Summer Issue 2016
Van Wyck Gazette
Fishkill • Beacon • Wappingers Falls • Poughkeepsie • Newburgh • New Paltz • Rhinebeck • Woodstock
Table of Contents
Cover “Tea at the Plaza” by Stacie Flint. The art of Stacie Flint is all about color; her oil and acrylic paintings complement the warmth of summer. These vibrant works depict figures set in lively, patterned interiors, as well as unique still lifes and landscapes. They combine inventive color, painterly brushwork, playful, animated energy, and create a light and breezy world with a feeling of freedom. Flint also uses her distinctive colorful style for commissioned work; creating portraits of her clients and their family life. She teaches a workshop at her studio on creative expression, and in addition to being a member of Roost, is part of the Gardiner Open Studio Tour and the Ulster/ Dutchess mobile co-op LongreachArts, and sings in the women’s choral group Bloom. A resident of New Paltz, Flint’s paintings and portraits are owned nationally and internationally. She has exhibited extensively throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley, New York City, and beyond. Her art has been featured on numerous magazine covers including Chronogram, The Valley Table, The Ulster County Community Guide, HITS Program Guide and The Van Wyck Gazette and has appeared in various issues of The New York Times, Hudson Valley Magazine, Poughkeepsie Journal, New Paltz Times and other publications. Her commissioned public art is on permanent display at Ulster County Area Transit in Kingston. Flint illustrated a children’s book “Ten Pigs Fiddling” by Ron Atlas (2005 Amberwood Press), and created work for two music CD covers by the band Grenadilla. 914-475-0113. stacieflint@yahoo.com Stacie Flint Paintings - Solo Show June 17-July 13, Roost Studio and Art Gallery, 69 Main Street (second floor), New Paltz, NY. Opening Reception Saturday June 18, 6-8pm. Gallery Hours Thursday 11-5pm, Friday Saturday Sunday 11-8pm. http://www.roostcoop.org./ ; www.stacieflint.com
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The Magic of Kurt Seligmann
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All About Dog Shows
10
Keeping Your Kids Happy In The Summer
12
Down In The Grooves
16
The Poughkeepsie Regatta
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Ethos & Access - A Glimpse Into Eating Wild
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Hats For Cats: A Search For The Truth
Janet Hamill
Katie Maus
Diane Lang
Mike Jurkovic
Peter Rae
Samara Ferris
Adrea Gibbs
Van Wyck Gazette Participating Sponsor at The Hudson Valley Pet Expo 2016 to benefit the Hudson Valley SPCA of New Windsor & the Dutchess County SPCA of Hyde Park
August 13th 2016 11:00am - 4:00pm at Mesier Park - Wappingers Falls NY
Visit our display table for one ouf our complimentary issues!
J. H. Caplan
Publications come and go, and while the list is quite extensive it often presents a few surprises. Social media and online formats host digital publications which define topics on every potential subject. So trying to carve out a niche in the micro publication segment is daunting.
We scour the region for trending topics of value to the reader, present the finest local writers, artists and photographers and promote our loyal advertiser base. Rather than write on topics as a member of the crowd, our group of writers delves into the scene, as either a participant or narrator. They become an active observer of the moment, to interpret art or music from the perspective of the artist or musician. We also strive to present those advertisers who go beyond the norm, not only in their product or service, but their pledge to participate in the local economy as givers. Such an example is the VCA Animal Specialty and Emergency Center and their 2016 Pet Expo. Every one of our advertisers is top notch. This niche in the micro publication segment is very tough and competitive. Van Wyck Gazette enters a sixth year as a local magazine devoted to promote the Hudson Valley lifestyle and those who live it actively and share insights with our readers. Our Summer Issue shares a great mix of trending topics starting with “The Magic of Kurt Seligmann” by Janet Hamill a review of the artist and museum which houses his works in Sugar Loaf. Next is the interview of music critic Michael Fremer in “Down in the Grooves” the return of music on vinyl by Michael Jurkovic. Also trending is the shift to organic fruit, vegetables and natural edibles found in the wild as narrated in our piece “Ethos & Access, a Glimpse Into Eating Wild” by Samara Ferris.
Finally a magazine with personality!
Publisher Caplan Media Group, Inc. Van Wyck Gazette is a community magazine distributed throughout the Hudson Valley with a focus on promoting the finest local business entrepreneurs, creative writers and artists
For our advertising schedule email vanwyckgazette@gmail.com
In a nod to Pet Expo, find our basic primer “All About Dog Shows” by Katie Maus plus the humorous “Hats For Cats; A Search For The Truth” by Adrea Gibbs. With the upcoming Summer Olympics enjoy “The Poughkeepsie Regatta and the 1936 Olympics” by Peter Rae. Lastly “Keeping Your Kids Happy” by Diane Lang, M.A. A word of gratitude to New Paltz artist Stacie Flint for another terrific cover! Van Wyck Gazette community magazine is always available in print: Digital editions on: •
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I hope you enjoy the Summer Issue and those to follow.. Joseph Caplan - Publisher
www.vanwyckgazette.com
Janet Hamill
How is it that one of the greatest cultural treasures in the Hudson Valley remains a relative secret? Is it because the Kurt Seligmann Center’s 55 glorious acres are tucked away in the remote southern Orange hamlet of Sugar Loaf? Is it because most people don’t know who Kurt Seligmann is? Is it because Seligmann practiced Surrealism – a school of visual and language art popular during World Wars I and II, primarily in Europe – and magic? Or is it because, with few exceptions, art in Orange is largely under siege?
The Magic of Kurt Seligmann
Prior to leaving New York City for south-western Orange over 15 years ago, like many an aficionado, I was well aware of some of the history and highlights of the Hudson Valley’s visual arts: I knew of Storm King and its monumental sculptures; I knew of the luminous Hudson Valley School and its painters Cole, Bierstadt, Durant, Moran and Cropsey; within a year of relocating, I’d visited Frederic Church’s magnificent home, Olana, in Hudson; and as soon as it opened in 2003, I strolled the enormous galleries of minimalist paintings and sculptures at Dia:Beacon. However, even though I knew the name Seligmann, had seen numerous reproductions of his work in collections of Surrealist art, had read his comprehensive history of magic, and had stood in front of his paintings and drawings in exhibitions at MOMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the fact that his home and studios were only a 40-minute drive from my home remained completely unknown to me. The story of Kurt Seligmann is as dramatic as his paintings.
