division, which was involved in making weapons systems and aircraft parts. “I did that for a couple of years. Again, I had to wonder about what was going on and what I was doing. I decided to start an art foundry.”

In 1968, with the help of fellow MIT graduate Sandy Saunders, Polich set up his first foundry in a Quonset hut that Saunders’s parents owned in Cold Spring. As the business expanded and bigger facilities were needed, the company moved to Peekskill, then Beacon. At one point, Polich thought, “Hey, we’re doing work with metal, metallics, let’s call the place Tallix.”

I

n its simplest form, the craft of casting involves making a mold of an object, filling that mold with a liquid that will later solidify, and removing the mold to reveal an exact, durable copy of the original.

To make a mold of a hand, for example, a polymer glove, or mold, is first created. It is then removed from the hand, and any lines “fixed” (essentially, erased) before the glove is filled with wax. Once a wax replica is made, a second mold is crafted—this time, out of ceramic. The ceramic shells are made with as many as seven or eight layers, each dipped into a ceramic slurry and then 12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK 37

38 COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

A PLASTER MOLD OF STANLEY BLEIFIELD’S HOMECOMING IN THE PATTERN STORAGE AREA AT POLICH ART WORKS. PREVIOUS: DICK POLICH STANDING IN THE MIDST OF THE ARTFUL WORLD HE’S CREATED.

dusted with sand. For the ceramic shell process, two systems are created. One is for handling and supporting the fragile wax replica. The other is a plumbing system that lets wax out of the mold and metal back in. Since metal shrinks, or reduces its volume, as it cools, that loss must be compensated for by the plumbing system. Otherwise, the mold will not fill evenly, and the sculpture will be incomplete.

While some artists bring in their work and leave it, others become interested in the process itself. According to Polich, one artist who became passionately involved was Nancy Graves.

Graves, he says, “was really interested in the transformative powers of the process, where we could take a fragile leaf and turn it into something permanent that she could paint, and make colorful, and still make it have the very obvious, strong resemblance to what is was. Before she found us, she was trying to make sculpture, trying to make these fragile things, and it was so frustrating, so difficult.”

Another artist intrigued by the process was Frank Stella. “He was always interested in what could be cast, but he was also interested in how [it could be cast]. He was a guy who started using the casting systems, putting those plumbing systems, on them. He said that it was part of making the sculpture. Frank is the only guy that would do that, would really use everything. He never wanted anyone to show him how to do anything. He wanted to learn, or do it himself, with that kind of newness, in the hopes that he might change it, or do it in a way that no one had ever done it before.”

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FOUNDRY SUPERVISOR EDDIE SANCHEZ POURS BRONZE INTO A SILICON SHELL FOR A SCULPTURE IN PROGRESS .

The largest casting ever made at the foundry was for Stella—a 75,000-pound abstract, stainless-steel artwork commissioned by the Pohang Steel Company in Seoul, Korea. Some of the smallest have been made for Rona Pondick, who employs computer scanning to create differentsized replicas of her head and other body parts. Polich remembers the foundry casting a real tree and welding tiny heads to it, so that when a viewer saw the work from a distance, the objects resembled real fruit, “but then when you get close, you realize it’s a portrait.”

Pondick has taken her work to Polich Art Works for almost a decade because, she says, “It’s one of the few foundries where all of the people on the floor take tremendous pride in their work. I feel like I’m working with the top people in the business. Someone like Jerry Tobin is just amazing. There isn’t a piece of mine that doesn’t go through him.”

Of Dick Polich, she says, “I love to push the envelope, and Dick’s not afraid to push the envelope. At most foundries, if they don’t understand the work, they run away from it. Dick is challenged by it.”

Polich seems to embrace all kinds of challenges, not the least of which involve maintaining a clear vision of the company’s past and future. In 1990, when the number of foundry workers reached almost 200, Polich sold Tallix to an outfit that was intent on creating an “art conglomerate,” a concept that Polich recognized, in hindsight, to be an oxymoron.

At first, as president of the new international company, overseeing foundries in the US and England, Polich was excited and energized. Then the market changed, and the “money guys” and artisans had different ideas on how to conduct business.

Polich left Tallix in 1995 and, soon after, opened Polich Art Works in a former metal fabricating plant near the airport. In late October, Polich and Tallix officially reunited. The Tallix foundry in Beacon will close, and Polich Tallix will reside under one roof.

According to Polich, between 60 and 70 percent of the castings made by the company are bronze, with the balance constituting stainless steel, aluminum, silver, and gold. Although the industry has shrunk somewhat, partly due to work being outsourced to Asia, Polich sees the market for larger architectural work growing, now that designers can use the computer to design increasingly complex structures, including entire buildings. Polich hopes that the newly combined foundry will do between $6 and 10 million dollars in business in the coming year.

When asked about metal’s appeal, he refers to its beauty, luster, and permanence, as well its ability to assume many different shapes. He adds, “In the foundry business, there is the thing of taking this hard, obdurate material and making it fluid. And then, in addition, there are the mechanics of doing it, the feel of the heat, the noise of the furnace. It’s a very sensual thing.

Then there’s the excitement: 'Did we do it right?' And so every day is like Christmas.”

He also notes the danger of it. “When you melt steel, and steel is hot at 3,200 degrees Fahrenheit, and if you look at, [you need] really dark glasses, you have to wear protective clothing, or it would set you on fire. And then there’s the teamwork of handling two tons of molten steel. The movements are balletic, because it’s dangerous. Everyone’s looking at everybody, and everyone’s trying to guess where we are, and we gotta get it [right], because it cools very fast once you take it out of the furnace. It’s very dramatic. And once you’ve seen it, you say, ‘Wow.’” Portfolios of artists working with Polich Art Works can be viewed at www.polich.com.

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42 PORTFOLIO CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

, page 42 o i l o f t r o P

4 or 5 Men, Iain Machell, ink on paper, 22”h x 30”w, 2006

DECEMBER 2006

ARTS & CULTURE CHRONOGRAM

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM PORTFOLIO 43

PHOTO OF IAIN MACHELL BY HILLARY HARVEY

Portfolio IAIN MACHELL

Iain Machell hangs A > B (ink, transfer print on paper, 23” x 15”, 2006) in his studio.

You might be aware of Iain Machell’s work and not even know it. Machell constructs what he calls “landscape interventions”—sculptures made of found materials like wood or stone that are removed from the natural environment, altered in some way, often with text or signage from an unlikely source like a security manual, and then replaced in the landscape. Machell’s Exit, an enigmatic four-foot tall mound of stones was on display for much of 2005 on the lawn of Kingston High School, and this summer his piece Error, a stone slab imprinted with the title of the sculpture, was exhibited as part of the “Unexpected Catskills” show curated by Portia Munson.

The idea of intervention and conflict informs not only Machell’s sculptures but his drawings as well. In Basic Plan, for instance, there are simple line drawings of animals paired with six aphorisms in cursive script, from “1. Attraction” to “6. Deepening the relationship.” Machell

forces together these incongruent elements, creating an odd tension between the text and visual elements that cannot be dispelled by knowing their provenance (a drawing primer and a college pamphlet on interpersonal relations). Machell terms his work “investigations,” as he has no preordained destination for his pieces, instead referring to them as ideas in progress, brief pauses in a continuous flow of artistic creation.

Machell teaches at SUNY Ulster and is currently serving as president of the Ulster County Arts Council.

Machell’s drawings are part of a group exhibit by members of SUNY Ulster Visual Arts department, “Faculty Works,” which will be shown at the Muroff Kotler Gallery at SUNY Ulster in Stone Ridge through December 22. (845) 687-5113. Portfolio at www.neoimages.net.

—Brian K. Mahoney

IAIN MACHELL ON HIS WORK Smashing Together

Audience Awareness

A lot of what happens in my drawings is the smashing together of two seemingly different things. In one of my series, the texts and diagrams are all from warfare, bombing maps, Homeland Security iconography, some are directly from photographs of aircraft, some are from security manuals, and smashing them together with really elegant images from the Book of Kells and different religions and mythologies. I put them together and see what happens. Two languages are smashing together—the verbal language telling you one thing and the visual language telling you another.

I’m aware of the audience. There’s one stage when you’re in the studio and you’re trying to keep yourself happy about the work and how you feel about it. And then there’s another stage, where you know it’s going to go to an audience. You’re thinking of it as communication—it’s going to end up on a wall somewhere, someone’s going to see it and you’re going to want some feedback. That gets to be an interesting test: “How will someone else see this?” Because you’re alone in your studio and you might not always have that opportunity for someone to give you feedback, and they might not be honest when they do, especially friends.

With the drawings, what’s going on is this deliberate bringing together of disparate elements to create a tension to reflect some form of uneasiness, anxiety, tension. If there’s an overall theme to the work, it’s “Anxiety: Wake Up! These Are Anxious Times. Don’t Pretend They’re Not.” This is an attempt to deal with my own feelings about that, but also a communication that this stuff is scary and it’s all around us.

44 PORTFOLIO CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

Investigations You do go through that natural weeding-out process, and I see that a lot through my teaching, how students think as they’re deciding: “When is it finished?” “How good is it?” “Is it good enough?” So you tend to be your own worst enemy and beat

yourself up and say, “None of this is good enough.” But it’s all about the generation of an idea and you don’t know where it’s going to go. Some of the ideas just get thrown right out. And I’ve learned a lot along the way about what you should accept and reject. I like to call my drawings “investigations” because I have no idea what’s going to happen or where it’s going to go next. That’s the fun part, you just have to let go.

Seduction I try and get someone’s attention with a visual hook, so the information can sink in a little bit deeper. I heard a great explanation of it from an artist who performs very intense shows about rape and incest; these very heavy topics, but she does it in a funny way. Her explanation was, “I try to get the audience to laugh, and while their mouths are wide open, I’ll drop in the message.” You’re trying to get the viewer seduced into your work: “Come and look at this, and there’ll be something to think about when you get there.”

Clockwise from top left: Envision the Future, graphite on paper, 30” x 23”, 2006; Before & After Impact, Ink, graphite rubbing on paper, 8.5” x 11”, 2005; Mother & Child, ink on vellum, 13” x 10.5”, 2006; Basic Plan, ink on paper, 23” x 30”, 2006 Never-to-Be-Completed Work I like to have enough space to work in so work just goes straight up on the wall, or on the floor or whatever, and I’ll just leave it out and look for new connections between them all. Sometimes I’ll see different things and sometimes I’ll look at it and think, “That’s the only bit I like,” and I’ll cut it out and put it in something else.

Every artist I know has a couple of pieces that they keep pulling out and working them some more and then putting them away and it never gets done. It’s this never-to-becompleted work that’s a big mystery.

Common Ground I want to have an elegant visual idea right off the bat. It has to be exactly “what you see is what you get.” When you look at it, it has to have a certain well made strong idea that gets you engaged visually. I have a natural tendency toward a good finished product. There’s a craft element that I’m looking for,

that it has to reach a certain degree of technical skill to convey the idea. Then there’s another, conceptual level. But I don’t enjoy work that you need to be deeply involved in theory to understand. There has to be a good common ground, and that’s in the visual idea.

How Things Are Made to Look Important I have these archeological books with diagrams of the digs and mapping out of different elements, and I thought, what if I treated these rocks that I’m carving into as things from history that have been found that have some significance? I created these imaginary artifacts and made these imaginary archeological sites and maps where they were found. Sort of an imaginary history lesson. These are the kinds of things that interest me: diagrams in textbooks and how things are made to look important by being given a certain format in a science or history book, the way is given significance by the visual information.

Viewer’s Work A hard thing to learn the more you work is what to leave out.

There’s a strong tendency to overexplain things, to make it too easy. And sometimes you dumb it down. You want to make sure people get the message so you make it too simple. But I tend to go in the opposite direction, pulling things away, so there’s much more mystery. I like the viewer to do some work. I don’t like passive viewers.

Landscape Landscape is a very strong style in the Hudson Valley. I am trying to engage in that but in a critical way, sort of like a dark mirror, looking at that school of thought and just thinking, well, this is beautiful, this is a little paradise and everyone’s doing these really nice, aesthetically pleasing landscapes, but look again. I just find it hard to put together the fact that you could be living in the mountains and enjoying this incredible scenery and pick up the newspaper and read about these dire emergencies.

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM PORTFOLIO 45

Lucid Dreaming

BY BETH E. WILSON

THE PLEASURES OF A LITTLE DISCOMFORT The world happens so quickly these days, it’s not surprising to see so many things designed for immediate gratification. From McDonald’s to Wal-Mart, we’re a fast food nation par excellence, constantly on the prowl for cheap and easy solutions for everyday needs and desires.

But of course there’s much that’s lost in the Faustian bargain of the cheap drive-thru lunch. (Note how even language is shortchanged, when we don’t even have the patience to finish spelling words in full!) It may taste good at the moment, but relying on the path of least resistance in the long run kills whatever deeper, more complex experiences (culinary and otherwise) have been shut out because they lack such an immediate payoff.

I started thinking about all this after a fascinating conversation I had a few months back with Ann Haaland, a painter and printmaker whose work I didn’t entirely trust at first.

When I initially received some information in the mail from her, the work looked interesting—colorfully abstracted views of trees in a forest, which read almost like jewel-toned passages of stained glass. They were (and are) beautiful, but my hesitation at the time arose from the very immediate likeability of the works, and the consistency with which she had executed them. Obviously she had talent, I thought, but would these works go anywhere, or stay in this single, successful gear?

In a studio visit with Haaland a month or two ago, I was impressed to see that she’d been pushing the formal language of the forest paintings further, delving into the abstract web created by the gaps between the overlapping branches, which now press the limits of pure abstraction—it’s become almost impossible, at first blush, to see either the forest or the trees. With this increased removal from her immediate subject, she’s complicated the color schemes as well, fulfilling one of the latent promises of the earlier work by allowing the originally negative space between the trees and their branches to dominate the canvas, manifesting as positive forms in their own right. (In fact, she starts each work by laying in the color of the ‘negative’ spaces first, 46 LUCID DREAMING CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

filling in the increasingly abstracted trunks and boughs afterwards.)

In our conversation, Haaland expressed some concern about the negative reactions she’d received from a number of her family and friends, who didn’t like this new, more abstracted work. “They didn’t understand the new work, and kept asking me, ‘Why don’t you keep doing the trees that we like?’” she told me. Not that she doubted the artistic value of what she was doing for a minute—it was just disconcerting, it seems, to have such negative feedback from her closest circle of admirers.

For my part, I was happy and quite relieved to see her continue to grow and develop as an artist, and to resist becoming too comfortable with a formula that was, after all, pretty successful. Failure to push beyond what comes easily and settling into a formulaic groove is a phenomenon seen quite regularly in what might best be termed more ‘commercially lucrative’ art. Left to their own devices, I suspect many (if not most) people would just as soon look at something bright, or pretty, or otherwise easy on the eyes, and not have to think about moving out of their own aesthetic comfort zone at all.

But staying in that safe territory, where things are recognizable and easily assimilated, is a prescription for fast-food art. Look at the enormous success of Thomas Kinkade, the self-proclaimed “Painter of Light.” His tacky, saccharine views of a nostalgic America, of lighthouses and formulaic villages that never existed in the first place, are cranked out by the thousands mechanically using silkscreen on canvas, with his signature glowing highlights added in by hand by a small army of trained monkeys. (You can pay extra to have the glowing bits laid in by the master himself.)

This is the antithesis of meaningful art, despite what the legions of Kinkade’s admirers may tell you. It’s disingenuous in the extreme, a way of making pretty fluff in response to what is a real need: the craving for aesthetic experience, the drive that makes us want a visually interesting environment in which to live and work. Instead of a rich, nuanced, aesthetic response, he gives his audience a fast but empty experience, lacking in any challenge to

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ABOVE: PERPETUITY, ANN HAALAND, CHINE COLLE AND COLLAGE MONOPRINT, 2006 OPPOSITE: WINTER WOOD, ANN HAALAND, ONE COLOR LINOLEUM BLOCK PRINT, 2006

the viewer. Serious, honest art demands not only a talented artist, but an audience that is open to engaging it as well, on its own terms.

It’s always the hardest to see what’s right in front of you, the art of the contemporary moment.

By contrast, we have no problem accepting art of the past that was once considered outrageous, difficult, or downright offensive. Look how the crowds flock today to any exhibition with the word “Impressionism” in the title, while back in the day, newspaper cartoonists ridiculed the work of Monet, Degas, and the rest by advising that pregnant women not be allowed to endanger their health by viewing the art of this disturbing new movement.

The only way to go about it is to challenge yourself—maybe not continuously, but at least on a regular basis. Take some time now and then to look at artwork that isn’t immediately pleasurable to you, that inspires some initial discomfort, even. Think about it. Look at it some more. And only after that can you truly make an honest judgment of the work’s value, and in the process, hopefully you’ll escape the artificial diversions of fast food art that feeds the eyes but not the mind.

Ann Haaland is opening a small exhibition this month at the Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center in Poughkeepsie featuring a few of the recent paintings, along with a number of linoleum block prints, she’s been making, based on the same abstracted imagery. The prints make explicit the graphic dimension of the paintings, and open yet another window on the serious, complex process Haaland engages in her art. Also exhibiting will be Emma Crawford, showing a series of complexly layered and collaged prints. Crawford is a member, along with Haaland, of a group of local artists who meet regularly in a printmaking studio to do their work and exchange materials, experiences, and advice. Ah, the joys working alongside sociable and supportive creative people!

But that will have to be the subject of another column one of these days.

ANN HAALAND’S “WORKS ON PAPER AND MORE” AND EMMA CRAWFORD’S “SYNCHRONICITY” ARE ON VIEW DECEMBER 1-31, 2006, AT THE CUNNEEN-HACKETT ARTS CENTER, 9 AND 12 VASSAR STREET, POUGHKEEPSIE. (845) 486-4571; WWW.CUNNEENHACKETT.ORG. AN OPENING RECEPTION WILL BE HELD ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, FROM 6 TO 8PM.

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM LUCID DREAMING 47

“In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.”

gallery directory

–William Blake

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GALLERY DIRECTORY CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

galleries ALBANY INSTITUTE OF HISTORY AND ART

DIA: BEACON

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

3 BEEKMAN STREET, BEACON. 440-0100.

“From Burial Place to Green Space.”

Through December 31.

“Drawing Series.” 14 key works from Sol LeWitt.

Through September 10.

ALBERT SHAHINIAN FINE ART GALLERY

EAST VILLAGE COLLECTIVE

198 MAIN STREET, POUGHKEEPSIE. 454-0522.

99 TINKER STREET, WOODSTOCK. 679-2174.

“Homecoming: New England Landscapes.” Works by Gary Fifer. Through December 30.

“3D Collage Boxes.” Works by John Scribner.

Through December 15. “offSET.” Photographs by Lacey Terrell.

December 16-February 12.

ALDRICH CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM 258 MAIN STREET, RIDGEFIELD, CT. (203) 438-4519.

ELISA PRITZKER STUDIO & GALLERY

“Bitter Fruit.” Photographs by Paul Fusco.

Through February 25.

2006 Art Boutique.” Showcasing over 20 artists.

Through December 24.

CASA DEL ARTE, 257 S. RIVERSIDE RD., HIGHLAND. 691-5506.

“No Reservations: Native American History and Culture in Contemporary Art.” Through February 25.

“David Haislip: Artists at The Aldrich.” Pictures of artists installing work at the museum. Through January 21.

ELLENVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY

“Josh Azzarella: 2006 Emerging Artist Award Exhibition.”

Through February 25.

“Roberta Rosenthal’s’ Paintings and Landscapes.”

December 1.

BE GALLERY

FLAT IRON GALLERY

11 MOHONK ROAD, HIGH FALLS. 687-0660.

1008 BROWN STREET, PEEKSKILL. (914) 734-1894.

“From Valparaiso to auVillar.” Paintings of France and Spain by Lynne Friedman. Through December 30.

“Musical Visions.” Group show. Through December 31.

40 CENTER STREET, ELLENVILLE. 647-1497.

gallery directory

Reception Saturday, December 2, 6-8pm “ReGroup with Small Works.” New works and small works for giving and receiving. Through December 30.

FLETCHER GALLERY

Reception Saturday, December 2, 6-8pm

Josef Presser (1909-1967), a Maverick art colony artist.

Through January 28.

BELLE LEVINE ART CENTER

GALERIE BMG

40 MILL HILL RD, WOODSTOCK. 679-4411

521 KENNICUT ROAD, MAHOPAC. 225-1148.

12 TANNERY BROOK ROAD, WOODSTOCK. 679-0027.

“Works by Susan Zoon.” Painter and horror author.

December 2-December 22.

“Entangled.” Photographs by Leah Macdonald.

Through December 31.

Reception Sunday, December 10, 12-5pm

Reception Friday, December 1, 6-8pm

CCS BARD HESSEL MUSEUM

GALLERY AT R&F

BARD COLLEGE, ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON. 758-7598.

84 TEN BROECK AVENUE, KINGSTON. 331-3112.

“Wrestle.” More than 200 works from the Marieluise Hessel Collection. Through May 27.

“Give & Take.” A group show for the season of giving.

December 2-January 27.

CENTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY AT WOODSTOCK

Opening Saturday, December 2, 5-7pm

59 TINKER STREET, WOODSTOCK. 679-9957.

GCCA CATSKILL GALLERY

“Passionate Attitudes.” Women artists explore the contemporary and complex issues facing creative women.

Through December 23.

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

“Between Here and Now.” Black and white prints by German Herrera. Through December 23.

“Salon 2006.” Non-juried group exhibition/sale of small art works in all media.

Through January 18.

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

“Alpine Views.” Alexandre Calame and the Swiss landscape. Through December 31.

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

“Holiday in the Mountains.” Annual non-juried member group craft exhibition and sale. Through January 7.

HOWLAND CULTURAL CENTER COLUMBIA COUNTY COUNCIL ON THE ARTS 209 WARREN STREET, HUDSON. (518) 671-6213.

“The Yellow Show.” Through December 23.

477 MAIN STREET, BEACON. 831-4988.

“The Fillmore, the Avalon, and the Good Ol’ Grateful Dead.” Exhibit from the Avalon Archives, the Museum of Rock and Roll.

Through December 17.

DEBORAH DAVIS FINE ART 345 WARREN STREET, HUDSON. (518) 822-1890.

“Small Treasures IV.” Through December 31.

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM GALLERY DIRECTORY

49

galleries HUDSON VALLEY CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART 1701 MAIN STREET, PEEKSKILL. (914) 788-7166.

“Reverence.” Work of 33 internationally renowned artists from 13 countries. Through February 26.

“Only the Paranoid Survive.” Works addressing dissatisfaction with dominant controlling influences in our culture.

Through January 21.

MILDRED I. WASHINGTON ART GALLERY SUNY DUTCHESS, POUGHKEEPSIE. 431-8000 EXT. 3982.

“Four Points of View: Figuration in Printmaking.”

Through December 15.

MORGAN LEHMAN GALLERY 24 SHARON ROAD, LAKEVILLE, CT. (860) 435-0898.

“Contemporary Figurative Paintings.” Works by James Meyer, Robert Andrew Parker and Duncan Hannah.

Through December 3.

HUNTER VILLAGE SQUARE FINE CRAFT AND ART GALLERY MAIN STREET, HUNTER. (518) 263-4291.

“Deck the Halls.” Holiday exhibit of functional art.

Through February 28.

MUDDY CUP COFFEE HOUSE 129 MAIN STREET, BEACON. 440-7584.

“Bridges.” Abstract paintings by Susan Kleiner.

Through December 3.

INQUIRING MIND GALLERY 63 PARTITION STREET, SAUGERTIES. 246-5155.

“Off the Wall.” Many genres and media.

Through January 7.

MUROFF-KOLTER VISUAL ARTS GALLERY SUNY ULSTER, STONE RIDGE. 687-5113.

“Works by Ulster County Community College Visual Arts Faculty.” Through December 22.

INSPIRED BOOKS AND GIFTS 41 NORTH FRONT STREET, KINGSTON. 331-0644.

“Works by Lily Warren.” Through December 31.

MUSEUM OF THE HUDSON HIGHLAND KENRIDGE FARM, 9W, CORNWALL-ON-HUDSON. 534-5506.

gallery directory

“Plein Air Paintings.” Through December 31.

JOHN DAVIS GALLERY 362 1/2 WARREN STREET, HUDSON. (518) 828-5907.

“Works by Suzanne Ulrich.” Through December 3.

“Photography by Paul Hamann, William Jaeger, Stacey Lauren, and Sarah Sterling.”

December 7-December 21.

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

“Eclipse.” Abstract paintings by Ramona Sakiestewa.

Through December 22.

Reception Saturday, December 9, 6-8pm KARPELES MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY MUSEUM 94 BROADWAY, NEWBURGH. 569-4997.

“Women in Aviation.” Documents and letters of females in aviation. Through December 31.

KIESENDAHL + CALHOUN GALLERY 122 GREAT OAK LANE, PLEASANTVILLE. (914) 844-6296.

“Thomas Locker: Nature’s Lessons.”

Through December 1.

PEARL GALLERY 3572 MAIN STREET, STONE RIDGE. 687-0888.

“Group Show.” Featuring works by eight artists.

December 2-January 14.

Opening Saturday, December 2, 6-9pm

POMONA CULTURAL CENTER 584 ROUTE 306, POMONA. 362-8062.

“Paintings and Works on Paper by Sharon Falk.”

December 3-January 29.

Opening Sunday, December 3, 4-7pm

LANDMARKS VISITOR CENTER 547 WARREN STREET, HUDSON. (518) 794-9100.

“Interpretive Visions.” Works of Fern Apfel and Jane Feldman. Through December 24.

PUTNAM COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM

LYCIAN CENTER

“The Gilded Age: High Fashion in the Hudson Highlands, 1865–1914.” Over 30 dresses worn by residents of the Hudson Highlands.

Through December 3.

1351 KINGS HIGHWAY, SUGAR LOAF. 496-4785.

63 CHESTNUT STREET, COLD SPRING. 265-4010.

“Journey Through 70 Years of Art.” John F. Gould Centennial Exhibit. Through December 31.

PUTNAM NATIONAL GOLF CLUB 187 HILL STREET, MAHOPAC. 628-3105.

MARIST COLLEGE ART GALLERY 3399 NORTH ROAD, POUGHKEEPSIE. 575-3000.

“A Place for the Genuine.” Works by five female painters. Through December 2.

“Inaugural Exhibit of Public Art.” Through December 31.

RAINTREE GALLERY 107 MAIN STREET, HIGH FALLS. 687-2685.

MEDUSA EMPORIUM & GALLERY 215 MAIN STREET, NEW PALTZ. 255-6000.

“Paintings of Justin Love and Sculpture of Tufic Thompson.” Through December 16.

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GALLERY DIRECTORY CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

“Work by Many Artists.” Featuring photographers, designers, painters, graphic designers.

Through December 31.

S.K.H. GALLERY 46 CASTLE STREET, GREAT BARRINGTON, MA. (413) 528-3300.

“SKH/Political.” Artists address issues in the forefront of political debate. Through December 1.

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

“Art and Identity.” Selected work from the museums collections.

Through December 10.

“Anfas listwa nou - Facing Our History.” Photographs taken in Haiti by photo-journalist Daniel Morel. Through December 10.

“BA/MA I.” Student thesis exhibitions. December 1-December 6.

Opening Friday, December 1, 6-8pm “BFA/MFA II.” Student thesis exhibitions.

December 8-December 12.

Opening Friday, December 8, 6-8pm

THE ARTIST’S PALETTE RESTAURANT 307 MAIN STREET, POUGHKEEPSIE. 485-8074.

“Paintings by Jo Ann Levy Greller.”

Through December 31.

THE CATSKILLS GALLERY 106 PARTITION STREET, SAUGERTIES. 246-5552.

“City Views.” Glow in the dark city maps displayed in black lighting. Through January 7.

gallery directory

THE UPSTAIRS GALLERY 5 NORTH FRONT STREET, NEW PALTZ. 469-5931.

“Earth & Water Photo Exhibition.” Works by Yaron Rosner and Nick Zungoli. Through December 24.

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

“Come Gather Around.” Angelika Rinnhofer, Chris Albert, and Peter Iannarelli present personal narratives in multi-media.

Through December 31.

VARGA GALLERY 130 TINKER STREET, WOODSTOCK. 679-4005.

“The Ultimate Art Experience.” Through January 31.

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

“Celebrate.” Through December 30.

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

“Texture and Color.” Ekaterina Khromin, Librado Romero, Fay Wood. December 17.

WOODSTOCK ARTISTS ASSOCIATION AND MUSEUM 28 TINKER STREET, WOODSTOCK. 246-8262.

“Angela Gaffney-Smith: Drawings.” Solo show of figural drawings and monotypes. Through December 3.

“WAAM November Exhibitions.” Small Works, Angela Gaffney, Active Members Walls, The Maverick Continues.

Through December 3.

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

“Small Works Holiday Exhibition.” Through January 7.

“Holiday Exhibition: Small Works for Giving.” Sculpture, paintings, works on paper and photography.

Through January 7.

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM GALLERY DIRECTORY

51

Music

BY PETER AARON

TALES OF THE JAZZ AGE

RICH CONATY'S “THE BIG BROADCAST” It’s 8 o’clock on a Sunday night and Fats Waller’s 1939 hit “You Meet the Nicest People in Your Dreams” is bounding out of your speakers. In 2006, that can really only mean one thing: “The Big Broadcast,” WFUV-FM’s weekly, four-hour celebration of 1920s and ’30s jazz and pop, is on the air.

On the other end of the signal, old-time meets high tech as the show’s vivacious host, Rich Conaty, holds forth from the gleaming studio’s ultra-modern console, taking requests via e-mail and spinning rare 78s from CDs he’s burned at home. The program has been kicking and crooning across the New York airwaves for close to 35 years, and tonight’s installment is highlighted by birthday tributes to lyricist Gus Kahn and Chicago cornetist Mugsy Spanier. Conaty plays an ethereal waltz, then a bouncy dance band track featuring suave vocalist Scrappy Lambert. But then it’s time to heat things up.

“Get a load of this— ‘Cloey’ by Henry ‘Red’ Allen’s Orchestra, from 1936,” he announces. As Allen’s steamy trumpet and shuffling rhythms send listeners to the stratosphere, Conaty grins wide and bops his head in time.

While a few other left-of-the-dial shows do feature Depression-era sounds, you’ll have a hard time finding one that does it as regularly—or with such deep love for and knowledge of the music. It’s easy to understand why “The Big Broadcast” is one of New York radio’s longest-running, fanatically followed programs.

Those who believe pre-World War II American popular music is strictly the stuff of goofy, old cartoon soundtracks and “Little Rascals” episodes are way off.

After all, early jazz was outlaw fare, the syncopated clatter of the bathtub ginwrecked Daisy Buchanans and wannabe mobsters who rocked the Charleston in smoke-filled speakeasies. It’s the bold realm of musical revolutionaries like Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and Bix Beiderbecke. Of peppy, proto-garage bands like Ben Bernie’s orchestra and the Mound City Blue Blowers; of sweet crooners like Rudy Vallee, Russ Colombo, and a hip upstart named Bing Crosby.

And it’s the sophisticated, dream-like domain of the Gershwins, Cole Porter, 52 MUSIC CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

PHOTOS BY F-STOP FITZGERALD

Irving Berlin, and other legends of the Great American Songbook. Truly a magic time, one to match any segment of the subsequent rock ‘n’ roll decades.

Listening to “The Big Broadcast” (named for the 1932 film starring Crosby and others), it’s hard not to be swept up by Conaty’s boundless enthusiasm.

An affable kid in a 52-year-old’s body, he grew up in Queens, where the Jazz Age bug bit him early and hard.

“I was 13 or 14, and I was fishing around on the radio and found this show on the Hofstra University station out of Long Island that played these old records by the Mills Brothers, Paul Whiteman’s Rhythm Boys [with the youthful Crosby],” he recalls. “Hearing that is what got me interested in both the music and in radio.” By the time he was 16, Conaty had his own show on the very same station.

So in 1971, while his fellow high school students were banging their heads to Led Zeppelin, Conaty was tapping his toes to Ukulele Ike. Didn’t the other kids give him a hard time? “No, they dug it,” he says. “They liked me because I was different, and I was on the radio. That was kind of a big deal to them.”

On one occasion, for show-and-tell, he was even asked to bring in some of his vintage records to play for the class.

When it came time to pick a college, however, he chose Fordham, not Hofstra, “more on the strength of its radio station’s signal than any academic consideration,” he says. And though the show did run briefly on another station, it’s Fordham’s WFUV that has been home to “The Big Broadcast” for the majority of the years since its January 1972 debut.

