New Haven magazine October 2009

OCTOBER 2009

www.newhavenmagazine.com

Connecticut’s Most Powerful Female CEO

Foul-Weather Friend: Dr. Mel Writes!

Brokaw on the Future of Journalism 85 Willow Street New Haven, CT 06511

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The future of cancer care is opening its doors.

Once in a while, something remarkable happens in cancer care. One of those moments is now becoming a reality. The most comprehensive and patient friendly cancer facility in New England is opening its doors this month. Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven. 500,000 square feet of advanced treatment facilities. Twelve teams of specialists, each nationally recognized for their pioneering work in specific forms of cancer. More novel drugs and therapies than anywhere else in the country. And a rooftop healing garden where a cancer patient can refocus on life. For thousands of patients and their families, cancer care will not only be infinitely more promising, it will be infinitely easier to attain. To learn more, visit xxx/tnjmpxdbodfs/psh/

Yale-New Haven Hospital is the primary teaching hospital of Yale School of Medicine and is ranked among the nation’s best hospitals by U.S.News & World Report. Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven works in partnership with Yale Cancer Center – A National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.

From award-winning, international cuisine to simple but savory delights, New Haven offers a diverse and creative menu of culinary options that will satisfy every appetite and budget. Malaysian to French, Modern American to Italian and Sushi to Creative Spanish.

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New Haven I October/2009

40 Potter’s Field Day

16 Networked Newsman

46 Grrl Power on Parade

At Yale, Brokaw plumbs the future of journalism

Moms and daughters tread the runway in Waterbury

18 Witchy Women

08 Up So Long Looks Like Down to Me

Three centuries ago Connecticut tried to banish witches. They’re still here

26 The Kindness of Strangers A lady in waiting hopes for a bone marrow donor

30 Foul-Weather Friend

Anthony DeCarlo

ONE2ONE talks with YNHH head Borgstrom

You’ll forgive Westville artist Maishe Dickman if he has a glazed look

PHOTOGRAPH:

08 The CEO Will See You Now

Yale Rep tackles Ibsen’s The Master Builder

56 Words of Mouth Milford’s Tengda Asian Bistro; Hamden’s Griff’s Chicken Shack

62 Discovered Oenophile’s dream: automated wine tasting in Mystic

Holy hurricane — Dr. Mel’s an author!

32 An Art-Full Home An intrepid artist couple transform an historic Madison residence

32 New Haven

| Vol. 3, No. 1 | October 2009

Publisher Mitchell Young, Editor Michael C. Bingham, Design Manager Larissa Wigglesworth, Design Consultant Terry Wells, Contributing Writers Brooks Appelbaum, Michael Harvey, Liese Klein, Cindy Marien, Melissa Nicefaro, Tashema Nichols, Joanna Pettas, Ron Ragozzino, Steven Scarpa, Cindy Simoneau, Photographers Steve Blazo, Anthony DeCarlo

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Senior Publisher’s Representatives Mary W. Beard, Roberta Harris, Publisher’s Representative Cynthia Carlson

payment. Second Wind Media Ltd. d/b/a New Haven shall not be held liable for failure to publish an advertisement or for typographical errors or errors in publication. For more information e-mail NewHaven@Conntact.com.

New Haven is published 12 times annually by Second Wind Media Ltd., which also publishes Business New Haven, with offices at 85 Willow St., New Haven, CT 06511. 203-781-3480 (voice), 203-781-3482 (fax). Subscriptions $24.95/year, $39.95/two years. Send name, address & zip code with

OUR COVER Cover design and typography: Terry Wells.

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t made for an odd and unsettling coincidence. Just minutes after filing my account of Tom Brokaw’s Yale lecture on “The Future of Journalism” (see p. 16), there arrived on my desk a document reminding me that that future might not be so rosy.

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Now 69, Brokaw told his audience at the Whitney Humanities Center that when he entered broadcast journalism in the early 1960s, there were but two stars in the network news firmament: Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News and the redoubtable duo of Huntley and Brinkley on the NBC Nightly News.

Cronkite was famously known as the “most trusted man in America.” When in 1968 he violated the “fourth wall” of journalism by opining that America could not win in Vietnam, President Johnson famously declared, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost America.” Then he dropped his bid for re-election.

Huntley, Brinkley and Cronkite are all gone now, and if any living newsperson has inherited Cronkite’s mantle surely it is Brokaw, who spent 22 years on the NBC anchor desk and burnished his bona fides by authoring 1999’s The Greatest Generation, a (richly deserved) paean to the generation of Americans who saved the world in the early 1940s.

Brokaw earned America’s trust. But in fairness he began his network career at a time when Americans were much more disposed to investing that trust in those who brought them the news. When I was a schoolboy, two Washington Post reporters brought down an unpopular President. So lionized were they that Hollywood made a movie about them (All the President’s Men). Journalists were heroes, and I wanted to be one of them.

How the mighty have fallen. Shortly after I finished my Brokaw story, out of the ether came the results of a survey by the Sacred Heart University Polling Institute on “Trust & Satisfaction with the National News Media.” The results would make old Walter spin in his grave.

Today less than one-quarter of Americans believe “all” or “most” of what is reported by the media. Fully 86.6 percent of respondents “strongly” or “somewhat” agree that the news media have their own political and public-policy positions and attempt to influence public opinion.

In the early years of the Republic, most newspapers didn’t even attempt to disguise their partisanship. As one late 18th-century newspaperman observed, an editor who did not take sides was “a passive fool, and not an editor.”

That changed in the late 19th and 20th centuries, but now the pendulum may be swinging back. The poll results, observes SHU media professor Jim Castonguay, “suggest that we are witnessing a new era of partisan media — with the important difference that current news media claim to be offering objective coverage when they often aren’t.”

So can we be very surprised that, when we lie to them, they don’t believe us any more?

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october 2009

— Michael C. Bingham, Editor

I NT EL

Finding Acorns in the Nutmeg State HARTFORD — A new digital mapping system will catalogue forgotten state-owned scenic woodlands owned by the state of Connecticut along major highways, with the objective of protecting them. Most of the parcels were purchased in the 1960s with federal Highway Beautification Funds but are now endangered by encroachment of development, cell-phone towers, etc. Explains Gov. M. Jodi Rell: “These small but beautiful pieces of land are like jewels in a crown.

They adorn our highways with beauty and richness and are intended to keep the landscape unfettered and free of unsightly structures, towers and signs.”

Haven and renovations at literally dozens of campus buildings.

Now the phenomenal growth of the past decade has come to an abrupt end. The fund’s value fell 29 percent, to $16.3 billion, for the fiscal year ended June 30. Thankfully, some people still have lots of money, as gifts from donors in distributions to the university made up $1.2 billion of the new total. But nearly $2 billion in new construction has been postponed. Harvard, which has the nation’s largest endowment ,also posted a 30percent decline that has crashed its own ambitious building program for now.

month House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo expressed strong support for Gov. Deval Patrick’s plan to bring “resort” casinos to Massachusetts. Patrick claims this will bring more than 10,000 jobs to the Bay State. Said Senate President Therese Murray, “The reality is that hundreds of millions of dollars are going to Connecticut casinos from Massachusetts residents every year.

Bay State lawmakers may have missed the news coming out of Foxwoods Resort Casino, which is hoping to get bondholders to take a $2.3 billion writedown on bonds owed by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. The tribe says the maneuverings won’t affect operations, and in any event creditors can’t foreclose on the sovereign “nation.”

Time To ‘Fasten Your Garter Belt’

Less Green for the Blue Mother

Gambling With the Future

NEW HAVEN — In early 2008, Yale University’s endowment soared to a peak of more than $22 billion — up from about a paltry $1 billion in the early 1990s. That performance fueled expansion, the purchase of the former Bayer complex in West

BOSTON — While Massachusetts may have the nation’s highest proportion of residents covered by health insurance, it appears political leaders there are getting ready to gamble with the future of the Commonwealth itself. Late last

NEW HAVEN — Whether you’re looking for what promoters are calling a “Gender Bender Performance” where the girls and the boys mix it up, or a Halloween dance party, you can find both — and a lot more. The Performing Arts Collaborative is presenting Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show: Live Halloween Experience on October 22-23, as well as the 29-31 at the Playwright New Haven to benefit AIDS Project New Haven. For all the details visit PerformingArtsCollaborative.com.