He was born in Basel, Switzerland in 1900 to parents who, very successfully, manufactured and sold furniture. As a young man, he was drawn to painting and received classical training at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Geneva. After art school, he made a failed attempt to work for his father before moving to Paris to pursue his dream of becoming a fine artist. Paris, at the time, was having its “heroic” Surrealist moment, and poet Andre Breton was its “Pope.” Writers and painters drawn to Surrealism’s love of irrationality, the dream world, and automatism could launch a successful career if they were fortunate enough to win Breton’s favor. Through introductions from Jean Arp and Giacometti, Seligmann became part of Breton’s circle and began to show his Abstraction-Creationist paintings of heraldic, peculiarly shaped, Carnival Day figures (recalled from childhood images) beside the work of Oscar Domínguez, Jacques Hérold, Richard Oelze and Hans Bellmer. In 1935 he met and married Arlette Paraf, the granddaughter of the founder of the famous Wildenstein Gallery. For their honeymoon, they traveled around the world, seeking artwork of indigenous cultures, something especially admired by the Surrealists. In 1936 they returned to North America, where they had become enamored of New York City and the spectacles of the American west. In 1938, at the request of pioneering ethnographer Claude Levi Strauss, they visited British Columbia. They stayed with a tribe on the north-west coast that honored them with tribal membership and a totem pole. The Seligmanns boxed and shipped the totem pole to Paris, where it stands to this day in the Musee De L’homme. In 1939, at the outset of WWII, the Seligmann’s returned to New York. Kurt was supposedly returning to exhibit paintings, but he and Arlette’s real intention was to escape the growing Nazi threat in Europe, a threat particularly felt by Jews. Among the first to escape the war, Kurt and Arlette became active with Varian Fry’s Emergency Rescue Committee to help bring potentially persecuted “degenerate artists” to safety in New York. Among those they assisted were Breton, Max Ernst, Dali, Man Ray, Matta and Yves Tanguy.
The war years were a prolific period for the exiles, often credited with initiating the New York School. Alfred Barr, the first director of the Museum of Modern Art, exhibited their art work, as did gallerists Julien Levy and Peggy Guggenheim. With the financial help of Charles Henri Ford, an avant-garde New York poet, they produced the influential magazines VVV and View. Robert Motherwell picked up painting tips from Seligmann. Bound by language and culture, the exiles socialized frequently, and their salons became a breeding ground for ideas about art and literature, as well as places to draw magic circles and summon spirits. Understandably, once the axis powers were defeated, a majority of the exiles returned to Europe, but the Seligmanns, perhaps because of their Jewish backgrounds, decided to stay on in their adopted country. They bought an apartment in the Beaux Arts Building near Bryant Park, and with the help of art critic Meyer Shapiro, in 1940 they purchased the homestead in Sugar Loaf. (The 55 acres of active farmland are said to have reminded Arlette of her grandmother’s home in the French countryside, where she spent much of her childhood.) Kurt painted in New York and Sugar Loaf, he exhibited at galleries and museums in the city, he designed costumes for the ballet and he taught at Brooklyn College and the New School. Amidst all this activity, he found time to write the first comprehensive book on one of Surrealism’s strongest areas of interest. Seligmann’s The Mirror of Magic was followed by Magic Supernaturalism and Religion and The History of Magic
and the Occult. (The latter two remain in print to this day) The cosmopolitan Seligmanns enjoyed their active city life – in addition to the apartment in New York, they maintained an apartment in Paris – but they especially enjoyed inviting busy art world friends to the sleepy hamlet in Orange County. Throughout the 40s and 50s, the homestead was regularly visited by Yves Tanguy, Kate Sage, Peggy Guggenheim, Marcel Duchamp and Alexander Calder. It’s even thought that Marc Chagall was a guest. Calder made use of Kurt’s printing press (now, beautifully, restored by collage artist, Jonathan Talbot), and Duchamp famously used the exterior wall of a chicken coop for target practice. As subject to trends as the fashion world, the art world eventually lost interest in Surrealism and embraced a new enthusiasm – Abstract Expressionism. Without a demand for his work in New York galleries, the Seligmanns sold their apartment near Bryant Park and settled permanently in Sugar Loaf. Arlette farmed and maintained a menagerie of animals and Kurt continued to paint, though his palette was growing darker. On the morning of January 2, 1962, Kurt Seligmann died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the grounds of the homestead. To this day, controversy surrounds the death. Some say it was purely accidental, and it was reported as such at the time by local authorities. It was believed that Kurt had taken his rifle to shoot at the rats and squirrels that were eating the seeds he and Arlette
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Summer 2016 Issue
had scattered on the snow for the songbirds. He slipped on ice and the rifle went off. Others contend that it was a suicide brought on by Kurt’s increasingly depressed moods. There’s even a theory that Arlette killed Kurt over an
alleged affair. Whatever the cause, Kurt’s death would prove to be indirectly responsible for the creation of The Seligmann Center, “committed to celebrating the artistic and intellectual legacy of Kurt Seligmann, honoring the history of its site, and presenting contemporary work by emerging and established artists.” The Seligmann Center had its first stirrings in the fall of 2011 when rustic sculptor and organizer extraordinaire, Dan Mack of Warwick, brought together a group of artists to plan a one-day event to mark the 50th anniversary of Seligmann’s death. The visual and language artists Dan gathered were drawn to the avant-garde, the Surreal and the new. Most were familiar with Seligmann’s paintings, even if they were just discovering that Kurt and his wife had lived in Orange County since 1940. (Arlette survived her husband by fifteen years. When she died, she donated the homestead – the land and all the buildings – to the citizens of Orange County.) As a result of the abundance of ideas and excitement at the first gathering, the group decided to meet on a regular basis and extend its scope to encompass more than a one-day event. On the day of the 50th Anniversary, a few hearty artists donned costumes in the bitter cold and made a short film in the snow-covered cemetery on the property where Kurt and Arlette are buried. By that date – January 2, 2012 – the size of the group had swelled, as had the enthusiasm for the place and its former occupants, and subsequently the Seligmann Center was created, becoming the focal point in southern Orange County for art that “interprets Surrealism, traces its origins, and explores its contemporary resonance.” In its five years, the center has presented works by such notable artists as Chaim Gross, Robert Whitman, Hiroaki Sato, Jacob Kirkegaard, Katinka Fogh Vindelev, Philip Pearlstein, Cy Twombly and Lynne Sharon Schwartz.
Fool on the Hill (Photo by Paula Spector)
In 2014, the group of volunteer artists who started the Center acquired a director, painter Olivia Baldwin. With someone at the helm, things really took off. Works from the Center’s collection of over 70 prints and 10 paintings began to be loaned out; the Robert Fagin Library – the largest public collection of art books in the country – was donated to the Center, and, perhaps most importantly, people began to hear about and attend the goings on in the four galleries and performance spaces at the Seligmann Center – rotating exhibitions, outdoor installations and sculptures, workshops, experimental film viewings, performances, Surreal Cabarets, masquerades, and innovative poetry readings. All of this couldn’t be happening at a better time: The fickle art word is now rekindling its interest in Surrealism, the study of magic and the occult is being embraced by the Academy, and Seligmann paintings are fetching handsome prices. In 2014, Cornell University held the exhibit “Surrealism and Magic,” borrowing a great many prints from the Seligmann Center’s collection. In 2015, the Weinstein Gallery in San Francisco hosted “Kurt Seligmann: First Message from the Spirit World of the Object,” the largest retrospective of Seligmann’s work in the U.S. in 55 years. The retrospective featured a number of paintings from the Center’s collection. On January 12 of this year, Pam Grossman’s curated exhibit, “Language of Birds: Occult and Art,” opened at the 80 Washington Square East Gallery at New York University. This widely attended exhibit had an entire room devoted to Kurt Seligmann. As a follow up, on March 5, Ms. Grossman presented “Witch Pictures: Female Magic and Transgression in Western Art,” to a packed house at the Seligmann Center. Another sign of the times is Grazina Subelyte, a curatorial assistant of the Guggenheim Collection in Venice and great friend of the Center, who is doing her doctoral dissertation on Seligmann and Magic.