At the time Conaty began his radio career, many of the great entertainers of the early days of recording were still active, and he was lucky enough to see several of his idols perform and even meet a few of them. “I got to see Bing and the Mills Brothers in person, interviewed the two surviving Boswell Sisters, spent an evening listening to Tin Pan Alley tales from ‘Star Dust’ lyricist Mitchell Parish,” he recounts. And while meeting band leader Ben Selvin and hiring Arthur

SULTAN OF SURFACE NOISE: CONATY’S LIVING ROOM IS HOME TO HIS VICTROLA AND FORMIDABLE RECORD COLLECTION. PREVIOUS PAGE: THE DJ TOURS HUDSON IN HIS 1950 NASH AMBASSADOR CUSTOM.

“The Street Singer” Tracy to play his wedding were also high points, it’s Conaty’s interview with Cab Calloway that is perhaps his most memorable encounter with one of his heroes.

“I don’t drink now but back then I did, and Cab got us both drunk,” he says, smirking and rolling his eyes. “CD players were still kind of new then, and he’d just gotten one. He was really excited about it, like a kid with a new toy. He figured because CDs were taking over he wouldn’t need his old records anymore, and he gave me a whole bunch of really rare ones. ‘Let the kid have ’em,’ he said.”

Conaty moved to Hudson in 1998, where he buzzes around in his immaculately restored 1950 Nash Ambassador and shares a townhouse with several thousand 78s and his two cats, Yoda and, yes, Scrappy.

But if Conaty and the kitties are stuck in a time warp, they’re not alone. Thanks to the World Wide Web, “The Big Broadcast’s” listenership has exploded, and the DJ regularly gets e-mail and fund-drive pledges from as far away as North Carolina, Colorado, California, even Australia and New Zealand. Oh, and anyone who thinks this nearly 100-year-old music is only for the Dockers-and-Depends set should pay a visit to the maestro’s MySpace page (www.myspace.com/ richconaty), which gets upward of 1,000 hits a week and sports a colossal friends list heavy with 20-something, Louise Brooks-worshipping hotties and handsome, tuxed-and-tailed old-time jazz combos.

“Rich really puts a lot of thought into each show,” says Vince Giordano, leader of Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, perhaps the most revered of all contemporary 1920s-style jazz orchestras. “He puts together a great mix. He doesn’t just play one Ruth Etting tune or one Bix tune after another. And he keeps it interesting, he gives you just enough facts about the songs, the records.” Giordano, whose band has been featured on the soundtracks of Ghost World and The Aviator and recently recorded music for a forthcoming Robert DeNiro film, The Good Shepherd, has been a top draw on the New York club scene since the late ’70s.

Conaty’s even gotten into the record business himself, in a way. In 2005, he put together a compilation CD for the Rivermont label bearing the program’s name and featuring such on-air favorites as “Goin’ to Town” by Red Nichols and His Five Pennies and “Happy Rhythm” by the Musical Stevedores, as well as rare tracks by the orchestras of Calloway, Fletcher Henderson, and Barney Rapp. The follow-up, The Big Broadcast, Volume 2 (which includes a scarce 1927 recording by Kenneth Casey and His Orchestra yours truly rescued from a Kingston thrift store) has just been released.

When asked what it is that makes this antique music special, what gives it such lasting appeal, Conaty inhales deeply and hold his breath for a few seconds. His brow wrinkles, his eyes narrow.

“There’s a real honesty to it. It has energy. It has wit, there’s an intelligence to the writing. The solid playing of the bands just makes it all work, it makes the music hang together,” he says.

“There’s a tune on The Big Broadcast, Volume 2, ‘I Get the Blues When it Rains’ by Fred Rich and His Orchestra,” he continues. “It’s just a dance band record, a stock arrangement done for a cheap label. At first you’re listening to it and the band’s just sort of going along, no big deal.

And then, all of a sudden, the Dorsey Brothers [Tommy, trombone; Jimmy, clarinet and alto sax] come in—these rowdy, Irish-American guys just muscle their way in like they just can’t wait to get in there and jazz it up. Stuff like that just gives the music this incredible momentum.”

A momentum sure to carry Rich Conaty and “The Big Broadcast” through another 35 years.

At least.

“The Big Broadcast” airs on WFUV-FM Sundays from 8pm to midnight and streams live at www.bigbroadcast.com. The Big Broadcast and The Big Broadcast, Volume 2 CDs are available from www.rivermontrecords.com.

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM MUSIC 53

NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS

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

SARAH PERROTTA/JOHNNIE WANG December 2. The Colony Café has loosened up a little recently, allowing some rock and soul in the doors, including Kristen Garnier’s Garage Rumble band battle. Tonight the luminous Perrotta and her band (Sarah on vocals and piano, Chris Lane on guitar and effects, and Johnny Watson on drums) headline in anticipation of her first solo album after the breakup of her previous outfit, Outloud Dreamer. Favorite New Paltz son Johnnie Wang (pronounced “Wong”) opens with his creative songplay and stellar guitar work. 8pm. $10. Woodstock. (845) 679-5342. www.myspace.com/sarahperrottaband.

TOSHI REAGON December 8. Here’s a quiz in Reagon-onomics: Did you know she’s the daughter of Sweet Honey in the Rock founder Bernice Johnson Reagon? And that she and her band, BIGLovely, were the orchestra for the 2005 rock opera The Temptation of St. Anthony, written by her mother and based on a work by Flaubert, and staged by enigmatic impresario Robert Wilson? Toshi sings like a bird but can rock the funk out and is much, much more than meets the eye. Score another hit for the hip Rosendale Café. (Mark Brown and Uncle Buckle return on December 16.) 8pm. $15. Rosendale. (845) 658-9048. www.rosendalecafe.com.

“BROOKLYN COUNTRY” REVUE December 8. Alt-country performer/promoter Andy Friedman and his band, Other Failures, return to our woods (this time at the ever-reaching Backstage Studio Productions) with a new revue from NYC’s biggest borough that also features Alex Battles’ Whiskey Rebellion and the Defibulators. The New Yorker describes Brooklyn country as a style that employs “traditional Nashville and electrified Bakersfield honky-tonk aesthetics as a guide, but adds a gritty native pulse, influenced by rumbling subway trains, alternate-sideof-the-street parking, and the presence of a few million close neighbors.” And they should know. 9pm. $12/10 advance. Kingston. (845) 338-8700. www.andyfriedman.net.

TRIO LOCO December 9. This benefit show, featuring the music of Studio Stu on the Studivarious washtub bass, Mark Dzuiba on guitar, and Dean Sharp on drums, assists theater renovations at the Arts Society of Kingston’s new headquarters on lower Broadway. ASK is hosting a month-long entertainment series to help with fund raising, and, according to Studio Stu, an eclectic night is guaranteed, or half your money back. (Stu also appears solo Saturday Dec. 2 at Bread Alone in Uptown Kingston as part of the First Saturday art gallery walk.) 8pm. Call for ticket info. Kingston. (845) 338-0331. www.studiostu.biz.

SEASON OF PEACE CONCERT December 15. This annual performance is more welcome than ever, given the state of our poor, mixed-up world these days. Musician-vocalists Katy Taylor and Amy Fradon bless new location Stone Ridge Healing Arts on Route 209 as this year’s venue. Their boundless repertoire includes medieval, folk, and Celtic selections mingled with delightful originals. Join them for much-needed songs, chants, and prayers of peace (including Solstice and Christmas music) invoking remembrance, kindness, and goodwill for this holiday season. 8pm. Call for ticket info. Stone Ridge. (845) 687-4208. www.stoneridgehealingarts.com.

STRANGEFOLK’S NEW YEAR’S EVE December 30, 31. Thank the stars there’s at least one New Year’s Eve celebration worth checking into.

The Full Moon resort (in the northwest corner of Ulster County) is famous for well-planned, fun weekend events, and this one is no exception. Rock/blues/bluegrass road warriors Strangefolk head for the hills at this two-night, three-day bacchanal, with lots of music, food, drink, and a choice of room offerings. On-site accommodations are very limited, but there’s always the Magic Bus to whisk you to a nearby bed. 6pm.

Packages start at $195. Oliverea. (845) 254-5117. www.fullmooncentral.com.

TOSHI REAGON WILL PLAY THE ROSENDALE CAFE ON DECEMBER 8.

54 MUSIC CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

CD REVIEWS THE BERNSTEIN BARD TRIO: WE’LL KNOW WHEN WE GET THERE...

BERNBARD MUSIC, 2006

Just by looking at the cover of the Bernstein Bard Trio’s new release—an acoustic guitar and mandolin leaning casually against a reclining upright bass in the grass—you know straightway this is an organic outing.

The New Paltz-based wooden warriors include Steve Bernstein (mandolin), Mark Bernstein (guitar), and Robert Bard (bass), and they have their own slant on acoustic-driven music with the impressive We’ll Know When We Get There..

There...

BBT gets off to a fine start with “Manzanillo,” which features Steve taking the melody while Mark offers several sweet solos.

There are plenty of obvious choices of material here that are quite satisfying: Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” Fats Waller’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” and the traditional “Scarborough Fair” all go to delightful places. But it’s the unlikely selection of Sting’s “Fields of Gold” that could be the highlight. It’s uncanny how well a Sting song works in an acoustic context, and what delicate wonders these players work with it.

While guests Jay Ungar (violin) and Peter Davis (clarinet) up the ante (especially on Duke’s “I’m Beginning to See The Light”), the Bernsteins’ vocals on two of the tracks are somewhat distracting.

But the musicianship and approach here are exceptional, and there’s comfort in knowing that there was no electricity used by the instruments. (Politically correct production values!) The Bernstein Bard Trio will play at the Discovery Institute in New Paltz on January 27 and 28. www.bernsteinbardtrio.com.

—David Malachowski

THE EASY TEASE: BOLD DISPLAYS OF COWARDICE BROLIQUE PRODUCTIONS, 2006

My house reeks of sewage and my landlord lives in Texas. Listening to The Easy Tease’s new full-length has lifted the stink from my nose to the sweet sounds of somewhere else. With a combination of salty air and wet wood, my nostrils breathe relief. The first track, aptly titled “Shipwrecked or Bad Luck and Rain” is Gilligan with only a God Speed You! Black Emperor record for company.

We are guided onwards into this gentle storm. A maelstrom of sandy grit lies under the deceivingly tender lap of waves. The banjo tickles and we like it. The trombone is a sophisticated French circus, acrobatic and demanding. The Sherlockian piano is introspective and searching.

The horseshoe beat finds its way out of the crowded pub with drunken deliberation. My dear Watson! Let us wander in for a pint. All the children sing. Fearless, gender-bending voices dance with anticipation and excitement like my nephew when there is a frosting beater to be licked. Methodically earnest and thoughtful, they whisper and then surge with melodic angst back to shore.

This is an indie-rock record with a brave heart and the rhythmic variety is instantly likable. One imagines the band’s live shows mixing the noxious levity of The Pogues with the singular angularity of Neutral Milk Hotel.

The group’s members studied at Bard College and now sow their seeds throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley. www.theeasytease.com.

— Jason Broome

THE KANSAS CITY SOUND: ONE FOR THE BISHOP INDEPENDENT, 2006

In the 1930s, Kansas City, Missouri, was a prime region for American jazz, with the hottest players and composers swingin’ their batons off. On One For The Bishop, erstwhile band leader and saxophonist Harvey Kaiser and his orchestra pay tribute to not only Count Basie, but to the KC Sound’s own late pianist/vocalist, Joel “Bishop” O’Brien. (The session was O’Brien’s last and the CD is dedicated to his memory.) After Bishop’s passing, Billy Alfred (here on six cuts) picked up piano duties.

The streamlined unit hits the ground running with “Tickletoe,” a rarely covered Basie-Lester Young burner, followed by more Basie with “Blue and Sentimental,” which contains a delightful Eddie Diehl guitar solo. The skintight rhythm section of Bill Crow on bass and Marvin Bugalu Smith on drums backs up O’Brien on the jumpin’ “Hackensack Lady” (a mash-up of Monk’s “Hackensack” and the Gershwins’ “Lady Be Good”). The session also stars trumpeter Fred Smith and ex-Monk side man Eddie Bert on trombone.

One For The Bishop was recorded in 2004 at the late Steve Burgh’s uptown Kingston studio, and Burgh sat in on the alternate take of Basie’s “9:20 Special.” Special is the word, all right, for this fine ensemble effort, available at www.cdbaby.com.

—DJ Wavy Davy 12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM MUSIC 55

Books

FIVE GOLD RINGS: DETAIL FROM THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, ANNIVERSARY EDITION, A POP-UP CELEBRATION BY ROBERT SABUDA

POP STARS

ROBERT SABUDA AND MATTHEW REINHART UNPLUGGED

F

by Nina Shengold photos by Jennifer May

ew artists can pinpoint the moment that started them on their career path. Fewer still have experienced such an epiphany at the dentist.

But New York Times bestselling author Robert Sabuda remembers the fateful day his mother tried to calm his anxiety with a pop-up book in a Michigan waiting room. “I was so excited I forgot all about the dentist,” he glows.

Anyone who encounters the pop-up creations of Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart knows just how he felt. It’s hard to avoid such cliches as “eyepopping” when faced with a vine-covered temple that shoots up nearly two feet (Reinhart’s The Jungle Book) or an emerald paper balloon that inflates and rotates as it opens (Sabuda’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz).

New York Times Book Review senior editor Dwight Garner raved over two recent creations, Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Sharks and Other Sea Monsters (Candlewick Press, $27.99) and Mommy?, Reinhart’s collaboration with Arthur Yorinks and legendary illustrator Maurice Sendak (Scholastic, $24.95). Citing Sabuda and Reinhart as leaders of a new “golden age of the pop-up book,” Garner marveled, “The engineered parts leap out at you with the impact, and nearly the size, of unfolding umbrellas.”

The magic begins in an unassuming seventh-floor studio on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. A young Asian woman, whose bright smile gives the lie to her Goth-tinged attire, leads two guests down a bookshelf-lined hallway 56 BOOKS CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

and into an alternate universe. Every inch of the narrow room bristles with clip lights, layered bulletin boards, drawing tables with mat boards, drafting templates, computer screens, Simpsons and Star Wars collectibles, hats (Krispy Kreme, crown, tiara) and an avalanche of paper. There are intricate pop-ups in progress on every desk, overflowing wire wastebaskets, piles of hand-painted papers in cardboard bins labeled by color. The effect is like walking into a huge pop-up, with fabulous details wherever you look: PeeWee’s Playhouse goes to art school.

“This is a neat day,” Sabuda grins, stepping over a snowfall of scraps on the carpet. Reinhart sits at a computer, peering at digital photos of Skywalker Ranch, where the pair went to research their upcoming extravaganza, The Star Wars Holochron.

“You just missed the Star Wars craze. Two weeks ago we were busting our behinds to get everything out on time,” Sabuda explains. “Now everyone’s hustling for Narnia.” He picks up a folded white mock-up for another upcoming project, based on C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. “We expected a lot of input from the Lewis estate, but they were thrilled. All we got was, ‘Could you just add teeth to Aslan?’” He turns a page. Even in unadorned white, the great lion bursts off the page, jaws gaping and claws outstretched.

The manufacture of high-end pop-up books is a fortuitous melding of ultramodern computer technology and old-fashioned, cut-and-paste ingenuity.

All paper engineering is done by hand, a laborious process involving hundreds of sheets of white cardstock, mat knives, glue, tape, and much trial and error. Sabuda observes, “It’s not so much about getting it to pop up as getting it to pop shut. When you make an origami, you fold the paper into three dimensions and it’s finished. We’re creating figures that become 3-D, then have to go back into 2-D. That’s the real challenge.”

The studio employs five fulltime assistants, all art school graduates. When Sabuda declares, “It’s not necessary for us to physically make every aspect of every book—we have too many ideas,” Reinhart intones in his best Alec Guinness vibrato, “I am the prime conceiver.” The partners also function as executive producers, shepherding projects by staff members and other young artists: The tall, quiet man at the desk near the door is Castles author Kyle Olmon, whose virtuoso medieval pop-ups catapulted his book onto bestseller lists and into museum gift shops, alongside Sabuda and Reinhart’s.

The team may spend weeks engineering each page; finished books take anywhere from eight months to two years. Certain “pops” involve such extras as lightweight spinning dowels, fine-gauge string, clear plastic insets, even light chips for special effects. Durability counts: devotees may spend hours spinning the wrappings off Reinhart and Sendak’s rotating mummy or pulling up Alice In Wonderland’s spiral rabbit hole, and a ripped pop-up book is a pitiful thing. Sabuda favors a “look, don’t touch” approach with very young readers, creating a more interactive experience as parents become puppeteers, turning pages and pulling tabs, making things pop.

“We’re really working in four dimensions,” Sabuda notes. “It’s not just about making a threedimensional image, but the time factor. Some pieces move quicker than others, sometimes there’s a reveal during the transition. How does this piece arc across, will it hit this other piece, is there some way to slow it down?”

Paper engineers start by constructing a partial mock-up, demonstrating a book’s look and concept, with artwork in pencil sketch and a preliminary text. Once this is approved, they hand-make a detailed “white dummy,” like the Narnia mockup. This includes fully engineered pop-up spreads, with each individual piece computer-scanned for precision die-cutting.

The last step is full-color artwork, in watercolor and colored pencil (Cinderella, Mommy?) or cut-paper collage (The Jungle Book). Sabuda also designed an elegant “white series” (Twelve Days of Christmas, A Winter’s Tale); Reinhart, whose edgier collaborations include the hilarious Pop-Up Book of Phobias, prefers “bright, saturated colors—even my dinosaurs steer away from the browns and grays.”

The text is fine-tuned during every step, though neither artist talks much about choosing the words.

“Thank God for editors,” Reinhart grins, noting that their Encyclopedia Prehistorica series (Dinosaurs and Sharks and Sea Monsters will soon be followed by Mega-Beasts) is vetted by experts from the Museum of Natural History to assure classroom accuracy: “Every toe has been counted.”

The large-format books are manufactured overseas by as many as 1,200 assemblers. An in-house video shows massive color-printing and die-cutting machines, with teams of dextrous Chinese

IN THE STUDIO (TOP TO BOTTOM): ROBERT SABUDA WITH AN ILLUSTRATION SHEET FROM THE JUNGLE BOOK. A MOCK-UP OF THE UPCOMING CHRONICLES OF NARNIA BOOK. MATTHEW REINHART DISPLAYS A POP FROM ENCYCLOPEDIA PREHISTORICA.

workers in white cotton gloves hand-assembling each spread. It seems somehow apt that creating these state-of-the-art, architectural books should begin and end with teams folding paper by hand.

The partners’ manner as studio tour guides mirrors the complementary styles of their books.

Sabuda, in upmarket track suit and wire-rim glasses, likes to explain things in detail. The energetic, theatrical Reinhart, in black T-shirt, jeans, and silver shoes, ricochets from his desk, spouting quotable sound bytes: “We’re paper hogs....We go for a you-are-there, in-your-face effect....The flattened-out art looks like roadkill.”

Both men attended Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, where Sabuda now teaches. His early jobs were diverse. While establishing himself as a freelance illustrator specializing in intricate linocuts, Sabuda worked as a hardware store clerk, in a publisher’s mailroom, inked coloring books, and designed women’s underwear packages for J.C. Penney.

“Everyone always thinks that’s so funny, but I learned a lot on that job,” he insists. “Working with cardstock, die-cutting, how to photograph art. I still use all those skills.”

The Iowa-born Reinhart majored in toy design.

He designed models and cut-outs for Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues before joining Sabuda, first as an intern and then as his partner. In the heavily closeted world of children’s literature, the two men are refreshingly open about their partnership being romantic as well as professional. Sabuda’s website refers to them living together and renovating an 1830s farmhouse “upstate.” “I’d say it’s 95 percent done,” he says of their beloved New Paltz getaway, then amends, “Is a house in the country ever done?”

When asked if they’re weekenders, Sabuda rolls his eyes, bristling. “I go up on Thursdays!” If Reinhart’s not with him, he completes his commute by cab. The iconoclastic artist doesn’t drive (“Not everything in this world revolves around having a driver’s license,” he declares with pride, causing Reinhart to hoot, “You can’t even go to Target by yourself!”) and refuses to carry a cell phone.

His more 21st-century partner trawls Kingston’s big box stores for action figures and Transformer toys, and listens to Depeche Mode, Gwen Stefani, and Madonna.

Being forthright about his identity matters a lot to Sabuda. “If you’re not heterosexual and doing things with children, it’s a taboo. But times have changed. I knew I was going to be open about it right from the beginning. We both have very accepting and loving families. And no one has ever, ever, commented that it’s an issue. Maybe someone decides not to buy our books—that’s their business. I don’t live my life to please what others think I should be.”

Reinhart agrees, adding, “What we do is so universal. It’s not subversive in any way. We’re just big kids having fun.” Looking around the studio, from Darth Vader to Mr. Potatohead, it’s hard to disagree. But they create singular gifts for a generation glutted by electronics, eliciting saucer-eyed awe with the simplest of materials: paper. Every kid knows the magic of folding a flat sheet of paper just so, and creating a three-dimensional airplane that actually flies. Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart make it fly to a galaxy far away.

Robert Sabuda & Matthew Reinhart will sign books at Barnes & Noble in Newburgh (1245 Rt. 300) on Sunday, December 17, at 2pm.

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM BOOKS 57

SHORT TAKES Local authors keep it real with the smorgasbord of tasty nonfiction, well done.

THE TRAVELER’S GUIDE TO THE HUDSON RIVER VALLEY TIM MULLIGAN BLACK DOME PRESS, 2006, $17.95

Written with the warmth and ease of a conversation with a friend, this wonderfully accessible guide celebrates a well-earned 20 years in print. Mulligan’s love and awe for the Hudson Valley manifests itself in his imaginative descriptions, and simple penand-ink sketches prove a welcome addition to the lively text.

WHERE SHOULD I SIT AT LUNCH? THE ULTIMATE 24/7 GUIDE TO SURVIVING THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS HARRIET S. MOSATCHE, PHD, AND KAREN UNGER, MA MCGRAW HILL, 2006, $14.95

Cheerful and frank, with chapter titles like “Body Stuff: Deal With It,” this backpackready guidebook by Poughkeepsie Day School’s Unger and Girl Scout advice columnist Mosatche is like having a new best bud. Hundreds of live-wire quotes from local teenagers and education professionals make this an addictive read.

HUDSON VALLEY RUINS: FORGOTTEN LANDMARKS OF AN AMERICAN LANDSCAPE THOMAS E. RINALDI & ROBERT J. YASINAC UNIVERSITY PRESS OF NEW ENGLAND, 2006, $35

Two ardent preservationists find beauty amid the ruins of manor houses, Dutch barns, foundries, railroad stations, and the Hop-ONose Knitting Mill. Meticulously researched and full of evocative photographs, this is a yearning ode to our vanishing architectural heritage. The authors will read at Oblong Books & Music in Rhinebeck, 12/16 at 3:30pm.

VEGETARIAN SOUPS FOR ALL SEASONS NAVA ATLAS AMBERWOOD PRESS, 2006, $15.95

Hudson Valley favorite Atlas has updated her 1992 classic with a “vegan makeover,” adding 20 delectable new recipes for soups and stews prepared without meat or dairy.

Warm your spirits with Potage Polenta, go exotic with seitan Pho Bo, or chill out with Cool as a Cucumber Soup.

THE SCIENCE OF THE DOGON: DECODING THE AFRICAN MYSTERY TRADITION LAIRD SCRANTON INNER TRADITIONS, 2006, $16.95

In this mind-bending study, Albany author Scranton explores the intricate cosmology of West Africa’s Dogon people. Dogon symbols and creation myths underlie ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and Judaic rituals, and uncannily presage many “breakthrough” concepts in Western physics as quantum mechanics, black holes, and string theory.

58 BOOKS CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

A Consequence of Ordinary Zoli Rozen IUNIVERSE,

$14.95, 2006

I

f Holden Caulfield’s anomie and Sal Paradise’s restlessness were combined in a single character, living in millennial America, he might resemble the unnamed young narrator in Zoli Rozen’s first novel, A Consequence of Ordinary. In this post-9/11 world, phonies are everywhere and people have ceased burning like the fabulous yellow roman candles they used to be.

A not-so-recent college graduate, the protagonist has been biding his time in a quiet, picturesque college town in the mountains outside of New York City, which bears a striking resemblance to Rozen’s New Paltz alma mater. Trapped in a hellish cycle of mourning from his last relationship, he bartends by night and runs from wolves in nightmares by day. “It was the mountains themselves that kept me there. A glorious backdrop when all you wanted to do was look away.” But man cannot live on mountains alone. The bar the narrator has tended for half a decade closes, becoming the catalyst for his move to the big city, where a whole new arsenal of existential crises await. Equipped with a new suit and a job he hates, the protagonist views the people around him with the fresh alarm of recognition.

One day, his boss at the publishing company sends him on an errand to get their most profitable author to sign a contract. He meets Theodore Paz, a talented ghostwriter whose beloved wife has left him because she believes he’s sold himself out. Anguished and half demented from grief and scotch, Paz begins to confide in the protagonist, leading to some of Rozen’s most effective scenes. On discovering that his confused listener has never heard of the bestselling Paz, the old man laughs and climbs down the fire escape of his Manhattan apartment. “‘I’m going to solve a riddle for you,’ he told me and headed south down the street, a mad man into traffic, a mad and stoned man in a robe, a coat, and morning slippers, weaving in and out of city consciousness.” Paz proceeds directly to the nearest bookstore and buys all the trashy celebrity biographies he’s ghostwritten, which have made him rich but robbed him of self-respect. When he lights them on fire on the roof of his apartment building, he insists that the narrator throw in his tie, too.

When our narrator returns to the office with a ripped suit, no tie, smelling of smoke and scotch, and with no signature on the contracts, he is promptly fired. However, Paz has taken a shine to him. The author appoints him his agent, leaves him a check and his apartment, and whisks his newly regained wife off to Europe. Freed, our narrator takes off on a cross-country trip with his two best friends in search of the elusive truths which have sent generations of confused young Americans on the road. And they find it, sort of.

Rozen’s strengths lie in his pitch-perfect portrayal of some of the biggest issues post-grads face: the search for love, for meaning, and for work they can do without selling their souls in the process. Rozen does a thoughtful job of weighing the consequences of ordinary against the allure of the unknown. The specificity of these themes may limit the book’s target audience; some readers over 30 may have a “been there, done that” attitude toward such musings.

The copyediting of this book leaves much to be desired. Rozen frequently misuses commas and overuses capitalization for emphasis. These may seem like minutiae, but their effect is distracting. It seems ironically appropriate, however, that a book focused on the evolution from student to professional would itself exist in a state between promise and polish. The plot and characters are engaging and intriguing enough to suggest that the author deserves a much more careful production by a more discerning publisher. After reading A Consequence of Ordinary, I have no doubt that there will be a next novel. Zoli Rozen is one to watch.

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

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12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM BOOKS 59

www.schneiderpfahl.com

Three Men in a Room: The Inside Story of Power and Betrayal in an American Statehouse Seymour P. Lachman with Robert Polner THE NEW PRESS, 2006, $23.95

R

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eaders of the popular press may be forgiven for thinking that all government emanates from Washington.

But as Seymour Lachman, a former professor of political science and fiveterm Democratic State Senator, points out early on in this easily readable, 194page-book, state governments have far greater power over our day-to-day lives. As Lachman observes, however, the people of New York have virtually no say in how their laws are made, or by whom, or in how taxpayer money is spent. “New York State does not conform to generally accepted accounting principles,” writes Lachman. “It runs on a cash-based system worthy of a Prohibition speakeasy or a nineteenth-century political machine.”

The titular reference is to the Governor, Senate Majority Leader, and Assembly Speaker (respectively, as of this writing, George Pataki, Joseph Bruno, and Sheldon Silver). Lachman describes how all political power in New York is wielded by these three alone, with virtually no accountability to, or oversight by, other elected officials or the public. Commendably and accurately, he describes them not as uniquely corrupt, but as products of the State’s history and current constitutional structure. Therefore, he explains, simply replacing one or even all of them will provide no relief. One of the book’s most revealing passages appears in the foreword

by Norman Redlich, New York City Corporation Counsel under former Mayor John Lindsay (1966-73), who says that while reading, “I was struck by the similarity with which legislation was handled more than 30 years ago.”

Much of the contents will be familiar to readers of NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice’s 2004 report (updated in October 2006) on what it called the most dysfunctional state legislature in the nation, and Lachman obviously relies heavily on that report to bolster his observations. But comparing the Center’s report to Lachman’s book is like comparing a textbook description of an operation to a surgeon’s memoir describing what it is like to cut into a living body.

A political scientist can describe “gerrymandering” (redrawing a voting district’s boundaries to create unbeatable majorities for a party) and “member items” (government money disbursed at the discretion of the Majority Leader and Speaker for legislators to disburse as they see fit, without votes or accountability) and explain how these and other tactics preserve the power of incumbents in general and the legislative leadership in particular. But it is quite a different experience to read Lachman’s description of a 2002 conversation with Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, in which Bruno offered him “the safest Democratic seat in Brooklyn,” together with an additional two to three million dollars in member items. His stated price? “All you have to do is either become a Republican or do what we tell you to do, such as supporting me for Majority Leader.”

Lachman, a political scientist cum politician, has created a book that takes the reader on a tour of New York State government and manages to make even such wonkish esoterica as the history of public authorities both informative and infuriating. In one respect, however, the academic should have had a greater hand. Lachman frequently cites the Brennan Center’s (www.brennancenter.org) report and makes a host of other references to studies, agency reports, court cases, and historical sources. Yet, he provides neither footnotes nor endnotes that would allow readers to examine these sources for themselves. Lachman has written an informative, often blood-boiling indictment of State government, but leaves anyone who wishes to do further research on the subjects raised to his or her own devices.

Some books are like hors d’oeuvres—while tasty, they stimulate the appetite without satisfying it. Reading this otherwise excellent book is like going to a party given by a host who serves a superb selection of appetizers, but fails to show you the way to the main dining room.

—Jeffrey Shapiro

60 BOOKS CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India Madhur Jaffrey ALFRED A. KNOPF, 2006, $25

W

hen Madhur Jaffrey was born in a large family compound in Delhi, her life was defined by her father, who named her Madhur, meaning “sweet as honey,” and her grandmother, who dipped a finger in honey and wrote Om, the Sanskrit word for “I am,” on her newborn granddaughter’s tongue. “I was left with honey on my palate and in my deepest soul,” the Dutchess County author writes in Climbing the Mango Trees, her new memoir. With a welcome into the world such as hers, how could Jaffrey become anything but a celebrated actress and the world’s foremost writer on Indian food?

An enchanting and heady mix of childhood stories and recipes from pre-Partition Northern India, the book follows Jaffrey from birth through high school graduation, leaping from one fond memory to the next, each presented in vignette form and packed full of long-savored foods and magical moments experienced in a sprawling household filled with a seemingly countless array of relatives.

Each person and place encountered by Jaffrey is connected with a food described so explicitly, gracefully, and lovingly that reading this book literally makes the mouth water. The offspring of a liberal Hindu family influenced by Muslim culture as well as English and Catholic educational systems, Jaffrey grew up enjoying her family’s largely traditional fare at home, while sampling the foods of other cultures and classes “beyond the gate” of the compound, including hot, freshly cooked street sweets and snacks and the exotic school lunches of her Muslim friends. For Jaffrey, food is more than a sensory and sustaining experience. Food also defines character and colors every situation. Her cousin Rajesh, for example, valiantly tried to rescue an airborne piece of toast with his air gun; her taciturn, meddling, authoritarian uncle Shibbudada was the purveyor of chaat, hot sour-and-savory snacks with a bitter aftertaste, providing what she called “a taste of heaven with many ifs and buts.”

The most magical and appealing of Jaffrey’s memories describe her family’s typical dinners at home, presided over by her beloved paternal grandfather and attended by as many as 40 people; elaborate picnicking expeditions far into the Himalayas, where up to 300 extended family members dined on meatballs seasoned with raisins and mint and stuffed into fresh pooris; and escapes with her dozens of cousins in the heat of the day, while the grownups napped, into the mango orchard, where each child perched on a favorite branch and happily plucked and ate the fruit, sharing a spice mixture of salt, pepper, ground chilies, and roasted cumin.