Muffy Get Your Gun

HARTFORD — The collapse of the world economy and the election of a liberal President has provided a windfall for firearms manufacturers. In Connecticut residents worried that it may get harder to buy a gun, aren’t waiting to load up. According to recent reports, Connecticut residents are arming themselves in record numbers, with nearly 12,000 new gun permits having been issued to Nutmeggers in 2009 to date. The Januarythrough-May numbers represent an increase of a staggering 90 percent over 2008. Gun stores and training facilities claim that women represent roughly half of new permit owners.

Nationwide, the Wall Street Journal reports that gun and ammunition sales, background checks and permits have been going through the roof since last October, and in spite of the down economy. Westport’s Sturm Ruger has seen sales increase 67% over last year.

Sleeping Giant Awakens Whether it’s Sleepy Giant in Hamden or Mt. Tom State Park in Litchfield, 2009 promises to be one of the most dramatic color displays for autumnal leaf-peepers in years. Says Chris Martin, director of forestry for the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), “We had more than enough rain in late spring and early summer, there should be plenty of leaves on the trees to produce a vibrant and spectacular show.” The peak for fall foliage will be around Columbus Day (October 12) especially in higher elevations. The DEP has a fall foliage Web site (ct.gov/dep/foliage) featuring a fall-foliage report updated each Monday and Wednesday on the advancing levels of color change in foliage throughout the state.

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arna P. Borgstrom of Guilford is CEO of Yale-New Haven Hospital and the Yale New Haven Health System. A Meriden native and the daughter of a physician, Borgstrom has worked for 30 years, almost her entire professional career, at YNNH. She was appointed CEO in 2005 as the hospital was locked in a pitched battle with the national Service Employees International Union, which was attempting to organize workers at the hospital. The conflict — along with threats from New Haven’s mayor and aldermen to withhold their support — threatened to derail construction of what would become the Smilow Cancer Center opening this month, at a cost in excess of $450 million.

After some important missteps, including being chastised by the National Labor Relations board, Borgstrom eventually navigated the hospital through the conflict and to the opening of this major addition to the hospital. NHM Publisher Mitchell Young spoke to Borgstrom for One to One.

Yale-New Haven’s Borgstrom leads a $1.8 billion system into a brave new world of health care

vvv In a few weeks you will open the Smilow Cancer Center. Putting aside the battle with the union and the city, what was the most difficult thing in making it happen?

The hard thing about a project like this is just doing good health-care planning, what to focus on. We knew we needed additional space; we didn’t want to just build more space and not have patient care improved. When we looked at where we were having the most significant growth, it was in all the cancers. When patients were treated, they would go to one place for radiation therapy, another for chemotherapy, we made some of our sickest patients travel the distance of having to navigate the [YNHH] medical center.

PHOTOGRAPH:

Steve Blazo

And this is a big place.

The way most medical centers have grown; you don’t have the luxury of looking at it programmatically. So the big thing was making sure we got the right focus, and then getting all of the providers with their hats pointed in the same direction. It’s saying to the providers, ‘We go to the patient.’ You don’t have the patient go everyplace else. new haven

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PHOTOGRAPH:

Steve Blazo

short distance. There are a lot of people in this country who travel hundreds and hundreds of miles [for specialized medical care]. For some of the unique services that we have, there are going to be referrals nationally and internationally. That’s largely because of the thought leaders and the people who are doing clinical trials [at YNHH].

Please talk about the political challenges of earning approval for YNHH’s expansion.

There’s almost nothing we do in health care that doesn’t have a lot of challenges that go beyond the clinical-care challenges.

I know how much time I’m spending right now on health-care reform, and that’s intensively political as much as it is substantive. It’s the reality of any large business — you have to do a lot of rocking and rolling.

Recently we’ve been hearing how expensive health care is in the U.S. and how poor the outcomes are. What’s it like for the people who are generating these outcomes to hear they’re failing from everyone?

Borgstrom: ‘People coming out [of medical school] now have spouses who are working, they want to be more involved in their kids’ lives.’

Sounds easier said than done.

It wasn’t that philosophically people disagreed with that, but everybody has their convenience issues and how they do things. Maybe that was one of the biggest challenges but they [stakeholders] came through superbly.

The TV show House portrays physicians as prima donnas. Is it very difficult to manage people like that?

I like working with physicians. It’s nice working with smart people; smart people are challenging. We have a lot of smart people around here and working with them all is a pleasure.

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Early on there was a lot of discussion about the impact of the Cancer Center outside of New Haven, into Connecticut and even beyond. How much is this directed at the population here and how much to build one of these ‘centers of excellence’, where people come from far distances for treatment?

We have in our mission a focus as a community hospital and we also have a very significant responsibility to be a tertiary and quaternary referral center. I view [the two missions] as intersecting: We‘re creating something much more comprehensive than most people will ever be able to have access to traveling a very

The health care we get in this country — notwithstanding that there are issues in any delivery system — is pretty good; the issues are largely of access and how that’s paid for. I’m not talking about New Haven and the Northeast; because in general people don’t have access barriers [here]. There are payment barriers. In other parts of the country, access is a big problem. When people access health care too late, and it’s coupled with an inability or a failure to take personal responsibility, [that] contributes to a lot of the issues.

If you look at unadjusted poverty rates in the U.S., Canada and certain western European countries and look at what we spend, it’s significantly more. But if you look at what we spend against Canada and Europe and what they spend on other social infrastructure programs, we spend far less. The connection may be that it’s not all about how you access and spend on health care [in a vacuum].

So not just holistic in the sense of medicine but all of society?

Having said that, none of us in health care with the luxury of designing with a blank sheet of paper would do it the way it is.

It’s evolved in the past 40 years in a fairly accelerating fashion. I don’t think there is much evil motivation or unwillingness to provide really good care.

Many of us grew up with hospitalthemed TV shows — from Ben Casey to St. Elsewhere to House — that influenced our image of what a hospital is. Is there a

House in your house?

Yes — as a matter of fact it happened this weekend. We had a patient who was in the hospital for three weeks at the beginning of the summer and with one of the most difficult diagnoses that [we have seen].

It was a process of people sleuthing their way through, and one person actually sat back and looked at the overall case and began to put pieces together for a very unusual diagnosis. One of the things about a place like this is that there are some absolutely brilliant diagnosticians.

I think Jerome Grubman is the author who said, ‘Just because you haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean it’s not happening.’ You have to listen to the patient and then you have to think.

[positron emission tomography] scanners, 64-slice CT scanners that scan an entire body in a minute and a half, etc. We’ve benefited from the evolution of their skill and technology, but I do think every one of them would say none of it takes the place of thinking and listening and being responsive to the individual patient.

There are 3,200 doctors here, and thousands of other medical professionals.

That would seem like a pretty good sample of opinion on what shape health-care reform ought to take.

But isn’t technology changing this place?

You would pretty uniformly get agreement that [the way health care] is being paid for and provided is not sustainable. We didn’t get to this level of complexity overnight, but a concern that many of us have is that we not be in such a hurry to change the less-good parts of the system that we end up with a lot of unintended consequences.

I worry that the push to reform right now will lead us to economic reform only, and not to any meaningful changes in the way the provider system is organized or expected to deliver care. If it’s just going to be paying less for the same or growing amount of demand, that will be difficult to sustain.

They can do a lot more with PET

In another words, health reform is ‘We pay

How has technology changed how doctors interact with patients?

I’m not in direct patient care, so I think it would be a little audacious for me to speculate on that. What I find when I sit down and talk with a physician here is any one of them is focused on [direct] patient care, but they wish they had more time to do it.

less.’ So something was $100; now it’s $90.