King of Fools, David Horton (Photo by Paula Spector)
And more is yet to come: The Seligmann Center will soon start publishing its own zine. Each volume will reproduce one of Seligmann’s lectures presented at the new school, as culled from Seligmann archive at the
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Va n Wy c k G aze t t e Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale. Facing the pages from the lectures (photos of pages typed by Seligmann with his handwritten notes and corrections) will be a work by a contemporary writer, poet, photographer, painter or collage artist interpreting the contents of the lecture. In addition to the zine, Jonathan Talbot’s (mentioned above for having restored to working order Seligmann’s printing press) will be having a three-part exhibition, “Identity and Anonymity,” accompanied by a special book, which will run throughout the summer. A documentary on the life and work of Seligmann, based on interviews with friends and scholars, is in the works. As part of the Warwick Summer Arts Festival, experimental visual artist, Cody Rounds, will present an interactive installation at the Seligmann Center on July 22. The end of summer will cap off with yet another Surreal Masquerade, and early fall will bring an exhibit by Jesse Bransford, artist and Surrealist scholar, presently teaching at NYU. Given current momentum and all that’s been achieved in such a short span of years, it would seem that the road ahead would rise to greet the Seligmann Center, yet funding for this remarkable place is not coming easily. Perhaps if the Seligmann Center was located further north, in art-friendly Ulster County, or across the river in Dia-centric Beacon, funding might come from a bigger, more generous audience for Seligmann, Surrealism, the new and provocative. But, no one is about to set the buildings on hydraulic lifts or carve out the 55 acres and relocate the entire homestead to a more welcoming area. The Seligmann Center is where it is for a reason. It’s not coincidental. The Surrealists didn’t believe in coincidence. They believed in hazard, or chance, things occurring for reasons unbeknownst to conventional reason. It is as if magic brought Kurt Seligmann to Sugar Loaf, and Sugar Loaf is where he shall stay. Just as he persisted with his Surreal visions of figures engaged in a danse macabre while the art world was embracing Abstract Expressionism and Pop, so will Seligmann’s spirit embolden the Center’s determination to preserve its collection, continue its programming and make sure that one of art history’s greats, finally receives his due. Thanks to the tireless efforts of a handful of artist volunteers with the idea of a one-day commemorative ceremony (among the original group, still active at the homestead are Daniel Mack, Jonathan Talbot, David Horton, William Seaton, and Jerome Spector), hopefully, the Seligmann Center, with the right funding, could be on the verge of becoming a big, red dot on the Hudson Valley art map. The Seligmann Center is located at 23-26 White Oak Drive, Sugar Loaf, NY 10981. Phone contact is 845-469-9459. Additional information about the Seligmann Center may be found at on the web:
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The Seligmann Center’s facebook page www.facebook.com/SeligmannCenterattheCitizensFoundation/ The Orange County Citizen’s Foundations website Seligmann page - www.occitizensfoundation.org/seligmann-center/ The Weinstein Gallery’s website: www.weinstein.com/artists/kurt-seligmann/ and on You Tube, where you’ll find a great short film, narrated by Dan Mack, about Seligmann, Surrealism and the homestead – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C95X2eV6q6A
Home: 860.452.4653 Fax: 860.452.4654 Cell: 516.319.9520
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Summer 2016 Issue
All About Dog Shows As you approach the arena you’ll hear barking and blow dryers. Inside is a hectic environKatie Maus ment full of excited people and their dogs hoping to prove they are the best. There are many reasons someone might want to attend a dog show. Perhaps you are interested in buying a dog and want to check out the different breed options. You can talk to breeders about which dogs are better for kids or how much attention a particular breed might need, among many other important questions. Maybe you want to look into entering your dog in a show. What do you need to do? Will your dog do well in a show? Whatever your reason for going, you’ll want to know a bit about dog shows first. Why do people show dogs anyway? The purpose of a dog show is to evaluate different dogs in order to determine which one best meets its breed’s standards. The dogs are awarded points when they win against others, the amount of points varying
depending upon the particular show and number of participants. The dogs that earn 15 points (become “championed”) go on to have puppies, continuing the breed on as it is meant to be. Simple enough? Dalmatians have spots and poodles have curls, right? That’s not even half of it. Dogs have to meet the height, weight, color, fur-type, and bodily structure required of their breed and that’s just what you see at first glance. It is also important for the competitors to behave properly and move in a way that suits their breed. All of these different aspects judged together show that a particular dog has the best traits and genes to produce more strong, healthy members of its breed.
• Be quiet and courteous so you don’t distract the dogs or the handlers trying to concentrate. • Wear the right shoes so you’re comfortable; there’ll be lots of standing. • Be careful where you step so you don’t step in anything questionable, or on anyone’s tail! • If you bring kids, keep an extra close watch on them. It’s important to make sure you don’t disturb the participants of the show, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ask questions. If you’re considering showing dogs or purchasing them, it is important for both you and your pets that you know all you can to make everybody happy. Ask the groomers for tips and pay attention to how the handlers prep and show their dogs.
So now that we understand why people show dogs and why others go to dog shows, we need to look at proper protocol for audience members. Dogs are excitable and easily distracted, while owners and handlers You can learn a lot by watching, but it’s can be on edge when preparing for com- helpful to know the basics first. petition. How should one act at a dog show? • There are seven different groups: What’s okay and what isn’t? Here are a few Sporting, Toy, Terrier, Hound, Working, things to keep in mind when spending a Non-sporting, and Herding. day exploring the rings. • Within those groups the classes are • Don’t pet the dogs unless you ask separated into dogs and bitches first, first. The dog may have just been
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then: Puppies, Novice, Bred by Exhibitor, American Bred, and Open. • The winners of those classes compete against each other to determine “Best of Winners” and “Best of Opposite Sex.”
Groups” compete to determine “Best New Paltz at the end of June. The Wallkill in Show.” Kennel Club is presenting a show on the Now that you have an idea of what you’ll 23rd, The Shawangunk Kennel Club is be seeing, when you go to a show you’ll be hosting on Friday the 24th, and the Midable to focus on the dogs and talking to Hudson Kennel Association will follow on their owners and breeders. Attending a dog Saturday and Sunday the 25th and 26th. show is a great way to learn about which Stop in and see something new and exciting!
• The “Best of Winners” and “Best of Opposite Sex” then compete with the breed might make a good addition to your Champions for “Best of Breed.” family, whether you show or just want to • All of the “Best of Breeds” then compete keep your dog as a pet. If you’re interested within their group for “Best of Group.” in learning more, there are several All-breed • Finally, the seven different “Best of shows at the Ulster County Fairgrounds in
call us for a free in-home pre-measure
All information from the American Kennel Club’s “A Beginner’s Guide to Dog Shows” pamphlet with additional insight from Linda Maus, Owner/Handler (pictured above with Deep End’s Jacks R Wild, JHCGC)
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Summer 2016 Issue
Keeping Your Kids Happy In The Summer Keeping your kids happy in the summer- it’s that time of year again. School is out and the heat Diane Lange is on. We want to have a fun summer but sometimes it’s tough. Kids get bored and we feel stressed with all we need to do. Here are some great tips to help have a great summer for the whole family. 1 Even though school is out; you still want them to keep up their chores. Set up times/ days for chores. This will help keep their normal routine even in the summer. 2. The library is a great place for free fun. The library has various children activities and events throughout the library. For adults: Libraries also have great workshops, events and book signings for free. The library is a great place for everyone – take advantage of it this summer. 3. Most local libraries have reading programs for kids. These programs reward kids for reading. It’s a great way to motivate your kids to keep reading over the summer. Most libraries also give book suggestions for different ages. 4. While I’m talking about libraries: I find libraries to be a great place where I can bring my daughter and we can both enjoy the summer. My daughter can read a book or listen to story time while I get to read through my favorite magazine.