Jaffrey’s quintessentially happy childhood was not untouched by tragedy, including several unhappy marriages, a sister’s serious illness, and the loss of her grandfather. However, her prose style is ever buoyant, revealing herself as an enormously curious and wry-humored young girl, who could tsk-tsk her ill sister’s discovery of Coca-Cola while traveling to America for medical care, or note such ironies as the fact that she failed her final cooking exam at school largely because the course had focused on “British invalid foods from circa 1930,” an incomprehensibly bland style of cooking and eating to the young Jaffrey. For Jaffrey, food is not only love but life itself, the thing that connects all the other senses to a given event, whether it involves sitting out a monsoon rain by drinking chilled mango juice and jabelis (pretzels) dipped in milk; eating her grandmother’s chutney to relieve chicken pox symptoms; or watching her older cousins grow up and fall in love before her as she braved adolescence and indulged in creamy lassi, a kind of light, yogurt milkshake.

It wasn’t until Jaffrey moved to London to study drama that she learned to appreciate her mother’s and grandmother’s cooking or the foods of her homeland, and it wasn’t until Jaffrey helped the ailing James Beard teach his last classes in New York City that she began to think of food as embodying the past, thanks to Beard’s question, “Do you think there is such a thing as taste memory?” In answer to both these experiences Jaffrey realized that by the time she left India, her “palate had already recorded millions of flavors.”

Indeed, her evocative descriptions of hundreds of those flavors, and the events and people and places attached to them, accompanied by family photographs and 32 family recipes, make for the most delicious and sumptuous of memoirs.

—Susan Piperato

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM BOOKS 61

POETRY

Edited by Phillip Levine. Submissions are accepted year-round. Deadline for our January issue is December 5. Send up to 3 poems or 3 pages (whichever comes first), by regular mail, to: Poetry, 314 Wall St., Kingston, NY 12401, or via e-mail (preferred) to poetry@chronogram.com. Subject: Poetry Submission. Full submission guidelines at www.chronogram.com\submissions.

There’s a history of mental illness in my family.

Probably a future too.

—p

My Magnum Opus to the BestSeller

Kids Order Rifle

To Larry Berk To call you the Creative Champion of the Arts Would be an achievement befitting you As a librarian An advocate and as a friend To think your impact as meaningful Would be calling a rainbow only slightly attractive Walking by seeing the gallery I couldn’t picture the space without it To see and hear the poets you brought here Is like tasting fine wine in Paris As Charlie wondered As we do what life is all about e depth and breadth of their work refreshing the dull landscape we knew.

We knew it was big when Mr. McKernan went out into the hallway in the middle of class, something unheard of, and through the cracked doorway we glimpsed frantic activity. en the knocking of the loudspeaker, as if someone were trying to get in, and at the news Susan Kennedy, seated in front of me, burst into tears, as the question hit me: was she crying for him, or because she had the same name?

To know you as a friend Is something I cherish Like E. B White’s Wilbur and Charlotte Rare is it to find a friend and a fellow writer You, BestSeller, were both.

On the day of the mournful drumming we got bored and played outside. It was no surprise

—Brian Liston

and got them ‘bow-legged.’ He found the coupon in his father’s magazine, filled it out with his address, but

that Christopher had the idea, the one who broke into the temple, who, rumor said, took girls into the woods

Larry Berk, a local poet, friend and supporter of poets, passed away on October 30, 2006. Work from his recently published e Charley Poems (Golden Notebook Press) was featured here in our January issue.

used the assassin’s oddly rhythmic name.

We pooled the money

Now Hail the Dawn!

and mailed it in. ree weeks later, in brown paper

For Livia Now hail the Dawn!

Celestial brightening, Where we, Nipple tenacious, Easterly greet busy seabirds, Swooping foam, Singing: “Find the fish!”

“Find the fish!”

Or expansion undiminished, By time’s warp, Celebrating Yes! And then Yes! And then Yes! Now hail the Dawn!

—Bill Vanaver 62 POETRY CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

wrapped with string, against his front door, we found it leaning.

—Al Desetta

The Philippine President on News TV She was arguing whether it was better to be a Democrat or a Republican, and nobody dared point out to her that she was not even American.

—Kristine Ong Muslim

So It’s Agreed

A Hospital

e city council has decided, voting unanimously, that they don’t like you, your family, your dog. Your house, in fact, is painted an ugly shade of blue, reminiscent of fish and industrial waste, said the mayor, palms up in perplexity that such a color could exist. Your dress, as well, offends the eye: Your blacks don’t match, and that sweater makes you look lumpy. e council, therefore, asks, that you, with all your belongings, leave town toot sweet. Boxes are available behind the liquor store. ank you for your prompt attention.

A hospital is memory you can never forget A stream racing in your mind A quiet and a busy place a the same time A place that never stops A bird that can’t chirp A hospital isn’t just a building

—Luciana Lopez

It is a LIFESAVER —Claire Telfer (age 8)

Owl Your piercing, sharp claws tear through field mice.

Bones crackling like a big bomb fire.

Twisting your head around like a string of pasta.

Swooping through the air.

Blending right in with the trees and the midnight sky.

Your eyes, bright yellow, like the moon.

King of the trees.

—Mike Ivino (7th grade)

Would Would that you could meet me at the river at the confluence of yearning and the void And we bubbled stone to stone wash might flow.

Our hearts know, our bodies do not.

We are old now and do not have time for this: I, wan and flown wide open like a great white egret at the edge of the sea And you Glacial Truth

Memory Streams Through Woven Birdsong

—Connie McCormmach

the water resists the clutching cold twisting away from its hardening grasp to flow deeper into the village past and we look into the still frame to see the character of a stream as we first felt its entraining our breath and our center permeating the air and sunlight; as we walk further into these verses we lose what has come before like imaginary gardens and unrealized orchards among the rambling walls of the mountainside where parallel lives divided.

The Return of the Fishing Boats, Etretat Giovanni Boldini, 1879 Safely ashore, Boldini’s catch is in: anchor planted among the clatter of rocks, the villagers crowd around, lost to the din of fishwife and monger arguing the cost of the day’s live haul—conger teeming in vats we do not see, but sense, perhaps imagine, subject as we are to this Etretat composed of canvas, pigment, oil and resin awash with sea brine, mottled light that swells with the gull’s far cry and an ocean’s smell.

—Peter Filkins

the pulsing embers glowing coal remembers like stone in the sun striated flickering with leaf shadow. the pines comb the wool from the wind spun threads of sky azure ruby sunrise and the muted tones of the master to form the flowers of winter feathers and the melody flies spiraling bobbin and sailing shuttle through the heddles and hedges and eyelets of tree twigs, and the clacking harnesses of the boughs waving the abstract rudiments of rhythm as this morning’s tapestry of bird voice unfurls.

the farmer is out early understanding the day throwing feed to chickens in his sleep staring out where the sun will rise and the stream returns somewhere far away, speaking a different language.

—Scott Hanna

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Food & Drink

Hoppy Holidays SEASONAL BEERS in the Hudson Valley

by Eric Steinman photographs by Roy Gumpel

The modern holiday season is rife with signs of cozy winter ambience and age-old tradition pumped up to catchpenny idolatry. Candy canes, reindeers, drummer boys, dreidels, nutcrackers, ladles of eggnog, animatronic Santas, snowflakes, and tangles of holiday lights all provide a certain atmospheric lingo for the season. Now what if you could bottle all of these signifiers of the holidays, ferment it, carbonate it and drink it down? Well, in a sense, that is what is being done every holiday season by beer brewers around the world with their own brands of holiday beers. While the cloying comfort of eggnog and the spicy fortified lift of mulled wine will always lead the pack for the time-honored seasonal libations, the sheer quantity and quality of this seasons holiday or winter beers threaten to gain some much deserved ground.

The inception of the holiday brew dates back a few centuries to the traditional Belgian ales, where the brewers were mostly monks who reserved their finest ingredients until year’s end for a festive beer honoring the birth of Christ.

These holiday beers tended to be brewed much stronger, darker, and heavier in calories than their spring and summer counterparts, in an effort to offset the grueling rigors of a merciless winter. Back in present-day America, the holiday brew furor really began in earnest in 1975 at Anchor Brewery in San Francisco.

Known for their heralded and patented “steam beer” technique, Anchor owner Fritz Maytag decided to brew something different for winter, which had been considered the slower season for beer consumption. As a sort of one off, he brewed the now-famous and widely sought after Anchor Christmas Ale, and the rest is beer history.

Holiday beers are brewed around the Hudson Valley, and the rest of the world, starting in late October/early November. They are not so much of a particular style, but more defined by an evocative character. This may be anything from a bolstered alcohol content to the addition of fruits and spices 64 FOOD & DRINK CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

to the brew, like cranberry, cinnamon, and cloves. All in all, these beers set out to capture the flavor of the season and our many associations surrounding the holidays.

John Eccles, Brewmaster at the Hyde Park Brewing Company since it opened in 1996, insists that the true appeal of these holiday beers is their power to evoke memories and associations through smell. For Eccles, Christmas was typified by the aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg spiced eggnog from his youth.

So Eccles indulged his memories by adding a satchel of cinnamon and crushed nutmeg to the brewing of his annual Santa Lager. “The idea is to capture the character of the holiday, but not so much that people’s eyeballs bug out,” Eccles insists. The subtlety of Santa Lager apparently runs counter to the over-the-top tendencies of most holiday products, as Eccles observes, “Just about everything we know about Christmas is really more or less a marketing tool, and having a Christmas beer is part and parcel with the beer industry wanting to be part of the season and the money exchange.” Regardless of his skepticism, Eccles insists that most of these microbrews exist to expand the palate and, while he may not always be enthused by the results, he remains a champion of his fellow brewer’s right to experiment and push the beer envelope.

Across the river, Tom Keegan, owner of Keegan Ales in Kingston, is upping the ante with his seasonal “Super Kitty” beer. This après-ski concoction is a limited release barley wine-style ale that is a close relative to his other beer mainstay Hurricane Kitty. Both Hurricane and Super Kitty were inspired by the reckless vehicular antics of Keegan’s beloved Grandmother, who earned the nickname “Hurricane Kitty” from the local traffic cops on Long Island.

Despite his grandmother’s penchant for automotive folly, Keegan insists that his Super beer contains two essentials needed in a winter brew—warmth and balance. With a degree in biochemistry and a fairly long lineage of brewers

ABOVE, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: BREWAMSTER DARREN CURRIER INSPECTS THE TANK AT THE GILDED OTTER. THE SEASONAL SUPER KITTY BEER FROM KEEGAN ALES IS A BARLEY-WINE STYLE ALE WITH A WHOPPING 12 PERCENT ALCOHOL. BIRCH TAPS AT THE GILDED OTTER IN NEW PALTZ. OPPOSITE: A PINT OF SANTA LAGER, HYDE PARK BEWING COMPANY’S SIGNATURE HOLIDAY BEER.

in his family, Keegan brews for “simplicity and drinkability” and came to his winter brew through countless hours of experimentation and patience. Weighing in at a whopping 12 percent alcohol content (most beers top out at about 8 percent), Super Kitty is surprisingly smooth and (as Keegan mandates) balanced with honey overtones, a fruity aroma, and distinct oakey undertones.

Each one-liter flip-top bottle is hand-numbered with their necks ceremoniously dipped in red wax.

While both Hyde Park and Keegan represent the more modest of the holiday brew spectrum, there are as many conspicuous and ostentatious brews out there as there are gift returns the day after Christmas. A winter stroll through HalfTime beer emporium, on Route 9 in Poughkeepsie, reveals a whole fetishized world of bottled seasonal whimsy. Cranberries, allspice, ginger, licorice, cloves, and even juniper berries serve as key ingredients that transform your average beer into something a bit more festive. Alaskan Brewing Company takes it a step further by adding actual tips from the Sitka spruce tree to the brewing process of their Alaskan Winter Ale, which may be the only thing they could get their hands on during those permafrost Alaskan winters. Matthew Smith, Culinary Institute of America student and president of the school’s brew club, finds it amazing that there are so many local craft breweries producing seasonal ales of all sorts. Being a beer aficionado, Smith has sampled a range of holiday offerings both good and bad (he claims one tasted like “a Christmas tree in a bottle, which was even less appetizing than it sounds”—see above). Smith maintains, “Some of the best in local craft beers will have nothing in marketing, save a seasonal name and winter-themed tap” and he routinely gets a laugh when he spots the likes of Budweiser six-packs festooned with bows and yuletide colors and marketed as a Christmas beer.

One place you are not likely to taste Budweiser is the Gilded Otter Brewery

in New Paltz. Equal parts SUNY hangout and authentic brewpub, the Gilded Otter stands as the local go-to beer sanctuary. According to Darren Currier, the Otter’s brewmaster for the past six years, “There is no distinctive way to make a winter beer,” and they exist as a sort of grand experimental and improvisational zone for brewers willing to travel that road. Currier presides over their brewing process of his own Winter Warmer or Winter Wassail beer that is higher in alcohol, hardier, and “hoppier” than the usual ales in his brew repertoire.

On the flipside of the Christmas dominion is a singular and remarkable beer brewed in observance of Hanukah—yes, Hanukah! He’Brew ‘The Chosen Beer’ brews a limited release Monumental Jewbelation Ale in honor of the Hanukah season and their decade of brewing service. Brewed out of Schmaltz Brewing Company in Saratoga Springs but based in San Francisco, He’Brew is the lovechild of Jeremy Cowan, founder and all-around beer mensch of He’Brew. While at first glance Monumental Jewbelation may come across as a sort of novelty brew, nothing could be further from the truth. Lusty, dark, malty, with unmistakable hints of chocolate, and an absence of the requisite Christmas spices, this unique nut-brown ale is brewed with 10 different malts and 10 varieties of hops and 10 percent alcohol—making it a highly nuanced and potent brew. Cowan professes that his first intention was to make a “really spectacular, world-class beer as well as the first Jewish celebration beer,” and he proudly maintains that it stands as the perfect beer, not only for Hanukah, but for “weddings, bar mitzvahs, and circumcisions.” And yes, it is kosher.

Either way you choose to celebrate the holiday season, it is plain to see that the multitudes of seasonal beers out there are jockeying for your patronage.

Whether your taste leans toward the bold or the slightly bizarre (as with all things during the holidays), select wisely, drink responsibly, and remember— you can’t return an opened bottle of beer.

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tastings directory BAKERIES The Alternative Baker “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. Thursday-Monday 8AM-6PM. Sunday 8AM-4PM. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. 35 Broadway, Kingston, NY. (845) 331-5517 or (800) 399-3589. www.lemoncakes.com.

CATERING Blue Mountain Bistro Catering Co.

Claudia’s Kitchen 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 entrees, 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) 475-9695. www.claudiascatering.com.

Fresh Company At our kitchen in the Hudson Highlands, we gather great local and imported ingredients for events of all sizes and pocketbooks, from grand affairs to drop-off parties. True to our name, we emphasize the freshest, finest ingredients, because great food is the spark that ignites a convivial gathering. Our style is reflected in meals that encourage hospitality And leisure at the table, the elemental enjoyment of eating and drinking well. Garrison, NY. (845) 424-8204. www.FreshCompany.net.

Pad Thai Catering Delicious, affordable, and authentic Thai cuisine served with authentic Thai hospitality to your group

HOME MEAL DELIVERY Healthy Gourmet to Go See Vegan Lifestyle in the Whole Living Directory.

(845) 339-7171. www.carrottalk.com.

PASTA La Bella Pasta Fresh pasta made locally. Large variety of ravioli, tortellini, pastas, and sauces at the factory outlet.

We manufacture and deliver our excellent selection of pastas to fine restaurants, gourmet shops, and caterers throughout the Hudson Valley. Call for our full product list and samples. Located on Route 28W between Kingston and Woodstock.

Open to the public Monday through Friday 10am to 6pm, Saturday 11am to 3pm. (845) 331-9130. www.labellapasta.com.

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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. (845) 679-8519. www.bluemountainb istro.com.

of six or more. Lunch or dinner served in your home by Chef & Owner Nuch Chaweewan. Please call for prices and information. (845) 687-2334.

PUBS Snapper Magee’s Heralded as having “the best jukebox in the Hudson Valley” by the Poughkeepsie Journal, The Kingston Times, and Scenery Magazine.

Snapper Magee’s is the Switzerland of pubs, a rock & roll oasis where everyone is welcome.

Daily happy hour specials from 4-7 weekdays and noon-2 on weekends. Always open late. 59 N. Front Street, Kingston, NY. (845) 339-3888.

RESTAURANTS Beso Located on Main St. in the heart of New Paltz is Beso. Spanish for “kiss,” Beso offers casual fine dining by Chef Owners Chad Greer and Tammy Ogletree. Fresh, modern American cuisine, seasonally inspired by local Hudson Valley farmers, using as many organic ingredients, including beef and poultry, as possible. 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 include gnocchi and cannelloni, Grilled Swordfish, or Braised Beef Short Ribs. And for dessert, Maple Mascarpone Cheesecake. International wine list.

Private parties, children welcome. Dinner 5pm - 10pm, Sunday Brunch from 11:30am - 4pm, Sunday Dinner 4pm - 9pm, Closed Tuesday & Wednesday. 46 Main St., New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-1426. www.beso-restaurant.com.

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Bywater Bistro The newly opened Bywater Bistro (former home of The Cement Company) has a friendly and sophisticated atmosphere with indoor and outdoor seating. The classic bistro menu has items ranging from $6-$25. The bistro also boasts an extensive wine list, and onsite mixologist for specialty cocktails. In a small town, this restaurant packs a big taste. Open for dinner or drinks. Reservations are recommended for parties of five or more. Dinner Thursday-Monday starting at 5pm, and weekend brunch, both Saturday and Sunday 11am-3pm. 419 Main Street, Rosendale, NY. (845) 658-3210.

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Catamount Restaurant Located near Phoenicia and Woodstock, the Catamount Restaurant has been a locals’ and visitors’ favorite for years.

Experience the pastoral beauty of the surrounding Catskills as you dine creekside in the warm, inviting dining room. Enjoy the locally-inspired menu that features perfectly seasoned steaks and chops, creatively prepared fish and poultry and several vegetarian dishes. And don’t miss the desserts created from the Emerson Bakery. “The Cat” as locals call it, has a full bar including a great selection of local and regional micro-brews and international wines that can be enjoyed next to one of our two large stone fireplaces. Panoramic views are the signature of The Cat, a perfect location for weddings and banquets under the outdoor pavilion. The Catamount is open for dinner Wed.-Sat. 5pm to 10pm; Sunday brunch from 9am to 2pm, dinner until 8pm. 5368 Route 28, Mt. Tremper, NY 12457. Call (845) 688-2828 for reservations. www.emersonresort.com.

The Emerson at Woodstock Crave fresh seafood? Need your red meat fix? Have a hankering for slow-cooked pork chops or organic chicken? Looking for lighter fare with right-offthe-farm vegetarian dishes?

Experience the Emerson at Woodstock. Enjoy fine wines, micro-brews or specialty drinks from the Emerson’s magnificent bar while you enjoy the atmosphere of the transformed 19th Century farmhouse. Surf the web at the Emerson’s new internet café with free Wi-Fi. The Emerson is now taking reservations for holiday parties

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and other private occasions. Open for dinner and Sunday brunch. For hours and menu, visit www.emersonresort.com or call (845) 679-7500 for reservations. Open for dinner, Tu.-Sun. 5: 30pm to 10pm (9pm Sun.), Brunch Sat. & Sun. 10am to 3pm. 109 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock, NY. (845) 679-7500. www.emersonresort.com.

The French Corner 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 through Sunday from 5 pm, Prix Fixe $25 available every evening. Brunch Sundays from 11am. Routes 213 West and 209, Stone Ridge, NY. (845) 687-0810. www.frcorner.com.

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 night. Open daily for lunch and dinner. 743 Route 28 (3.5 miles from NYS Thruway Exit 19.), Kingston, NY. (845) 338-2424. www.hickoryrestaurant.com.

Joyous Café 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, NY. (845) 334-9441. www.joyouscafe.com.

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 Street, New Paltz, NY. (845) 256-1700.

Hana Sushi

Hickory BBQ Smokehouse 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

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 - Saturday 5pm-10pm. Sunday brunch 10am-3pm, dinner 5pm-9pm. 55 Broadway, Tivoli, NY 12583. (845) 758-0061. www.luna61.com.

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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 Teriyaki and Udon to Yellowtail and Special rolls.

Eat-in, Take-out, and private room is available.

Tuesday-Friday Lunch 11:30am-2:30pm. TuesdayThursday 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.

Kyoto Sushi

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 Sunday through Thursday 10am-10pm and Friday & Saturday 10am-11pm. Closed Tuesday.

301 Broadway, Newburgh, NY. (845) 562-6478. www.machupicchurest.com.

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Main Course Four-star, award-winning, contemporary American cuisine serving organic, natural, and free-range Hudson Valley products. Wednesday and Thursday nights, food and wine pairing menu available. Voted “Best Caterer in the Hudson Valley.” Open Lunch and Dinner Tuesday-Sunday, and Sunday Brunch. 232 Main Street, New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-2600. www. maincourserestaurant.com.

Monster Taco When you have a hunger that only Mexican food can satisfy, visit Monster Taco. With fresh food, reasonable prices, and a funky atmosphere, there’s no doubt you’ll keep coming back to feed the monster.

Open for lunch and dinner. 260 North Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601. (845) 452-3375. www.monster-taco.com.

Mexican Radio

tastings

Voted best Mexican restaurant in NYC, Mexican Radio’s 3-year old branch in Hudson features the same award-winning homemade dishes and the world’s greatest margaritas! Everything made fresh daily. Extensive vegetarian/vegan choices. A Great Place for Parties! Open Every Single Day - 11:30am - 11pm. 537 Warren Street, Hudson, NY. (518) 828-7770. www.mexrad.com.

Marion’s Country Kitchen Nestled inside the beautiful compounds of the Woodstock Lodge, near Woodstock’s charming center is a romantic getaway where European hospitality and delicious food is created by Marion Maur (excellent awards by Zagat survey). It is the perfect place for a cocktail at our rustic elegant wood bar. Then be pampered in our cozy & intimate dining room, ensuring you and your guests the enjoyment of Marion Maur’s light and flawless cuisine which consists of European contemporary and updated classics provided by local Hudson Valley farmers. And do not forget to compliment your meal with a selection from our unique, refined and eclectic wine list.

Marion’s Country Kitchen is a wonderful location for rehearsal dinners, receptions & family events! 20 Country Club Lane, Woodstock, NY 12498. (845) 679-3213. www.MarionsCountryKitchen.com.

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Neko Sushi & Restaurant Voted “Best Sushi” Restaurant by Chronogram readers and rated four stars by Poughkeepsie Journal. Serving lunch and dinner daily. Eat-in or Take-Out. We offer many selections of Sushi & Sashimi, an extensive variety of special Rolls and kitchen dishes. Live Lobster prepared daily. Parking in rear available. Major credit cards accepted. Sunday-Thursday 12-10pm.

Friday and Saturday 12-11pm. 49 Main Street, in the Village of New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-0162.

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. Visit our second location at 74 Broadway, Tivoli. (845) 757-5055. 18 Garden Street, Rhinebeck, NY. (845) 876-7338 or (845) 876-7278.

Sukhothai Restaurant

tastings

Sukhothai Restaurant located in Beacon, NY, offers a delicious menu full of authentic Thai

Season’s Greetings

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cuisine. From traditional dishes, such as Pad Thai and Som Tam, to custom dishes created exclusively by our master chef, our menu is sure to please any palate. Take-out is also available.

516-518 Main St., Beacon, NY 12508. (845) 790-5375.

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

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

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THE 2006 CHRONOGRAM GIFT GUIDE

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THE CHRONOGRAM GIFT GUIDE

By Rebecca Wild Nelson Photos by Jennifer May You’d Better Shop Around This gift guide’s intended use is multi-fold. Firstly, it can be used during gift selection for the person who unexpectedly got you an amazing gift last year, leaving you nervous to devise your own come-back gift without any guidance.

Secondly, it will assist you if you wish to be the aforementioned unexpectedlyamazing-gift-giver. It may also be of assistance to you if you have been off-put enough by a certain materialistic nature of the holiday season that you are ready for a practical solution to the problem: locally made, organic, or fair trade gifts, or even just a good way to spend a weekend besides shopping.

Warming Winter Days Shopping in the Valley is a big part of weekend culture: Towns like Rhinebeck, Woodstock, and New Paltz swarm with small business shoppers and full restaurants, especially around the holidays. But there are some good excuses to check out neighboring towns without your credit card. Saugerties is hosting its annual winter festival on December 3, a free event complete with musical performances, horse and carriage rides, caroling, and even a visit from Santa Claus. Hudson’s Winter Walk has also come to be a wellknown stop for winter festivities: Performers include dancers, storytellers, and musicians, and there are carriage rides and live reindeer. Santa also stops at this event, and the shops traditionally stay open and greet carolers and walkers with refreshments. And if you haven’t been to one of Commodore Chocolatier’s candy-cane making demonstrations, stop by the welcoming chocolate shop on Broadway in Newburgh to learn the process of making candy canes, and leave with your own self-made cane. The workshops will run hourly on Sunday, December 3. The first workshop starts at noon, the last at 4pm. Dress in layers because the demonstration takes place outdoors as well as indoors. All events are free. Commodore Chocolatier, 420 Broadway, Newburgh (845) 561-3960.

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Fair Trade and Organic More than your coffee can be fair trade and organic. A lot of businesses in the area have been making contact with craftspeople in developing countries and paying fair prices to have their goods shipped to the Hudson Valley. Women’s Work in Cold Spring is a female-owned and operated business selling crafts such as ostrich eggshell jewelry made by a women’s group in Botswana and other beautiful gifts. Nectar in High Falls also offers fair trade items, such as hand-knit stuffed animals from Kenya at around $25 each. Also available are beautiful raw silk scarves from India at $36. And although they’re not fair trade, the glass tumblers and goblets at the Rustic Bohemian in New Paltz are made from recycled glass. The Rustic Bohemian also offers organic house cleaning and skincare products, baby clothing, blankets, and cotton bedding. Rustic Bohemian, 10 Main St., New Paltz (845) 255-8731; Women’s Work, 65 Main St., Cold Spring (845) 809-5299; Nectar, 1412 Rt. 213, High Falls (845) 687-2870.

Socially Conscious Coffee A community collective-run fair trade coffee bar and art gallery, 60 Main sells ceramics, clothing, and jewelry made by local artists and craftspeople from countries like Bolivia and Vietnam. One of the season’s most amusing gifts, however, is the TV B Gone miniature remote, which secretively turns off irksome television sets anywhere—apiece. The collective is also the only business in the area that carries Slingshot organizers, a coveted line of daily planners made by a volunteer collective in Berkeley, California. The 2007 planners are heavily decorated in doodles and each day in the planner marks a notable social-justice event, such as the dates of famous or previously unpublicized protests, birthdays of political writers, and scheduled critical mass bike rides.

The last pages of the planner include pages with titles such as “Dealing With Government Repression,” and a reading list that you won’t find at any Barnes & Noble. 60 Main, 60 Main St., New Paltz, www.60main.org.

ABOVE: ORGANIC COTTON BEDDING AT THE RUSTIC BOHEMIAN IN NEW PALTZ; “PARENTS AND KIDS IN THE KITCHEN” COOKING CLASS AT THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA OPPOSITE: HAPPY ANIMALS FAUX FUR HATS AND WIND UP TOYS FROM BOP TO TOTTOM IN KINGSTON; TV B GONE REMOTE CONTROL AND SLINGSHOT ORGANIZER FROM 60 MAIN IN NEW PALTZ; PLATE WITH IMAGE OF THE GUNKS, FROM THE UPSTATE PLATE COLLECTION AT BLUE CASHEW IN HIGH FALLS; DISAPPEARING CIVIL LIBERTIES MUG AVAILABLE AT CATSKILL ART & OFFICE SUPPLY LOCATIONS

Ceramicware with Local Flair If you feel that small Hudson Valley towns like Kerhonkson and Pataukunk have been underrepresented in the world of ceramicware, know that Blue Cashew Kitchen Pharmacy is sympathetic to the cause. The well-stocked store in High Falls carries a line of ceramic plates called The Upstate Plate Collection, which feature slightly esoteric photographs of spots in the Hudson Valley, finally making it possible to eat lasagna off of an image of Ellenville’s Main Street, or a cow pasture in Pataukunk. Among the towns featured are Kerhonkson, Mohonk, High Falls, and Kripplebush. The plates sell for $90 each. Also at Blue Cashew is an unexpectedly artistic line of hand-painted and embroidered tea towels.

Each towel was created by a different artist and is like a fine painting. The towels bear titles like “You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby” and “A Fine Mess.”

Blue Cashew Kitchen Pharmacy, 1209 Rt. 213 (845) 687-0294.

Bringing Back The Windup Toy Most of us don’t realize the extent to which our holiday seasons may be improved by a slew of walking noses, plastic ladybugs that do flips, or windup dinosaurs. But Bop to Tottom in Kingston seeks to re-integrate the windup toy into the holiday season. The store has baskets full of the little toys, ready to be taken home to walk off of the edges of your coffee table or right into the dip bowl. But the biggest favorite lately at Bop to Tottom have been the urbanmeets-backwoods Happy Animals Faux Fur hats, which have all the style of a hunter’s (ear flaps and all), without losing their wearers’ good graces with vegetarians. The hats come in the classic Alaskan-style hunter hat and even baseball-cap styles, are made with materials like corduroy and faux suede, and come complete with under-the-chin buckles and buttons. The hats range from $10 to $20. Bop to Tottom, 299 Wall St., Kingston (845) 338-8100.

Farming the Hudson Valley A growing number of local businesses and customers have become connected through the Our Hudson Valley Passport program, which aims to bring the area’s business community closer together. The discount card helps both the customer and the business: Presenting the card at businesses like Bread Alone in Kingston, Shokan, and Woodstock or Pegasus Shoes and The Golden Notebook in Woodstock, to name a few, takes 10 to 25 percent off of your purchase.

Almost 300 local businesses accept the card, and 10 percent of the profits go toward promoting the local economy. The cards are priced at just below $30 and can be purchased at www.ourhudsonvalley.net/passport. The Putnam Association for the Help of Retarded Children’s (PARC) Table for Two fine dining passport card program is another excellent iniative to support this month. The

card entitles its holder to dinners at 20 local restaurants at a two-for-one price.

All proceeds go toward the organization. Passports are $40 and can be ordered at www.putnamarc.org.

They’ve Got Your Paint-by-Number Not only are Catskill Art & Office Supply in Kingston, Woodstock, and Poughkeepsie, and Manny’s in New Paltz two of the last remaining places in the Hudson Valley where you can buy some paintbrushes and canvas without supporting nationalized chain stores, they also have some hilarious gifts to give this season not found anywhere else. Where else can you find a healthy stock of rubber chickens, plastic “disguise” glasses with rubber noses and mustaches attached, and Jesus action figures alongside pastels, charcoals, and drawing paper, other than at your local art store? Catskill Art & Office Supply and Manny’s also offer a diverse lines of gag gifts with their art supplies, including a series of mugs that are perfect as a gift for your boss or co-worker, a favorite being the “Disappearing Civil Liberties” mug, which has the Bill of Rights printed on its surface and features Amendments in direct contradiction to bills such as the Patriot Act and the recent repeal of habeas corpus. Manny’s, 83 Main St., New Paltz (845) 255-9902 or www.mannysart.com; Catskill Art & Office Supply, 328 Wall St., Kingston (845) 331 7780 / 35 Mill Hill Rd., Woodstock (845) 679-2251 / 800 Main St., Poughkeepsie, www.catskillart.com.

Better Cooks and Swimmers are Better Friends Think outside the present box and give the gift of a class to really surprise somebody this month. For the talented, or even terrible, cook you know and love, the Culinary Institute of America’s series of “boot camp” cooking classes may be one of the most unexpected gifts you can give this season. Classes offered include: Italian, basic culinary skills, and “Small Dishes Big Flavor,” a course in tapas. Boot camp classes run for one week and offer fine dining at each one of the CIA’s five restaurants. And for less of a time commitment, CIA also offers day-long food enthusiast classes starting in February and includes themes such as the “Apres-Ski Cuisine” course for warm and comforting post-skiing foods; “Pies and Tarts For Teens”; and “Parents and Kids In The Kitchen.” Gift certificates can be purchased at www.ciachef.edu. Swimming classes at Total Immersion Swimming in New Paltz teach a holistic approach with one-on-one classes and offer gift certificates for classes catering to all levels. A gift certificate for $545 covers five hours with an instructor, a DVD of your strokes, and lunch on the day of your lesson. Hourly lessons are also available.