Yes. There are people all over the place here.

Doesn’t less money mean fewer employees or lower compensation for them?

That’s right, it could end up there. I would never sit here and tell you we’re at an irreducible minimum in the system.

But we’ve been very bullish on cost management. In the four years I’ve been CEO and the 12 years before that, costs were growing much faster than revenues.

Every year we’ve closed that gap by growing parts of our patient demand and business. We were able to lower per-unit cost of care by making the system better so we can reasonably lower length of stay.

If patients are in the hospital for shorter stays, doesn’t that mean less revenue?

It does, but I would ultimately love to see a system of care where we actually work to keep patients out of the hospital. To do that we’re going to need good ambulatory resources that don’t currently exist.

Like the satellite operation in Guilford?

Guilford and a lot more in support for home care, more primary care. People tend to use the hospital because they don’t

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PHOTOGRAPH:

Steve Blazo

most hospitals are named for the towns they exist in. There is this fierce local support. Increasingly, as there is more [economic] pressure put on us, everyone is going to be seeking ways to [lower costs].

Will the public be unhappy when that changes?

I don’t know if it is sustainable. We’re not training enough primary-care physicians — they’re so busy and the overhead is so high they can’t figure out how to sustain themselves. Also, if you look at some of the attitudinal assessments of people coming out of medical school and internships, they would like some of the same things the rest of us want. They would like to not be working like my father did. He became a physician during the Second World War. He was never home when we were kids. He worked 70 to 80 hours every week. People coming out [of medical school] now have spouses who are working, they want to be more involved in their kids’ lives.

In the banking industry things have gotten personal and nasty with regard to executive compensation. There was recently a story in the Connecticut Post about the salaries of hospital CEOs, including yours. Are you concerned that the health-care debate is going to get personal?

It doesn’t worry me or motivate me to do anything different. When I got into this business, I was interested in public health. I’m pretty passionate about health care, and I think you have to pay people appropriately for what they do.

Our system is a $1.8 billion system; we have 13,000 [employees]. There is a lot of responsibility that comes with that. I don’t think the issues about compensation are or should be motivating anybody to do anything differently.

‘This is a relationships business — it’s relationships and it’s mutual respect. You can make a big place like this feel pretty personal and small.’

have alternatives. You’re always going to have places like Yale-New Haven, because people can live good healthy lives and [illnesses] are going to happen. As a society we can spend our resources better.

As those satellite operations grow, doesn’t that make the central-city main hospital a difficult proposition to maintain?

For the foreseeable future, with an aging population you’re going to need hospital beds. We don’t look and say, ‘If we haven’t grown to be a 1,200-bed facility by 2018, we’ve failed.’ Success could be the size we are now and even shrinking a bit, if we developed better distribution mechanisms.

What does the Yale New Haven Health 12

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System currently encompass?

It includes Greenwich Hospital, Bridgeport Hospital and Westerly [R.I.] Hospital is an affiliate. We’ve come together to lower the cost of service, with primarily back offices consolidating. But we’ve also worked together to create standard definitions of quality and [patient] outcomes. A patient with a heart attack in Greenwich [should] follow a [treatment] path that’s very similar to a way a patient in New Haven would.

Is more expansion in the offing?

I think the Northeast has been very slow to adopt [hospital] systems. It is made up of a bunch of independent Yankees, and

How did you first get attracted to health care? You grew up in Meriden and your father was a doctor.

My dad never wanted to be a doctor; he wanted to be an English teacher. At the beginning of World War II, the army was looking at IQ tests and they told him he had to go to medical or dental school. He said he didn’t want to do either, and they said, ‘This is the army, son.’

So he was drafted into medicine?

Yes, but he was one of seven kids. His parents were Irish immigrants, so he got into this with a real passion for health care and he instilled that in all three of his kids.

And in different ways we’re all in health care. My brother is a physician and my

sister designs health-benefit programs in California.

So she’s working for the enemy?

She’s not the enemy. She works mostly with employers trying to design programs for them. I was a biology major, but I frankly couldn’t stand organic chemistry.

Where did you go to college?

Stanford, in California.

Going to college in California, it’s a little unusual that you came back.

I had worked in ladies’ sportswear at Macy’s, and then I worked as unit secretary on a [hospital] pediatric unit, the night and evening shifts. I fell in love with the acute-care environment. I applied to graduate school at [the University of California at] Berkeley and at Yale, and decided to come back to [enter the field of] public health. I promised my then soon-to-be-husband we would be here for two years [of graduate school] and we would go back.

He’s from California?

He was from Washington State. We met in college; he went to Stanford, too. I promised that in 1978. Thirty years later

we’re still here.

YNHH touts its ‘world class’ environment that’s more than just a community hospital environment. How does that impact how you approach what you do?

We work on things that every health-care provider has to focus on: patient safety, clinical quality, patient satisfaction.

We’re corporately separate from Yale University, but together we’ve done some great recruitments. Tom Dunn, who we just recruited in the spring from Mass[achusetts] General [Hospital in Boston] to run the Smilow Cancer Hospital is a perfect example. That’s a recruitment we share; we each pay 50 percent of his salary. He’ll run the Cancer Center, which includes developing a focused research portfolio, clinical research for both of us [the hospital and university] and integrated clinical care.

The scale of this place is really large. How do you keep such a large place personal?

This is a relationships business. It’s individual relationships we have with employees, with the secretary who greets them — it’s relationships and it’s mutual respect. You can make a big place like this feel pretty personal and small. I

just received a letter and I handwrote a response to a woman whose mother recently passed away. She came in with a fractured hip but had a lot of other issues.

I didn’t know her mother had passed away, but she wrote a letter and said she was not with her mother at the end. She said she felt comforted to know the caregivers, [and wrote] ‘I felt my mother didn’t die alone.’

Back to you: When you came here to grad school, you knew you wanted to be an administrator?

I’ve never been a good career planner. I had an opportunity to do a post-graduate residency fellowship with my two predecessors. I did a little of everything — planning, fundraising, some general management — and I never sat down and said I wanted to be the CEO. When my predecessor [former YNHH president Joseph A. Zaccagnino] said he was going to retire, I thought about [the top job] because it is an incredible responsibility. I feel very personal about this organization; it’s my organization.

After the Cancer Center opens and it’s back to business-as-usual, what will you do for an adrenalin rush?

Continued on 25

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Prum and feathered friends at the Peabody: Humans ‘are having a profound impact on the lives of birds.’

Feathering His Nest

the history of relationships among different groups of birds, bird vision [among other areas].

Yale prof gets $500,000 ‘Genius Grant’ to advance bird studies

The foundation specifically cited your work on the color of bird feathers.

I’ve been interested in bird-feather colors for ten years [in pursuit of] understanding how certain kinds of colors, called structural colors, are produced. These are not produced by pigments like we see in paints, but are produced by interaction of light with structures. That would include things like an oil slick or an opal.

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ale professor and ornithologist Richard Prum, 48, received one of 25 $500,000 Genius Awards in late September from the MacArthur Foundation. Prum is the William Robertson Coe Professor of Ornithology, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology at Yale, and serves as curator of ornithology and head curator of vertebrate zoology at the Peabody Museum of Natural History. Prum has studied avian development and has advanced theories on the color of feathers, as well as birds as evolutionary descendents of dinosaurs. Said MacArthur Foundation of Prum: “Prum habitually synthesizes concepts from disparate fields and 14

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follows surprising paths to reach carefully reasoned conclusions. His research to date raises the profile of ornithological studies in several fundamental aspects of biology, and he continues to open new frontiers.” With $500,000 on the table, NHM Publisher Mitchell Young spoke with Prum to get our two cents in.

Can you sum up your work in a couple of sentences?

I’m an evolutionary biologist with an interest in birds, and have done a diverse set of investigations on bird biology: the evolution of courtship display behavior,

Does that mean they’re not really the color we perceive them to be?