5. Have some educational fun with good old fashioned board games. Board games help with memory, fine motor skills (connect 4), problem solving and much more. Some great games: Monopoly, Sorry, Payday, etc. 6. Make sure your kids get plenty of physical exercise. This can be done at your local park (bring a picnic and make it an all day event). The local park near me has a track right next to the playground so I can get some exercise while watching my daughter play. self-esteem, teaches them respect for themselves and others. The bonus: helping others gives us an instant boost of happiness. So, the whole family can feel 8. Look into discounts. Example: If you good. 11. Teach your kids some business skills. have all 3 services with cablevision (cable, phone and internet) you get a cablevision Have them start a_______ stand. Let your card which allows for Free Movies on kids fill in the blank with their own ideas. It could be the traditional lemonade stand or Tuesdays and some mornings. 9. Field trips are a great way to spice up they can get creative and sell other types your days. It can be a local trip to a lake, of drinks and/or food. Let them be creative beach or a park. Then mix it up with by naming their business, making the sign museums, shows and mini day trips to new and decorating the table. 7. Kids need play dates with kids their own age. If your child doesn’t go to camp sign up your child for activities at your community center, park, library etc.
local places.
10. Summer is a great time to get involved with volunteering. Find a local place that lets kids volunteer. Try to make it a weekly or biweekly activity. Volunteering builds kids
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12. For parents: make sure to check into your local supermarket and health clubs, they usually have free daycare while you shop or use the gym. You can continue your normal routine while the kids have some fun! 13. Mother’s helpers – this is a great way for parents to get some free time while your child is entertained at your home. This is great for work at home parents. A mother’s helper is usually a student who wants to make some extra money so it’s usually inexpensive. 14. Self-care – to remain sane in the summer months, make sure to schedule in self-care. It’s important to make yourself a priority. Kids are visual learners. If you’re not feeling your best, your will kids will see it right away. Kids imitate our behaviors. Remember, Happy Parents = Happy Kids! Self-care will make you feel good. Take care of you. For more information please visit Diane Lang’s website: www.dlcounseling.com or e-mail Diane at Lifeline36@aol.com
The Benefits of Oil Pulling By Amanda Van Boerum, RDH, MSDH at MelMel Dental Oil pulling therapy, or oil swishing, is an ancient Ayurvedic natural remedy that involves pulling or swishing oil in the mouth for oral and systemic health benefits. It is mentioned in the Ayurvedic text Charaka Samhita where it is called Kavala Gandusha or Kavala Graha and is claimed to cure about 30 systemic diseases ranging from a migraine headache to diabetes and asthma.
reason to oil pull is that the bacterial content in your mouth is highest before a meal and lowest after a meal. When you eat, much of the bacteria are consumed and swallowed with your food. You would remove the bacteria from mouth had you oil pulled prior to eating. Common oils to Oil pulling is very simple. All you do is use include vegetable oil, sesame oil, suntake a spoonful of vegetable oil and swish flower oil, grape seed oil, coconut oil and it in your mouth. Use 2-3 teaspoons of oil many more. with every use. While keeping your lips If by chance you have a hard time with closed, work the oil in your mouth; push the taste of oil, you add a few drops of and pull the oil through your teeth and over cinnamon or peppermint oil in the client’s every surface of your mouth. Keep swishing mouth. Oil pulling can have a powerful for 10-20 minutes. Make sure to not gargle detoxing effect. Even with your first pull, the oil! Gargling may cause you to swallow you may experience heavy cleansing. some of the oil. Do not swallow the oil either Cleaning is generally the most intense in because it is full of bacteria and toxins. the first few weeks. For oil pulling therapy, You can oil pull at any time of the day. It a tablespoon (teaspoon for young children) is typically done at least once a day in the of sesame oil. The viscous oil turns thin and morning before breakfast. Oil pulling should milky white. It is claimed that the swishing be done on an empty stomach, especially activates enzymes and draws the toxins if you are beginning. Once you have become out of the blood. Oil pulling therapy should familiar with oil pulling and feel comfortable be followed by tooth brushing and is with it, you can oil pull at any time. Another preferably done in the morning.
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Many health problems have been said to have improved as a direct result from oil pulling . Below is a list of common conditions people have reported that respond well to oil pulling: Acne
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Mike Jurkovic
Down in the Grooves The ruler of Analog Planet (www.analogplanet.com) was having a particularly bad day when I arrived forty-five minutes late. A ground hum was eluding him and his digital sources, as they do to so many so often, had betrayed him. “I was hoping to play the vinyl then the digital sources for you so we could do A-B-C comparisons of the sound. But the damn thing is telling me I’ve only got 67 discs stored when I know there’s thousands in there. Besides, I can’t play music with a damn ground hum.” I didn’t want to see Michael Fremer flipping out over his stereo system (yea, it’s still called a stereo system though this part of his basement looks like an NSA hack center) but it was oddly re-assuring knowing this master audiophile cursed and fumbled with his own equipment like the rest of us. Kneeling on his basement floor trying to find the source of the rogue hum while on hold waiting for some far distant tech support to tech out his computer malfunctions. What was even odder was here I was, a rock n roller who had given up on vinyl and was still using a Technics SA-110 stereo receiver from ‘84 (my Fishers and Pioneers had done the dodo dance long ago) hanging with a dude whose turntable (a Continuum Caliburn) alone was ninety thousand dollars. “Well, I didn’t pay that much for it and I paid it off in 2007,” he adds with a calm smile, though he’s growing more and more impatient with that hum. Michael Fremer spends a lot of time in his basement and, 1) his wife is really cool about it and, 2) he doesn’t usually end up fighting his gear. From his chair situated perfectly between two Wilson Alexandria XLF speakers (I won’t even discuss prices here) he conducts his business as senior contributing editor to Stereophile Magazine and does his reviews for his own highly regarded website, Analog Planet. He listens to music as he passionately has for decades, on vinyl, the way it was meant to be heard. There’s vinyl everywhere. Rows and stacks and Stax and rows of albums. Twenty-five thousand I think he said. “Every record I’ve ever owned is here,” he says with a pride that’s etched in the tracks. “I bought them in school and in college. Later, as people began getting rid of them and going digital, I bought them in yard sales and estate sales.” I must admit I’ve been wanting to get rid of mine but my wife’s a collector and won’t let me. “Listen to your wife,” he advises as he minimizes the hum but still not to his exact satisfaction “Anyway, screw all that. What do you want to hear?” What you need to understand about Fremer is that he asks that question with genuine enthusiasm. Like an old college roommate, he can’t wait to play you his favorite or his newest album. Or maybe it’s your brother coming home with the latest Ramones. He reaches for a recent remaster of the Beach Boys Summer Party. “You’ve got to hear “Help Me Rhonda,” he exudes. And I
do. Like for the first time, despite its seventeen million spins through my lifetime.