Culinary Institute of America, 1-800-CULINARY; www.ciachef.edu; Total Immersion Swimming, 246 Main St., New Paltz (845) 255-4242 or totalimmersion.net.

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Gifts with a Twist 299 WALL STREET KINGSTON, NEW YORK 12401 845-338-8100

In The Heart of The Stockade District LIGHTING • JEWELRY • ART • GIFTS • FUNKYETHNIC

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS

BOOK GIFTS A HUDSON VALLEY GUIDE

By Nina Shengold & Bri Johnson

A Painter’s Path on Cape Breton Island

Beware of Tigers

Robert Selkowitz, foreword by Sheldon Currie

Dave Horowitz

Spirit o’ the Sea Books, 2006, $24.95

G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2006, $12.99

A smitten visitor to Nova Scotia’s legendary north island for 34 years, Selkowitz paints its vistas with the same exuberance he brought to A Painter’s Path Through the Catskill Mountains. His vivid oils and pastels swing the hues of lupines, lighthouse roofs, and azure sea into a ceilidh dance of color.

From the die-cut mustachioed maw on its front cover to the questioning twist of tail on the back, the Rosendale author/illustrator’s new picture book is a joy to behold. Parents will fine-tune their Brooklyn accents on many encores of this read-aloud romp about two streetwise birds who learn a few things about cats who say, “Trust me.”

Melting Point Jeff Jacobson, edited by Joan Liftin and Sylvia Plachy Nazraeli Press, 2006, $60

Renowned Mt. Tremper photographer Jacobson (showing at Manhattan’s Peer Gallery through January 6) creates striking, often surreal images: a dog lit in eye-popping primary colors, a shirt’s shadow next to a crucifix, dangling dogtags whose strings suggest eelgrass. This gorgeously printed monograph offers “a curious melding of beauty and fear.”

Myron’s Magic Cow Marlene Newman Barefoot Books, 2006, $16.99

Colorfully rendered urban landscapes set the whimsical tone for longtime Woodstock resident Marlene Newman’s first book, a creative retelling of the traditional genie story. An enormous, omniscient bovine, a little boy tired of running errands for his mother, and guest appearances from other fairy-tale denizens populate this quirky tale.

Paws and Reflect: Exploring the Bond Between Gay Men and Their Dogs Neil Plakcy & Sharon Sakson Alyson Books, 2006, $24.95

Banned in Princeton! A homophobic Barnes & Noble event coordinator just cancelled a scheduled reading from this affectionate tribute to men who love men and their dogs, with interviews and essays by celebrated Kingston screenwriter Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia), Edward Albee, Charles Busch, and many more. Fetch!

Shivastan Chapbooks Original Presence by Laynie Browne Where is the Woman? by Enid Dame Pacing the Wind by Roberta Gould Sainte-Terre or the White Stone by Robert Kelly What I Wanted to Say by Iris Litt Wildflowers, a Woodstock mountain poetry anthology Shivastan Publishing, 2006, www.shivastan.com

What better gift than poetry? Woodstock’s premier publisher of limited-edition chapbooks, craft-printed on luscious handmade papers in Nepal, offers up an illustrious slate of new titles by Bard’s bard Kelly and others, including the late Enid Dame and the myriad poets and artists of Wildflowers’ seventh edition.

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SAUGERTIES Holiday In The Village

CATSKILL

Second Saturday Stroll December 9th

Come experience all that’s new on Main Street in Catskill!

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Futon Frames and Beds BEST PRICES • FREE LOCAL DELIVERY

We also carry covers, rugs, shoji, Roman blinds, and much more.

3 N. Front St. New Paltz, NY (845) 255-8822 • Open 7 Days

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whole living 

MAKE WAY FOR PLAY GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT HAVING FUN AIRPORT TERMINALS AREN’T GENERALLY A BUNDLE OF FUN, BUT THE LACK OF GRINS AMONG THE MASSES THERE IS UNNERVING. ARE OUR LIVES REALLY THAT GODAWFUL?

  

    Quick, run for the video camera—the baby is laughing for the first time! It’s a heartmelting, mesmerizing, tumble of giggles. Laughter is a primal expression, easily triggered in youngsters by something ordinary to us oldsters, like the flipping of a cat’s tail or the zzzzzzz sound of a zipper.

Jump ahead a few decades. Scene: the airport. People are stressed, stoic, bored, tired, tranced-out, pissed off, or otherwise disconnected from enjoyment. Those few who smile, and fewer who laugh, usually are interacting with a child, a lover, or an alcoholic beverage. To be fair, the airport is just not fun for most people. But it’s the same at the grocery store, mall, bank, post office, video store, or (insert basically any public place here). Check it out: Evidence of joy is scarce.

What’s happened? Enjoyment is being bullied out of existence by ARS (Adult Responsibilities Syndrome) and Fear of Public Foolhardiness (FPF). These epidemics strike middle-agers especially hard, whose decades of responsibilities and disappointments hang heavily about their personhoods. Understandably so: monthly bills, credit card debt, dissolved relationships, and unfulfilled dreams may make good stand-up comedy routines, but they rarely amuse in real life.

We need help. Laughter and play and plain old leisure are really good for us. Hopefully you will find herein some inspiration to slip more of them into your schedule, and “permission” to do so.

We don’t need science to convince us that laughter and leisure are pleasurable and reviving; people surely discovered that around the Cro-Magnon campfire. But it’s interesting to note that modern medicine and scientific studies confirm that humor benefits patients. In his 1928 book Laughter and Health, physician James Walsh discussed the evidence, for instance, that humor is a good prescription for pain relief that can even replace or delay medication—something reemphasized in recent decades by Norman Cousins in his works Head First: The Biology of Hope and Anatomy of an Illness. Candace Pert (Molecules of Emotion) and Bernie Siegel (Prescriptions for Living: Inspirational Lessons for a Joyful, Loving Life and Love, Medicine, and Miracles, and others) recount, too, how enjoyment enhances physical health and recovery from illness. People who are happier, less stressed, and more sociable are healthier, live longer, and recover from illnesses 94 WHOLE LIVING GUIDE CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

faster than their emotionally beleaguered counterparts.

For example, doctors Clark, Seidler, and Miller reported in the International Journal of Cardiology in 2001 that patients diagnosed with coronary heart disease had been significantly less jovial in life than had healthy control subjects, as determined by a questionnaire probing their tendencies to laugh during daily activities, surprise situations, and social interactions. A proposed mechanism to explain these findings is that laughter, a decidedly different biochemical and neurological event from stress or anger, releases natural chemicals that are protective to cardiovascular damage. Laughter may thwart other diseases and illnesses, and speed recovery from them, through scientifically demonstrated improvements in several parameters of immune function.

Antibody levels and immune cell activation are improved, at least temporarily, among patients who watch humorous movies. Plus, psychological benefits of enjoyment and play are well established.

Developmental psychologist Paul E. McGhee, who has studied humor and health for nearly two decades, has written dozens of articles and 13 books on the subject (e.g., Health, Healing, and the Amuse System: Humor as Survival Training and Understanding and Promoting the Development of Children’s Humor) and gives humor training workshops and presentations all over the world. His website (which opens with a contagious laugh, signifying he’s serious about this humor thing) offers online articles that promote the whys and hows of upping the humor amps in one’s world. A series on humor in the workplace, for instance, affirms that it reduces stress and improves employees’ creativity, communication, energy, productivity, and morale—and he suggests how to stir up laughs on the job (with the boss’ permission).

This country’s strong orientation toward work and productivity is a bit of a mollyhawk around one’s neck when seeking to boost a lighter side. But many other cultures put play on the highest pedestal.

Yveline Leroux Kroner, coowner of Terrapin Restaurant in Rhinebeck, was born in Paris and lived there much of her life. She adores Rhinebeck and the Hudson Valley, but notes our attitudes about work and play and life are starkly different. Here, “people live to work.”

But in Europe people work to play, and play as much as possible. “Indulgence and pleasure so often are first on the list,” she says. “Anyone clever enough to make this an art de vivre is admired and considered successful. It makes good sense that the more time you spend not working, the more time you spend with your partner, family, and friends. Getting together around a table and making connections between each other is so important in France. Taking time off work for your yearly vacation is seen as a positive act. No one feels the least guilty about it! It is quite different here. In comparison we do not take much vacation, and we can feel quite guilty about it when we do. Our pride comes from our dedication to our work— the long hours we put in, and our ability to work hard and be successful at it.”

PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS Gathering with family isn’t everyone’s idea of a joyful event. But we are social creatures and find pleasure in group activities, if not with family, then with friends. Social connection through play—encouraged among children but scarce among adults—is especially nourishing. This doesn’t mean competitive play, but play for the fun of it. Take the Freestyle Frolics in Kingston (and outdoors at the Center for Symbolic Studies in summer), where people of all ages gather every other Saturday night to dance to virtually nonstop music of all varieties. Hrana Janto has for years been one of the volunteers who cocreates the event. “The Frolic is where I can play, get a great cardiovascular workout, and socialize, sometimes all at the same time! At a typical Frolic,” she explains, “you may notice adults playing like kids (or with kids!), people walking on their hands, lifting each other into the air, break dancing, skipping circles around the room Isadora Duncan-style, making slow amorphous shapes together, or rolling around on the floor.

A new attendee at his first Frolic told me he’d never seen people dancing in whatever way they felt like dancing. ‘Freeing, huh?’ I asked. ‘I’ll be back!’ he replied.”

Longtime Frolicker Scott Anderson adds, “It may be only a dance—though an alcohol-free, smoke-free, shoe-free, special sort of dance—yet the Freestyle Frolic has grown far beyond the dance itself. People have met their life partners there, found employment, and helped members of the community stricken by loss or illness. It seems like the place where the feeling or experience of community merges with the form and substance of community itself. At the heart of it, when the music, bodies, and energy coincide, it’s simply timeless play.”

“I CAN’T, I CAN’T!” Adding in some playtime, with all the work and commitments and family activities and volunteering you do, may seem impossible. But don’t let your inner workaholic or a serious case of ARS cheat you of a little more leisure. The productivity-oriented mind is determined thing, very good at getting its way. It says, “I can’t just take time off to play!”

But yes, you can.

“No!” it says, “I already have too much to do!”

Actually, leisure time can increase work productivity.

“Okay, I’ll play after I get this latest load of work done.”

Nice try. We all know work is never done.

“But I’ll feel guilty if I slack off!”

Go to Terrapin and ask for Yveline.

“It’s been so long since I’ve taken some time off, I don’t know what to do with free time anymore!”

Ah. Read on.

Leisure ought to be enjoyable, yet it can feel funky and weird if you’re out of practice.

Storms of guilt can whittle a good block of enjoyment into a pile of useless sawdust.

You suddenly realize you don’t know how to relax. You may carve out leisure time, only to spend it all deciding what to do (especially if it must be coordinated with other people’s preferences) and having a snit over “wasting” that precious time.

These ideas can help the transition to more fun: Schedule in an appointment to enjoy yourself, and don’t cancel! Take it as seriously as you do your job, relationships, food, and sleep.

Make an agreement with a friend to add a specific amount of leisure time to your day or week; report regularly about what you’ve done.

Write yourself a list of the benefits of enjoyment and display it prominently.

Don’t judge the quality of your fun time in terms of productivity; simply “be.”

Create a set of index cards, each with a fun thing you could try, so if leisure time comes up and you can’t decide what to do, you can just pick a card and do it.

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Be sure your cards are your ideas of fun, not someone else’s.

Carry a wee little notepad to jot down ideas for fun things from local publications, public events boards, or conversations.

New York’s Hudson Valley is a playground for the inner kid. This is the land of the renowned Hudson Valley School painters, enraptured with our region’s forested valleys, stark cliffs, spilling waterways, and blue hills. Much of this remarkable landscape has been set aside for us to enjoy. Give yourself an hour, more if you can, to simply show up at one of our many parks—the Catskills, Minnewaska, Bear Mountain, Storm King, or any of Scenic Hudson’s public places such as Poet’s Walk in Red Hook or Black Creek in Esopus. Then let your feet take you away where something is always astir: a fleet of clouds, a high branch, a moss-embellished trickle of water, a startled bird—all can recharge your aliveness. You’ll breathe differently, relax your gaze, ease out of computer or desk posture into something resembling the Homo erectus that you are. If you like company, join Mohonk Preserve’s singles hikes or attend one of its many guided nature walks, or join the local Audubon chapter.

Equally rich is the diversity of human-created entertainments. Some are collaborations with nature, such as skiing and sledding, ice fishing and ice boating on the frozen Hudson, canoeing and kayaking in springtime, fruit picking in summer, taking a meditational stroll at an outdoor labyrinth or corn maze, and feasting at Mohonk Mountain House or picnicking at Clermont Estate and then walking the environs.

As for purely urban activities, pleasure is only a menu or microphone away at our region’s wide array of restaurants and music venues. Or visit the Accord Speedway, watch a local sports team or join one, go to an open mike night, ride back into history in a Rhinebeck Aerodrome biplane, drift down the Esopus on an inner tube, float your homemade boat in the Wallkill during New Paltz’s annual regatta, visit an estate at Christmas, watch a drive-in movie in Hyde Park or Hunter (and as one friend recommends, take a bunch of friends, turn the speakers off, and make up the dialogue).

Or perhaps you’d enjoy adding new skills or talents by taking a class in, say, improv theater, African dance, tile-mosaic making, pastry cooking at the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, or trapeze at Stone Mountain Farm in New Paltz. A challenge with classes, though, is to have fun, while your inner critic takes a hike and your productivity manager flies a kite.

The list of fun stuff near you could more than fill these pages and spill onto the floor. So there’s no lack of prospects for inviting play into your day. All you need is permission from yourself and perhaps a little creative scheduling. Spruce up the to-do list with a specific “enjoy self” item. Bring along hobby paraphernalia, such as art materials, binoculars for nature viewing, or a camera, on a day of errands-running, and allow yourself a time slot to play with them.

IN PRAISE OF PUBLIC FOOLHARDINESS There is leisure, which is good, and then there is just plain silliness, wherein resides a good chance to taste that magic elixir, laughter. So why is it that elders (e.g., over 30) aren’t meant to be goofy? I believe many a grownup seriously fears seeming foolish in public. Their children, especially teenagers, reinforce this fear.

I once gave a lecture to a large college science class in the guise of an alien, Nyordip Myunert, with blue hair and blue skin and semicyber-alien voice. Nyordip was in the neighborhood seeking talented employees for the universe’s premier human refurbishing program on a distant planet. Students who did well on a take-home test about the day’s topic of cells and tissues would qualify for the program. For the first few minutes of that lecture, in the dead silence of their mouth-gaping disbelief, I tasted fear. Fear of making a complete fool of myself for the two whole hours of that lecture. But I forged ahead. I can’t say they enjoyed it as much as I did, though dropping a precious biological sample in the aisle garnered a chuckle or two, and the squirrel that came in (I kid you not) was a hoot. Still, I had fun, and a few left the room smiling—even if out of amused pity.

I’m not suggesting that we all behave publicly like idiots. And public playfulness needs some boundaries and rules, which all pretty much fit under the one rule: don’t pick on someone or leave them worse off for your own amusement. The trick of turning over a full glass of water on the table at a restaurant (not telling how) is not fun for the unsuspecting waitperson. But a good wholesome PDoPa/oD (Public Display of Play and/or Delight) reminds our burdened species that there are options besides being overworked, worried, and whiny.

RESOURCES: The Humor Collection: online plethora of humor products and articles on the health-humor connection: www.thehumorcollection.org.

Laughter Remedy: Dr. Paul E. McGhee’s website of ideas, articles, and products: www.laughterremedy.com.

Living Out Loud: Activities to Fuel a Creative Life by Keri Smith. www.kerismith.com.

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REFLECTION AND REJUVENATION

GLOBAL NEW YEAR JOURNEYS AND RITUALS

BY BARBARA BIZIOU As the sun is setting on 2006 and 2007 waits for us on the horizon, the world reflects and anticipates. This annual turning is a natural time to contemplate our personal harvests and the events of the past year. It is a powerful time to make resolutions and set intention for the coming year.

It is a time of rejuvenation that extends through cultures globally, and is deeply rooted in the traditions of our ancestors, whose New Year’s rituals release and honor the old in order to clear ample space for the new to blossom and flourish.

Let’s look at some traditional ways that cultures around the globe celebrate the year’s transition. Then, I’ll suggest some ways you can create your own ritual—something that reflects your personal journey and celebrates in ways you most enjoy.

In China, families gather together and give thanks to their ancestors. It is customary to set off firecrackers at midnight to drive away evil spirits.

This is the time to get a new haircut, buy new clothes, and prepare for the coming year. It is important to pay off all debts to start the year off fresh.

Red is the most auspicious color to wear for happiness for the coming year.

Small gifts of money in red envelopes are exchanged to stir up abundance for the coming year, and homes are decorated with red lanterns. Brooms are put out of sight on New Year’s day so that good luck will not be swept away. Brightly colored tangerines are exchanged with loved ones and displayed throughout the home; they are eaten at sunset of the first day of the year to signify health and happiness.

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symbolize good luck with crops and farming, and to bring abundance to a household.

In Russia, it is customary for the extended family to gather for a New Year’s Eve hearty meal of meat and potatoes. Following the meal, nighttime celebrations begin in Red Square with fireworks and a visit from the Russian version of Santa Claus, known as Grandfather Frost. He is dressed in blue and gives small presents to the children at midnight to begin the New Year in the spirit of giving and happiness.

In Egypt, children are given candy in brightly colored wrappers. The head of each household goes around the neighborhood wishing others happiness. Soon everyone gathers, and together they go to the mayor’s house for a feast and celebration.

In Germany, traditional New Year’s meals always include carp, as it is thought to bring wealth. In another old tradition, which still lives on in some parts of the country, women of the villages pour molten lead into cold water and predict events for the New Year based on shapes the lead takes when cooled. A key shape, for instance, means new beginnings or adventures; a ring means an addition to the family through a wedding or a birth.

In England and Scotland, the “first footing” is a long-standing tradition where the first male to walk in the house after midnight brings money, whiskey, or cake to symbolize good luck for the household. Also, many people gather outdoors for dancing and festivities around large fires that symbolize cleansing in preparation for a new year.

In Bali on New Year’s Eve all the statues from the temples are brought down to the sea to be washed and purified. Loud parades, with drums

and musical instruments, scare away bad spirits. Then, on the first day of the New Year, everything is closed, including the port, and there are no traffic lights, no cars.

The entire island is silent. No work is done and no meals prepared (food is made the day before). Only small candles and flashlights pointed downward are allowed as lighting. Everyone spends time at home for 24 hours, in prayer and reflection for the upcoming year.

And in our country, New Year’s rituals tend to be about drinking too much and watching the ball drop in Times Square. Although this can be fun, we can greatly benefit from creating our own New Year’s ritual that speaks to our soul. I believe that everything that happens to us has a teaching imbedded in it, and the final week of each year is an opportune time to reflect on personal experiences of the year and to gain insight and wisdom to move forward with greater resources. What new opportunities came to light during the year? What did you learn? What challenged you and helped you emerge stronger?

The following is an example of a three-part personal ritual to honor and celebrate the changing of the year.

Part One: Write down your top 10 highlights—what meant the most to you—of the past year. Near the year’s end, host a small gathering of close family and friends and have each describe his or her favorite experience, or something learned that year. Finish by sharing food and drink.

Part Two: On the morning of December 31, set your alarm to watch the sun rise for the last day of the year. At this time, write a letter to yourself about the lessons you have learned and your memories of the year. Place it in an envelope with the words Do Not Read Until December 2007. Now seal it and put it away in a drawer. Then on December 31, 2007, you may open the letter. As you read it over, you will be amazed at the changes that have taken place. This is an affirmation of the magnificent journey you are on, and the steps you have taken along the way.

Part Three: Create a “letting-go” ritual to free yourself from the weight of the past. Here is a favorite example. On an inexpensive, breakable plate, write down words or images of “negative” experiences of the year—your disappointments, and obstacles or blocks that are standing in the way of reaching your dreams. Then wrap the plate in a sturdy plastic bag, put on eye protection (plastic goggles; inexpensive glasses), and smash the plate into small pieces with a hammer—symbolically releasing all the things that have been holding you back. To further give yourself a fresh start, take a purifying bath in white rose petals and/or sea salt, then put on new clothes to begin the new cycle. You are now open to the possibilities of the future!

Rituals for the New Year can be less elaborate than the one just described, but still be powerful. One of my favorites is to throw money into my apartment the first time I enter in the New Year. My friend John worked this into his New Year’s festivities this way. He held a huge New Year’s Eve party in his townhouse in Brooklyn and had all his guests walk outside on the sidewalk as the clock struck 12. Even though it was freezing, they all got into the holiday spirit and waited to see what would come next. He brought out a huge bowl of money and each person took a handful, which they happily threw into his house as they reentered. (I recommend that you keep the money for 24 hours and then give it away to charity.)

Ideas for personal rituals are countless. Here are some basics for a powerful ritual of your own design: 1. Set clear intention: What is the purpose of the ritual?

2. Keep it simple and easy to understand.

3. Use objects, symbols, or metaphors that are meaningful to you, and if you are doing a group ritual, make sure everyone understands what they represent.

4. Invite others to participate. There is a power in having your intentions, dreams, and promises witnessed by others.

5. Let your imagination and intuition inspire you.

6. Allow spirit to guide your in-the-moment experience.

Barbara Biziou is a teacher of practical spirituality and author of The Joy of Ritual and The Joy of Family Rituals. A national TV life coach and ritual expert, she recently was featured on the award-winning show “30 Days.” Barbara’s annual Vision Workshop will be held in New York City on January 12-14; info at www.joyofritual.com.

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whole living guide ACTIVE RELEASE TECHNIQUES Active Release Techniques Active Release Techniques (ART) is a patented soft tissue treatment system that heals injured muscles, tendons, fascia (covers muscle), ligaments, and nerves. It is used to treat acute or chronic injuries, sports injuries, repetitive strain injuries and nerve entrapments like carpal tunnel syndrome, and sciatica. ART is also used before and after surgery to reduce scar tissue formation and build up. ART doctors are trained in over 500 hands on protocols and must undergo rigorous written and practical examination to become certified. In order to maintain their certification in ART doctors attend yearly continuing education and re-certification by ART. Dr. David Ness. (845) 255-1200. www.drness.com.

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 special 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.

Rosendale Family Practice, 110 Creek Locks Road, Rosendale, NY. (845) 546-5358. www.HudsonValleyAcupuncture.com.

Transpersonal Acupuncture Connecting the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of the self. Balancing the body's energetics and breaking blocks that contribute to disease, trauma and lifestyle imbalances.

Please Contact Jipala Reicher-Kagan L.Ac. (845) 340-8625. jipala@earthlink.net. www.transpersonalacupuncture.com.

ACUPUNCTURE Acupuncture Health Care, PC

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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. (845) 255-7178.

Judith Muir - The Alexander Technique 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 Muir, AmSAT. (845) 677-5871.

APOTHECARY Dr. Tom's Tonics- A Modern Apothecary

bodhi studio Offering Massage, Acupuncture, Natropathic medicine, Cranio sacral therapy, Skin Care, Body waxing, earconing, Reflexology and Reiki. See also our Massage directory listing. (518) 8282233. www.bodhistudio.com.

Dylana Accolla, LAc 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. Haven Spa, 6464 Montgomery Street, Rhinebeck, NY. (914) 388-7789.

Earth Medicine Apothecary & Acupuncture Clinic Heart-to-heart with nature. Specializes in local & organic herbs, native & Asian; tinctures; teas; health products. Acupuncture, wellness consultation, & massage services tailored to individual needs aimed to educate & empower. Workshops in 2007. Founded by Hillary Thing, MS, LAc, professor of Oriental Medicine, acupuncturist, certified herbalist, gardener. Kingston & Accord. Kingston & Accord,. (845) 339-5653. www.earthmedicineherbs.com.

Hoon J. Park, MD, PC For the past 18 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. Half mile south of the Galleria Mall. 1772 Route 9, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590. (845) 298-6060.

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

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A vision of Dr. Tom J. Francescott, Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Tom's Tonics is inspired by the old apothecaries from years ago filled with cutting edge and professional grade products backed by the expertise and support of a Naturopathic Doctor. Walk into Dr. Tom's Tonics and ask Dr. Tom or Dr. Winnie your health questions. Closed Wednesdays. (845) 876-2900.

Earth Medicine Apothecary & Acupuncture Clinic Heart-to-heart with nature. Please see extended directory listing under Acupuncture. (845) 339-5653. www.earthmedicineherbs.com.

AROMATHERAPY Joan Apter See also Massage Therapy directory. (845) 679-0512. japter@ulster.net. www.apteraromatherapy.com.

ART THERAPY Deep Clay Art and Therapy Deep Clay Art and Therapy with Michelle Rhodes Licensed Master Social Worker, ATR-BC. A creative and grounding approach for crisis management, transitions, and deep healing.

Individual, couple, and group arts based psychotherapy. Effective expressive approach is suited for all ages. Gardiner, NY. (845) 255-8039. deepclay@mac.com. www.deepclay.com.

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

Essential Astrology Free Astrology Consultation. Call with a question and I'll give

you a free 15 minute consultation to introduce you to my work and to the helpfulness of the Western and Vedic astrological traditions. Penny Seator, Essential Astrology. (518) 678-3282.

CHILDBIRTH Catskill Mountain Midwifery Home Birth Services See also Midwifery directory. (845) 687-BABY.

BODY & SKIN CARE Absolute Laser, LLC 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.

Springbrook Medical Park, Rhinebeck, NY. (845) 876-7100. www.absolute-laser.com.

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.

Kary Broffman, RN, CH See also Hypnosis directory. Hyde Park, NY. (845) 876-6753.

BODY-CENTERED THERAPY

CHIROPRACTIC

Irene Humbach, LCSW, PC - Body of Wisdom Counseling & Healing Services

Dr. David Ness

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 psycho-spiritual group for women in recovery. Offices in Poughkeepsie and New Paltz.

New Paltz, NY. (845) 485-5933.

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.

Julie Zweig, MA Dr. Bruce Schneider Dr. Bruce Schneider. New Paltz, NY 12561. (845) 255-4424.

whole living directory

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. New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-3566.

Nori Connell, RN, DC

BODYWORK bodhi studio See also Massage Therapy directory. (518) 828-2233.

CAREER & LIFE COACHING

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 Neuro-Emotional 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 and Rhinebeck Cooperative Health Center (845) 876-5556.

Rhinebeck Cooperative Health Center, Rhinebeck, NY. (845) 757-5555 or (845) 876-5556.

Allie Roth - Center for Creativity and Work Career and Life Coaching for those seeking more creativity, fulfillment, balance and meaning in life and work. Offer a holistic approach to career and life transitions. Also specialize in executive coaching, and coaching small business owners, consultants and private practitioners. 25 years experience.

Kingston and New York City offices. Kingston, NY. (845) 336-8318. Toll Free: 800-577-8318. allie@allieroth.com. www.allieroth.com.

David W. Basch, CPCC Transition Coach Change is inevitable; growth is optional. Get your life, business, or career unstuck and moving forward. You become clearer about who you are and what you really want. We don't fix you because you aren't broken. Transitions occur more naturally and powerfully. Whatever you are up to in your career, business or key areas such as money and relationships, coaching can assist you in creating a fulfilling life, achieving goals and being more focused, present and successful. Contact David for a free session. (845) 626-0444. dwbasch@aol.com. www.dwbcoaching.com.

COACHING Jeanne Asma, LCSWR See also Psychotherapy directory. (845) 462-1182. www.JeanneAsma.com.

COLON HYDROTHERAPY 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. See display ad. New Paltz, NY. (845) 256-1516.

CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY Craniosacral Therapy

CHI KUNG Ada Citron Explore the basics of Mantak Chia's Healing Tao System with Ada Citron, Taoist counselor and Healing Tao Instructor for over 10 years. Meet the Six Healing Sounds which transform stress into vitality. Learn the Inner Smile and the Microcosmic Orbit meditations. Also learn standing and gently moving practices that relax and rejuvenate. (845) 339-0589. www.adacitron.com.

A gentle, hands-on method for enhancing the body's own healing capabilities through the craniosacral rhythm. Craniosacral aids in the release of stress-related 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.

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DENTISTRY

GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY

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

Group Psychotherapy

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, NY. (845) 691-5600 fax: (845) 691-8633. www.thecenterforadvanceddentistry.com.

EQUINE FACILITATED HEALING Ada Citron - Taoist Counselor and Instructor EquisessionsÂŽ with Ada, a life long rider, are therapeutically oriented, equine facilitated encounters based on the Epona Method from The Tao of Equus, by Linda Kohanov. Riding is involved in later sessions. This year Ada will present an all day pre-conference workshop for Region 1 of NARHA, the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, on Chi Kung as a tool for mounted equine facilitated healing work.

She will also present, for the second time, her Chi Kung for Horse People at the conference itself. Kingston. (845) 339-0589. www.adacitron.com.

FENG SHUI Janus Welton, AIA, BBEC, IFSG Architect and Feng Shui & Ecological & Building Health Consultant î ż EcoArch DesignWorks

FLOWER ESSENCE THERAPY Cheri PiefkeBach Foundation Registered Practitioner Flower essences are a unique vibrational healing modality for mind-body health and emotional well-being, that are safe, effective and compatible with other medications or therapies.

If you are seeking the missing piece in recovering from crisis, breaking behavioral patterns that no longer serve you, or if you simply desire support for personal growth, an individualized blend of flower essences can be the gentle loving partner that makes the difference. Call (845) 266-0230 for more information or to schedule your personal consultation. 845 266-0230.

Michelle Rhodes LMSW ATR-BC Dreamfigures: Deep Clay art therapy group for women in transition. Experience the grounding, expressive potential of this ancient material. Led by clay artist, Licensed Social Worker, Board certified Art Therapist. For full description and bio contact Michelle Rhodes. (845) 255-8039. deepclay@mac.com. www.deepclay.com.

HEALTH & HEALING FACILITIES Guidance of Spirit, Wisdom of Heart Heart-based Intuitive Healing, Karma Release with Crystals, Space Clearings & Blessings, Long Distance Healings, Endof-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, NY 12572.

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. Call for an appointment. 5 Academy Street, New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-3337 and (845) 853-3325.

whole living directory

A pioneer of Feng Shui In the U.S. since the 1980's, Janus Incorporates The Wisdom Traditions of Classical Feng Shui and Advanced Compass Techniques as well as Vastu Shastra from India; and grounds these practices into the 21st Century Architecture & Design combined with Ecological and Building Health practices. Not confined to Interiors, Classical Feng Shui begins with good site planning & siting of a building, and follows through the design placement of important Entries, Rooms, and Functions, and recommends the most appropriate Directions, Elements, Colors and Shapes and Timing for the Site, the Clients, and for the Building itself. Both new and existing Residential and Commercial Buildings can be balanced and enhanced with these cutting edge techniques! (845) 247-4620 | fax: (845) 247-4620. ecoarchitect@hvc.rr.com. www.JanusWeltonDesignWorks.com.

Many people avoid intimacy in romantic relationships or friendships because of the fear of being hurt or rejected. Group psychotherapy is a very effective way to develop insight into one's patterns regarding intimacy and learn and practice new behaviors. Currently, there is an evening group in Uptown Kingston co-led by an experienced male and female therapist which offers a safe environment to develop greater connection in relationships. For further information call Thaddea Compain, LCSW at (845) 247-4059 or Clayton Horsey, LCSW at (845) 679-2282.

HEALTH PUBLICATIONS Hudson Valley Healthy Living 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 our website for advertising rates or call the HVHL sales team. (845) 334-8600. www.hvhealthyliving.com.

HERBS Earth Medicine Apothecary & Acupuncture Clinic Heart-to-heart with nature. Please see extended directory listing under Acupuncture. (845) 339-5653. www.earthmedicineherbs.com.

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Kimberly Woods, C. HOM. With 25 years of experience and extensive training with world renowned master homeopaths and herbalists, she has helped 1000's of individuals suffering from acute and chronic disorders, from physical problems to psychological illnesses.

Kimberly is truly gifted at educating the individual in natural approaches to health and well-being. (845) 688-2976. www.naturalhealthsource.us.

Monarda Herbal Apothecary 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. (845) 339-2562. www.monarda.net.

OASISOUL for the

HOLISTIC HEALTH 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, NY. (845) 338-8420.

Kimberly Woods, C. HOM.

whole living directory

See extended directory listing under Herbs. (845) 688-2976. www.naturalhealthsource.us.

Priscilla A. Bright, MA Energy Healer/Counselor 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. Kingston, NY. (845) 688-7175.