Most of the colors of birds — black, brown, red, yellow, orange — are likely to be pigmentary colors. Other colors — especially greens and blues — are produced by structures. They’re as real as any other color; they’re just produced by

a different physical mechanism. Its sort of like the holographic device you see on a credit card. It’s not made by a pigment; it’s made by light interacting with physical objects.

I was watching a show on condors and I thought they really do look like a dinosaur.

Where do you stand on the birds-aredinosaurs matrix?

I’ve been a long and strong supporter of the dinosaur as origin of birds. Birds are living dinosaurs. A few years ago I published a paper called “Why Ornithologists Should Care About the Theropod Origin of Birds.” Theropods are the meat-eating dinosaurs typified by Velociraptor and T. Rex. Dinosaurs did not go extinct — we have more than 10,000 species of dinosaurs on the planet today.

Ornithology is really dinosaur biology.

Do you think that’s why some of us are afraid of birds, we have this deep understanding they’re really dinosaurs?

[Laughs] I don’t get that [fear of birds] but I have observed it.

Maybe you’re too young to have seen Hitchcock’s movie The Birds.

I saw it, but I thought it was quaint.

Are you concerned about the possible growing extinction of birds?

That’s more a question of ecology, and that’s far from my own profession. But as a consumer of that literature, I think the way we’re changing the ecosystems — terrestrial, aquatic and oceanic — is profound, and we are having a profound effect on the lives of birds.

Do you feel a special affinity for birds?

I have a very deep knowledge and a familiarity. I think of it as a partnership in curiosity.

How did you get into birds in the first place?

I started birdwatching as an elementary school kid, in fourth grade in southern Vermont. It was in a very rural context, and I had a lot of room to explore the natural world. I studied science in school.

I thought early on I’d be a park ranger.

When I got to college I learned there was an active field of scientific investigation and discovered the field of evolutionary biology. Now a lot of the work I do pertains to all birds, such as how birds

see. [Humans] see color in RGB (red, green, blue). Birds see in RGB UV — they have an additional ultraviolet receptor. It turns out be an added dimension of color — such as yellow plus ultraviolet — we can’t even conceive of, yet they use it in their plumage.

So dogs are supposedly color-blind, yet birds can see all these colors. What about other animals?

It’s an interesting feature that mammals have very poor color vision. We’ve spent millions of years crawling around in the dark trying to not be eaten by dinosaurs.

During that time our color vision simplified. We humans have a retrofit, but the whole four-color system developed in fishes long before they crawled up onto land.

So we went retrograde in terms of vision acuity?

Yes, we have a very recent reinvention of part of the [optical] system, but it doesn’t come near to the richness the birds have [as well as goldfish, reptiles and many amphibians]. They’re in a four-color world that blows ours away. v

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PHOTOGRAPH:

NBC

ME D IA

Networked Newsman At Yale, a media legend says journalism actually has a future.

Well, maybe

By Michael C. Bingham

H

ow’s this for an historical irony: Tom Brokaw didn’t even lay eyes on his first television set until he was 15 years old, growing up on a farm in rural South Dakota. The year was 1955, and the television was a B&W Zenith.

Later, Brokaw would become somewhat more familiar with the then-fledgling medium of television, crafting a career that vaulted him to the highest reaches of broadcast journalism — a 22-run as anchor of the NBC Nightly News and then a second successful career as author of 1999’s phenomenally successful The Greatest Generation, a history of the Americans who fought and won World War II. Today he is a “special correspondent” for NBC news, which means he can do pretty much whatever he pleases, whenever he pleases. On September 22 that included a visit to New Haven to lecture at Yale’s Whitney Humanities Center on “The Future of Journalism.”

Another irony: Yale doesn’t offer a journalism major (and never has — too blue-collar for Old Blue), but appearances by celebrity journalists on campus never fail to draw large and enthusiastic audiences. Judging from the lines that snaked around the block from Wall Street to Church, perhaps hundreds of potential attendees were turned away.

What they missed was the 69-year-old newsman, looking trim and dapper in navy blazer and grey flannels, discuss 16

october 2009

Transformational tools such as the Internet, Brokaw told his Yale audience, ‘require your heart and mind as well as your fingers on the keyboard.’

the revolutionary changes to the media landscape since he went to work at KTIVTV in Sioux City, Ia. in the early 1960s.

That was a time, Brokaw recalled, “when there were just two stars in the sky of the television news universe” — the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite (a/k/ as the Most Trusted Man in America) and the NBC Nightly News with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley.

“We were witnesses in our own homes to events that defined our time,” said Brokaw. “Race issues were covered extensively, while gender issues were not. Indeed, women had little role in gathering or delivering the news. Rock ‘n’ roll was treated as a curiosity, not as a transformative cultural experience.”

One reason, Brokaw noted, was that

“News decisions were made by white, middle-aged men of similar educational backgrounds who worked along the Eastern Seaboard.”

Brokaw contrasted that bygone era with the media universe of the 21st century — the explosion of media choices from cable TV to the Internet to delivery mechanisms for information and entertainment too vast to enumerate.

“Which universe,” Brokaw asked rhetorically, “best serves the public?”

The new universe, he noted, is far “richer and affords vastly greater access” to information and entertainment, and it is “more egalitarian in every way.”

But with that proliferation of choices comes “considerable chaos. Is it an advancement or a retreat to the lowest

common denominator of common interest and exploitation?” he asked. “We may have known too much about Bill Clinton’s sex life, but not enough about John Kennedy’s.”

He likened the contemporary news environment to a “meteor shower of information. This new order has a voracious appetite for something — sometimes anything — just to fill the [air] time. A lot of it isn’t real reporting.”

As for the state of “traditional” news media in 2009, Brokaw called it “perilous.

Those of us in traditional media have allowed the canard that ‘Information is free’ to take hold. Information is not free.

Gathering information and presenting it is very expensive.”

Is Journalism dead? “Journalism is not dead,” Brokaw said, “but the business of journalism is on life-support.”

Part of the current state of affairs, Brokaw said, can be laid at the feet of journalists themselves. “As journalists we have to be more proactive about the importance of journalism to a democratic society. Can you imagine the United States going to war with Germany and Japan [in 1941] without journalism to explain the reasons as well as chronicle the setbacks and triumphs? [Promoting] the place of journalism in a free society is not the responsibility of journalists alone.”

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That means we as news consumers have a stake in the game, too. Brokaw urged his audience “to be as vigilant in discerning sources of information as you would be buying a new flat-screen TV.” Most blogs, he pointed out, “are not journalists, but commentators.” Even most news blogs, he added, are less informationgatherers than aggregators of information — most of which, Brokaw pointed out, originates with dinosaur media like newspapers and network television.

New media such as the Internet are “transformational tools,” said Brokaw, “but they require your heart and mind as well as your fingers on the keyboard.”

When Brokaw started in television, the relationship between the medium and its audience was “We talk, you listen,” said Brokaw. Now, to survive deeper into the 21st century, he added, media companies “have a fundamental obligation to receive as well as send.”

And the overarching lesson of his career?

“People take us seriously,” said Brokaw.

“And we fulfill our obligation to our audience when we return the favor.” v new haven

17

E

ach year around this time thousands of people flock to Salem, Mass., to bask in the reflected glow of the bizarre historical hysteria known as the Salem Witch Trials. They dress in witchy garb and take guided tours of where it all went down.

By MELISSA NICEFARO

What many don’t know is that by the time the Salem witch trials began in earnest, Connecticut had already had its own hysterical panic over witchcraft. Been there, done that, Salem.

In Windsor in 1647, Alice Young was convicted and hanged for practicing witchcraft. She was the first witch to be executed in the Northeast. In all, 25 witches were hanged in Salem in 1692, and 11 were executed in Connecticut about 50 years before that.

In the years that followed, there’s a growing belief that it was all just a misunderstanding.

In fact, Hamden resident Tony Griego believes that the witches were wrongly accused and terribly misunderstood.