What’s your electric bill like? He laughs. “Oh I really don’t know.”
ever graceful, ever joyful guitar intro to “Here Comes the Sun.” The dynamic shift and wash of “Sun King.” I could sit here all day.
“This is really making me crazy and I’m I guess the best way for me to describe crazier than crap to begin with.” At this point Abbey Road. Side two. there’s no analog or digital sound source. it would be presence. Like a pitcher has “Tell you what,” he says. “Let’s get the More French. Like I said, a bad day. stuff, vinyl has presence. A presence I know original ‘69 British album.” I pull it from the many of us have forgotten. They can stat “Let’s keep talking while I figure this out,” rack. He slips it from its black inner sleeve you to death with micro- byte measures, he instructs. I suspect my next question is and places it on that just paid for turntable. but it still comes down to presence and hardly new to him. How does the regular He holds a fine brush over the grooves then stuff. Presence and stuff. guy get back in the game with all this highreaches for one of the tonearms (Remember “You lent your records out to friends and end gear? tonearms? Well this one has two.) left them lying around it stacks for days, “There’s amazing equipment for not much “This is still the best pressing,” he ordains. right?” He says, pinning my old m.o. to the money. In fact, later on I’ll take you upstairs wall just as “Mean Mr. Mustard” crunches Even with all the new remasters? and play you something through a $239 “O they’re horrible. Even Geoff Emerick pair of speakers that I have hooked up to in. (the original studio engineer) said so. He a cassette deck. (It’s true, and eventually “I was a record nazi,” he reveals matterabsolutely hates them.” He checks his digital he plays me Bringing It All Back Home and of-factly.” I never lent them out. I cleaned library so we can do some comparison those speakers, ELAC B5s, they’re them before and after. I always used listening but the system core says zero awesome!) whatever money I had for the best music exists. equipment.” “A good starter turntable will cost you “Well that’s just **^%!! great! Excuse my around five, six hundred. A good cartridge I pick up a crackle in the system. “Now French.” could get expensive. But if you know what what?” he exasperates. He goes to a small Will the new 180g and 200g vinyl discs you’re doing on eBay the stuff you can find room off the main listening room, where his snap, crackle, warp, and pop like the - vintage stuff - for little money is absolutely washing machine used to be, and comes incredible.” He moves to his laptop, pulls out with a pair of thirty thousand dollar oldies? “No, they shouldn’t. That’s the grand up eBay, searches for vintage stereo cables. equipment and the first thing we see is a scheme anyway.” “ Well luckily I don’t pay for cables. Now, ‘72 Marantz 200 watt receiver for $200. let’s see if this works.” It doesn’t. How does the new vinyl help us with “There you go!” breaking away from fossil fuels? How long will you sit here and review The records are more expensive new equipment and records? “Well my feeling is since we’re moving towards renewable energy, there will be though. “The equipment usually takes a month “Well if you put it in dollar terms with or two. Everything needs a break in period. plenty of oil to make records. Supposedly there’s a new company out there with a inflation, deflation, stagnation and whatever, Then you have to acclimate to it because new way of making records which won’t a $16-$18 record today isn’t much more you can’t keep comparing things to previous require vinyl, but I’ll believe it when I see than what we paid back then.” units. With the records well, it’s usually as it.” For the time being he reigns in the hum. soon as I figure out what to say and how He’s beginning to zero in on the elusive “You sit right here and listen. I’ve got to get to say it.” hum. A new pre-amp. “The problem with all back on the line with those tech guys and In this realm you could say Fremer is the this stuff is they all have different grounding figure this damn thing out.” most opinionated guy on this, or any other schemes and to isolate it takes time.” And I’m sitting in Abbey Road. George’s analog or digital planet. Just check his blogs, “Your turn.”
Michael Fremer podcasts, etc. But there was one review . . . “I didn’t like the Beatles Stereo Box set (2010) and said so. I said they should do a mono box because that’s just how it was. That was the true picture. Couple months later Guy Hayden (project manager Abbey Road/EMI) calls me. “Hello Michael,” he begins affecting a British accent, “We read what you wrote and we’ve decided to do it your way. Just the original tapes. No digital transfers. No fixing. Mono is how the Beatles listened to the songs so we’d like you to come out here and watch. We’ll fly you over, put you up. . . “ He shows me a slew of pictures of him at Abbey Road. “It was incredibly flattering. I even got to go into Studio A” he says with a fan’s gleam in his eye “Holding those tapes was like, wooooo, man.” We spend a good while deep in the weeds tech wise, but instead of me trying to explain it all (harmonic resolution, sound tamping based on helicopter rotor technology, magnesium alloys, 3D floating space, vacuum locks, designers with advanced degrees in physics and aeronautics, one who designed escape systems for the space shuttle, Kevlar straps, cog-less motors, airplane grade aluminum racks, 3D printable cartridges) I’ll just refer you again to Michael’s www.analogplanet.com. I wanted to spend more time talking about the back story. Talking tribally, like we used to about each others experiences while an original pressing of Kind of Blue filled the room. He’s truly in awe of the people he’s met. “Medvedev (Dmitry to you, the Russian Prime Minister) has this turntable. An architect in Greece flew me out to go equipment and record shopping with him. He had read my review and bought three. “One for parts,” he affects a rather poor Greek accent this time. “One for himself and one for a friend of his who couldn’t afford one but deserved one. I got an email once from a British Airways pilot on layover in Saudi Arabia and he had a couple questions regarding the turntable. Another email came from a guy in Beirut, during the civil war. I asked him how he could listen to records with bombs going off all around him and he wrote back that he had it on a pretty good stand.” I ask to hear Brubeck’s Jazz Goes to College but he readily admits his copy is pretty beat. “How about Time Out? That’ll work. While he gets a high rez file loaded so we can compare analog
to digital (the analog wins hands down) he continues the tale. “I was in Bulgaria last week with another architect who wanted me to spend a few days shopping with him. He’s a big vinyl guy.” Did he envision all this as a career while listening to The Kingston Trio At Large (the first album he ever bought.) “Not at all. Listening to records was fun. It still is. I was doing stand up and commercials and animation.” (Animalympics) “I did sound supervision for Tron I was the first guy to hire Harry Shearer to do voice-overs.” (Yes, Harry Shearer of Spinal Tap, SNL, and The Simpsons.) “He’s a huge vinyl guy too.” “I had a magazine The Tracking Angle in the mid-90’s. My partner and I did music reviews but we couldn’t attract any damn industry advertising. We were going into our fifth year with great distribution when finally we get some recognition from the record companies and then. . .” I know what’s coming next because my own independent record deal became collateral damage with “the great big record company consolidation/sell-off of the 90’s. I mean, advertising with us was like the equivalent of one day’s cocaine account.” “Pick one more.” “A Love Supreme.” “Nice choice.” He gets the record and while Trane’s spiritual masterwork undulates behind us, we begin to wrap up. “Most people have no reference. They’ve lost the art of listening to music. It’s just background. And I believe part of that is because the music doesn’t sound compelling. It doesn’t pull you in. The way we listen today is just a flat experience.” I must admit I’m listening to Michael but not really. I’m listening to the classic quartet - Trane, Jones, Tyner, Garrison - at peak form. And oddly I find myself comforted by the communal pleasure of listening with another person. Like we used to before all these mass communication devices isolated us. I must have been glazing over. “It’s incredible isn’t it?” he asks. I’ve been cynical too long to be honest. I’ve felt the whole return of vinyl was just another industry exploitation of the listener and the artist. “Well to me,” he assures with a grin while resuming his quest to conquer both hum and digital gremlins, “it never went away.”