HOMEOPATHY Kimberly Woods, C. HOM. See extended directory listing under Herbs. (845) 688-2976. www.naturalhealthsource.us.

HYPNOSIS Achieve Your Goals with Therapeutic Hypnosis Sharon Slotnick, MS, CHt. Increase self-esteem and motivation; break bad habits; manage stress, stress-related illness and anger; alleviate pain (e.g. childbirth, headaches, chronic pain); overcome fears and despondency; relieve insomnia; improve learning, memory, public speaking and sports performance; enhance creativity.

Other issues. Change your outlook. Gain Control. Make healthier choices. Certified Hypnotist, two years training; broad base in Psychology. New Paltz/Kingston, NY. (845) 389-2302.

Kary Broffman, RN, CH A registered nurse with a BA in psychology since 1980, Kary is certified in Ericksonian Hypnosis, Hypnobirthing, and Complementary Medical Hypnotism,

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hypnocoaching 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.

Hyde Park, NY. (845) 876-6753.

One-Session Hypnosis with Frayda Kafka CHT Building on my success with smoking cessation in 1978, I have continued to help clients with weight loss, pain, childbirth, stress, insomnia, habits, phobias, confidence, and almost any behavior you can think of. Known for my easy, light manner and quick results, I have an intuitive knack for saying just the right thing at the right time so that a major shift can be initiated. Groups, home visits, gifts and phone sessions are available. Please call me at (845) 336-4646. Kingston, NY. (845) 336-4646. info@CallTheHypnotist.c om. www.CallTheHypnotist.com.

INTUITIVE HEALING Guidance of Spirit, Wisdom of Heart

whole living directory

Heart-based Intuitive Healing, Karma Release 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, NY 12572.

JEWISH MYSTICISM/ KABBALAH Irene Humbach, LCSW, PC Kabbalistic Healing in person and long distance. See Body-Centered Therapy.

(845) 485-5933.

LIFECOACHING Shirley Stone, MBA, Certified Empowerment Life Coach Want to convert fear into courage, stress into power, depression into joy, worry into satisfaction? Consider empowerment life coaching. Get clarity on the life you want plus the tools and techniques to make your dreams a reality. Stop being a problem solver and become a vision creator. Rhinebeck, NY. (845) 876-2194. Shirley@findingthecourage.c om. www.findingthecourage.com.

Shannon Fasce - Certified Holistic Life Coach Medical intuitive-Intuitive consultantRestoring balance for the Body, Mind,& Spirit. Using techniques such as Energy Medicine,Guided meditation,Chakra Balancing, Bach Flower Remedies & Integrated Energy Therapy. To schedule an appointment call (845)758-8270.

Tammy Friedman New Paltz, NY 12461. (845) 729-3728. tam88774@aol.com.

MASSAGE THERAPY Ada Citron, LMT Practicing since 1988, Ada Citron, LMT,

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has offered Swedish, Sports Massage, Reiki, Pranic Healing, Chair Massage, Shiatsu, Barefoot Shiatsu and Chi Nei Tsang (CNT) Chinese abdominal massage. Shiatsu and CNT are currently her preferred modalities. Classes offered in CNT. House calls fee commensurate with travel time. (845) 3390589. www.adacitron.com.

Affinity Healing Arts Alice Madhuri Velky LMT, RYT A holistic approach to chronic pain and stress. Deeply effective, intuitive and client-centered bodywork blends Swedish/ deep tissue massage, myofascial, aromatherapy and Reiki energy balancing. Workshops: Stress Management; Reiki Certification; Integral Yoga速. Gift certificates available. Call (845) 797-4124 for an appointment or visit home.earthlink.net/ ~affinityhealing_New Paltz/Poughkeepsie. (845) 797-4124.

bodhi studio Bodhi Studio is a lovely and calm space nestled in the heart of downtown Hudson. We have brought together experienced and caring therapists to give you the care you need at an affordable price, so that taking care of yourself can happen often and easily. Offering Massage, Acupuncture, Natropathic medicine, Craniosacral therapy, Skin Care, Body waxing, earconing, Reflexology and Reiki. (518) 828-2233. www.bodhistudio.com.

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, NY. (845) 255-4832.

introductions to Zen meditation and practice; programs exploring Zen arts, Buddhist studies, and social action; and intensive meditation retreats. South Plank Road, Mt. Tremper, NY. (845) 688-2228.

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.

Homebirth and Gynecology Practice of Judy Joffee, CNM See also Childbirth directory. (845) 255-2096.

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.

Kingston, NY. Rhinebeck (845) 876-2496. Kingston (845) 338-5575.

Sunflower Healing Massage Kim Beck, RN Certified Nurse, Midwife and Licensed Massage Therapist. In home prenatal and postpartum massage. (845) 705-5906.

Joan Apter

whole living directory

Offering luxurious massage therapy, including Raindrop Technique, with therapeutic essential oils to relieve stress, boost the immune system, and address system imbalances.

Natural animal care, individual consultations for a healthy home and personal concerns, spa consultant, classes, and keynotes.

Essential Oils, nutritional supplements, personal care, pet care, children's and home cleaning products from Young Living Essential Oils. For more information, contact Joan Apter. (845) 679-0512. japter@ulster.net. www.apteraromatherapy.com.

The Living Seed Yoga & Holistic Center See also Yoga directory. 521 Main Street (Rte. 299, across from Econo Lodge), New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-8212. contact@thelivingseed.com. www.thelivingseed.com.

Susan DeStefano, LMT Healing Massage. Swedish. Deep Tissue. Hot Stone. Shiatsu Craniosacral. Lymph Drainage. Tibetan Reflexology. Reiki.

Touch For Health. (845) 255-6482.

Sunflower Healing Massage See also Midwifery directory. (845) 705-5906.

NATURAL FOODS Sunflower Natural Food 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 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, NY. (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. Rhinebeck Cooperative Health Center, Rhinebeck, NY. (845) 876-5556. www.drfrancescott.com.

Sublime Bodywork Sabra Goodban. Healing from the inside out. New York Licensed Massage Therapist and Master Teacher in the Shadulliya Sufi Path. Specializing in lower back pain, knee problems, anxiety and depression. Experience shiatsu, massage and Raindrop therapy. Zen shiatsu utilizes myofascial release and streching to allow for an increase in flexibility and range of motion. Raindrop therapy utilizes therapeutic grade essential oils to reduce inflammation created in back pain, scoliosis, lordosis and other spinal problems. Raindrop therapy may also alleviate central nervous system conditions like Lyme and Parkinson's.

Located in the Woodstock area. Sessions available by calling (845) 246-4180.

Woodland Massage A healing practice for body, mind and spirit. Attention artists, activists, farmers, executives, builders, teachers, truckers, healers, helpers, merchants, mothers, and weekend wanderers. Strong, gentle, knowledgeable bodywork, personalized to meet your treatment goals. Flexible schedule and fees. Accord office/home visits. Mark Houghtaling, LMT. Keep in touch. (845) 687-4650.

MEDITATION Zen Mountain Monastery Offering year-round retreats geared to all levels of experience:

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NUTRITION Ilyse Simon RD, CDN Nutrition Therapist Diet is a four letter word. Nutritional therapy for emotional eating to chronic eating disorders, body image issues, insulin resistance and diabetes. Teaching normal eating based on hunger cues. Specializing in teens to adults. Bastyr University of Natural Medicine educated with non-diet approach including whole foods. Many insurances accepted. "Life is not black and white. Living is the full spectrum in between."

318 Wall St, Suite 3A,, Kingston, NY. (845) 331-6381. ilysefood@yahoo.com.

Jill Malden, RD, CSW 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! 1 Water Street, New Paltz, NY. (845) 489-4732.

Vitamin Navigator Confused about what to eat and what not? Find your own bioindividuality, your diet is as unique as you are, your optimum health can be achieved without serious deprivation. Andrew Wright Randel HHC AADP has 15 years experience with alter-

native and complementary health care.

(914) 466-2928. www.vitaminnavigator.com.

ORGANIC PRODUCTS NewAgeProducts.org Offers handmade Organic Soaps, All Natural & Organic Herbal Juice Supplements and many Organic Bath & Body Products. All high quality and very competitively priced. Your #1 place to get all your organic body care needs. An easy and convenient way to experience the difference of Organic & All Natural Body Care. www.NewAgeProducts.org.

OSTEOPATHY

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whole living directory

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 St, Stone Ridge, (845) 687-7589. 138 Market Street, Rhinebeck, (845) 876-1700. 257 Main Street, New Paltz, (845) 256-9884.

By Appointment. For more information call or visit the website. 257 Main Street, New Paltz, NY. New Paltz (845) 256-9884; Rhinebeck (845) 876-1700. www.stoneridgehealingarts.com.

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Applied Osteopathy - Joseph Tieri, DO, & Ari Rosen, DO.

PHYSICIANS Women's 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 Beacon Pilates A fully equipped classical studio that tailors each workout to fit the individual's needs and abilities. Our class times and intro packages make it easy to get started. Beacon Pilates is a Power Pilates Participating Studio. For information on becoming a certified Pilates teacher please contact us. 181 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Beacon, NY. (845) 831-0360. www.beaconpilates.com.

The Moving Body (845) 679-7715. www.themovingbody.com. 276 Tinker Street, Woodstock. (845) 679-7715. www.themovingbody.com.

Pilates of New Paltz / Core Pilates Studio These studios offer caring, experienced and certified instruction with fully equipped facilities. Each student receives detailed attention to his/her needs while maintaining the energizing flow of the classical pilates system. Hours are flexible enough to accomodate any

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whole living directory

Chronogram T-shirts www.chronogram.com/ tshirts

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schedule. Pilates of New Paltz: (845) 255-0559; Core Pilates in Poughkeepsie: (845) 452-8018. Open 6 days a week. New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-0559.

PSYCHICS Psychically Speaking Psychic Consultations by Gail Petronio, internationally renowned psychic. Over 20 years experience. It is my sincere hope to offer my intuitive abilities and insights as a means to provide awareness of one's life and destiny. Sessions are conducted in person or by telephone. Visit www.psychicallyspeaking.com.

Call (845) 626-4895 or (212) 714-8125 or email gail@psychicallyspeaking.com.

PSYCHOLOGISTS Mark S. Balaban, Ph.D. Licensed Clinical Psychologist offering individual and group psychotherapy for adults and adolescents. Experienced in working with relationship/intimacy issues, loneliness, depression, anxiety, current family or family of origin issues, eating/body image concerns, grief, stress management, and personal growth.

Convenient after-work and evening appointments available.

Rosendale, NY. (845) 616-7898. balabanm@newpaltz.edu.

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. Free initial consult. 199 Main Street, New Paltz, NY. (914) 262-8595.

Rachael Diamond, LCSW, CHt

PSYCHOTHERAPY 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. New Paltz, NY. (914) 706-0229.

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. New Paltz, Kingston. See also Hypnosis. (845) 389-2302.

Debra Budnik, CSW-R Traditional insight-oriented psychotherapy for long- or short-term work. Aimed at identifying and changing 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. New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-4218.

Dianne Weisselberg MSW, LMSW Individual Therapy, Grief Work and Personal Mythology. Stuck?

Overwhelmed? Frustrated? Depressed? THERE IS ANOTHER WAY! Dianne Weisselberg has over 16 years experience in the field of Counseling and over 8 years of training in Depth Psychology. Sliding Scale fees. Office hours in Woodstock and Willow. (845) 688-7570. dweisselberg@hvc.rr.com.

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

Dr. Nancy Rowe, PhD, LMHC, Kingston, NY. (845) 679-4827. www.wisdomheart.com.

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

Irene Humbach, LCSW, PC - Body of Wisdom Counseling & Healing Services See also Body - Centered Therapy directory. (845) 485-5933.

Janne Dooley, LCSW Brigid's Well Psychospiritual therapy, Gestalt, EMDR, with a specialty in childhood trauma, relationship issues, recovery, codependency and inner child work. Brigid's Well also offers life coaching and workshops to intergrate healing and help create a richer, more satisfying life. Call for information or free consultation: New Paltz office. (347) 834-5081. Brigidswell@v erizon.net.

Judith Blackstone, Ph.D. Offering traditional psychotherapy and EMDR for healing from trauma and changing limiting beliefs, Breathwork for relieving stress and breathing difficulties, and Realization Process, a body-oriented meditation for deepening contact with oneself and others. For individuals and couples. NY State licensed.

Offices in Kingston, Willow and NYC. Woodstock., NY. (845) 679-7005. www.realizationcenter.com.

Judy Swallow, MA, TEP 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, NY. (845) 255-5613.

Jeanne Asma, LCSWR Psychotherapist and Life Coach. Individual, couples and group sessions for adults. Women's issues groups now forming. Specializing in relationship issues, improving self-esteem, binge eating and body image, life transitions including divorce and grief issues, trauma and abuse.

Many insurances accepted or sliding scale available.

Office located in Poughkeepsie location. (845) 462-1182. www.JeanneAsma.com.

whole living directory

See also Psychotherapy directory. (845) 883-9642.

Ione

Julie Zweig, MA See also Body-Centered Therapy directory. Offices in Poughkeepsie and New Paltz. NY. (845) 255-3566.

Kent Babcock, MSW, LMSW Counseling & Psychotherapy Development of solutions through simple self-observation, reflection, and conversation. Short- or long-term 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. kentagram@gmail.com.

Kathleen Calabrese, PhD Family, Individual Psychotherapy For over 20 years with offices in Kingston and New York. Her empathic, practical approach enables people to understand their past, assess present day choices, and live more authentically and creatively in the future. This winter, take a creative leap into the unconscious by participating in a COLLAGE WORKSHOP. Call or email for details! 17 John St. (845) 688-2645. kathleencalabrese@hvc.rr.com.

Michelle Rhodes LMSW ATR-BC see also Art Therapy and Group Psychotherapy. (845) 255-8039. deepclay@mac.com.

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 x301.

Meg F. Schneider, MA, CSW Psychotherapy for adults and adolescents. Counseling and guidance for special parent issues: helping children through divorce, coping with a new single life and communicating with troubled teens. Long or short term therapy and EMDR, a methodology that will help strengthen your ability to handle current difficulties by reaching a peace with past events.

Rhinebeck, NY. (845) 876-8808.

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Rachael Diamond, LCSW, 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 insurances accepted.

Office convenient to New Paltz and surrounding areas. Free half hour consultation. New Paltz, NY. (845) 883-9642.

Wellspring 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.

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.

REIKI

whole living directory

Affinity Healing Arts - Alice Madhuri Velky LMT, RYT A holistic approach to chronic pain and stress. Deeply effective, intuitive and client-centered bodywork blends Swedish/deep tissue massage, myofascial, aromatherapy and Reiki energy balancing. Workshops: Stress Management; Reiki Certification; Integral Yoga速.

Gift certificates available. Call (845) 797-4124 for an appointment or visit home.earthlink.net/~affinityhealing_.

New Paltz/Poughkeepsie.

(845) 797-4124.

The Sanctuary - Reiki Rev. Denise Meyer offers Usui Reiki treatments. Experience the benefits of deep relaxation and energetic releases through this method of healing touch.

Reiki energy supports and heals the mind, body, heart and spirit through the delivery of Light Energy into the energy field of the receiver. "Denise's work is way beyond the other Reiki treatments I have had." Vera P. Gift Certificates Available. The Sanctuary, 5 Academy Street, New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-3337 ext. 2.

SCHOOLS & TRAINING Hudson Valley School of Massage Therapy Student clinic supervised by NYS Licensed Instructor. www.HVSMassage Therapy.com.

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.

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Graduates have strong clinical skills and can communicate in a variety of complex relational circumstances. (650) 493-4430. itpinfo@itp.edu. www.itp.edu.

SPIRITUAL

International Feng Shui Institute

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.

Workshops in Woodstock and Manhattan. Starting October 20, 2006 over 6 weekends /year. The IFSI is the only Institute of Professional Feng Shui Training to integrate Classical & Compass Chinese Feng Shui with BTB Tibetan Bhuddist Feng Shui techniques with a focus on Individual Coaching, Consultations, and Design Applications w/ a practicing architect. Brought to you by Director, Eric Shaffert, BTB Feng Shui Coach and author of Feng Shui and Money; Janus Welton, AIA, Architect, Classical & Compass Feng Shui & Ecology in The 21st Century; and Susanna Bastarrica, President, United Nations FSRC; BTB transcendental teacher and Universal Minister. Call for registration by Oct. 20. (845) 247-4620 | fax: (845) 247-4620. ecoarchitect@hvc.rr.com. www.JanusWeltonDesignWorks.com.

Joshua Pearl's Whole Musician Workshop Develop and liberate your unique musical potential through customized music lessons, workshops, or artist development programs. For aspiring and developing musicians and bands.

Explore your music in a supportive environment. Call (845) 6797599 and receive a free lesson during September. Studios in Woodstock and Manhattan. www.joshuapearl.com.

Omega Institute Omega's exceptional workshops, retreats, professional trainings, and conferences at its Rhinebeck, New York campus don't end in the fall, they simply move to warmer climates for the winter. Explore the world, nourish yourself, and learn something new in Costa Rica, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, or California. Start packing! (800) 944-1001. www.eomega.org.

Janet StraightArrow - Woman of Medicine, Energy Healer, Medical Intuitive, Shaman Heal and enjoy your entire life. No need for pain, depression, or disease. Holistic Healing System—Be The Medicine—works!

Develop your innate abilities to be the self-healing being you are. Learn to work with your body, mind, emotions, spirit and soul in new and exciting ways. Live your life purpose. Free initial consult. Exciting: classes, sessions, ceremonies, deep healing & training. Phone and in person work. Woodstock and other locations. (845) 679-7175. Janetoasis@aol.com. www.oasisforthesoul.com.

Ione Egyptian Mysteries, Scarab TeachingsTM, Journeys to Sacred Sites. (845) 339-5776.

SPIRITUAL COUNSELING Spirit Asked me to Tell You Spiritual channeling and guidance. Individuals and groups, will travel for groups. Native American spiritual teachings.

I have spent ten years out West learning Native American teachings and rituals. Telephone sessions by appointment.

All information in private sessions are confidential. (845) 679-0549.

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, NY. (845) 876-4654.

whole living directory

SHAMANISM, HEALING & TRAINING

Healing, Pathwork and Channeling by Flowing Spirit Guidance

TAROT Tarot-on-the-Hudson - Rachel Pollack 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.

Also see ad. Rhinebeck, NY. (845) 876-5797. rachel@rachelpollack.com.

SHIATSU Sublime Bodywork Sabra Goodban. Healing from the inside out. New York Licensed Massage Therapist and Master Teacher in the Shadulliya Sufi Path. Specializing in lower back pain, knee problems, anxiety and depression. Experience shiatsu, massage and Raindrop therapy. Zen shiatsu utilizes myofascial release and streching to allow for an increase in flexibility and range of motion. Raindrop therapy utilizes therapeutic grade essential oils to reduce inflammation created in back pain, scoliosis, lordosis and other spinal problems. Raindrop therapy may also alleviate central nervous system conditions like Lyme's and Parkinson's.

Located in the Woodstock area. Sessions available by calling (845) 246-4180.

SPAS & RESORTS The Spa at Emerson Place 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 experienced staff who are skilled at delivering virtually all the Emerson Spa's 40+ treatments. Spend the day enjoying the Spa's hot tubs, steam showers, sauna, resistance pool, cardio equipment, yoga/meditation room and relaxation area... all included with your Spa visit. For appointments, call (845) 688-1000. For fall menu, visit www.emersonresort.com.

THERAPY Legga, Inc. at Cedar Ridge Farm Specializing in Equine Assisted Discovery groups and individual sessions, for Children, Adolescents, & Adults.

Saugerties, NY. (845) 729-0608.

VEGAN LIFESTYLES Andrew Glick - Vegan Lifestyle Coach 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. www.meatfreezone.org.

Healthy Gourmet To Go Try our colossal coconut macaroons dipped in dark chocolate or our delectable pan-seared cornmeal crusted

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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. (845) 339-7171. www.carrottalk.com.

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. khamherstwriters@aol.com.

YOGA Barbara Boris - Woodstock Iyengar Yoga

whole living directory

The Iyengar method develops strength, endurance and correct body alignment in addition to flexibility and relaxation.

Standing poses are emphasized: building strong legs, increased general vitality and improved circulation, coordination and balance. 12 years teaching yoga, 20 years practicing. Twelve trips to India.

Extensive training with the Iyengar family. Mt. View Studio, Woodstock, Satya Yoga, Rhinebeck,. (845) 679-3728. bxboris@yahoo.com. www.barbaraborisyoga.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, NY. (845) 256-0465.

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. 521 Main Street (Rte. 299, across from Econo Lodge), New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-8212. contact@thelivings eed.com. www.thelivingseed.com.

Satya 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. Rhinebeck, NY. (845) 876-2528. www.satyayogarhinebeck.com.

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business directory ANTIQUES Hudson Valley Showcase Expect the unexpected at the Hudson Valley’s newest antiques and crafts center. The multidealer Hudson Valley Showcase in Newburgh, minutes from the acclaimed Riverfront is open 7 days, has ample parking, a café,,and offers superb quality at affordable prices. Come check out the unique array of antiques, jewelry, collectables, crafts and more. 280 Broadway (9W), Newburgh, NY. (845) 494-1135. www.hudsonvalleyshowcase.com.

ARCHITECTURE DiGuiseppe Architecture

EcoArch DesignWorks - Janus Welton, AIA, BBEC, IFSG, Architect Award winning design, harmonizing Spirit, Health and the Environment, Solar and “Green” design. Licensed in New York, New Jersey and California, EcoArch DesignWorks specializes in Planning, Architecture and Interiors for Single family or Multi-family homes, entertainment, retail or office environments. Recent projects in New York include the Oriental Emerson Spa, the Ram Dass Library @ Omega and numerous Private homes and Additions. Unlock the potentials of your site, home or office, to foster greater design harmony, prosperity, spirit, health, and ecological integrity. (845) 247-4620 | fax: (845) 247-4620. ecoarchitect@hvc.rr.com. www.JanusWeltonDesignWorks.com.

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 has online artist portfolios and videos of the artists discussing their work. 460 Main Street, Beacon, NY 12508. (845) 838-2995. www.vanbruntgallery.com.

ART SUPPLIES Beacon Art Supply A source for locals and tourists selling art and design-related gifts, specialty papers, kids stuff, note cards, books & journals in addition to art supplies. Papers. Paint. Gifts. Canvas.

Crayons &Then Some. Create Something!

Open daily 12-6, Thurs until 8 pm, closed Tues.

506 Main Street, Beacon, NY. (845) 440-7904. www.beaconartsupply.com.

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 (845) 679-2251; Kingston (845) 331-7780; Poughkeepsie (845) 452-1250.

business directory

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.

Van Brunt Gallery

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 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, NY. (845) 255-9902.

R & F Handmade Paints 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. MondaySaturday 10am-5pm. 506 Broadway, Kingston, NY. (845) 331-3112. www.rfpaints.com.

ART GALLERIES

ATTORNEYS

Imari Arts

Schneider, Pfahl & Rahme, LLP

Hudson’s newest craft shoppe/art gallery is worth a one-block walk off Warren. Imari features Hudson Valley painters, sculptors, and craftsmen you will find one of a kind items ranging from fine art and sculpture to decorator items and wearable art. Open Thurs-Sat 11:30am-6pm; Sun 11am-2pm. moconnellhudson@aol.com. www.imariarts.com.

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. Wood12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM BUSINESS DIRECTORY

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stock, NY. (845) 679-9868 or (212) 629-7744. www.schneiderpfahl.com www.nycrealestateattorneys.com.

astrological charts/interpretation available. 23 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock, NY. (845) 679-2100. www.mirabai.com.

BED & BREAKFASTS / INNS

CARPETS / RUGS

Storm King Lodge Bed and Breakfast

Anatolia Tribal Rugs & Weavings

Come and enjoy our cozy lodge, converted from an early 1800’s post-and-beam barn, and guest cottage in a country setting with gardens, pool, and mountain views. The Great Room offers a comfortable place to relax, with a roaring fire on winter evenings; or enjoy those summer nights on the covered veranda. Choose from six comfortable guest rooms with private baths.

Comforts include central AC, several fireplaces, spacious lawns, gardens, and the grand swimming pool. Located near Storm King Art Center, West Point, DIA: Beacon, Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, and 1 hour from NYC. Great restaurants nearby. 100 Pleasant Hill Road, Mountainville (Cornwall), NY. (845) 534-9421. www.stormkinglodge.com.

BEVERAGES Leisure Time Spring Water

business directory

Pure spring water from a natural artesian spring located in the Catskill Mountains. The spring delivers water at 42 degrees Fahrenheit year-round.

The water is filtered under high pressure through fine white sand. Hot and cold dispensers available. Weekly delivery. (845) 331-0504.

BICYCLE SALES / RENTALS / SERVICE Bicycle Depot Open every day except Tuesday. 15 Main Street, New Paltz, NY. (845) 255- 3859. www.bicycledepot.com.

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

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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. MC/Visa/AmEx. Open 6 days a week 12-6pm. Closed Tuesdays. 54G Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY. (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 Upstate Films Showing provocative international cinema, contemporary and classic, and hosting filmmakers since 1972... on two screens in the village of Rhinebeck, NY. 26 Montgomery Street, Rhinebeck, NY. (845) 876-2515. www.upstatefilms.org.

CLOTHING Pegasus Footwear Offering innovative comfort footwear by all your favorite brands. MERRELL, DANSKO, KEEN, CLARKS, ECCO and UGGS and lots more. Open 7 days a week - or shop online at PegasusShoes.com. 10 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock and New Paltz, NY. (845) 679-2373. www.PegasusShoes.com.

COLLEGES

The Golden Notebook

Dutchess Community College

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, NY. (845) 679-8000 | fax: (845) 679-3054. thegoldennotebook@hvc.rr.com. www.goldennotebook.com.

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. Poughkeepsie, NY. (845) 431-8020. www.sunydutchess.edu.

Mirabai of Woodstock

Mount Saint Mary College

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,

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. Newburgh, NY. (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; contemporary to vintage; all sizes accepted. Featuring a diverse and illuminating jewelry collection. Conveniently located at 1629 Main Street (Route 44), Pleasant Valley, NY, only 9 miles east of the Mid-Hudson Bridge. Tuesday-Friday 10am - 5pm.

Saturday 10am - 4pm. 1629 Main Street (Route 44), Pleasant Valley, NY. (845) 635-3115. www.pastnperfect.com.

The Present Perfect Designer consignments of the utmost quality for men, women, and children. Current styles, jewelry accessories, and knickknacks.

Featuring beautiful furs and leathers. Monday-Saturday 10AM5PM. Sunday 12-5PM. 23G Village Plaza, Rhinebeck, NY 12572.

(845) 876-2939.

CONSTRUCTION Phoenix Construction

business directory

Phoenix Construction and Contracting is a company dedicated to superior addition, remodeling, and renovation work through top quality materials installed by trained professionals. Along with a high standard of work, we pride ourselves on superior job site and budget management. Our close-knit network of sub-contractors ensures the success of every project through proper delegation of its mechanical and specialist requirements. We deliver customer service coupled with quality assurance. Phoenix Construction professionally handles all details so that you don’t have to worry.

(845) 266-5222. www.phoenix-b.com.

COSMETIC AND PLASTIC SURGERY M. T. Abraham, MD, FACS - Facial Plastic, Reconstructive & Laser Surgery, PLLC Dr. Abraham is Double Board Certified and a Clinical Instructor in Facial Plastic Surgery. He is an expert in the latest minimally invasive techniques (Botox, Restylane, Thermage, Thread Lifts, Lifestyle Lifts, IPL Laser Hair & Vein Treatments), and specializes in rhinoplasty.

Offices in Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck & NYC with affiliated MediSpas. Poughkeepsie, NY. (845) 454-8025. www.NYfaceMD.com.

CRAFTS Crafts People 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. Friday - Monday 10: 30am-6pm. 262 Spillway Road, West Hurley, NY. (845) 331-3859. www.craftspeople.us.

Deep Clay Showroom Pottery and Dreamfigures Wood-fired, raku, and stoneware. From everyday mugs and bowls to Tea Ceremony ware. Simple forms, natural colors, islands of calm, created by artist/therapist Michelle Rhodes.

Studied pottery in Bizen and Tea at Urasenke. Open by appointment year-round. (845) 255-8039. www.michellerhodespottery.com.

CUSTOM HOME DESIGNERS Atlantic Custom Homes Atlantic Custom Homes is an independent distributor of Lindal Cedar Homes, the world’s largest manufacturer of quality 12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM BUSINESS DIRECTORY

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cedar homes. Lindal is known around the world for their signature post and beam home designs, quality building materials and detailed craftsmanship. We believe that your home should be a realization of your wishes. We take the time to explore them with you, and to develop your design in accordance with those wishes, your budget and your property. (845) 265-2636.

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. Saugerties, NY. (845) 247-4517. www.firststreetdancewear.com.

DENTISTRY

business directory

Tischler Dental With over 35 years experience, Tischler Dental is the leading team of dental care experts in the area. Dr. Michael Tischler is currently one of only two Board Certified Implant Dentists in the Hudson Valley Region of NYS and one of only 300 dentists in the world to have achieved this honor. Sedation dentistry, acupuncture with dental treatment, dental implant surgery, cosmetic makeover procedures and gum surgery are just a few of the many unique services Tischler Dental offers. Their practice philosophy is that each modality of dental treatment is performed by the practitioner that is best trained in that area. Working as a team, they deliver ideal dental care. Woodstock NY. (845) 679-3706. tischlerdental@hvc.rr.com. www.tischlerdental.com.

DISTRIBUTION Chronogram Is Everywhere!

Have you ever noticed how wherever you go, Chronogram is there? That’s because our distribution is so damned good. We can distribute your flyer, brochure, business card, or publication to over 700 establishments in Ulster, Dutchess, Columbia, Greene, Putnam and Orange counties. Now in Westchester county with new stops in Peekskill. (845) 334-8600. distribution@chronogram.com.

DOG BOARDING Dog Love Personal Hands-On Boarding and Daycare tailored to your dog’s individual needs. Your dog’s happiness is our goal. Indoor 5x10 matted kennels with classical music and windows overlooking our pond. Supervised playgroups in 40 x 40 fenced area. Homemade food and healthy treats. New Paltz. 240 N. Ohioville Road, New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-8254. www.dogloveplaygroups.com.

EDITING Carol Rogovin Experienced editor will edit manuscripts with a focus on optimizing reader understanding. Will also consult on whether graphics could be a persuasive addition to the text. carolrogovin@earthlink.net.

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BUSINESS DIRECTORY CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

FAUX FINISHES Faux Intentions 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.

FRAMING Catskill Art & Office Supply See also Art Supplies directory. Woodstock (845) 6792251; Kingston (845) 331-7780; Poughkeepsie (845) 452-1250.

Manny’s See also Art Supplies directory. 83 Main Street, New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-9902.

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

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! Daily 9am-6pm. Rhinebeck, NY. (845) 876-8606. www.thephantomgardener.com.

low? Is your instrument just plain old hard to play? Guitars and basses regularly need set ups, much like cars need oil changes and tune ups to keep them running well. Here at McCoys Guitar Shop our aim is to make your instrument play as well, or better than, you ever thought possible. Remember, if your instrument isn’t playing up to par, perhaps neither are you! Come to McCoys Guitar Shop and fall in love with your instrument all over again! McCoys Guitar Shop: Expert repairs, restoration, guitars and basses bought, sold and traded. Give us a call: (845) 658-7467.

You’ll be glad you did! Rosendale, NY. (845) 658-7467.

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. (845) 255-2799. www.hvi.net.

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. Kingston, NY. (845) 757-4000. www.webjogger.net.

K9 CONSULTANT K9 Consultant WANTED: DOGS WITH ISSUES. Digging, barking, aggression, chewing, phobias, obsessions, etc. A simple, proven approach to banish your dog’s unwanted behavior. Let me help. The K-9 Consultant. (845) 687-7726.

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

Submit to Chronogram

GIFTS Earth Lore Walk into a world of natural wonder: amethyst caves and heart-shaped druzies, quartz crystal spheres and sculptures, orbs of obsidian, lapis and jasper. Plus a gallery of wearable art. Navaho necklaces of turquoise and coral, pendants and bracelets of moldavite, tektite and meteorite; watches crafted from oxidized copper, brass, sterling; an array of Baltic amber in all its hues: honey, lemon, butterscotch, cognac...., fashioned into jewelry that makes a statement. Earthlore also offers unique objects of home decor such as a 100 yr old camel bell from Afghanistan, a Thai rain drum, and fossilized salt lamps from the Himalayas. A great place to find gifts from around the globe. Open Tues. thru Fri. 10am 6pm. Sat 10am-5pm. 2 Fairway Drive, Pawling, NY. (845) 855-8889.