The retired New Haven police officer has always had an interest in all things mystical — whether it was ghosts, witches or even what he calls “hocus pocus.”

Following a sojourn to Salem in 1992, his life began to change.

“Some of the things that people were persecuted for were absolutely ridiculous,” Griego says. “I started to do more and more research on it and I started to drift toward paganism. Catholicism,” he adds, “wasn’t working for me.

“The Puritans strongly believed in the power of the devil and they really feared the devil was using their community,” Griego explains. “When someone was accused of [being] a witch, people began to look at the situation, stories snowballed and innocent people were accused — that’s what happened to Alice Young.

“My personal feeling is that everybody hopes that they will be remembered after they’re gone with a headstone at a cemetery, or in some other way,” he says.

“These people who were executed were denied a burial at a consecrated ground.

They were excommunicated from the church and considered criminals.”

To right what he saw as an historic injustice, Griego helped to introduce a resolution to the state legislature to see the names of the 11 executed in Connecticut pardoned, but since under the state constitution the governor has no authority to pardon people, Griego was directed to 18

october 2009

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PHOTOGRAPH:

Mitchel R. Young

that this particular crime is completely invalid now,” says Blood. “Every time they want to do it, all these angry people come out and say it’s a waste of time.

Some people are conservative in the sense that everything that happened in the past — I think [some] people think they were really witches.”

Blood reminds a visitor that many of the cases involved people who had already suffered setbacks and were trying to survive in a world riddled with illness and poverty.

“Remember that any disruption in food supply/crops could be fatal,” he notes. “If a child died or a child was sick, those in a God-centered world were looking for an explanation. We still do — ‘If God is so great, why did this happen?’ When you start pointing fingers, it’s handy that there’s a group right around hanging out, getting drunk and you don’t like them.”

Blood elaborates: “Bad things happened and these people are doing god-knowswhat in the woods. But there is some confusion between what we call chemistry and magic,” he adds of witches’ historic association with potions and magical herbs. “They didn’t know chemistry wasn’t magic. It was new and not understood.”

Blood believes that while many 17thcentury records and court transcripts from Hartford and Fairfield still exist, the records from New Haven’s records may have been destroyed.

Hamden’s Griego has been on a one-man crusade to rehabilitate the reputation of the 11 people executed for witchcraft in Connecticut in the 17th century.

the Board of Pardons and Parole.

“They told us they don’t pardon dead people,” Griego recounts. Because in the 1600s Connecticut was an English colony, Griego next contacted representatives of Queen Elizabeth II of England and he was met with a shocking response: not interested. It was a Colonial issue, they said, and the ball was back in Connecticut’s court.

“We decided that ‘pardon’ might not be the right term to use, so now we have before the legislature a ‘resolution to have their names cleared,’” Griego says. “Every other person who has lost their life for an alleged belief like witchcraft has been 20

october 2009

pardoned — it happened in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Virginia.”

Whatever the fate of his resolution.

Griego knows he can’t rewrite history.

“But would we execute somebody today because somebody’s beer soured?” he wonders. It is true that some purported witches were accused of souring the beer, according to Middletown filmmaker Andy Blood. His company, Wolfgang Pictures, in 2008 produced a documentary called The Devil Among Us that examines the Connecticut witch trials.

“You can’t go back and review the guilt or innocence of people, but on the other hand, exoneration might be a statement

vvv Those records are relied upon and studied, even in academia.

John Demos, a Yale professor of early American history, wrote two books on the subject of witch-hunts: The Enemy Within (Viking, 2008) and Entertaining Satan (Oxford University Press, 1982). He says that the culture of the early Colonial era was infused with widespread belief in all kinds of magic and supernatural phenomenon. Popular belief in witchcraft and witch hunting fit into this larger cultural context.

Much like many of the dramas of today’s culture, witch hunts got started when neighbors got talking.

“Usually there has to be some kind of angry encounter between the so-called witch and someone else who finds himself or herself a victim,” Demos explains.

“That leaves a residue of fear and anger.

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“People never stopped practicing pagan religions,” she explains. Instead, “They went underground.

PHOTOGRAPHS:

“Even though it may not have been a hanging offense any longer, you’re still going to be facing religious persecution.

Whatever witches there were went underground and wouldn’t chance being persecuted. It still happens now. I was fired from U.S. Surgical.”

Actress Fiona Horrigan portrays condemned witch Rebeccas Greensmith in the film The Devil Among Us. Below: A wiccan ceremony.

(In 2005 Folberth was dismissed for “performance issues” from her job as a graphic designer for then-U.S. Surgical Corp. [now Covidien] in North Haven.

She says she believes her request for time off from work to worship on Wiccan feast days contributed to her dismissal.

A Covidien spokesperson would not comment on a personnel matter.)

Folberth heads the Panthean Community Church, which doesn’t currently have a building in which to worship. During warm months the group meets at a farm in Oxford or at Osbournedale State Park.

each other up and they may lodge a public accusation — they may file a complaint in court.” In 17th-century New England, such accusations were taken seriously and would likely have precipitated an investigation by judges and magistrates.

If enough “evidence” warranted formal charges, a trial would follow.

“Witches can be off-beat marginal characters,” says Demos. “Many were quite poor and many seemed eccentric to their fellow townspeople. Some had an attitude or an edge and those things tended to draw unfavorable attention.”

Demos knows there are people in the 21st century who believe in the magical spell-casting aspect of witchery. But he personally doesn’t buy it.

“I am an enthusiastic student of the history of it, and in all of the years I’ve been doing this, I run into people who do believe” in the supernatural power of witches. “They find me very disappointing,” he adds.

In all, there were 234 cases of witchcraft and 36 executions in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

According to the statutes of the period,

22

october 2009

witchcraft was a capital crime punishable by hanging. And although colonial judges could declare a mistrial if they didn’t agree with the findings of the jury, there was no appeal process.

The panic and hysteria surrounding witchcraft subsided over time, but many of those involved looked back over the hysteria with regret. When people began to reexamine the events in Salem, Demos says, they came to believe that terrible mistakes very likely had been made.

“Many people came to greatly regret what had happened,” the historian says. “That made them much more cautious in the future about taking such matters into court and holding formal trials. There were virtually no formal [witch] trials after the 17th century in Salem.”

vvv Nevertheless, belief in the power of witchcraft has endured through the ensuing centuries.

Today that belief is found in the Wicca, a neo-pagan, nature-based religion and in people like Alicia Folberth, a selfproclaimed witch who lives in Derby.

“We have a tiered structure,” Folberth explains of her church. “People can come to our events without being members.

People can choose to be members and remain as involved as they’d like. There are some who are interested in becoming priests. We’ve got an outer court and an inner court. The outer court is where people receive training, and the inner court is the coven.” Church rules prevent her from discussing the coven, she says.

Like Griego, Folberth says she is a refugee from Christianity.

“In 1995, we had a ritual in my backyard when I was still living in Bridgeport and I said I wanted to form a pagan church,” she recalls. “There was a small group of us who had come from another group and we decided we were going to do it, but I’m the only one who stuck with it.

“Our culture has a problem,” Folberth asserts. “We are teaching intolerance because there are some people who are afraid of other people’s power. So many people are incredibly ignorant and I think it’s because we’re in the United States and not Europe. In Europe, you see remnants of the old religion, you see history that’s very ancient, not like us with [only] 300 years of history.”

The self-proclaimed witch believes that there are always going to be people who are a little more gifted on the psychic side.

“Those of us who practice witchcraft are using magic as an active form of prayer,” Folberth explains. “You’re a co-creator

of your universe. You’re not asking for anything; you’re actively engaged with it. It’s not simply worship. We don’t have any power, per se. All of our power comes from our connection with the universe, with the earth, with the elements, with our god. Everything is very much an interwoven fabric.”

Are wiccans born or made? Folberth is asked. That’s subject to debate.