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Van Wy c k G az e t t e
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Summer 2016 Issue Peter Rae
The Poughkeepsie Regatta and the 1936 Olympics
known as the Walkway Over The Hudson. On June 24, 1895, Columbia won the first I.R.A. championship, defeating Cornell and Pennsylvania. The regatta was held almost annually at Poughkeepsie from that year through 1949. Teams came from all over the east, the Midwest and eventually the far west to compete. Different formats were tried, but by 1926, the regatta consisted of three races: a two-mile race for freshman crews, a three-mile race for junior varsity boats, and a four-mile race for varsities. The event quickly captured the imagination of the public, and crowds of 75,000 and even 125,000 were often reported. For the public it became “the Poughkeepsie Regatta” during this time. People came early to get a good spot and picnicked as they waited. Some viewed the races from boats of all kinds, while others sat in bleachers mounted on railroad flatcars forming a train that traveled at the rowers’ pace along a railroad on the west shore of the river.
Syracuse defeats five other crews the varsity race in the Poughkeepsie Regatta of 1913 surrounded by fans and officials on boats of all kinds. Eighty-one years ago this month, a resurgent Germany under Chancellor Adolph Hitler was completing final preparations for hosting the 1936 Olympics ─ the international competition that would show the world that the Third Reich was for real. New stadiums and arenas had been built in and around Berlin, world class German teams readied themselves, and the local populace was gearing up to root for the teams from Deutschland. Not everything went according to Hitler’s plan. Most notably, America’s Jesse Owens, an African-American, made it hard for Hitler to brag about Aryan supremacy by trouncing Germany’s and the world’s best track and field athletes in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump, and 4 x 100 meter relay. Nine other less famous Americans also made history at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. They were the crew and coxswain of America’s eight-oared shell competing in the 2000 meter rowing race. And the “road” they took to Berlin flowed down the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie, longtime site of the Poughkeepsie Regatta.
The West Coast Rivals In 1923 the University of Washington Huskies won the varsity race for the first time, ushering in a long period of dominance for them and their west coast rival, the University of California at Berkeley. Indeed, between 1923 and the final Poughkeepsie regatta in 1949, Washington won nine times and California won six. Two of California’s victories occurred consecutively in 1934 and 1935, but Washington, which by then had won four championships, was determined win its fifth in 1936. And it had extra motivation that year because rowing was an Olympic sport. The nine members of Washington’s shell in 1936 had begun the season as the school’s second boat. In the east, rowing was considered to be an “elite” sport, but this crew was different: all nine came from middle- or lower middle class backgrounds. It soon became clear, however, that this younger, stronger crew was better than its older, more experienced rival, and by race day, June 23, 1936, had been named Washington’s no. 1 boat. Five other crews ─ Navy, Columbia, Cornell, Penn and Syracuse ─ faced off against reigning champion California and rival Washington that day. The Huskies started off slowly. Fifth after the midway point, they swept past the competition in the final sprint in a dominating performance. And for the icing on the cake, Washington also won the freshman and Junior varsity races that day, the Poughkeepsie Regatta’s first clean sweep ever!
How the Poughkeepsie Regatta Came To Be Rowing is one of America’s oldest collegiate sports, having begun in 1852 with the first competition between Harvard and Yale. The Harvard/Yale race was held annually, mostly in the Thames River in New London, Connecticut, and still is to this day. By the 1880s, other schools had organized their own rowing teams plus a governing body, the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (I.R.A).
On to Berlin Events moved swiftly for the Huskies after that. They won the Olympic trials in Princeton on July 5, and sailed to Europe. In England, they defeated several of Europe’s best eights at Henley, England’s top rowing venue, and continued on to Germany. There, in a preliminary Olympic heat, they barely edged England but set a new Olympic record time in doing so. While the heat itself was grueling, winning it gave Washington the benefit of bypassing a second preliminary and conserving their energy and strength for the finals.
Unable to forge an agreement with join Harvard and Yale for a joint championship the I.R.A. decided to hold its own at an alternate venue. In 1895 it chose the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie for its fledgling event. The standard distance for a championship race was four miles, and the river here provided a straightaway exceeding that distance. The course began at Hyde Park, north of Poughkeepsie, and ended south of the railroad bridge now
Thus it was that on August 14, 1936, the Olympic rowing championships were held in the Berlin suburb of Grunau. Seven races were scheduled, with the featured event, the eight-oared shells, going off last. Seventy-five thousand partisans, including Adolph Hitler and some of his top Nazi leaders, were on hand, and the German boats were heavily favored. The races were televised to venues in the Berlin area, and also broadcast by
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Van Wy c k G az e t t e
posted: the United States was first, in 6 minutes, 25.4 seconds; Italy was second in 6:26.0 and Germany third in 6:26.4. The USA victory was a stunning upset. Sportswriter Grantland Rice called it the “high spot” of the 1936 Olympics, and announcer Bill Henry said it was “the outstanding victory of the Olympic Games”. No one recorded what Adolph Hitler said.
The USA (top, next to the grandstand) upsets the field, winning the gold medal in 8-oared shell rowing at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Italy (2nd from bottom) won the silver and Germany (bottom) won the bronze. radio live to more than 300 million listeners around the world. And things went well for Hitler, as Germany’s crews won five of the first six races. Six eight-oared shells, including the University of Washington crew representing the United States and the powerful, heavily favored boats representing Germany and Italy, lined up for the 2000 meter 8-oared championship event. As described in the online magazine Slate in 2012, the American crew started off slowly, hovering near last place while the Germans and Italians dueled for the lead. With less than 800 meters to go, the Huskies raised their stroke. At 500 meters they were in 3rd place and “pouring it on” according to radio announcer Bill Henry. At 300 meters they were “dead even”. All three boats crossed the finish line in a photo finish, and after several minutes the results were
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Aftermath On returning home, the Washington Husky eight-oared crew was celebrated in newsreels and in feature articles in the leading magazines of the time. The school won a second straight championship at the Poughkeepsie Regatta in 1937, two more in 1940 and 1941 and another in 1948, and continued to be successful in collegiate circles after the I.R.A. moved its championship from Poughkeepsie after 1949. But while the school remained powerful in the sport, its Olympic championship crew drifted back into the obscurity of everyday life. That is, until 2013, when The Boys In the Boat, by Daniel James Brown, became a New York Times bestseller. Additionally, the story rights have been acquired by leading moviemaker Harvey Weinstein. After the departure of the regatta in 1949, the sport of rowing In the Hudson Valley became an afterthought in the public mind. But when the Walkway Over The Hudson was opened in 2009, one of the events held in conjunction with it was a revival of the regatta, under the sponsorship of Marist College and several local rowing clubs, and a second revival was held in 2010. Marist maintains rowing as a collegiate sport today, and as you look out from the walkway you sometimes see its crews plying the waters of the Hudson River – not quite the glory of The Poughkeepsie Regatta but a reminder nonetheless of the storied past of the river and city.