GUITARS McCoy’s Guitar Shop Is your guitar or bass performing up to its fullest potential? Do you have fret buzz? Is your action too high/ too

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.

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.

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 30 years as a Matrimonial & Family Law Attorney and Myra Schwartz has 30 years as 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. Cornwall, NY. (845) 534-7668. www.mediated-divorce.com.

MUSIC

PERFORMING ARTS Lehman Loeb Art Center/ Powerhouse Theater Season (845) 437-5902. Vassar College Box 225, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604. (845) 437-5902. befargislanc @pop.vassar.edu.

PET SERVICES & SUPPLIES Pussyfoot Lodge B&B The Pioneer in Professional Pet Care! Full housepet-plant 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.

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. Monday through Friday 9am-7pm.

Saturday 9am-5pm. 549 Albany Avenue, Kingston, NY. (845) 331-5011.

Develop and liberate your unique musical potential through customized music lessons, workshops, or artist development programs. For aspiring and developing musicians and bands. Explore your music in a supportive environment. Call (845) 679-7599 and receive a free lesson during November. Studios in Woodstock and Manhattan. www.joshuapearl.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. (845) 437-7010. www.wvkr.org.

China Jorrin Photography A Hudson Valley based photographer dedicated to documenting weddings in a candid and creative style. While remaining unobtrusive she is able to capture key, quiet and personal moments of the event. Please call for rates and availability. (917) 449-5020. www.chinajorrin.com.

France Menk Photography & Photodesign

business directory

Joshua Pearl’s Whole Musician Workshop

PHOTOGRAPHY

A fine art approach to your photographic and advertising needs. Internationally exhibited. Major communications/advertising clients. My work is 100% focused on your needs. (845) 750-5261. www.France-Menk.com.

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. The Corporate Image Studios, 1 Jacobs Lane, New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-5255. www.michaelgoldsphot os.com and click on to the “Headshots” page.

PIANO Adam’s Piano

MUSIC LESSONS Bibi Farber - Guitar Lessons Guitar Lessons Acoustic / electric Pop, rock, blues & folk Beginners welcome, age 11 and up. I offer very flexible scheduling & discounts for students teaming up. Lessons in Minnewaska area or in your home, if within a 30 minute radius. Songwriting coaching & demo recording also available.

Let’s play! (646) 734-8018. www.bibifarber.com.

NURSERIES

Featuring Kawai and other fine brands. 75 pianos 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. www.adamspiano.com.

Piano Clearing House 8 John Walsh Blvd. Suite 318A, Peekskill, NY. (914) 788-8090. www.pianoclearinghouse.com.

PLUMBING AND BATH Loomis Creek Nursery Inc Great Plants for Adventurous Gardeners! Tuesdays-Sundays, 9am - 5pm. Hudson, NY. (518) 851-9801. www.loomiscreek.com.

Brinkmann Plumbing & Heating Services A third generation plumbing company operated by Timothy Brinkmann and Master Plumber 12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM BUSINESS DIRECTORY

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Berno Brinkmann. They handle all your plumbing needs with skilled, prompt, and attentive service. Call for further information or to schedule a free estimate. Fully Insured.

(518) 731-1178.

am-3:30 pm, with part time options for preschoolers. Half or full day kindergarten. 62 Plains Rd., New Paltz, NY 12561.

(845) 256-1875. info@mariasgardenmontessori.com.

Mountain Laurel Waldorf School

PRINTING SERVICES

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. Call Judy Jaeckel. 16 South Chestnut Street, New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-0033.

New York Press Direct

Music Institute of Sullivan and Ulster Counties

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) 896-0894.

The Music Institute of Sullivan and Ulster Counties (MISU) provides an opportunity for people of all ages and levels to experience music in an environment that acknowledges and nurtures the whole person. MISU offers ongoing private instruction in violin and viola, a Suzuki program, adult education, chamber music, and a community chamber orchestra. To register call (845) 647-5087 or visit our website. www.misucatskills.org.

N & S Supply N & S Supply. 205 Old Route 9, Fishkill, NY 12534. (845) 896-6291. cloijas@nssupply.com.

PUBLISHERS

business directory

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. (845) 876-4861. www.monkfishpublishing.com.

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, NY. (845) 246-3744. www.woodstockdayschool.org.

Curious Minds Media Inc. 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! Call now toll-free, at (888) 227-1645. www.curiousm.com.

WEB DEVELOPMENT 8 Hats High 23-27 West Main Street 3rd Fl., Middletown, NY. Please also see our Illustration directory. (845) 344-1888.

Curious Minds Media Inc. See also Web Design directory. Toll-free, at 888) 227-1645. www.curiousm.com.

WEDDINGS HudsonValleyWeddings.com

SCHOOLS FOR CHILDREN

The Only Resource You Need to Plan a Hudson Valley Wedding. Hundreds of Regional Wedding Service Providers. FREE, Extensive, Online Wedding Guide & Planner . . . and much more. 120 Morey Hill Road, Kingston, NY. (845) 336-4705 | fax: (845) 336-6677. judy@hudsonvalleyweddi ngs.com. www.HudsonValleyWeddings.com.

Poughkeepsie Day School

WINE & LIQUOR

REMODELING Phoenix Construction See also Construction directory. (845) 266-5222. www.phoenix-b.com.

SCHOOLS 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 and their community. Yearround Admissions. Sliding-scale tuition. (845) 679-1002. www.hudsonvalleyschool.org.

High Meadow School Pre-kindergarten through 8th grade, committed to a childcentered 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. Call Suzanne Borris, director. Route 209, Stone Ridge, NY. (845) 687-4855.

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Woodstock Day School

budget. Mention this ad for a free one-hour in-person consultation to discuss a current or future website design, marketing goals, or free, “open source” Linux tools that can add power to your web presence! (845) 750-6204. www.beyondboxweb.com.

Bringing joy to learning since 1934. Pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, college preparatory school serving 330 students from throughout the mid-Hudson Valley.

We encourage independent, critical, and creative thinking through a challenging, interdisciplinary curriculum. 260 Boardman Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. For more information, call the Admissions Office at (845) 462-7600, ext. 201. or email admissions@poughkeepsieday.org.

(845) 462-7600. www.poughkeepsieday.org.

In Good Taste. 45 Main Street, New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-0110. ingoodtaste@verizon.net.

WRITING SERVICES CenterToPage: Moving Writers From The Center To The Page

SINGING LESSONS

Ann Panagulias - Singing Lessons Concepts of classical, Italianate technique complimented by alignment and deep breathing rhythms of Eastern callisthenics; repertoire grounded in 17th-19th century Art Song extending to vintage and contemporary musical theater; training at Oberlin College and San Francisco Opera; performing professionally on three continents for twenty years. (845) 677-1134. annpandora@aol.com.

WEB DESIGN

Maria’s Garden Montessori School

Beyond The Box Web Design

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

Beyond the Box is a web design and hosting company with offices in Kingston and Red Hook. We work closely and personably with clients to create memorable sites for businesses and creative artists, on time and on

BUSINESS DIRECTORY CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

In Good Taste

Invite your muse to visit every day. Author & workshop leader with 19 years’ experience offers writers truthful, compassionate guidance. Nonfiction & fiction book proposal & manuscript consultations, editing, rewriting. Coaching relationships. Yoga As Muse facilitator training. Workshops: Woodstock, Taos, & elsewhere.

Jeff Davis, Director. Accord, NY. (845) 679-9441. www.CenterToPage.com.

WRITING WORKSHOPS Wallkill Valley Writers Creative writing workshops in New Paltz led by Kate Hymes, poet and educator. Aspiring and experienced writers are welcome. WVW 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. khamherstwriters@aol.com.

the forecast

EVENT LISTINGS FOR DECEMBER 2006

PETER DASILVA

FORECAST

bard

THE MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP WILL PERFORM THE HARD NUT AT BARD’S FISHER CENTER ON DECEMBER

15, 16, AND 17.

CRACKING THE TCHAIKOVSKY CODE

“When a burlesque turns out to have staying power, like Pope’s Rape of the

him,” Dillon says. “He’s known for being very true to the music.” This sets Morris

Lock or Mark Morris’s Hard Nut, it’s because of the extraordinary tenderness and

apart from most contemporary choreographers; every note of Tchaikovsky’s

lyricism the poet sneaks in behind the dazzling wit,” writes critic Paul Parish in

score is retained in The Hard Nut.

the online journal DanceView Times.

Tchaikovsky’s most famous ballet, The Nutcracker, is an institution at

Morris returned to the original E.T.A. Hoffman story “Nussknacker und Mausekoönig” (“Nutcracker and the Mouse King”) for his plot, rather than relying

Christmastime. Composed in 1892, this piece tells the story of a nutcracker

on Tchaikovsky. The setting, however, is 1970s USA. The Hard Nut begins with

that transforms into a prince. Choreographer Mark Morris created his own

a family gathering for Christmas, including party dances: the polka, the hokey-

version of The Nutcracker—retitled The Hard Nut—which will appear at the

pokey, the hesitation, the stroll, the bump, and the waltz. Eventually, the gathering

Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, December

devolves into a drunken cocktail party. G.I. Joe soldier figures, a Barbie doll, and

15, 16, and 17.

a robot also make their appearances. Morris himself will perform a cameo role,

Morris, who won a MacArthur “genius” grant in 1991, has composed more

as a party guest. (The choreographer is now 50.)

than 120 pieces for the Mark Morris Dance Group since organizing the company

The elaborate costumes celebrate the wacky fashion blunders of the ’70s. The

in 1980. His heroes are Merce Cunningham and George Balanchine, but his

set designs by Adrianne Lobel are based on the works of virtuoso noir cartoonist

influences also include Turkish folk dance, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, flamenco, and

Charles Burns, author of the graphic novel Black Hole. There will also be a 31-

the protest music of Michelle Shocked. Morris sees dance as a type of theater,

piece orchestra: The MMDG Music Ensemble.

and his dancers as actors.

“This is one of Mark Morris’s seminal pieces, which he developed when

Small children are invited: “Five and up is safe. Six and up will really get it,” suggests Dillon.

he was director of dance at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, the

The Hard Nut will be presented Friday, December 15 and Saturday, December

national opera house of Belgium,” explains Tambra Dillon, director of the Fisher

16 at 8pm, with matinées on Saturday, December 16 at 2pm and Sunday,

Center. The Hard Nut had its American premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of

December 17 at 3pm at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at

Music in 1992.

Bard College. (845) 758-7900; www.bard.edu/fishercenter.

“Mark is a choreographer who always starts with the music; that’s what inspires

—Sparrow

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM FORECAST

119

IMAGES PROVIDED

(LEFT) UNTITLED, CHRIS METZE, ACRYLIC & GRAPHITE ON CANVAS; (RIGHT) ASCENT, LESLIE BENDER, PASTEL ON PAPER

FORECAST

ROOMFUL OF HUES Don’t expect the usual, the safe, or the comfortable when you walk into Albert Shahinian

expressionism to do the opposite. With this figurative works exhibit, Bender uses her

Fine Arts in Poughkeepsie any time before December 31.

art to draw the beholder into her world.

Current solo shows by Chris Metze and Leslie Bender in Shahinian’s west gallery

The show is a sampling of Bender’s prodigious range and talent, beginning with

are a case in point. With Metze’s works in the front section, visitors are confronted

four large oil paintings: Route 209 Barn; Three Dancers, a study of corseted Moulin

by a roomful of abstractions; so abstract, in fact, there is virtually nothing to cling to.

Rouge types; and Thundering Lights, a circus study of hefty bodies circled too close

Only the brave deserve the art—and most visitors are good-natured enough to have

to the bareback rider; and Bender’s startling The Work. The latter painting looks at

a go at it.

first glance like a cleanup after a picnic. In the foreground, three men lean over a

“The elements in my paintings are composed of shapes that are indistinct,” says

stream—cleaning equipment, perhaps. Another, better-dressed group stands with their

Metze. “They may appear to be something specific, but that remains in question. This

backs to the workers. Only gradually does the viewer become aware of the bloodstains

uncertainty is at the core of my paintings.”

on the workers’ clothing, and the bloodied white presence among them. The “work,”

Whimsy is dominant in Metze’s works. In Untitled #3, there’s a table with a bottle,

then, is cleaning up after a murder.

out of which rises a genie-like fume. To the right, a keyboard-less grand piano balances

“Surrealism is a strong component in my work,” says Bender. “I have made a lot of

a lamp floating end to end in the air. Under the table, a dog appears at rest, while a

art from spontaneous subconscious outpourings. Lately, I haven’t wanted to dredge

yellow cow image floats against the lime-colored wall. In #2, grazing forms fill a golden

up all those past feelings, but my whole learning process informs my new work in

field: One is armadillo-like; one long as a giraffe’s neck; another, bovine-headed with

ways it never would have otherwise.”

a reticulated body. The final touch is a segmented creature nuzzling the underside

Particularly moving are works related to the death of the artist’s father, like the stark Attached, which depicts an exhausted figure trapped between two needy parents;

of the armadillo’s shell.

In Untitled #7, Metze adds a note of the ominous to his “core of uncertainty.” His

Breakfast with a Saint; and recent smaller works like Ascent and Acrobats Study I, in

interest lies, he tells us, “in the line that divides the perceived rational world from the

which the spirits of the dead, both men and animals, are liberated from their bodies

inner landscape.” Here, a lighthouse teeters on the edge of a cliff. In the background,

and caught up into the sublime.

behind an approaching cloud bank, a battered, conical shape emits an ominous

“Two Solo Shows: Chris Metze and Leslie Bender” is on view through December

burst of blue gas. Under the surface of the sea, two giant female heads appear to be

31 at Albert Shahinian Fine Arts, 196-198 Main St., Poughkeepsie. (845) 454-0522;

submerged, their mouths open in a useless scream.

www.ShahinianFineArt.com.

—Mary Cassai

As Metze uses abstract art to distance himself from the viewer, Leslie Bender uses

get it on.

120

FORECAST CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

short, long, baby, hoodie.

buy online.

www.chronogram.com/tshirts

calendar FRI 1

Reality Check

ART

10pm. Pop, rock. Quiet Man Pub, Wappingers Falls. 298-1724.

3pm. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Poughkeepsie. 437-7745.

SPOKEN WORD

Temporary / Contemporary Art Exhibit

Call for times. Calling All Poets series. Howland Cultural Center, Beacon. 831-0077. $4.

African Art at the FLLAC Tour

4:30-7:30pm. Paintings, Glass Sculpture, Encaustic, Sculpture. 17 Market Street, Poughkeepsie. (914) 489-8228.

BA/MA I

6-8pm. Student thesis exhibitions. Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz. 257-3872.

EVENTS

Poetry Discussion with Carolyn Forché

Call for times. Hosted by Unison Arts and Learning Center. New Paltz Middle School, New Paltz. 255-1559.

Live Music Skate Poetry Reading

7-9pm. Featured poet: Robert Reidy. Inspired Books and Gifts, Kingston. 331-0644.

CLASSES

Call for times. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $20/$18 children and seniors.

Best of Broadway: A Night at the Tonys

The Skin of Our Teeth

DANCE

7pm. Presented by the New Paltz High School Drama Club. New Paltz High School, New Paltz. 256-4175. $8/$6 students and seniors.

8pm. Presented by the Ulster Ballet Company.

The Broadway Theater, Kingston. 339-6088. $18/$14 students and seniors.

A Christmas Carol

Snappy Dance Theater

8pm. Mix of gymnastics, circus skills, martial arts, vocals, theater and dance. The Egg, Albany. (518) 473-1845. $18/$14 seniors/$9 children.

EVENTS

Friends of Mills Mansion Holiday Party

One-Day Holiday Decorating Workshop 10am-2pm. Boscobel Restoration, Garrisonon-Hudson. 265-3638 ext. 115. $50.

Christmas Book and Bake Sale

5-8pm. Pawling Free Library, Pawling. 855-7077.

Woodstock’s 25th Annual Holiday Open House

5-9pm. Window decorating, Santa, ice carving, performances. Town of Woodstock.

679-6234.

Anniversary and Website Launch Celebration

6-9pm. Bluecashew Kitchen Pharmacy, High Falls. 687-0294.

8pm. Presented by the Marlboro High School Drama Club. Marlboro Central High School, Marlboro. 337-9997. $9/seniors and students $6.

MUSIC

Acoustic Medicine Show

Christmas Book and Bake Sale

10am-4pm. Pawling Free Library, Pawling.

855-7077.

1-3pm. Terwilliger House Museum, Ellenville.

647-5530.

8pm. Presented by the PantoLoons. Ghent Playhouse, Ghent. (518) 392-6264. $15/$12 members/$8 children.

Community Playback Theatre

8pm. Improvisation based on real-life stories of audience members. Boughton Place, Highland. 691-4118. $6.

Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol

8pm. James and Betty Hall Theatre, Poughkeepsie. 431-8696. $5/DCC students free.

SAT 2

Holiday Tea and Silent Auction

A Winter Walk on Warren Street

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

Christmas in the Park

6pm. Bonfire, refreshments, Santa, tree lighting. Town of Plattekill. www.town.plattekill.ny.us.

Café Chronogram

ART

8pm. Music: New York’s Marcellus Hall, Spoken Word: Teal Hutton, Visual Art: Joe Concra. Art On Wall, Kingston.

334-8600 ext. 123. $5.

10am-6pm. Show and sale of fiber art. Zena Road Firehouse, Woodstock. 246-2203.

FILM

Catskill Fiber Celebration

12-5pm. Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac.

628-3664.

12-7pm. Paintings, Glass Sculpture, Encaustic, Sculpture. 17 Market Street, Poughkeepsie. (914) 489-8228

Give & Take

7:30pm. Neighbors accuse him of Satan worshiping and corporations are encroaching on his family business. Time & Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448. $5-$7.

Collect decorations at each location and sample holiday foods and wine. Call for winery locations and times. 255-2494.

Cinderella

Temporary / Contemporary Art Exhibit

The Real Dirt on Farmer John

Wreath Fineries at Nine Wineries

12-4pm. Ride the trolley with Santa. Trolley Museum, Kingston. 331-3399.

Advent Star Talk: The Dance of Mercury and Venus

FILM

Call for times. Santa, festival of trees, carriage rides, music, and firemens’ parade of lights, open houses. Village of Saugerties, Saugerties. 246-3788.

8pm. Presented by Walking the Dog Theater. StageWorks Hudson, Hudson.

(518) 392-0131. $15/$12.

Art and Craft Gift Sale

8pm. Talk that looks at the movement of these two planets. Sunbridge College, Chestnut Ridge. 425-0055. $12/$6 students and seniors.

Winter Holiday Festival

Santa Run

Blue Arches

Celebration of Lights Parade and Fireworks

6:30pm. Main Street, Poughkeepsie. 473-2072.

Call for reservation. Sunset House, Chestnut Ridge. 425-0055 ext. 24.

5-7pm. A group show for the season of giving.

Gallery at R&F, Kingston. 331-3112.

From Valparaiso to auVillar

6-8pm. Paintings of France and Spain by Lynne Friedman. Be Gallery, High Falls.

687-0660.

ReGroup with Small Works

The Painted Veil

1pm. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck.

679-4265. $15.

KIDS

A Child’s Christmas

10am. Ages 3-6 explore Yuletide traditions at Clermont. Clermont State Historic Site, Germantown. (518) 537-4240.

Creature Feature

12:30pm. Get up close to the resident animals. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

MUSIC

DCC Music School Recital

1pm. Ritz Lounge, Poughkeepsie. 431-8916.

7:30-10:30pm. Red Hook Country Inn, Red Hook. 758-8445.

6-8pm. New works and small works for giving and receiving. Be Gallery, High Falls.

687-0660.

DCC Music School Recital for Adult Students

Newburgh Symphony Orchestra String Quartet

Group Show

Music of the Troubadours, Palaces and Chapels

8pm. Yellow Bird Gallery, Newburgh. 561-7204.

Vassar College Women’s Chorus

6-9pm. Featuring works by 8 artists. Pearl Gallery, Stone Ridge. 687-0888.

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

CLASSES

New River Jazz

9am-12:30pm. Business Resource Center, Kingston. 339-2025. $79.

9pm. Gillie and Mac’s Riverfront Restaurant, Catskill. (518) 943-6054.

Live Acoustic Music

9-11pm. Coast, Tivoli. 757-2772.

Monica’s Kneepads

10pm. 70’s retro dance party. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Notary Public Workshop

DANCE

A Christmas Carol

8pm. Presented by the Ulster Ballet Company. The Broadway Theater, Kingston. 339-6088. $18/$14 students and seniors.

FORECAST

6pm-8pm/8:30pm-11pm. Staatsburg Historical Site, Staatsburg. 889-8851.

Call for times. Music by Chasing Daybreak.

Skate Time 209, Accord. 626-7971.

Sunbridge College Open House

THEATER

A Christmas Carol

16th Holiday Crafts Fair

10am. SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge. 687-5262.

6-8pm. Photographs by Leah Macdonald.

Galerie BMG, Woodstock. 679-0027.

6:30pm. Create an evergreen kissing ball.

Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston. 331-1682.

8:30pm. Alcohol-free dance event for all ages.

Knights of Columbus, Kingston. 658-8319. $5/$2 teens and seniors/children free.

Bill Seaton and Terrence Chiesa

Entangled

Kissing Ball Class

Free Style Frolic

4pm. Ritz Lounge, Poughkeepsie. 431-8916.

6pm. Rose Ensemble performs a holiday concert with medieval and renaissance songs. Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA. (800) 843-0778. $30$35/students $10.

The Flames of Discontent

6pm. Protest songs, original and classic, and spoken word pieces. Alternative Bookstore, Kingston. 331-5439.

11th Annual Welcome Yuletide

7pm. Performances by Ars Choralis and Hudson Valley Youth Chorale. Holy Cross Church, Kingston. 679-8172.

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM FORECAST

121

Art and Craft Gift Sale

Matt Jordan Jazz Quintet

Paintings and Works on Paper by Sharon Falk

7-11:30pm. Jazz. Ciboney Cafe, Poughkeepsie. 486-4690.

4-7pm. Pomona Cultural Center, Pomona.

362-8062.

Jazz Singer Jane Monheit

BODY / MIND / SPIRIT

7pm. Many performers to benefit the Kenyan AIDS orphans. Inquiring Mind Bookstore, Saugerties. 246-2195. $20.

8pm. The Egg, Albany. (518) 473-1845.

Sarah Perrotta and Johnnie Wang 8pm. Colony Cafe, Woodstock.

679-5342. $10.

Vassar College Orchestra

8pm. Vassar College, Poughkeepsie.

437-7404.

12-5pm. Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac.

628-3664.

Contemplative Meeting

10am. Readings alternate with music.

Lectorium Rosicrucianum Conference Center, Chatham. (518) 392-2799.

Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl Chakra Balancing Meditation 11am. Guided meditation for clearing and balancing the chakras. The Auracle, New Paltz. 255-6046. $7/$5.

Amahl and the Night Visitors

8pm. With dancers and orchestra. Pavilion Theatre at Lycian Centre, Sugar Loaf. 9137094. $25/children 12 and under $15.

Steve Gorn, John Davey, and Brian Melick

9pm. New world. Rosendale Cafe, Rosendale. 658-9048.

The Clancy Tradition

9pm. Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling. 855-1300. $20/$17.50 members.

Gennarose

10pm. Funk, r&b. Firebird Lounge, Rhinebeck. 876-8686.

THE OUTDOORS

Mohonk Preserve Singles Hike Millbrook Mountain 10am-3pm. Meet at the West Trapps Trailhead, New Paltz. 255-0919.

CLASSES

Sunday Swing Fling Mini Dance Camp 1pm. Two levels available. Reformed Church of the Comforter, Kingston. 236-3939. $45.

Shim Sham Workshop

4:30pm. Learn the orginal swing line dance. Reformed Church of the Comforter, Kingston. 236-3939. $20.

DANCE

A Christmas Carol

2pm. Presented by the Ulster Ballet Company. The Broadway Theater, Kingston.

339-6088. $18/$14 students and seniors.

Swing Dance Jam

6:30-9pm. Lesson at 6pm. Arlington Reformed Church, Poughkeepsie.

339-3032. $5.

EVENTS

16th Holiday Crafts Fair

THEATER

Best of Broadway: A Night at the Tonys

Call for times. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $20/$18 children and seniors.

The Skin of Our Teeth

FORECAST

2pm/7pm. Presented by the New Paltz High School Drama Club. New Paltz High School, New Paltz. 256-4175. $8/$6 students and seniors.

The Princess and the Pea

11am. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck.

876-3080.

A Christmas Carol

8pm. Presented by the Marlboro High School Drama Club. Marlboro Central High School, Marlboro. 337-9997. $9/seniors and students $6.

Call for times. Hosted by Unison Arts and Learning Center. New Paltz Middle School, New Paltz. 255-1559.

Holiday Open House

Call for times. Silent auction, music, refreshments, gifts. Community Center, Stone Ridge. 687-7023.

Wreath Fineries at Nine Wineries

Collect decorations at each location and sample holiday foods and wine. Call for winery locations and times. 255-2494.

Holiday in the Village

11am-5pm. Carolers, sleigh rides, Santa.

Village of Saugerties. 246-3788.

Christmas Book and Bake Sale

12-3pm. Pawling Free Library, Pawling.

855-7077.

Santa Run

Blue Arches

8pm. Presented by Walking the Dog Theater.

StageWorks Hudson, Hudson.

(518) 392-0131. $15/$12.

12-4pm. Ride the trolley with Santa. Trolley Museum, Kingston. 331-3399.

4th Annual Holiday Festival of Trees Cinderella

8pm. Presented by the PantoLoons. Ghent Playhouse, Ghent. (518) 392-6264. $15/$12 members/$8 children.

Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol

3-5pm. Ellenville Public Library, Ellenville.

647-5530.

FILM

Reno & Claudia

1pm. Newburgh Free Library, Newburgh.

563-3619.

WORKSHOPS

Holiday Swags Workshop

10am-12pm. Create a traditional swag made of fresh greens and fruit. Mount Gulian Society, Beacon. 831-8172. $35/$30.

One-Day Holiday Decorating Workshop

Anime Movie

The Real Dirt on Farmer John

5pm. Neighbors accuse him of Satan worshiping and corporations are encroaching on his family business. Time & Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448.

KIDS

A Child’s Christmas

10am-2pm. Boscobel Restoration, Garrisonon-Hudson. 265-3638 ext. 115. $50.

10am. Ages 7-11 explore Yuletide traditions at Clermont. Clermont State Historic Site, Germantown. (518) 537-4240.

Herbal Pillows for Adults

Case of the Pilfered Pantry

2-4pm. Creating collage-pillows out of scraps of fabric, photos, lace, and trimmings. The Arts Center of the Greater Hudson Valley, Red Hook. 340-4576. $20/$17 members.

Wreath Making Workshop

6:30pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

SUN 3 ART

Catskill Fiber Celebration

10am-6pm. Show and sale of fiber art. Zena Road Firehouse, Woodstock. 246-2203.

FORECAST CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

International Holiday Party

8pm. James and Betty Hall Theatre, Poughkeepsie. 431-8696. $5/DCC students free.

8:30pm. Holiday comedy adventure. Time & Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448.

122

1-3pm. Saugerties Library, Saugerties.

246-4317.

12-4pm. Holiday whodunnit with crafts.

Staatsburg Historical Site, Staatsburg. 8898851. $5 adults/$4 students and seniors.

Harry the Dirty Dog

4pm. The Egg, Albany. (518) 473-1845.

MUSIC

First Sunday Songwriters Circle

2-4pm. Marc Black, Kurt Henry, Kimberly, and hosts Elly Wininger and Elise Pittelman. Arts Society of Kingston, Kingston. ww.ellywininger.com. $10/$8 members.

IMAGE PROCVIDED

Kodi Kid Benefit

IMAGE PROCVIDED

FORECAST

MARTIN SEXTON WILL PLAY THE BEARSVILLE THEATER ON DECEMBER

16.

LOVE HIM LIVE Fans of Martin Sexton seem to be in hot debate, arguing about whether or not his more recently overproduced recordings do grave injustice to the smashingly raw sound of his earlier ones. But the one thing they all agree on is that this mesmerizing artist can only truly be appreciated live.

Weaned on the sounds of ’70s radio, Syracuse native Sexton found himself singing around Boston’s Harvard Square before hitting the clubs and recording the demos to be found on his In The Journey (1992). His passionate guitar playing and quirky lyrics earned him an Artist of the Year award from the National Academy of Songwriters. His subsequent studio recordings—Black Sheep, The American, and Wonder Bar—earned him praise from Billboard as “the finest new male singersongwriter of recent memory” and a “vocalist of amazing proficiency and sensual conviction.” The weak title “singer-songwriter,” as his disciples will tell you, does not truly serve him. Working with such esteemed area players as bassist Tony Levin and keys player David Sancious, the troubadour has produced a cornucopia of sound; from acoustic folk and funk to soul, gospel, R&B, country, blues, and radio-friendly pop. Sexton says he likes his sound to be “a little sweaty with some fat on it, nothing too clean. There are a lot of little mistakes…which I think are beautiful.”

Inspired by the moxie of such free-bird artists as Ani DiFranco, Sexton eventually chose the true spirit of the independent artist; he left the comfort of corporate Atlantic Records to form his own label, Kitchen Table Records, and produced Live Wide Open, which merely scrapes the surface of his stage persona.

His astoundingly elastic vox can at one moment mirror horns, then move to falsetto or a yodel. Sexton is also known for his singular guitar technique, which frequently has him playing one creative part with his picking fingers while he adds bass lines with his thumb. Of his live performances, Sexton says, “I’m going to keep [them] stripped down on the road. I think there’s a surprise element to one guy on stage sounding like three. The road and the records are two very different things. It’s like a dual life.”

It is the heart and soul of those visceral live performances that fans rave on about, knowing that the essence of this artist can never be fully captured on disc. And now here’s your chance to experience the phenomenon: Martin Sexton will play the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock on Saturday, December 16, at 8pm.

(845) 679-4406; www.bearsvilletheater.com.

—Sharon Nichols

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM FORECAST

123

Poetry Open Mike

7pm. Featuring Harvey Havel and Richard Bronson. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. 6795342. $3.

TUE 5

Berkshire Hillsmen Barbershop Chorus 3pm. Columbia-Greene Community College, Hudson. (518) 822-2027. $5.

Flying Fiddlers

3pm. Presented by Saugerties Pro Musica.

Saugerties United Methodist Church, Saugerties. 246-5021. $12/$10 seniors/ students free.

11th Annual Welcome Yuletide

4pm. Performances by Ars Choralis and Hudson Valley Youth Chorale. Saugerties Reformed Church, Saugerties. 679-8172.

Hot Tuna

7pm. The Egg, Albany. (518) 473-1845.

Vassar Chapel A Service of Lessons and Carols 7pm. Vassar College, Poughkeepsie. 4377404.

Songwriter Showcase

8pm. Featuring Jen Clapp, Todd Giudice and Matt Turk. Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling.

855-1300.

THE OUTDOORS

Appalachian Trail Hike

10 mile hike. Call for meeting place and time, Pawling. 454-4428.

Mohonk Preserve - Rhododendron Bridge and Beyond

10am-3pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz.

255-0919.

SPOKEN WORD

ART

Berkshire Museum Camera Club Competition #2

7:30pm. Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA. (413) 298-5440.

BODY / MIND / SPIRIT

Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl Chakra Balancing Meditation 10am. Guided meditation for clearing and balancing the chakras. The Auracle, New Paltz. 255-6046. $7/$5.

DANCE

Fall Dance Preview Concert

12:30pm. Dance Studio Falcon Hall, Poughkeepsie. 431-8696.

FILM

Lyceum Silent Film Series

Call for times. The Circus. SUNY Orange, Middletown. 341-4891. $2.

MUSIC

Winter Instrumental Concert

7pm. James and Betty Hall Theatre, Poughkeepsie. 431-8610.

Chamber Jazz Ensemble I

8pm. SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz. 257-3872.

THE OUTDOORS Adult Nature Hike

10am. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

The Language of Reverence: Conversations on Art and Spirituality

4pm. Featuring Eleanor Heartney. Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill.

(914) 788-7166.

THEATER

FORECAST

Best of Broadway: A Night at the Tonys Call for times. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $20/$18 children and seniors.