“People have to come to that place within themselves where they decide they are going to be that co-creator with the universe and they do not have to simply allow things to happen to them,” she says. “It’s very empowering. It has grown, especially in the women’s movement, to find out that there is religion where being feminine is respected, where our own personal power was not defined. We’re talking about the power of creation.”

vvv That power of creation is exactly where much of the “magic” did reside in the witches of Colonial times.

“There was nothing in the formal belief and the law of witchcraft that said [witches] had to be women as opposed to

men,” says historian Demos. “Witchcraft was anyone who contracted with the devil, male or female, and thereby had gained supernatural power to do harm to his or her neighbors. But in practice and actual fact, about four-to-one it was more women than men who were accused.”

Demos says he understands the rationale for the gender bias.

“That ratio is replicated all around the world,” he says. “Although the practices are different in different cultures, the one thing that’s universal is this predominance of women. This has led me to feel that there’s a deeply psychological element — witch hunting is a form of misogyny, a hatred of women. Its roots lie deep in the psyche of both women and men. Many accusers of witches were also women.”

Demos elaborates: “The best explanation of this that I have ever come across from a couple of psychologists who wrote about being raised as very young children primarily by women. Mother care is universal for very young children and that creates a certain pre-disposition to view females as magical figures who have great powers. It’s trans-cultural.”

On this point, at least, Folberth agrees.

But she also believes that today’s witches do have special powers and meet regularly to worship in rituals.

“What we’re doing during a ritual, without going into technical detail, is actively engaging the forces of the universe,” she explains. “Even our altars have the basic representations of the forces that make up the universe.”

Wiccan is a religion based on mystery, and those who follow the religion believe that they have a deeper spiritual sensitivity and understanding as a result.

“The biggest problem we have is the perpetuation of stereotypes in the media,” Folberth says. “This is the part that truly bothers me — the ugly, green-faced witch.

That’s not a remnant of the hanging and burning time. People, when they were in prison for months at a time in these dark cells that were more like coffins, they would come out with strange skin tones.

This is not good to perpetuate this. It’s just as bad as perpetuating Auschwitz victims.

“Another part of that is that people think of witches as fairy tales,” adds Folberth.

“But we’re real.” v

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Devil in Disguise Drymon: ‘If you look at the characteristics of a witch, you see the same personality changes with Lyme disease.’

J

ust as there are varying stories about the 17thcentury New England witches themselves, today there are many theories as to what really happened.

Mary Drymon, a doctoral candidate in public policy at University of Southern Maine, theorizes that witches were simply people afflicted with Lyme disease. In 1692, witchcraft accusations were rampant across the Northeast, particularly in Salem and Connecticut. Moreover, Drymon says, there was a similar environmental pattern in both regions.

“In my research, I found that the many of the girls accused of being witches talked about marks on the skin and in some cases, it’s described as looking like a bite-mark or the peel of an orange on the

in the fields, after which she quickly fell ill.

“Soon after, cranial nerve palsy sets in and she gets into a situation where her tongue falls out of her mouth.

It looks horrendous,” says Drymon.

skin,” Drymon explains. In her book, Disguised as the Devil: How Lyme Disease Created Witches and Changed History (Wythe Avenue Press, So what were then referred to 2008), Drymon relates the as “witch marks” or “witch’s story of Katherine Branch, a bites” may have been the servant girl who had fits with bull’s-eye rashes typically hallucinations, fainting spells, associated with Lyme disease. physical contortions and even “conversations” with the devil. “If you look at the characteristics of a witch, “She gets sick and accuses you see the same personality six other people of being changes with Lyme disease,” witches,” Drymon writes. says Drymon. “The “In this case, Katherine photophobia [sensitivity Branch goes out to the fields to light] is what made the to gather herbs and you have witches squint and appear as her walking through a really though brushy area and then she has the neurological symptoms of listlessness and speech and she has a red spot on her.”

they were giving the evil eye because the bright light from the sun hurts the eyes.”

Drymon says she spent more than five years researching her book. She hypothesizes that even though it was identified only in the 1980s, Lyme disease has been around for hundreds of years, perhaps even thousands.

Drymon is a descendent of Goodwife Rebecca Chamberlain of Billerica, Mass., who was accused of practicing witchcraft and died in prison in 1692.

“She was accused of being a witch and died just about the time they were deciding to let everyone go,” Drymon says.

“The poor dear.”

— M.N.

Drymon says this is why more women than men were witches: Women wore long skirts that allowed ticks access to their bare legs, while men wore long pants, typically tucked into their socks.

Court transcripts from 1692 describe Branch complaining she had been bitten while out

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The hard part comes when we open that building and start moving in patients and caregivers and making it work. What we’d like to do with our existing services, with some of the space we’ll free up by moving into Smilow, is continue to organize where we can make it easier for the patients to stay in [one area].

This institution is one of the most important job engines of greater New Haven. Will we see that end with health-care reform or other changes?

A challenge will be to continue to perform and produce a bottom line so we can reinvest. I think that will be a challenge as we get further into health-care reform. For your and my lifetime, this organization will be an important provider and employer. I took up running a few years ago, but my knees are going to go, and even if my heart is healthy I may end up being an orthopedist’s dream.

Ten years ago I interviewed a surgeon who said, ‘We’re going into the parts business,’ meaning replacement body parts. Do you see the ‘replacement-parts’ business as a major growth area?

Those are growing areas for all of us, but medical diagnoses are where we’re really going to be challenged.

You have people who are living longer, and when they come [to the hospital] it’s not just for a parts replacement. Along the way [patients have] developed heart disease or diabetes, or they have a chronic cancer.

If you’re an orthopedist or a cardiovascular surgeon you can’t just focus on the joint.

You have to be aware of [the patient’s] diabetes and know how to manage it. I think we’ll expect more out of our physicians, not less.

Very few hospitals employ a lot of physicians. But many of them have physician employment organizations.

One of the arguably more successful provider insurance models is [Californiabased] Kaiser Permanente.

It is an insurance vehicle with a lot of acute care and ambulatory care and then a large physicians’ group. Increasingly we see physicians wanting infrastructure support.

In ten years, what would you like to be recognized for?

I would like to see Yale-New Haven recognized in the absolute rarefied air of places that you can be assured you are going to be treated safely with the best quality care. That’s not only the best technology, but the best support people to deliver great patient care. We just got our Modern Healthcare [magazine] Top 100 Places in the Country to Work recognition.

You can’t do what you to do in a fiscally responsible manner if you don’t have a great group of employees.

What is most important to your employees?

When we do surveys, compensation is usually No. 4 or 5 [in importance].

They want to feel respected, a chance to grow in the organization. Even our employees want to be sure their benefits are affordable and sustainable, and they want to be compensated appropriately. We’re investing a lot of resources in our staff development because the opportunity for people to come and grow a career is really important. If we continue to be recognized for that, we will be recognized for quality care and all the things that go with it. v

All rights reserved

Continued from 13

So does that speak to the trend that stopped some years ago of hospitals buying large physicians’ groups to channel patients into the hospital?

© 2008 Hospitality 3

One2One

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Ladyin Waiting In desperate need of a bone-marrow transplant, one area woman finds herself surprised by the kindness of strangers the volunteers from r 19 event some 20 than 120 re mo At the Septembe d ere ist m’s Club reg 0.

East Hampton Mo and raised $3,00 potential donors

By KAREN SINGER

mily, her fa ler. d n a e Chet son Ty Karyn e-year-old v and fi

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T

odd Chete shook his head in wonderment, at the generosity of strangers.

“To see all these people come together and fight for someone is amazing,” he said, following a September 19 bone-marrow registration drive in East Hampton (Conn.) for his wife, Kayrn, who has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. He figured friends would show up, but not so many folks he didn’t know.

g

Neither did Kayrn, 38, who smiled broadly as she recounted speaking with out-of-towners who signed up to become a donor — and a potential match for her.

“I met two sisters who came from West Haven and wanted to donate because one of their relatives has leukemia,” she said, adding that only one was able to register.

Karyn Ch ete with son Tyler: ‘I’m abou t 30 years too youn g for this d isease.’