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Summer 2016 Issue Samara Ferris
Ethos & Access: A Glimpse into Eating Wild Amid the forest, beginning to fill with the mirthful chirps of birds and the hum of hurrying squirrels, I think of the curried acorns I had made in Missouri. This strange yet delicious dish was created from acorns leached until they were sweet and nutty, the bitter tannins washed away by pots and pots of clean water. I had then dried the soggy acorns in the sun on trays and had
A fiddlehead of edible Christmas fern just beginning to unfurl
Cleavers: A delicious and prolific wild herb, perfect for salads and easily found all over the Hudson Valley
Cleaned wild onions
cooked them, their soft halves popping in a cast iron skillet with hot oil and curry, feasting on them like popcorn while a hitchhiker and I played spades in the middle of the woods in the Ozarks. Those, I think, those were good. And luckily, the acorns are good here too. Jars and jars of oozing black elderberry jelly fill my old neighbor’s pantry, a roughhewn wooden cupboard, stockpiled from last year’s heavy forage. He lives near the reservoir, quite the character, somewhere around his early 80’s, a freshly-caught brook trout in the pocket of his fishing vest, wrapped in newspaper, and his beard as white as locust blossoms and trailing down his person like the last snow resting upon a ski slope. We walk into the cool, limestone mountainside, peering at the one of the best-known wild crops around, brought into the mainstream by many sources, including the well-known wild foods author, Euell Gibbons, who wrote the beloved and enchanting Stalking the Wild Asparagus, written anticipatorily in 1962, when the resurgence of foraging had yet begun to expand. We stare at the gentle green curls of ferns-fiddleheads as they’re known and begin to pluck off the beautifully wound heads in excitement of spring’s arrival and with it, one of the first crops of wild edibles. That night, he pickles his and I blanch mine to ready them to be cooked in a frittata. And as the pot of water boils on the stove, I realize how strange it is that this wild food, once assigned only to the peasant class, has become the zenith of wealth, health, and indulgence. What about it has changed that could inspire such a transition in thought? Like most things, I discover, it all comes down to availability and difficulty of access. As the famed journalist Margaret Visser wrote in her book, Much Depends on Dinner, in a chapter on the passage of lettuce from lowly vegetable to revered food: “As
Panzanella salad with wild watercress & dandelion leaves
being lean becomes more difficult and more desirable, salads (and by ‘salads’ we mean chiefly lettuce) become increasingly prestigious. [...] In other words, lettuce, once the standby of the rustic poor, has become an emblem of urban middle-class prestige and affluence. “Wild foods have followed suit. As cultural knowledge of the wild has dwindled, and people have begun spending unprecedented amounts of time indoors, the information surrounding the identification and gathering of wild foods has become practically obsolete, thus narrowing access. Like diamonds, rare breeds of dog, and the transition of lobster from peasant food into one of the rich, wild foods have gained prestige because, as Margaret Visser sharply notes, “...the difficulty of access [is] one of the hallmarks of status.” Now, with the visage of foraging and wild woods upon us, transformed from sole necessity or esoteric knowledge into an elevated ideal, it has also fought to become a rebelliously pure and simple ethos against the backdrop of ubiquitous produce grown with factory-like precision. The New York Times has even published recipes with wild foods, including several fiddlehead ferns recipes garnered from famous chefs. Chef Dan Barber, of the esteemed farm & restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Blue Hill, in Manhattan, recipient of the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in America, also-not surprisingly-has a predilection for wild foods. Curled tips of fiddlehead ferns, pungent wild garlic, yellowpetalled wild mustard, and foraged mushrooms often grace the multi-course sustainably-sourced menus at his restaurants. The farm, located in Pocantico Hills, NY, also raises many of its ingredients from strawberries and purple carrots to goats and even gaggles of geese. In his book, The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future on Food, Barber writes: “In the rush to industrialize farming, we’ve lost the understanding, implicit since the beginning of agriculture, that food is a process, a web of relationships, not an individual ingredient or commodity.” And a web it is: complex, vast, and always variable, steeped in history and borne from necessity that has transmuted into cultural knowledge and a sort of chef-and-foodaficionado’s right-of-passage. As the locavore movement gains momentum with its craft brew-pubs and regional distilleries, so do the menus of humble eateries reflect the desire to experience the specificity of one’s own locale. Perhaps the market,
Smoked Salmon Dijon & Dill Crostini transformed from a limited presentation of products from the area into a global arena of everything, all the time, has made us crave being able to identify and interact with the food and seasonality around us that can provide at least one sense of steady ground within this globalized network.
mushrooms being sold at Whole Foods for $18.99/lb to famous chefs traipsing through the wilderness in search of wild onions or acorns, wild foods have begun to command an audience for ethical reasons as a con-sequence of the natural laws of supply, demand, and This wild foods movement-from wild chanterelle access. Whatever the case may be, it
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Summer 2016 Issue
Hats For Cats: A Search for the Truth Okay, so here’s the thing. We’ve all heard of the Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss’ iconic book about, well, the Cat in the Adrea Gibbs Hat. Just recently, I saw a GoDaddy commercial, where a woman, purportedly, had an epiphany about her life’s work and began creating hats for cats and, therefore, needed a website to sell such product. Naturally, just as one might expect of a cat, my curiosity got the better of me. So, I went to GoDaddy, only to find in my disappointment that GatoChapeau.com, the hats for cat’s person’s website, is not real. Nor is HatsforCats.com or any variant of such that I attempted to locate. But, fear not, dear catloving friends, for I was compelled to delve deeper into this topic. For what logical reason I had to do this, I cannot explain, except to simply say, it had to be done. So, along my way I came across a couple of Kickstarter campaigns that had cats and hats apparently within their search parameters. In March of 2015, there was an unsuccessful campaign for Tiny Hats Fur Cats (that was the spelling) and another, Hats for Cats, had been successful in May 2013, but the associated Etsy Store no longer appears to be operational as there were no hats showing. I did find an Etsy story that currently does sell hats for cats. In fact, I found multiple. At that moment, however, I suspected I had only just scratched the surface. I pressed forward. You have to be careful when you type something into an online search like “hats for cats.” You may wind up getting things you didn’t bargain for, or worse, you may get exactly what you have been looking for and all sorts of variations. I had to pick and chose my way through the list carefully, doing my best to avoid things that looked like someone had randomly typed a bunch of search tags that had nothing to do with their site or pages that displayed things I was fairly certain were neither hats nor cats. Of course, even some of the more legitimate appearing sites were not much better with some having variations of hats and cats, although not necessarily as part of the same image or even on the same page. In addition to the very entertaining GoDaddy video I saw, and I highly recommend the full-length version for your viewing pleasure, I came across some fascinating bits and pieces. For
example, if you visit Instagram, and type in hats for cats, you will, indeed, see pictures of cats wearing hats. You will also see humans whom I can only guess are possibly named Catherine, Cathy, Catrina, or any variation thereof that may
use “Cat” as a nickname, folks who may consider themselves to be hep-cats, maybe are fans of The Stray Cats, students attending the University of Vermont and are Catamounts, or some other cat-related matter for which they decided that tagging their photo with #hatsforcats was entirely appropriate. I will surmise they didn’t realize they would wind up next to some cute authentic kitty wearing a Santa hat. Then, again, one of the photos was also tagged with #stupidityatitsbest. Enough said on that matter.