The Poet Jesus, the Prince and the Beggar Maid

The COM Show

7:30pm. Documentaries and fictional work in video and sound by students in DCC’s Communications and Media Arts Program.

James and Betty Hall Theatre, Poughkeepsie.

431-8610.

Speed Dating Event for Single Professionals

KIDS

farms and Frankenscience GMO foods, placing it on the shelf between Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation. you wade through 92 unsettling minutes of forced cow breeding and slaughter, insecticide spraying of vegetables, fish gutting, and even salt mining. But the camera merely captures the images unblinkingly.

Long shots cancel out any editorial tone. Viewers find themselves standing silent witness to the modern method of harvesting animals, plants, and minerals. If Our Daily Bread has any artistic predecessor, it

DATA: Discovering Animals Together Activities

is documentary genius Frederick Wiseman’s Meat, the original animal snuff film from 1976 in which the

9:30am-10:30am/11am-12pm. Wednesdays.

Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall-on-Hudson. 534-5506 ext. 204.

cinema verité style maintained a morally neutral tone in following a cow from farm to dinner table.

Creature Feature

activist but merely propelled by “my own curiosity and interest.” The veteran filmmaker had been puzzled

In a telephone interview from Vienna, Geyrhalter explained that he came to the subject not as an

WORKSHOPS

3:30pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

9:30-10:30am. Discovery Center For Creative Endeavor, New Paltz. 255-9081.

MUSIC

next three years to a number of farms and factories throughout Europe to record the wondrous and

7:30-10:30pm. Old-fashioned jam session.

New World Home Cooking, Saugerties.

246-0900.

grotesque marriage between the things we eat and modern technology.

Participating in the Creative Process

One-Day Holiday Decorating Workshop 10am-2pm. Boscobel Restoration, Garrisonon-Hudson. 265-3638 ext. 115. $50.

MON 4 CLASSES

Jay Unger and Molly Mason

SPOKEN WORD Reader’s Theater

Magick for Beginners

7:30pm. Woodstock. 679-2626. $20.

EVENTS

WORKSHOPS

7pm. Ages 34-46. Hickory BBQ Smokehouse, Kingston. 457-2541. $34.

7-9:30pm. Experiential and exploratory study and play with the Tarot. Rhinebeck.

876-5797. $25.

Tarot-on-the-Hudson

THU 7

MUSIC

Celtic Session

7:30pm. Traditional Irish music. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Messiah Sing

7:30pm. Presented by Diamond Opera Theater. Christ Church Episcopal, Hudson.

(518) 828-7042. $8.

SPOKEN WORD

Climate Change in New York’s Hudson Valley Call for times. Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel, Poughkeepsie. 256-3017.

Be My Fantasy: Cannibalism and Prostitution in the 18th Century

4:30pm. What Is Enlightenment? The Science, Culture, and Politics of Reason Lecture Series.

Olin Hall, Annandale-on-Hudson. 758-7900.

that despite rampant inflation, only food has become cheaper. “It was obvious to me,” he said, “that the price is being paid somewhere else.” The quest to learn what that price is led Geyrhalter over the

1:15pm. Original works inspired by songs, poems, stories, media. SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge. 687-5063.

Speed Dating Event for Single Professionals

124

Activists may be tempted to embrace the new documentary Our Daily Bread in the battle against corporate

But Austrian director Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s film refuses to behave as pure propaganda. To be sure,

EVENTS

Cinderella

3pm. Bardavon, Poughkeepsie. 473-2072.

16 AT UPSTATE FILMS.

BREAKING BREAD

ART

1:30pm. One-act play. Old Stone Church, Rhinebeck. 331-7621.

A Christmas Carol

A STILL IMAGE FROM OUR DAILY BREAD, WHICH OPENS DECEMBER

WED 6

7pm. Ages 39-52. Crystal Run Bar & Grill, Middletown. 457-2541. $34.

2pm. Presented by the PantoLoons. Ghent Playhouse, Ghent. (518) 392-6264. $15/$12 members/$8 children.

IMAGE PROVIDED

3pm. With dancers and orchestra. Pavilion Theatre at Lycian Centre, Sugar Loaf. 9137094. $25/ children 12 and under $15.

“It was quite what I was expecting,” Geyrhalter said. “But I was surprised that this was bigger than I expected. It was more professional, clean, and, if you will, more inhuman. And efficient, efficient, efficient.”

Geyrhalter began by interviewing workers but found the resulting commentary superfluous. The director’s narration-free mise-en-scene amps up the horror of the images. We may feel disgusted by the methodical slaughter, but no narrator affirms the sick feelings in our guts. We look to the parade of factory workers, but they are slack-jawed, passive, colluding matter-of-factly in a sanctioned daily massacre: castrating piglets, sorting and discarding live baby chicks, and just as deliberate and dead-eyed, eating their sandwiches at break. Amid such unfeeling brutality, there is an odd beauty to Geyrhalter’s tableaux: the stationery camera, the deep perspective, the faithful recording of machine hums and white noise,

BODY / MIND / SPIRIT

the faithful rendering of the drab factory colors. They recall the best scenes from another landmark of

12-6pm. Call for an appointment. The Auracle, New Paltz. 255-6046. $40.

emotional vacuity, Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange.

Sufi Zikr

“We told them we wanted to make a document—in the true sense of the word—about the truth of modern

Psychic Readings by Shyla O’Shea

5:45pm. Healing chant and prayer. St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Woodstock.

679-7215.

10 Top Ways to Beat Your Sugar Addiction 7-8pm. Faith Temple Church of God in Christ, Beacon. 231-2470.

CLASSES

Perceptions of Reality

7-9pm. Buddha’s Teachings on Ultimate Truth. Howland Cultural Center, Beacon.

856-9000. $8.

FORECAST CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

“We were always honest with the corporate people about what we wanted to accomplish,” he said. food production.” Top companies allowed him access, a scenario unthinkable in the United States.

Geyrhalter subsequently sent DVD screeners to the participating companies. But there was no uproar in response, no call for the film’s shredding. In fact, several companies were proud that their high-tech machinery, created to kill at a startlingly efficient rate, had been showcased to full advantage.

Our

Daily

Bread

opens

December

16

at

Upstate

Films

in

Rhinebeck.

(845) 876-2515; www.upstatefilms.org.

—Jay Blotcher

RALPH GIBSON

Amahl and the Night Visitors

IMAGE PROVIDED

RALPH GIBSON

FILM

Live Acoustic Music

Thursday Night Movie

9-11pm. Coast, Tivoli. 757-2772.

6:45pm. Australian film. Newburgh Free Library, Newburgh. 563-3619.

Thunder Ridge

MUSIC

9:30pm. Country, dance, pop, rock.

Candlelite, Palenville. (518) 678-3170.

8pm. SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz. 257-3872.

Los Taino

Chamber Jazz Ensemble II

10pm. Afro-Cuban music. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Machan

8-10:30pm. Brazilian jazz. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

THEATER

Celebration of Old Time Radio

SPOKEN WORD Words Out Loud

7pm. Featuring Kevin O’Hara, followed by open mike. Wild Sage, Pittsfield, MA. (413) 442-2223.

8pm. Mohonk Mountain Stage Readers Theater. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-1559.

Cinderella

8pm. Presented by the PantoLoons. Ghent Playhouse, Ghent. (518) 392-6264. $15/$12 members/$8 children.

THEATER

Fresh Dance

8pm. SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz. 257-3880. $16/$14 seniors, students and staff.

WORKSHOPS

Wreath Making Workshop

6:30pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

FRI 8

Fresh Dance

8pm. SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz. 257-3880. $16/$14 seniors, students and staff.

Lou and Davie’s Excellent Christmas Carol

8pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck.

876-3080. $18/$16 children and seniors.

The Tailor of Gloucester

8pm. NYCA Cabaret Theater, Hurley. 339-4340.

ART

BFA/MFA II

SAT 9

6-8pm. Student thesis exhibitions. Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz. 257-3872.

ART

Art and Craft Gift Sale

CLASSES

Kissing Ball Class

KATHY MATTEA WILL PLAY UPAC ON DECEMBER

15.

SEASONED SONGSTRESS Kathy Mattea likes leaving her comfort zone. Twenty-some odd years ago, when she left her job as a tour guide at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and began her steady ascent into the firmament into a West Virginia coal-mining family), one who would take chances on left-of-center songwriters in one of music’s most conservative genres. Multiple Grammy and CMA awards followed, but after riding her star to a precipitous height in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Mattea’s increasingly grosgrain folk- and Celtic-tinged take on Americana began to be drowned out by the pop-lite kitsch and perfectly pitched contemporary country, where mastery became less about the song and more about the marketing

“I always want to push myself creatively,” Mattea says. “Sometimes it can be a little frightening leaving what one knows so well. But these changes are exactly what make you grow as an artist—and most importantly—as a person.”

Judging from Right Outta Nowhere, her recent release on jazz, world music, and folk label Narada, Mattea is much happier—and more interesting—on her current road less traveled, which brings her to UPAC in Kingston on Friday, December 15, at 8pm.

Winter Dance

8pm. Featuring Senior Project and faculty choreography. Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Annandale-on-Hudson.

758-7900.

Photography by Paul Hamann, William Jaeger, Stacey Lauren, and Sarah Sterling

EVENTS

BODY / MIND / SPIRIT

Unique Holiday Sale

10am-3pm. Arts, crafts, sculpture, pottery, paintings, ornaments, jewelry. Building 3, Kingston. 339-9090 ext. 121.

Jingle Bell Hop

8pm. High Falls Cafe, High Falls. 687-9888.

You Been?”), but she’ll also be essaying yuletide songs from her two critically acclaimed holiday albums, Joy for Christmas Day and the Grammy-winning Good News.

For those seeking a unique holiday concert, Songs and The Season is likely your ticket: It’s entirely possible that the unpredictable Mattea will rip into Right Outta Nowhere’s startlingly fresh take on the Jagger/Richards Altamont-era “Gimmie Shelter” between, say, “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Both on stage and off, she is a risk taker. that same selfless act to embracing causes in which assistance to the greater good is stressed. Her achievements are remarkable: After attending a seminar given by Al Gore, she now relays his message on global warming; credited with being the first country star to openly address the HIV/AIDS crisis, she spearheaded the subsequent consciousness/fund-raising Red, Hot and Country CD; she also performed

DANCE

7:30pm. Neighbors accuse him of Satan worshiping and corporations are encroaching on his family business. Time & Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448.

2pm/7:30pm. New Paltz Ballet Theater.

Bardavon, Poughkeepsie. 473-2072.

The Real Dirt on Farmer John

15, at 8pm. (845) 339-6088; www.bardavon.org.

—Robert Burke Warren

Holiday Swing Dance Party & Performance

7:30pm. 7pm lesson. Reformed Church of the Comforter, Kingston. 236-3939. $8.

6-8pm. Puppet show, hands-on craft activities, children’s reception. Staatsburg Historical Site, Staatsburg. 889-8851.

Contradance

Children’s Holiday Program

8pm. Nils Fredland calling, music by Jay Ungar and Molly Mason. Woodstock Community Center, Woodstock. 246-2121. $10/$9 members/$5 children.

MUSIC

Ulster County Community College Choral Ensembles

12:15pm/7:30pm. SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge.

687-5063.

The Music of the Paintings

7:30pm. Musical expression of paintings in Vita’s book. Kleinert/James Arts Center, Woodstock. 684-5022.

7:30-10:30pm. Red Hook Country Inn, Red Hook. 758-8445.

Winter Dance

8pm. Featuring Senior Project and faculty choreography. Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Annandale-on-Hudson.

758-7900.

The Nutcracker Ballet

8pm. Produced by Catskill Ballet Theatre Company. UPAC Broadway Theatre, Kingston.

679-2518. $25/$18 children and seniors.

EVENTS

Wreath Fineries at Nine Wineries

Urban Folk & Jazz with KJ Denhert

8pm. Opened by songwriter Jen Clapp. North River Listening Room, Newburgh. 561-5596. $10.

Vassar College Jazz Ensemble

Brooklyn Country Music

Kathy Mattea plays the Ulster Performing Arts Center, 601 Broadway, Kingston, on Friday, December

The Nutcracker

KIDS

has helped to solidify her estimable fan base, known as Matteaheads, who will be on hand at UPAC to

and enjoy the journey, wherever it may take us.” Lucky for us, that path now brings her to Kingston.

Reiki I Training & Certification

FILM

8pm. Vassar College, Poughkeepsie. 4377404.

According to Mattea, the through-line to much of her work is that we should “treasure the moment

9am-4pm. Learn about and take the Refuge Vow, commitment to follow the Buddhist path.

Sky Lake Lodge, Rosendale. 658-8556. $120/overnight $220.

8pm. Colony Cafe, Woodstock. 340-0220. $6.

at the very first VH1 Save The Music concert to benefit music programs in public schools. This approach carol and rock.

Three Jewels and Refuge Vow Ceremony

1-5pm. Learn about working with energy, healing self and others, Reiki history, ethics.

Affinity Healing Arts, New Paltz.

797-4124. $120.

Acoustic Medicine Show

Mattea is also an ardent activist, and has taken her penchant for serving the song and applied

6-8pm. John Davis Gallery, Hudson.

(518) 828-5907.

Flashback Funk & Disco Costume Party

The show is being billed as Songs and the Season, indicating that Mattea not only will be delving into her own big bag of hits (“Love at the Five and Dime,” “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses,” “Where’ve

Illuminated Polaroids

5-8pm. Photographs by Franc Palaia in light boxes. Bau, Beacon. 486-1378.

DANCE

angle, the image, and the midriff. Mattea, devoted to broadening her musical palette, willingly weaned herself from the big leagues.

12-5pm. Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac.

628-3664.

Collect decorations at each location and sample holiday foods and wine. Call for winery locations and times. 255-2494.

Child Safety Seat Clinic & Operation Safe Child

10am-4pm. Subaru Warehouse, Kingston.

339-3330.

9pm. Featuring four bands. Backstage Studio Productions, Kingston. 338-8700. $10/$12 at the door.

Christmas Book and Bake Sale

Steve Forbert

Winter Gift Sale

9pm. Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling. 855-1300. $25/$22.50 members.

New River Jazz

FORECAST

of country stardom, she forged a reputation as a rootsy singer with a genuine heritage (she was born

6:30pm. Create an evergreen kissing ball.

Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston. 331-1682.

9pm. Gillie and Mac’s Riverfront Restaurant, Catskill. (518) 943-6054.

10am-4pm. Pawling Free Library, Pawling.

855-7077.

10 am - 6 pm. During the Frozendale Festival.

406 Main St, Rosendale, NY.(914) 466-1517

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

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Unique Holiday Sale

11am-4pm. Arts, crafts, sculpture, pottery, paintings, ornaments, jewelry. Building 3, Kingston. 339-9090 ext. 121.

Candlelight Tours

11am-5pm. Refreshments, crafts, and holiday decor. Bevier House Museum/Ulster County Historical Society, Kingston. 338-5614. $5/ children ages 5-15 $2.50.

FRozendale Holiday Festival

12-5pm. Main Street, Rosendale. 658-7569.

Friends of the Library Holiday Book Sale

2-4pm. Newburgh Free Library, Newburgh.

563-3619.

High Falls Holiday Hoopla

5-9pm. Shopping, caroling, carriage rides, refreshments and tree lighting. Town Square, High Falls. 687-9888.

FILM

The Real Dirt on Farmer John

7:30pm. Neighbors accuse him of Satan worshiping and corporations are encroaching on his family business. Time & Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448.

KIDS

Michael Wolski: Puppets

11am. James and Betty Hall Theatre, Poughkeepsie. 431-8050.

Creature Feature

12:30pm. Get up close to the resident animals. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

MUSIC

Amahl and the Night Visitors

3pm/8pm. With dancers and orchestra. St. George’s Church, Newburgh. 913-7094. $25/ children 12 and under $15.

DCC Music School Guitar Party

1pm. With students of Helen Avakian.

James and Betty Hall Theatre, Poughkeepsie.

431-8916.

Bard Conservatory Concerto Competition

1-5pm. Olin Hall, Annandale-on-Hudson.

758-7425.

Ian Hartsough: Composer

2pm. With Thomas Sauer, piano, and students of the Vassar music department.

Vassar College, Poughkeepsie. 437-7404.

Tuba Christmas

2-3pm. 12pm sign-up. SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge. 255-0009.

FORECAST

10:30am. Kingston Library, Kingston.

331-0507.

Mr. Punch’s Christmas Carol by Crabgrass Puppet Theater

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Baroque Chamber Music Concert

7:30pm. Rebel: ensemble for Baroque music.

Church of Messiah, Rhinebeck. 876-6122. $25/$5 students/children free.

Strange Lloyd Band

Celebration of Old Time Radio

Bed, Bach & Beyond

THE OUTDOORS

Cinderella

8pm. Performed by the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra. Pointe of Praise Family Life Center, Kingston. 246-7045. $15/students $5.

Gypsy Jazz with Mama Vig

8pm. The Pavilion at the Lycian Center, Sugar Loaf. 258-3019.

Peter Schickele, Mikhail Horowitz and Gilles Malkine

10pm. Alternative, contemporary, funk, rock.

Firebird Lounge, Rhinebeck. 876-8686.

Snow Shoe

10am. Baird Park Picnic Area, LaGrangeville.

454-7832.

Mohonk Preserve Singles Hike Awosting Falls

10am-2:30pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz.

255-0919.

8pm. Mohonk Mountain Stage Readers Theater. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-1559.

8pm. Presented by the PantoLoons. Ghent Playhouse, Ghent. (518) 392-6264. $15/$12 members/$8 children.

Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory”

8pm. Present Company Community Theater.

New Paltz. 255-9081.

Tour of the Daniel Smiley Research Center

Fresh Dance

1:30-3pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz.

255-0919.

8pm. SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz. 257-3880. $16/$14 seniors, students and staff.

8pm. Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA. (413) 528-0100.

SPOKEN WORD

Lou and Davie’s Excellent Christmas Carol

Ubaka Hill CD Release Concert “Music that Moves You”

2pm. Woodstock Town Hall, Woodstock. www.woodstockpoetry.com.

8pm. Holiday music and comedy. Bearsville Theater, Woodstock. 679-4406. $20.

Songs of the Spirit

8pm. An evening of percussion, poetry and song. The Colony Cafe, Woodstock.

679-5342. $15.

Sugar Beats

8pm. Rock, garage band, psychedelic, and surf music. Gail’s Place, Newburgh. 567-1414.

Amy Fradon & Jim Barbaro

8-11pm. Folk, original, r&b. A.i.r. Studio Gallery, Kingston. 331-2662. $10.

Woodstock Poetry Society, Festival Business & Planning Meeting

Book Reading and SIgning with Harvey Havel 4pm. Author of Freedom of Association. Baby Grand Bookstore, Warwick. 986-6165.

8pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck.

876-3080. $18/$16 children and seniors.

The Tailor of Gloucester

8pm. NYCA Cabaret Theater, Hurley.

339-4340.

WORKSHOPS

Sisters Her Story Conference

THEATER

The Princess and the Pea

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

Call for times. 2nd Annual Women of Color Health & Wellness Conference.

Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center, Poughkeepsie.

471-1221. $20.

IMAGE PROVIDED

Felting Gnomes and Crystal Caves for Puppetry and Play 9am-1pm. Wool in natural and plant-dyed colors will be used. Sunbrige College Craft Studio, Chestnut Ridge. 425-0055 ext. 24. $60 including materials.

Handmade Books for Adults

1-4pm. The Arts Center of the Greater Hudson Valley, Red Hook. 340-4576. $27/$23 members.

KIDS

Fresh Dance

11am-4pm. Create ornaments and simple gifts from natural materials. Mountain Laurel Waldorf School, New Paltz. 255-0033. Fees for materials.

Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory”

Gift Making Fair

Case of the Pilfered Pantry

SUN 10 ART

Art and Craft Gift Sale

GIRLS OF PASWORD/PROJECT AWARE

A WAY WITH WORDS To the Inuit, to change one’s mind is not a decision, but what inevitably happens to us as we learn. Maybe this Native American teaching seems unexpected, coming from within the City of Poughkeepsie, but it mirrors the stated mission of the Mill Street Loft, an arts center for young people: To change lives through the arts.

For a performance titled “Passing Words,” the girls of PASWORD (Program for Adolescent Student Women of Real Direction) and Project AWARE (Adolescent Women are Realizing Empowerment) will play the roles of both teacher and student. The value of the learning that takes place within the program is centered around the girls’ realizations that they have teachings of their own to share through the communicative nature of art.

12-5pm. Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac.

628-3664.

Works by Susan Zoon

12-5pm. Painter and horror author. Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac. 225-1148.

Celtic Holiday Art Show

2-7pm. Landscapes of Ireland painted on location in pastels, oils and watercolors.

Rosendale Cafe, Rosendale. 657-5115.

BODY / MIND / SPIRIT

Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl Chakra Balancing Meditation 10am. Guided meditation for clearing and balancing the chakras. The Auracle, New Paltz. 255-6046. $7/$5.

Pathwork Spiritual Lecture Reading/ Discussion/Potluck 10:30am. Phoenicia. 688-2211.

10 Top Ways to Beat Your Sugar Addiction

7-8pm. Faith Temple Church of God in Christ, Beacon. 231-2470.

DANCE

The students have put together an evening of spoken-word

The Nutcracker

The Tailor of Gloucester

MUSIC

Human Rights Day: Stories of Everyday Courage

and JoAnn Feigenheimer, the executive director of the Cuneen-

Winter Dance

Hackett Arts Center, where the performance will take place. Each season, a new group of girls devises performances and shares poetry, dance, and a variety of creative endeavors the members have explored through the Mill Street Loft.

The girls have gathered a fair share of recognition for their projects, which are anything but confined to the stage. In fact, the majority of the public murals in Poughkeepsie have been painted by girls from PASWORD/Project AWARE. The level of visibility within the community that these girls have achieved reflects a focus on the importance of being heard, which is well-woven into the program.

Henry speaks of connection between audience and artist as an

3pm. Featuring Senior Project and faculty choreography. Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Annandale-on-Hudson.

758-7900.

The Nutcracker Ballet

8pm. Produced by Catskill Ballet Theatre Company. UPAC Broadway Theatre, Kingston. 679-2518. $25/$18 children and seniors.

EVENTS

Wreath Fineries at Nine Wineries

Collect decorations at each location and sample holiday foods and wine. Call for winery locations and times. 255-2494.

Christmas at Clermont Open House

Amahl and the Night Visitors

3pm. With dancers and orchestra. St. George’s Church, Newburgh. 913-7094. $25/ children 12 and under $15.

Bed, Bach & Beyond

3pm. The Woodstock Chamber Orchestra.

Bearsville Theater, Woodstock. 246-7045. $15/students $5.

Collegium Musicum: Music in the New World 3pm. SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz. 257-3872.

The Zucchini Brothers Holiday Show 3pm. The Egg, Albany. (518) 473-1845.

5pm. A look at Dzongsar Khyentse Norbu Rinpoche - a Buddhist teacher. Time & Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448. $5-$7.

And it’s worth something.’ Until they were seen like that, they weren’t

7:30pm. Woodstock. 679-2626. $15/$20.

Joy of Christmas Concert

Student Recital

7:30pm. Traditional Irish music. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

7:30pm. SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge. 687-5060.

4pm. Saugerties Reformed Church, Saugerties. 246-2867. $8/children free.

Woodstock Brass Quintet Christmas Concert

SPOKEN WORD Abolitionism

4pm. Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Kingston. 338-2954.

4:30pm. What Is Enlightenment? The Science, Culture, and Politics of Reason Lecture Series.

Olin Hall, Annandale-on-Hudson. 758-7512.

College/ Youth Symphony with College Choir

Poetry Open Mike

7pm. SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz. 257-3872.

Second Sunday Songwriters Series

7pm. Featuring Chief Cowpie and Tad Richards. Colony Cafe, Woodstock.

679-5342. $3.

7-9pm. Features Julie Grower, Kelleigh McKenzie, and Vickie Russel. The Colony Café, Woodstock. 679-5342. $5.

THEATER

Girlyman

7-11pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3088 ext. 14.

Auditions for A Street Car Named Desire

8pm. Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling. 855-1300. $17.50/$15 members.

THE OUTDOORS

TUE 12 DANCE

Mohonk Preserve Singles Hike Walkabout 10

Spanish Dance

8pm. Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Annandale-on-Hudson.

758-7900.

9:30am-3:30pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz. 255-0919.

Vassar College Campus Walk

2pm. Vassar College, Poughkeepsie. 4711168.

EVENTS

Newburgh Library Knitting Club

7pm. Newburgh Free Library, Newburgh.

563-3619.

Pre-Holiday Celebration/Sharing of Healing and Creativity

THEATER

and that self expression that you love to do? You can live by that.

History of Wicca

Celtic Session

3-5pm. With Puja Thomson. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-2278.

Words of My Perfect Teacher

4pm. Community Playback Theater participates in Global Playback Day. Boughton Place, Highland. 691-7795. $6.

4pm. A medieval Christmas. St. Mary in the Highlands Episcopal Church, Cold Spring.

297-9243. $25/$12.

Christmas Book and Bake Sale

FILM

Standing Up and Speaking Out

MUSIC

Early Music New York

recalled as a source of strength.

you know that thing you love to do? That drawing and that painting

3pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck.

876-3080. $18/$16 children and seniors.

CLASSES

ancient process, one that, especially in young people, needs to be

themselves in a positive frame until somebody said ‘Oh, by the way,

Lou and Davie’s Excellent Christmas Carol

MON 11

3pm. Newburgh Free Library, Newburgh.

563-3619.

SPOKEN WORD

“There are so many stories of young people who just didn’t see

3pm. Presented by Hudson River Playback Theatre. Oakwood Friends School Theatre, Poughkeepsie. 255-7716.

Concert by the City Winds Trio

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

12-3pm. Pawling Free Library, Pawling. 8557077.

2pm. NYCA Cabaret Theater, Hurley.339-4340.

FORECAST

performance with help from Joan Henry, a founder of the program,

3pm. New Paltz Ballet Theater. Bardavon, Poughkeepsie. 473-2072.

2pm. Present Company Community Theater. New Paltz. 255-9081.

12-4pm. Holiday whodunnit with crafts.

Staatsburg Historical Site, Staatsburg. 8898851. $5 adults/$4 students and seniors.

Wreath Making Workshop

6:30pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

2pm. SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz. 257-3880. $16/$14 seniors, students and staff.

KIDS

BookWorms

Call for times. Reading program with a naturalist. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

Cinderella

2pm. Presented by the PantoLoons. Ghent Playhouse, Ghent. (518) 392-6264. $15/$12 members/$8 children.

THE OUTDOORS Adult Nature Hike

10am. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

necessarily going to go in a good way.”

The unifying concept behind the upcoming performance is one of women helping girls, so the evening will be highlighted by talents such as the poet-performer Lady Prema, and the spoken-word duo Climbing Poetree, two women known for dropping head- and heartturning rhymes. Additionally, ReadNex Poetry Squad will lay down words with the girls, some of whom have accompanied the quartet before.

Past performances have reportedly left even more experienced poets just as enchanted by the PASWORD/Project AWARE girls’ performances as the girls themselves are with those of the older speakers.

“Passing Words” will be performed December at 7pm at the Cuneen-Hackett Arts Center in Poughkeepsie. (845) 471-7477; www.millstreetloft.org.

—Rebecca Wild Nelson

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7-11pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3088 ext. 14.

WED 13 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT

A Planetary Awakening: Ageless Wisdom For a New Age

6:30pm. Practical steps to implement esoteric teachings. Friends Meeting House, New Paltz.

546-0146.

Plant Spirit Medicine: An Evening with Eliot Cowan

7:15pm. Cowan is an initiated shaman in the Huichol tradition. Marbletown Multi-Arts, Stone Ridge. 434-0520.

A Course In Miracles

7:30-9:30pm. Study group with Alice Broner.

Unitarian Fellowship, Poughkeepsie.

229-8391.

DANCE

Spanish Dance

8pm. Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Annandale-on-Hudson.

758-7900.

Comedian Paul Schembri and Rocker Rhett Miller

Call for times. Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center, Poughkeepsie. 401-1237.

KIDS

Creature Feature

3:30pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

WORKSHOPS

Coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder and Depression

1-2pm. Burroughs Hall, Stone Ridge. 6875192.

Finding The Lover Within

FORECAST

7:30pm. Boughton Place, Highland. 2557502. $6.

MUSIC

Ulster County Community College Jazz Ensemble

7pm. SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge. 687-5060.

Mid-Hudson Community Orchestra 7:30pm. Dutchess Hall Theater, Poughkeepsie. 431-8000 ext. 3994.

Acoustic Medicine Show

7:30-10:30pm. Red Hook Country Inn, Red Hook. 758-8445.

Classical Guitar Holiday Concert

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

Kathy Mattea Band

8pm. Country, bluegrass, folk and Celtic music. Ulster Performing Arts Center, Kingston. 454-3388. $32/$27 members.

Seasons of Peace

8pm. With Katy Taylor and Amy Fradon. Stone Ridge Healing Arts Center, Stone Ridge.

657-2172.

Sonya Kitchell and Ben Taylor

EVENTS

7-10pm. Be your own extraordinary lover.

Sheri’s Temple of Succulence, Kingston.

338-8325. $35-50.

THU 14 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT Sufi Zikr

5:45pm. Healing chant and prayer. St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Woodstock.

679-7215.

8pm. Bearsville Theater, Woodstock. 6794406. $10.

Kurt Henry Band

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

New River Jazz

9pm. Gillie and Mac’s Riverfront Restaurant, Catskill. (518) 943-6054.

Live Acoustic Music

9-11pm. Coast, Tivoli. 757-2772.

Crawdaddy

10pm. Blues. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Reality Check

10pm. Pop, rock. Pickwick Pub, Poughkeepsie. www.rcband.net.

THEATER

Lou and Davie’s Excellent Christmas Carol

8pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck.

876-3080. $18/$16 children and seniors.

SAT 16

SAVION GLOVER WILL DANCE AT THE EGG ON

DECEMBER 29.

TAPPING INTO GREATNESS It’s been done before, the fusion of classical music with a modern beat, the rhythmic unleashing on

CLASSES

ART

a genre known more for its melodic traversing than for its often reserved percussive expression: a

7-9pm. Buddha’s Teachings on Ultimate Truth. Howland Cultural Center, Beacon.

856-9000. $8.

5-7pm. Photographs by Lacey Terrell. East Village Collective, Woodstock. 679-2174.

dramatically placed cymbal crash; the march time of a lone snare drum; the moody, tonal rumble of

Perceptions of Reality

offSET

DANCE

Free Style Frolic

DANCE

the timpani. But what happens when that contemporary rhythm is generated by an urban dance as fast and furious as Vivaldi’s sweeping string melodies, the instruments a pair of size 12 1⁄2, steel-soled Capezios atop hardwood floorboards?

The Nutcracker

4:30pm/7:30pm. Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA. (413) 528-0100.

8:30pm. Alcohol-free dance event for all ages.

Knights of Columbus, Kingston. 658-8319. $5/$2 teens and seniors/children free.

EVENTS

EVENTS

modes, and the endeavor has been met with emphatic praise.

11am/2:30pm. Dinner, live music, friends, holiday fun and good cheer. Zen Mountain Monastery, Mount Tremper. 688-2228.

with interpretive movement that seems as natural as his breathing. His loosed dreadlocks mimic the

Wreath Fineries at Nine Wineries

crescendos to the works of Bach, Mendelssohn, Bartok, and Vivaldi, all played by a live string ensemble.

Wine and Food Pairing Dinner

6:30pm. 10th annual Champagne Dinner.

New World Home Cooking, Saugerties.

246-0900.

SPOKEN WORD Poetry Readings

7pm. Feautring George Wallace & Richard Rizzi. Bohemian Bookbin, Kingston.

331-6713. $2.

19th Annual Community Holiday Dinner

Collect decorations at each location and sample holiday foods and wine. Call for winery locations and times. 255-2494.

Candlelight Tours of Clermont

WORKSHOPS

Remove the Old and Make Space for the New

7-8:30pm. Peace Village Learning & Retreat Center, Haines Falls. (518) 589-5000.

FRI 15 EVENTS

Daytime Holiday Tours

10am-3:15pm. Boscobel Restoration, Garrison-on-Hudson. 265-3638 ext. 115.

11am-6pm. Clermont State Historic Site, Germantown. (518) 537-4240. $5/$4 seniors and students.

Drive-Thru Living Nativity

6-8:30pm. Shokan Wesleyan Church, Shokan.

657-8444.