Got marrow?: A helpful neighbor offers a DNA swab to see if she might be a potential donor.

During the event, sponsored by DKMS Americas, an international bone-marrow registry, Karyn and her husband sat at one of the tables gathering health information and other data from people who met minimum the eligibility criteria of being between the ages of 18 and 55 and in overall good health.

In four hours, the Chetes, along with Kayrn’s grandmother, father, stepmother and around 20 volunteers from the East Hampton Mom’s Club, which organized the event, registered 122 people and raised $3,000. The money will help offset the $65 fee DKMS pays to tissue-type each potential donor, based on cell samples taken from the inside their mouths with cotton swabs. The cell samples will undergo human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing, a DNAbased tissue test used to match patients and donors for bone marrow transplants.

The closest genetic matches are preferable, so the patient’s immune system does not reject the transplant or lead to graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a potentially life-threatening condition in which the donor cells attack the host’s body.

Those who registered in East Hampton will be listed on the national Be the Match Registry and could be a potential donor match for any patient needing a bonemarrow transplant.

Among them was Kayrn’s brother David, who wore a round red sticker saying, “Got Marrow,” and said he had about a one in four chance of being a match.

That’s why many patients seek unrelated donors through bone-marrow registries. Patients are most likely to match someone of their own race and ethnicity, and there is a dearth of minority donors.

More females than males are currently on the

he heard the news about Karyn’s cancer. He’s not in the military but works for Schulz Electric Co., a New Haven electric motor repair business.

“I had just arrived there and got a phone call at two o’clock in the morning,” he recalls. “I wanted to come back but we needed the money, and Kayrn said, ‘There’s nothing you can do.’

money,” said Kayrn’s father Dave Geuser, a pony-tailed mechanic who encouraged some of his Harley Davidson-riding buddies to register.

Rothenberg, the DKMS representative, explains that potential bone marrow donors are added to the national registry anonymously, and agree to become donors for anyone in need of a transplant.

“This means that the donor and patient will not know who the other person is for “So I stayed,” he adds. “She’s quite a while,” she says. “The recipient’s an amazingly strong woman.” [transplant] center may provide up to three updates within the first year after Kayrn began chemotherapy, transplant. Some transplant centers do and it worked for a while, not provide updates at all. The donor and driving her cancer into transplant recipient can communicate or remission for about a meet after one or more years, if both the year before the disease donor and the recipient consent.” returned.

This April Kayrn learned she needed a bone-marrow transplant, which could prolong her disease-free periods and increase the odds of a cure.

bone ber 19 eptem h for Karyn.

S e h t tended o find a matc t ople at 100 pe drive to try n a h t More tration is g e r marrow

bone-marrow registries, DKMS spokesperson Maria LaGamba says, adding 18- to 28-year-old males are most desired because their bodies contain more bone marrow than other age and gender groupings.

The East Hampton drive registered 86 women and 36 men — a pretty good turnout, according to DKMS Alexandra Rothenberg, who observed that potential donors typically come out in large numbers only for babies and young children needing bone-marrow transplants.

“We recently registered 1,600 people for a nine-month-old child in Pittsburgh,” she says. “Unfortunately, none was a match.”

vvv A lifelong East Hampton resident, Karyn was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a cancer of the white blood cells, in 2006. “I’m about 30 years too young for the disease, which usually affects people in their 70s and 80s,” she explains.

Before becoming a stay-at-home mom for her five-year-old son, Tyler, she was a medical secretary in a doctor’s office and also did “billing and paperwork and payroll for a garage.”

Kayrn’s husband was in Kuwait when 28

october 2009

It was then that the East Hampton Mom’s Club sprang into action. The club, of which Karyn has been a member for several years, provides support for stay-athome and working mothers.

“What we normally do is make meals for people with health issues and organize children’s events,” explains former club president Natalie Hurt. “But when Kayrn told us she needed a bone marrow transplant, I felt like I wanted to do more.

“I had just read about a bone marrow drive that a New Jersey (mother’s) club had done on a e-mail message board for club presidents, and I started looking into it.”

Hurt’s research led her to DKMS Americas, which helped to organize the drive and sent two representatives to the September 19 event, which was held in a meeting room at the East Hampton Congregational Church and even attracted some people who were shopping at a farmer’s market in the parking lot. “This is the biggest thing we’ve ever done,” she says. “At first we were doing it mostly for Karyn, but now, we’ve learned, it’s for everybody in need.”

The local business community also pitched in.

“Dunkin Donuts donated doughnuts, coffee and bottles of water, Main Street Pizza provided some pizzas and Angelico’s Lakehouse Restaurant gave cookies and

vvv Though its purpose was serious, the bone marrow drive had a bit of a festive air as children, including the Chetes’ son, played and munched on cookies, muffins and other baked goods made and sold

by Mom’s Club volunteers while their parents went through registration.

The Chetes’ family doctor, Cathy Zack, and her husband John Holahan signed up. “I’ve always thought about doing something like this — and sort of hope I get picked,” Zack said.

She should know by mid-October. DKMS representative Rothenberg says it usually takes four to six weeks to find out whether anyone who registered that day may become a donor for Kayrn.

If a match is made, the next steps involve more intensive medical testing for the potential donor, including a blood sample and physical exam.

There are two types of donation: bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC), or apheresis, and the type needed depends on what the patient’s doctor requests. PBSC is requested most.

During bone marrow extraction, a surgical procedure done under local anesthesia, doctors use needles to extract liquid bone marrow containing stem cells from the pelvic bone.

For a PBSC donation, stem cells are collected from the donor’s blood, which is drawn from one arm, filtered through a machine to remove the stem cells — a process similar to dialysis — and returned through the other arm. Several days before the procedure, donors are injected

with filgrastim, a drug that increases the number of stem cells in the bloodstream.

Except for some short-term discomfort in the aftermath of either method, such as headaches or muscle soreness, it doesn’t cost anything to become a donor, and donors could help save a life.

The transplant process is far more arduous, requiring about a month of hospitalization.

The recipient first is given chemotherapy or radiation to kill any remaining cancer cells. Afterwards, he or she receives an infusion of stem cells, which may begin reproducing and making healthy blood cells in the bone marrow.

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Karyn says that if a donor match is made, the transplant will be performed at YaleNew Haven Hospital.

“I’m trying to prepare myself for when I get the phone call,” she says. “I just take it one day at a time. When I need to ask a question, I’ll ask. I don’t have any major pressing question. If I had a choice I probably would say no [to the transplant], but will do it if it’s going to make me better so I won’t have to have chemo anymore. I call [chemotherapy] crap. I know it makes me sick. I don’t like being there, and not being able to do anything.”

She’s concerned about preparing her son for the transplant.

“He doesn’t understand a lot,” she said.

“He knows when I go for chemo he has to stay with my grandmother. I probably won’t tell him until closer to the time I need to go.”

A few days before the bone marrow drive Karyn was feeling “awful” after spending several days in a hospital for treatment of shingles. She felt well enough to be at the drive, but by a few days later her condition had worsened, and she was taking antibiotics and cough medicine for what seemed to be an upper respiratory infection that might delay her next round of chemotherapy.

She were still “amazed” at the number of people, and especially strangers, who had registered to become bone marrow donors at the drive, and was hoping it would pay off in a perfect match.

And if it doesn’t? “I’m not sure what happens next,” Kayrn said. “But I’m going to be on chemo until they find a match.”

For more information about becoming a bone marrow donor, visit the DKMS Web site at dkmsamericas.org. v

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B IB L IOF I LE S Dr. Mel’s Connecticut Climate Book, by Dr. Mel Goldstein. Published by Wesleyan University Press. 240 pps. $24.95 (soft).

Foul-Weather Friend Dr. Mel serves up a stormy history of Connecticut’s volatile climate

By Michael C. Bingham

Y

ou know what they say about New England weather — if you don’t like it, just wait a few minutes.