Twitter was much better, and featured far fewer people, although I am still questioning a bit as to whether a cat wearing a fruit skin (greenish in color, so hard to tell what kind of citrus it was) cut into a little helmet really counts as a hat or not. However, as helmet and hat are synonyms, I suppose it does get a pass. I am not sure that any of my cats would agree to the wearing such a headdress. There were also many crocheted varieties of hats and associated references to shops on Etsy (there you go, Etsy, again, but I promise you, I’m coming to that). Twitter also pointed me toward a book called “The Accidental Prime Minister,” which had prominently displayed on its cover “Hats for Cats,” as what I could only take that it was a campaign promise. Not to get political, but that may be one of the better platforms I have heard for this election cycle. The little write-up on Twitter said it is a great way to explain elections to kids. I think there are some adults that could use that book, too, but I digress. I find thinking of books leads me to thinking about Amazon, so
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I transitioned over there to see if I might have some success in that realm and, sure enough, it proved bountiful. There were instructional books such as Cats in Hats: 30 Knit and Crochet Hat Patterns for Your Kitty, by Sara Thomas, Cat Hats: Sixteen Paper Hats to Put on Your Unsuspecting Kitty!, by Kitty Barnett, and Tiny Hats on Cats: Because Every Cat Deserves to Feel Fancy, by Adam Ellis which according to the quip had the added bonus of photos and anecdotes. For those of the Kindle-persuasion, there were that met the critera. Okay, one and a half. Holiday Hats For Cats: 20 Easy Crochet Patterns by Sandra Switzer Lowrey and Kitty Knits: Projects for Cats and Their People by Donna Druchunas. The later received the half mark as I didn’t see any hats specifically for cats, but I did see some cute toys. And there were hats for people that were cat-influenced. Naturally, as one might expect, you can find all different kinds of Cat in the Hat books, too. I stopped counting after twenty, but, to be fair, the majority of those books were part of the Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library, based on the original stories. It appears there is a lot to learn. Also at Amazon is an amazing assortment of actual hats for your cat, or cats, depending on your household. Clicking “cat apparel,” found a bounty of delights ranging from sailor and Viking hats to the less expected Yoda and birthday cake complete with candles hat. A personal favorite was s little red crab hat, but I may have been swayed by cat model. Manufacturers like Alfie Pet by Petoga Couture (fancy, schmancy), Petco Brand, and Rubies Costume Company (probably better known for their human costumes, than pet offerings), had pretty good selections, I must admit. For entertainment value, alone, it was worth a look through the different choices. Some of the models were quite poised. Others, I dare say, seemed hard-pressed to enjoy their turn at stardom. Moving onward, I was intrigued to find a several websites that, at first blush, seemed as though they could be viable. One, called Pampered Whiskers, is worth visiting for the Himalayan who looks anything but amused, alone. It’s great. Even better, they run the gamut from cowboy hats to regal crowns, but here is the best part about their site. They donate $1.00 for every order to the animal charity of your choice. As it turns out, that Himalayan that cracked me up? His name is Bandit and he is a rescue. How fantastic it that? Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, I did find a website called Hats for Cats. That wasn’t the domain name, though. Nor was it an actual site in that it turns out it was a team web assignment for Pitt. For their educational curriculum, I am sure it did the trick. For own edification, it was a disappointment. It did, use a rather jazzy version of O Christmas Tree. I left it on for a bit as I continued to look for intriguing material. Somehow, even though it was the end of April, it just felt right. Maybe because it was snowing outside as it had had been, all day long. Another promising site turned out to be someone’s practice project on Prezi. I did find it highly entertaining though, reading the different components, such as the site’s non-profit purpose being, “to donate hats for cats. Cats don’t like water, so if they wear hats then they can keep rain out of their face & eyes.” It also included the following information, “A hat for a cat cost 4$, meaning that 80% of our funds are for hats for cats. We will continue to buy hats only if you can fund the money. If we can raise enough funds, we may be able to meet our milestones. However, that seems very unlikely because if we continue to raise funds at our rate right now, we may only be able to raise enough to cover 4 million hats, leaving 5 million hats for cats. So, to make up the leftover 2 million hats, we need you.” Don’t worry. I have no idea what that means, either. Surprisingly there were quite a few articles online about hats for cats. From Buzzfeed to the Daily Mail, there were plenty of pictorials
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Summer 2016 Issue and articles expounding upon the joys of hats for cats. Then I went a step further and started to look up some of the featured artists. Yes, artists, as for the most part they were using this form of millinery as their expression of choice, the public, and most especially cats, everywhere, being the fortunate beneficiaries. As it happened, and, yes, finally, this is where Etsy comes in, Etsy is chock-full of people making hats for cats. Where to start? Where to begin? I decided to take stock in one of the articles I had read about one Meredith Langley. So I reached out to Meredith and asked if she would consider an interview to which she most kindly responded in the affirmative. Here is our exchange: Why hats for cats? Was there a speciďŹ c inspiration? I first taught myself to crochet as a means of entertainment when I was a stay-at-home mom to my youngest child. The idea of hats for cats began as an amusing novelty to share with friends and family. I opened my shop on Etsy per the suggestion of a family member, but I never expected my work to be so widely and warmly welcomed as it has been over the years. Do you have cats and are they your models? I currently have three cats of my own, and they are the models you see wearing my work in my shop and across the internet. What kind of response have you received from people who have seen your work? My work has received an astonishingly positive response over the years. I have made hats for cats to be part of weddings, birthday celebrations, graduations, and marriage proposals. Various humane societies and animal welfare organizations have used my work to help promote the adoption of homeless pets as well as important causes such as spaying and neutering. I often receive messages from people who have stumbled upon my work thanking me for making them smile. I never expected my designs to be so widely appreciated. It is a profound honor and privilege. Have you had some good success with your cat hats? The fall and winter seasons of every year tend to be quite successful for my shop. My hats for cats have also been featured by various news agencies, entertainment websites, and popular blogs. What is your favorite among your designs? My favorite designs thus far are The Turkey Hat for Cats and The Wizard Hat for Cats. And so, with Meredith’s insightful, if not obvious, interview, my unexpected journey in trying to discover the seemingly overwhelming interest in Hats for Cats came to an end, for the time being, anyway. Did I learn anything? Yes. It seems that hats for cats has a humorous connotation across the board. Whether its people posting pictures of their feline pals sporting berets, GoDaddy advertising for websites, students practicing their web-building and presentation skills, or simply someone finding a business opportunity that lends itself to a wink and a nod, one thing is for certain. It tickles people. Seems Dr. Seuss may have known that simple truth long before any of us ever did. I wrote this piece in honor of Pet Expo and, specifically, the Hudson Valley SPCA, New Windsor, NY & the Dutchess County SPCA, Hyde Park NY. If you are looking for a new pet, please consider adopting from one of these wonderful organizations. You will find a friend for life and give them one, too.
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