Festivals of Light

7pm. Explore the world’s traditions for bringing light, joy and beauty into the darkest part of the year. SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz.

256-9300. $12/$6 children.

Traditional Candlelight Tours

5-8pm. Boscobel Restoration, Garrison-onHudson. 265-3638 ext. 115.

Drive-Thru Living Nativity

6-8:30pm. Shokan Wesleyan Church, Shokan.

657-8444.

Laser Writer - Youth Media Showcase

7pm. Artists from TSL Youth Programs present their fall work. Time & Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448.

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IMAGE PROVIDED

Auditions for A Street Car Named Desire

FILM

Words of My Perfect Teacher

7:30pm. Time & Space Limited, Hudson.

(518) 822-8448.

Golem2

8pm. Silent film with live score. Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA. (413) 528-0100.

FORECAST CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

In his acclaimed production “Classical Savion,” now on its fourth national tour, renowned tap dancer Savion Glover creates an innovative and surprisingly cohesive union of the wildly different performance The award-winning choreographer, dancer, and actor pulls intricacies from Baroque compositions untamed current of his limbs as he toe-taps with varied staccato inflection and stomps skyrocketing He swivel-steps and shuffle-ball changes through symphonies as straightforwardly as if he were riffing to a familiar jazz standard, a musical style he doesn’t overlook in “Classical Savion”: In parts of the performance he’ll have additional accompaniment by his jazz band, The Otherz.

Often dancing in oversized t-shirts and loose-fitting jeans—and always pushing the boundaries with his groundbreaking mixed-media productions—Glover trades the debonair mannerisms of so many of his tap-dancing predecessors for an approach that is accessibly hip and street-savvy. And it’s earned him recognition far beyond the world of dance.

Though he gained celebrity in 1996 with his starring role in the Broadway hit Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk, the choreography for which earned him a Tony Award, Glover began his performance career much earlier. His debut came at age 10 with a role in the Broadway show The Tap Dance Kid, followed by stage appearances in Black and Bue and Jelly’s Last Jam. He made his entrance into film

in 1989’s Tap with Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis Jr., and joined the cast of “Sesame Street” in the early ’90s. More recently, Glover starred in Spike Lee’s provocative film Bamboozled.

On Saturday, December 29, Savion Glover will bring “Classical Savion” to The Egg in Albany with a free pre-concert talk at 7:15pm and performance at 8pm. The evening is part of the venue’s “Dance New York” series. (518) 473-1845; www.theegg.org.

—Teal Hutton

PHOTOGRAPHS © ANNIE LEIBOVITZ FROM A PHOTOGRAPHER’S LIFE,1990-2005

Evenings of Psychodrama

THEATER

IMAGE PROVIDED

PHOTOGRAPHS © ANNIE LEIBOVITZ FROM A PHOTOGRAPHER’S LIFE,1990-2005

SUSAN AT THE HOUSE ON HEDGES LANE,WAINSCOTT, LONG ISLAND, ANNIE LEIBOVITZ,

1988

BODY OF WORK The image with which famed photographer Annie Leibovitz opens her most recent—and perhaps most personal—body of work, A Photographer’s Life: 1990-2005 (Random House, 2006), is not one of iconic reference. There is no moment of recognition, no strategically posed celebrity face like

FORECAST

so many she has captured and for which she has become renowned. Instead, a rough-surfaced, mountainous rock chasm opens to reveal a classically carved stone façade, and the silhouette of a woman, dwarfed by her surroundings and back-lit by sunshine beyond the shadows, stands at the opening of the gorge.

The woman in the photograph is writer and filmmaker Susan Sontag, Leibovitz’s longtime companion, and the picture begins the autobiographical story of a decade and a half of the photographer’s life, its professional and personal aspects woven seamlessly together. On one page, her mother and father sleep in their bed, their grandson tucked snugly between them; on another, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rob Besserer are captured in dance on a beach.

“When I realized that I had so much more personal material than I imagined,” writes Leibovitz in the book’s introduction, “and that the period this book covers is almost exactly the years I was with Susan, I considered doing a book made up completely of personal work. I thought about that for a while and concluded that the personal work on its own wasn’t a true view of the last 15 years. I don’t have two lives.”

Leibovitz, whose career burgeoned in the early ’70s when she held the position of chief photographer at Rolling Stone, has left her mark in places ranging from the music industry to politics to art, becoming an icon of popular culture in her own right. She immortalized a naked John Lennon wrapped around Yoko Ono’s modestly clothed body. She boldly displayed Demi Moore’s pregnant belly on the cover of Vanity Fair. She has photographed presidents and world leaders, superstars and Olympic athletes.

The celebrated photographer is the recipient of the American Society of Magazine Photographers awards for Best Photograph and Photographer of the Year and has been named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress. In 1991, she became the first woman to exhibit her work at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. And through A Photographer’s Life, the viewer sees that Leibovitz honors each of her subjects— a celebrity, a desert landscape, a room in her Rhinebeck home—with the same intimate and discerning eye.

Celebration, family, death, loss, new life, all themes of Leibovitz’s work throughout the collection, intermingle with her commercial portraiture and poignantly narrate her time with Sontag, telling of their travels, their creative collaborations, the births of Leibovitz’s children and, ultimately, Sontag’s illness and death in 2004. “I didn’t realize until later,” writes Leibovitz, “how far the work on the book had taken me through the grieving process. It’s the closest thing to who I am that I’ve ever done.”

Annie Leibovitz will be at Merritt Books in Millbrook to sign copies of A Photographer’s Life on Sunday, December 3, at noon. (845) 677-5857; www.merrittbooks.com.

—Teal Hutton

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM FORECAST

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FORECAST

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FORECAST CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

FORECAST 12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM FORECAST

131

KIDS

Sleeping Beauty

11am. Tanglewood Marionettes. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-1559. $10/$7 members.

The Puppet People’s A Christmas Carol

11am. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck.

876-3080. $8/$5 children.

Creature Feature

12:30pm. Get up close to the resident animals. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

MUSIC

DCC Music School Suzuki Piano Recitals

9am-1pm. James and Betty Hall Theatre, Poughkeepsie. 431-8916.

Hudson Valley Folk Guild Song Circle 7:30pm. Highland Methodist Church, Highland. 849-1775. $4/$3 members.

Aimee Mann Holiday Concert

8pm. The Egg, Albany. (518) 473-1064. $28.

Annual Winter Solstice Concert

8pm. With Happy and Artie Traum and friends. Kleinert/James Art Center, Woodstock. 679-2079.

Martin Sexton

8pm. Bearsville Theater, Woodstock.

679-4406.

Mendelssohn Club Christmas Concert

8pm. Old Dutch Church, Kingston. 338-6759.

Phil Ochs Birthday Tribute: I Ain’t Marchin’ Anymore

8:30pm. Celebrate the music and activism of the protest song’s grandest voice. Joshua’s, Woodstock. 679-5533. $6.

Frogg Cafe with Izz

9pm. Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling. 855-1300. $20/$17.50 members.

HooDooDat

FORECAST

9pm. Blues, rock. Primo’s, Clintondale.

883-6112.

Blue Coyote

10pm. Rock. Firebird Lounge, Rhinebeck.

876-8686.

THE OUTDOORS

Christmas Bird Count

Call for times. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston. 331-1682.

Mohonk Preserve Singles Hike Lake Minnewaska

10am-3pm. Meet at the Minnewaska State Park Preserve Upper Lot, New Paltz.

255-0919.

SPOKEN WORD

Book Signing with Annie Leibovitz

11am-1pm. Author of Photographer’s Life.

Merritt Books, Millbrook. 677-5857.

Gallery Talk: Steven Evans on Walter De Maria

1-2pm. Dia:Beacon Riggio Galleries, Beacon.

440-0100 ext. 44.

THEATER

101 Dalmatians

7pm. Performed by Taconic Hills Elementary School students. Taconic Hills Performing Arts Center, Craryville. (518) 325-0447.

Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory”

8pm. Present Company Community Theater.

New Paltz. 255-9081.

A Picasso

8pm. Mohonk Mountain Stage Readers Theater. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-1559. $15/$11 members.

Lou and Davie’s Excellent Christmas Carol

8pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck.

876-3080. $18/$16 children and seniors.

WORKSHOPS

Candle Making for Adults

2-4pm. Creating wax decorations with pre-created wax sheets and hand colored candles, starting with white pillar candles.

The Arts Center of the Greater Hudson Valley, Red Hook. 340-4576. $20/$17 members.

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SUN 17 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT

Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl Meditation

10am. Guided meditation for clearing and balancing the chakras. The Auracle, New Paltz. 255-6046. $7/$5.

Teen Silk-screen T-shirt Workshop

3:30-5pm. Time & Space Limited, Hudson.

(518) 822-8448.

THU 21 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT

DANCE

Swing Dance Jam

Sufi Zikr

6:30-9pm. Lesson at 6pm. White Eagle Hall, Kingston. 339-3032. $5.

5:45pm. Healing chant and prayer. St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Woodstock.

679-7215.

EVENTS

EVENTS

Collect decorations at each location and sample holiday foods and wine. Call for winery locations and times. 255-2494.

6:30-8pm. Old Dutch Church, Kingston.

338-6759.

Wreath Fineries at Nine Wineries

Living Nativity Scene

FRI 22

winter Gift Sale

10am-6pm.MaMa (Marbletown Multi Arts Center),Stone Ridge, 658-3023.

Candlelight Tours of Clermont

11am-6pm. Clermont State Historic Site, Germantown. (518) 537-4240. $5/$4 seniors and students.

Christmas Candlelight Tours

4-7pm. Mount Gulian Society, Beacon.

831-8172. $5/$3.

FILM

Words of My Perfect Teacher

5pm. Time & Space Limited, Hudson.

(518) 822-8448.

WED 27

WORKSHOPS

EVENTS

Children’s Christmas Victorian Tea Party and Games Call for times. Mount Gulian Society, Beacon. 831-8172. $8/$5.

KIDS

A Day at the Barn

9am-2pm. For children ages 7 and up.

Winslow Therapeutic Center, Warwick.

986-6686.

Creature Feature

3:30pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

THU 28

DANCE

MUSIC

Swing Dance

Acoustic Medicine Show

8:30-11:30pm. Featuring music by Skipp Parsons. Lesson at 7:30pm.

Poughkeepsie Tennis Club, Poughkeepsie.

473-6955. $10.

7:30-10:30pm. Red Hook Country Inn, Red Hook. 758-8445.

EVENTS

DANCE

6:30-8pm. Old Dutch Church, Kingston.

338-6759.

8pm. The Egg, Albany. (518) 473-1845.

Living Nativity Scene

FRI 29 Tap Dancer Savion Glover

EVENTS

MUSIC

Acoustic Medicine Show

7:30-10:30pm. Red Hook Country Inn, Red Hook. 758-8445.

New Year’s Winter Dance and MusicCamp

Fri 4pm-Mon 2pm. Swing, Cajun, contras, squares, waltzes, blues, daily workshops.

Ashokan Field Campus, Olivebridge.

246-2121.

KIDS

MacTalla M’or

12-4pm. Holiday whodunnit with crafts.

Staatsburg Historical Site, Staatsburg. 8898851. $5 adults/$4 students and seniors.

Live Acoustic Music

9-11pm. Coast, Tivoli. 757-2772.

9-11pm. Coast, Tivoli. 757-2772.

The Snow Queen

The Relatives

Murali Coryell

Case of the Pilfered Pantry

2:30pm. Performed by Hudson Vagabond Puppets. Taconic Hills School Performing Arts Center, Craryville. (518) 325-0447. $12/children & students $10.

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

10pm. 70’s and 80’s punk. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

MUSIC

Live Acoustic Music

10pm. Funky blues. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

SAT 30

THEATER Community Messiah Sing

3pm. Old Dutch Church, Kingston. 3386759.

Lou and Davie’s Excellent Christmas Carol

8pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $18/$16 children and seniors.

Unplugged Open Acoustic Mike

SAT 23

4pm. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-1559. $6/$5 members.

Mohonk Preserve Copes Lookout Ski or Hike

10am-3pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz.

255-0919.

Living Nativity Scene

6:30-8pm. Old Dutch Church, Kingston.

338-6759.

Lou and Davie’s Excellent Christmas Carol

3pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck.

876-3080. $18/$16 children and seniors.

Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory”

2pm. Present Company Community Theater. New Paltz. 255-9081.

MON 18

12:30pm. Get up close to the resident animals. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

MUSIC

1pm. Newburgh Free Library, Newburgh.

563-3619.

SPOKEN WORD Poetry Open Mike

7pm. Featuring Michael Platsky and Cheryl Rice. Colony Cafe, Woodstock.

679-5342. $3.

TUE 19 THE OUTDOORS

WED 20 KIDS

Creature Feature

3:30pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

9pm. Allman Brothers tribute. The Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

THE OUTDOORS

Mohonk PreserveSnowshoe or Hike to Van Leuven Cabin

The Real Men

10pm. Rock. Firebird Lounge, Rhinebeck.

876-8686.

THEATER

Lou and Davie’s Excellent Christmas Carol

SUN 24 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT

Pathwork Spiritual Lecture Reading/ Discussion/Potluck 10:30am. Phoenicia. 688-2211.

Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl Chakra Balancing Meditation

11am. Guided meditation for clearing and balancing the chakras. The Auracle, New Paltz. 255-6046. $7/$5.

Adult Nature Hike

10am. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

9pm. Mixture of r&b, rock ‘n roll and original songs. The Colony Cafe, Woodstock.

679-5342. $10.

DANCE

6pm. Acoustic, blues, classical, folk, jazz, original, rock. Griffins Corner Cafe, Fleischmanns. 254-6300.

Celtic Session

7:30pm. Traditional Irish music. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

MUSIC

1-3pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz.

255-0919.

8pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck.

876-3080. $18/$16 children and seniors.

MUSIC

12:30pm. Get up close to the resident animals. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

Anna Cheek

EVENTS

Anime Orange Club Meeting

Creature Feature

The Brothers of the Road Band

KIDS

Creature Feature

THEATER

KIDS

The Malley Bragg Band

EVENTS THE OUTDOORS

FORECAST

MUSIC

TUE 26

SUN 31 New Years Eve Dance

8pm. Swing, blues, Cajun. Ashokan Field Campus, Olivebridge. 246-2121. $25/$45 dinner included.

EVENTS

New Year’s Eve Disco Skate Party

Call for times. Skate Time 209, Accord.

626-7971.

Swingin’ Into the New Year

9pm. Music by Terry Blaine and Friends.

Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck.

876-3080.

KIDS

Case of the Pilfered Pantry

12-4pm. Holiday whodunnit with crafts.

Staatsburg Historical Site, Staatsburg.

889-8851. $5 adults/$4 students and seniors.

MUSIC

Gala New Years Eve

THE OUTDOORS

Call for times. Featuring Peach Jam. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 2460900.

10am. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682.

Bach at New Years

Adult Nature Hike

6pm. Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA. (413) 528-0100.

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM FORECAST

133

Planet Waves EMIL ALZAMORA

BY ERIC FRANCIS COPPOLINO

M

TURNING THE TIDE

ost people in the United States do not know what they have likely avoided with this week’s election miracle, basically because they’re not quite up to considering such a possibility. We Americans tend to be extremely naïve about politics and always greet the future with hope and a barbecue. That’s why it’s possible for abuses of the kind we’ve witnessed endlessly for six years (far more, really) to go on unchecked until finally someone, some other factor, speaks up—and even that is extremely rare.

I have been wondering every single day when we would get the message of the torture and sexual abuse of prisoners in Iraq (whom we were supposedly saving from tyranny). I’ve been wondering when we would get sick of seeing American GIs bashing in the doors of poor Iraqi families; when we would get fed up with the Guantanamos and extraordinary rendition and torture flights; when we would finally find compassion for our sons and daughters coming home with missing limbs, brain trauma, blind and deaf, or packed on ice in metal caskets.

I have wondered every day when we would figure out that we possessed responsibility for the lives of up to a quarter-million Iraqis (so far) who have been killed and maimed under bombs or in the crossfire, and the generations of people throughout the Middle

134 PLANET WAVES CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

East who will be inhaling the residue of our depleted uranium shells eternally.

And I’ve wondered when we would sicken at the cost of this mayhem, now estimated at more than two trillion dollars (that is to say, $2,000,000,000,000.00) and counting—a cost that will be borne by our grandchildren and their children, in addition to economically strangling the current generation of Americans. That is not money. It is the life force energy of our people, because money is generated by human effort and creativity.

I have also been wondering when we would notice that gay-bashing went from a relatively contained problem to a vast national movement. And, just personally, between you, me, and the world, if I were a parent and heard that the public schools were teaching a religion-based “abstinence only” program to my children, I would be back with a legal team and seek a federal injunction to stop it.

Apparently, some of this—we don’t know what or how much—got through to some people the past few weeks. Americans tend to vote their emotions.

We are an emotionally cut off society, and behold, something came through; we actually felt something and responded. Thankfully, there were too many separate races on the ground for Karl Rove to steal them all. Convicting Saddam on a Sunday did not

work. The “Rev.” Ted Haggard turning out to be gay helped the gay and lesbian cause a lot. The timing was impeccable. The heroic woman I kept seeing in the charts for this time of year turned out to be a male prostitute.

Yet understood properly, this week’s election victory is strictly symbolic; it is a statement of intent; an unfulfilled promise. It is, to borrow from Martin Luther King Jr., a check that has not yet cleared the bank. The war, widely supported by Democrats and renounced by nearly none of them, even as the layers of fraud have poured out of the closet, will most likely go on for a long time. Long after we leave Iraq, the mayhem will continue (remember Cambodia). Even Marco Polo, who traveled the region in the 13th century (then known as Iraq, as it is today), commented in his diaries on the brutality of the country’s people against one another when they lack a strong leader.

Measures that the Bush administration has put in place to disembowel our Constitution still exist, and will exist, for years. Halliburton still has its contract to build prison camps in the United States. Dick Cheney is still breathing. And I’ll accept that Bush will leave office on January 21, 2009, the day after someone else is inaugurated. Not the day before, an hour before, or five minutes before.

The good guys?

The image that most Americans have of their country is based on World War II movies, which always have us coming in to save the day.

We tend to remember Patton and forget about Coming Home or Born on the 4th of July. Patton is the truth and Coming Home is just the result of an unfortunate 25-year era filled with dope, longhaired hippies, groovy chicks, and protests.

The United States is always the good guys. For this reason only, we can go into Iraq claiming to be doing the world a big favor, swearing it has nothing to do with Halliburton, oil or the vicious hatred of Muslims that has in recent years become a holy sacrament.

It is true that millions of people protested the imminent war on February 15, 2003, under that blazing Leo Full Moon. But the other half of the country, the one that doesn’t come out on a cold day and march in the streets, was sure enough that Bush was right about Saddam being the one who took out the World Trade Center, that they agreed we better go in and clean things up—just like we did in 1942. Just like Grandpa Sam and Uncle Howard did.

While we think we’re saving the day, someone else is busy stealing it from us. It may be that on Election Day, we stole it back. Maybe.

Everyone I know in politics agrees this is big news. Bigger than Fitz indicting Rove. Bigger than Dick Cheney quitting. Equivalent to what dumping Bush in 2004 would have meant.

Yet we have seen Democrats collapse, even under just a little pressure, time and time again, even at crucial moments. It is easy to put the pressure on. We don’t know if Nancy Pelosi has quietly been issued a death threat by one of Dick Cheney’s flunkies. Hey, it’s easy. And all we need is something vaguely resembling a second 9/11, or something worse, for all bets to be off.

This is not the time to think we won and it’s all gonna be chill. It’s the time to start participating more intensely, with greater sobriety and less hope. We need to stalk our congressional representatives, be on a first-name basis with their aides, know what their local offices look like, and actually know what is happening in our government. We have earned the potential for influence; that is different than power.

Will we use it? Politics is tedious, hard work, and most people who get involved are extremely neurotic, and they confuse power and pleasure. You lose more rounds than you win. It’s not like eating ice cream or taking your dog to the beach. Until you get really, really good at it, politics is nowhere near as much fun as going to work.

But somebody has to do it. I nominate us.

Mercury Transit of the Sun Now that I have that off my chest, Election Day and the day after were certainly interesting days astrologically. I would go so far as to say they were promising and in many ways completely strange. From a distance, however, it did not look too hopeful—it all looked very slippery to me. I guess it’s just a matter of who slipped.

Retrograde Mercury in Scorpio made an exact conjunction to Venus in Scorpio. This

was exactly 90 degrees from Neptune in Aquarius—the cosmic happy pill we’ve all been swallowing since the late 1990s, sending a little shockwave through that energy pattern. Simultaneously, everything aligned on another plane of space: Venus and Mercury were parallel to Neptune (somewhat like an exact conjunction, but subtler); and the next day, Mercury crossed the disk of the Sun, called a transit (a parallel plus a conjunction simultaneously). Each one of these events is rare; putting them together is extraordinary, and something extraordinary happened.

For Aries Point fans, the focus of this activity was right at the center of the fixed signs, which are on a 90-degree harmonic with the first degree of the zodiac. In other words, the midpoint of the fixed signs is directly connected to the beginning of the cardinal signs.

So the superaspect involving the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Neptune also picked up the Aries Point, amplifying its effects many times. I completely missed this, the total sum, before the fact, and have only put it together in the past couple of days.

Of all these events, the Mercury transit of the Sun is the one that points to the beginning of a new era, particularly given where it was placed in relation to the Aries Point. Think of Mercury etching a line across the Sun, or Mercury eclipsing the Sun. The small meets the great; the Mercury boomerang that has been thrown at us again has finally come back and clocked the King (the Sun) on the head.

At every defining moment of the Bush administration, Mercury has been the most prominent planet, and the alignments have been strikingly well timed and precise. The two events we’re most familiar with were the election of 2000 and the coup d’etat of September 11.

With the first, Mercury stationed direct in the last degree of Libra the night of the 2000 election, just as the polls closed in Florida.

Bush, who lost the popular vote and should have lost the electoral vote, won the presidency.

With the second, Mercury was rising, exact to the degree, in Libra, just as the September 11 incident manifested. An event that required the government’s negligence to happen at all became the weapon used against us over and over again.

These are old examples—but they are salient, and they fit a larger pattern. The sequence of events Tuesday into Wednesday fits the pattern closely, with a grouping of aspects tightly focused on Mercury at center stage.

The future Unless we are playing Nostradamus, we cannot really say what this holds for the future. There are too many X-factors involved, one of which is how desperate people will react when their situation becomes genuinely desperate. But we can generally describe the climate: the progressed Sun of an important United States chart now in Pisces (starting exactly on Election Day 2004, and which, incredibly, will stay in force through 2034), which is just another way of saying that we’ve got some things to talk about here beside the rising tide.

12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM PLANET WAVES 135

Horoscopes December 2006: Year in Review Eric Francis Coppolino

ARIES (March 20-April 19) With any luck, you’ve discovered how much work it takes to be yourself—and you’re willing to do it. Part of the effort involves moving through your own doubts and layers of defensiveness until you arrive at the inner feeling of authenticity—in other words, discovering not only something new about yourself, some quality you’re not familiar with yet, but also a new state of mind. The rest of the project involves rising above your insecurities and coping with the confrontations involved in presenting yourself to people authentically. This, in turn, requires dealing with their reactions—and making the necessary adjustments in your life to compensate for, or move on from, those members of human kind who cannot bear very much reality. To do this, once again, you need to identify, acknowledge, and deal with your own emotional fears. Is it all worth it? Do you really have a choice?

TAURUS

(April 19-May 20)

This year was designed to get you to stand up and get out of your seat; to start walking; to discard what you don’t need, and travel with a lighter load; and more than anything, to seek your emotional independence. The word “boundaries” is perhaps overused, but to me, it still has meaning and necessity. Have you noticed that the lines between you and everyone else are becoming better defined, and that in the process, you are coming out with a cleaner edge and a smoother, more polished exterior? “Yes” and “no” are words with new meaning. Even “maybe” is a concept with some power, referring to your privilege of taking time to make up your mind. Anyway, it’s not over, and what you learn the next four seasons about standing your ground, or alternatively, inviting others to come join you, will more than make up for what you may have missed the past decade.

GEMINI (May 20-June 21) What a plunge into your feelings, your body, and your heart center. What an admission: not all can be spoken, not every idea has a word to go with it, and words actually fall short at a certain point. What replaces them?

Only empathy can. Only the feeling that runs through your biopsychic system, at the very moment you can feel it happening to someone you care about. Both your senses and your “extrasensory” capacities have been expanded in the past four seasons, and you are still learning how to manage the energy, the rapid influx of sensation, and the indescribability of it all. Where there is empathy, however, the few words that are spoken are all the more meaningful. Gemini is considered the sign of more words, not less—but this and many other things will be setting off in new and unexpected directions as the next four seasons unfold.

CANCER

(June 21-July 22)

Looking back, what will you remember about this year? What are the more poignant scenes, encounters, and transitions? They may play second oboe to the mental skills you learned, principally, the ability to negotiate where your feelings are at stake, even when you’re at your most raw and sensitive. We hardly think of feelings as being something actually worth another person’s time and effort discussing, much less negotiating over. True, most people descend into irrationality when it comes to their emotional experience of life, but someone close to you has set an example, provided a structure, or taught you language that will come in handy for the rest of your days. Coexistence is something that humans have always done, but never with the expectations of personal autonomy that we have today. The question is how to be yourself and be in a relationship at the same time. You may not think you have the answer—but you know a lot more than you did one year ago. www.planetwaves.net 136 PLANET WAVES CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

Horoscopes Eric Francis Coppolino

LEO

(July 22-Aug. 23)

Saturn in your birth sign has turned out to be more productive than you thought. Saturn is a harsh teacher only when we insist on losing touch with reality, which is to lose touch with ourselves, our environment, and our sense of mission. Working within your limits, respecting authority and moreover, taking over as your own inner authority are the practical ideas we need to take aboard.

The boss is only a problem when we see her outside ourselves, as someone apart and with separate interests. But this boss tends to be a relic of everyone from parents, teachers, and overzealous Boy Scout leaders, whose ideas of authority we have not addressed within ourselves. Saturn always makes us stretch across the gap between the individual and collective, and his motto in Leo is “the greatest good for all concerned.” It’s worth a chance.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) Contrary to nearly all the published accounts of what a Virgo is supposed to be, you tend to be someone guided by your emotions. It’s only your advanced mind that keeps you from being ruled or overwhelmed by your sensitivity, and yet it’s true that you can go into long phases of denial about how your life feels, what you need, or what matters most. Events of this year have, however, delivered you far away from any refusal to see the obvious. This has proven to be an indispensable skill in the sorting out process you’re now going through. Gradually, a certain contradiction is wearing off: As you’ve gone deeper into yourself, people have shown increasing interest in you. At the same time, you’ve become keenly aware of who is good for you and why, and you would be wise to take your own counsel on these matters.

LIBRA

(Sep. 22-Oct. 23)

Stunning breakthroughs are rare enough events in your life. You tend to prefer putting one foot in front of the other to the flying karate kick. Looking back, you’ve done a lot of that this year, that is, the moving forward one step at a time, thankfully, without looking back. But the real journey has been an extremely careful assessment of how you feel about yourself. Reaching a peak over the past two months, you seem to have come further in developing your self-respect this year than perhaps any other in your life. If nothing else, you have recognized your own right to survival, ending a long debate that has too often become mingled in the emotional survival trip of your relationships. How you have managed to break free of this can be summed up in one word: awareness. That skill has, in turn, summoned your most practical ideas about money, resources and how you use them.

Now, get ready for something perhaps less than absolutely practical, but undeniably brilliant.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) You may have walked a huge circle back to where you started, but I’d be truly surprised if you’re not seeing the world a whole new way. Perhaps the most significant things that have come up for reassessment this year have been your agreements with others. These accords, you now know, are the foundation of our relationships; without a contract of some kind, be it written, verbal, or emotionally understood, there is no relationship. I trust that it’s come as an enormous relief to discover the extent to which others are depending on you, and equally enlightening to discover that you have deep needs that you cannot meet yourself. These necessities, handled honestly, are the basis of honest meetings. It may seem callous to say that the world is based entirely on commerce, but at the very least what we call the world is based on constant exchange. The most pleasant surprise of all yet awaits you: how much you have to give, to offer, and to share. www.planetwaves.net 12/06 CHRONOGRAM.COM PLANET WAVES 137

Horoscopes Eric Francis Coppolino

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) It has begun: one of the most memorable collections of planets in Sagittarius in, well, centuries. By December 10, a specific day that should be pretty memorable on all accounts, Mercury, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Pluto, and Venus are all visiting your sign—and you will see what you have been missing. (A minor planet called Ixion soon comes into focus as well.) I recognize it’s been an excruciating year of shadow boxing with your blind spots, facing your insecurities by smell and sound, and going through a process of inner transformation that lends itself more to science fiction trilogy than a horoscope column. And when your moment arrives, it really arrives: such is the case now.

What you need to remember above all else is that the energy for which your sign is known is, at its roots, lacking all morality or external control. You are the one who must bring the theme, the direction and the ethical framework. You are the one who says what it all means.

CAPRICORN

(Dec. 22-Jan. 20)

Gradually, your doors have been pushed open, your limits have been stretched, and your prejudices have been melted like a marshmallow over an open fire. It turns out after all that the crispy exterior of Capricorn is a thin veneer stretched over the extreme of sensitivity that you have learned to allow in your life. It’s not that you lacked sensitivity before; you just were not quite as sensitive to it as you are now. I trust that it comes as a relief to be in harmony with your inner core, and to be happy that the story of this relationship with yourself goes on. Finally, instead of being pursued by growth, you are the one seeking opportunities to work out the inner complexities you’ve carried with you for so many years. Remember that in any relationship situation that arises where there seems to be some complication, reverse the roles. It will be easy for you to see yourself in the position of the person you’re talking to, and this can pretty much solve everything.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) If you’re not already a High Deacon of the Church of All Worlds, you are well on the way. You’re becoming intimately acquainted with the wide range of possibilities you contain: from shocking brilliance to deep doubt; from humanitarian to being able to understand the motives of the darkest, strangest people you’re aware of. Along the way and in between, the journey of your life this year has been one of slowly, surely and steadily gathering self-awareness. And, whether we appreciate the fact or not, this often comes with a crisis; in your case, an existential crisis: For example, what does it really mean to be alive? Well, since you’ve figured out that it means more than smoking cigarettes and renting movies, you’re well on the way to enlightenment. But don’t be in such a rush to get there. Compared to what you’re living out these years of your life, enlightenment is boring.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Ah yes, limits. It reminds me of the night a long time ago I was tripping with my Pisces friend Scott on a beach in Brooklyn. It was dark; we came to a fence.

The fence was separating us from the water. We wanted to be on the other side, but it was too high to climb, and we were in no condition. Scott and I both had the same thought: maybe this is not a real obstacle. Let’s stop believing in it. We walked 20 or 30 feet to the right, and suddenly the fence disappeared down into the sand. It was too strange to be funny, but it was true. And the lesson is worth calling universal: If you cannot go through, go around. To those who believe freedom exists only in theory, I would offer this: We’re doing well as long as we can keep making decisions; indeed, it’s the only power we’ve ever had, or ever will. www.planetwaves.net 138 PLANET WAVES CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06

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Parting Shot

Clemens Kalischer, John Lee Hooker, black-and-white photograph, 1958

Renowned documentarian photographer Clemens Kalischer was born in Lindau, Germany, in 1921, and his Jewish family fled Nazi Germany for Paris in 1933.

Like many other Germans, he was held in various French concentration camps from 1939 to 1942. Kalischer managed to escape in 1942 and made his way to Portugal, where he gained passage on a ship bound for the United States.

“I used to go to the harbor whenever a ship arrived. I had arrived the same way six years previously,” Kalischer said. “I saw fear and expectation in the faces of men, women, and children, because I had experienced the same thing. I think it was the empathy which enabled me to move amongst the people and photograph them without disturbing them.”

After working in New York, Kalischer moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where he has lived for the last few decades. A favorite, subject-rich haunt of the photographer was Lenox’s legendary Music Inn. Thanks to the venue’s penchant for nurturing new talent and its performers’ frequent collaborations with artists appearing at nearby Tanglewood, the club served as a catalyst in the emergence of jazz and folk from crowded urban nightspots into the world’s top concert halls.

This 1958 image of blues icon John Lee Hooker appears in a recent PBS documentary about the Music Inn and is part of the permanent collection of the Vault Gallery in Great Barrington. (413) 644-0221; www.vaultgallery.com.

—Peter Aaron

140 PARTING SHOT CHRONOGRAM.COM 12/06