But that’s what they say. How about someone who actually knows what he’s talking about? Someone like Mark Twain, who famously asserted that the Connecticut climate was so variable he could “count at least 132 different types of weather in just 24 hours.”

For all his undeniable insight, Samuel Clemens was no meteorologist. Neither, for that matter is Geoff Fox. But his WTNH-TV stable mate on the weather desk is, with a Ph.D in meteorology from New York University.

That would be Dr. Mel Goldstein, who last month added to a long list of lifetime achievements by becoming a first-time author. In Dr. Mel’s Connecticut Climate Book, published September 14 (appropriately, just as the seasons changed) by Wesleyan University Press, the affable Goldstein delivers a kind of foul-weather Connecticut chronicle, detailing a dog’s dinner of hurricanes, heat waves, floods and blizzards across the ages.

As the nation’s third-smallest state (barely 5,000 square miles), what’s so special about Connecticut’s climate? (Climate, Goldstein notes, is the “average of weather.”) What makes it much different from Massachusetts’ or New Jersey’s?

One difference is the accident of our state’s geography. “Connecticut is on the superhighway of heat-energy transfer,” Goldstein observes. “All the excesses of heat energy that are experienced in warmer climates have to pass through the mid-latitudes to get to the colder areas and the polls.” And at about 41 degrees north latitude, it doesn’t get any more “mid” than Connecticut.

Goldstein: ‘Connecticut is on the superhighway of heat-energy transfer’ — which makes our weather volatile.

30

october 2009

Because the state’s southern border is Long Island Sound, the influence of the ocean on Connecticut’s weather is substantial. Often that influence is benign: Cooling summer sea breezes moderate temperatures on land, while in winter,

the water is warmer than the land, which prevents many coastal storms from delivering snow.

Goldstein is candid about acknowledging what every local TV viewer knows — that weather guys and gals soak the approach of foul weather for every ratings point they can.

But the inverse of the maritime influence stems from the fact that the warm energy source of the Gulf Stream sits just 200 miles offshore from easternmost Connecticut, ever-poised to set up temperature contrasts that deliver our notorious nor’easters.

It is these storms that occupy the bulk of the Connecticut Climate Book.

The granddaddy of them all was the Blizzard of 1888, which raged for four days and cost some 400 lives. Four-foot accumulations of snow were not uncommon, and Goldstein recounts tales of 20- to 40-foot snow drifts.

Some survivors of the storm, who called themselves “Blizzard Men of 1888,” held annual meetings in New York City as late as 1941. Ninety years later an “echo” blizzard of 1978 dumped so much snow on Connecticut that the coliseum roof of the Hartford Civic Center collapsed (fortunately without loss of life).

A high-wire rescue spares a child from the Flood of 1955.

Which is not to say floods aren’t bad, too.

Old-timers still tell tales of 1955, which delivered not one but two disastrous floods, in August and October. At least four major dams burst and two dozen bridges collapsed. In Connecticut 70 people died and 4,700 were injured.

As a prose stylist, Goldstein is pretty much a one-man low-pressure system (“Winter is a very fickle time of year, but so too are spring, summer and fall”), but the principal attraction of the book is the cake, not the frosting.

“Often, when I make a prediction of a bad storm, many in my TV audience will complain that we make too big a deal out of winter storms,” he writes. “But at the same time, our ratings reach the highest of the year during winter, and during storms our numbers of viewers skyrocket.” Which, of course, is the whole point.

Oddly, more than one-third of the Connecticut Climate Book is devoted to appendices detailing the average high and low temperatures for each 365 days of the year at the state’s 13 weather-reporting stations. Hard to divine who but a weather buff would find these sexy.

But Dr. Mel isn’t supposed to be about sexy. He’s Mr. Reliable, Mr. Steadfast — the guy we all know we can count on when the storm clouds gather and the cold breezes blow. v

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An intrepid artist couple transform an historic Madison home

By DUO DICKINSON

32

october 2009

With its skin removed, the brick and timbering create a sculptural event within the carefully rendered interior surfaces of this dining area.

Photographs: Anthony DeCarlo new haven

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Mabel Chittenden) had lived in the house until both passed away in their 90s within six months of each other. A complicated estate disposition meant there would be an auction of the family home.

For those readers with short memories, 1992 was perhaps the bleakest year in residential real estate until our present funk. On top of the national zeitgeist, the Chittenden home was an Addams Family caricature of overgrown shrubbery and untended decay. But it was even worse than that. “The pipes were not drained, then winter came and every elbow burst, and then the house sat, empty, for three years,” recalls Cathi.

Dominic’s sister Bettie saw the opportunity of a wreck for sale during the last wrecked real estate market.

Based solely on Bettie’s long-distance recommendation (and a small inheritance Dominic had received) the artists gulped and made a blind bid — and soon learned they were the “winning” bidder.

Dominic recounts: “We found out we had bought a house, sight unseen, on the road driving back to Connecticut. When we got there it was so overgrown Cathi exclaimed, ‘There’s a house in there?’ We really weren’t sure we wanted to be here.”

The artists pose with the tools of their respective trades, before the domestic focus of their craftsmanship.

Timing, as they say, is everything. Cathi and Dominic had walked the walk of hip artists, but contemplating a life as restaurant waitstaff or cab drivers to earn enough to pay for their addiction to sculpture, they realized that they did not want that to live that value system.

Both loved art in their lives, but it did not connect with a work ethic that seems more Yankee than artiste. “I am a finisher, and it was time to stop living a life disconnected to the rest of the world,” explains Dominic.

vvv

ATH OME

W

hen Cathi Hay and Dominic Bosco were young art students at Chicago’s Art Institute in 1992, they had no idea how quickly their lives would be changed by a house in Connecticut. True, Dominic was from East Haven — but he had abandoned the Nutmeg State for Hampshire College in Massachusetts and then migrated to the City of Broad Shoulders. Cathi was a 34

october 2009

daughter of Colorado, before impetuously jumping into high-performance fine arts education. Both were sculptors, wore black, were planning to move together to some hip art colony in the Southwest and were, well, cool.

But a call from Dominic’s sister Bettie Krygier changed their lives forever. Bettie and her husband Billy had moved to a classic 19th century colonial home on the Post Road in Madison in 1985. The home next door was another classic: the John Newton Chittenden House, built in 1854. The Chittendens were original settlers of Madison in 1639, and direct descendants (brother and sister John and

In the beginning they camped out in the least collapsed portion of the house — a rear wing added in the late 19th century.

First, a new heating system was needed, and removing the old oversized (not to mention exploded) pipes of the old system freed up their thinking about what the interior might be. Similarly, removing the biomass of overgrown shrubs-cum-trees and strangling vines revealed the exterior of the home.

Simultaneously the sinking and rotting interior columns set to mud in the basement had to be replaced with steel columns set to new concrete “pillows”

What was a bedroom has become a central common bath, with materials and fixtures precisely located and detailed by the Boscos.

The master bedroom was the last piece to be renovated in the ‘new’ (only 120 years old) wing. A fabulous antique headboard is bathed in light from a (truly) new skylight.

new haven

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Each surface in this parlor has been treated with thought, care and an artful eye — all wonderfully complemented by furnishings that also reflect their artistic owners.

The kitchen was renovated with furniture level cabinetry and the surface treatments that display Dominic Bosco’s extraordinary skills.

36

october 2009

— after the floors were jacked up to level.

Once stability and heat were achieved in the first year, all the interior surfaces and non-bearing non-original walls were removed, leaving a skeleton.

Thus began over a decade of incremental work by the couple — who, in an inversion of the stereotypical divorce-byconstruction scenario, decided to wed a year into the project, with Cathi officially becoming a Bosco. Although they designed every aspect of the renovation and did virtually all the actual work save roofing, cabinet-making and electrical work, they did have to pay back their mortgage and for the materials they needed to create a home out of a wreck.

Reality has a way of changing perspectives.

The concrete value of making money through hard work — and generating demand for that work by honing skills — inspired the Boscos to leave what they had dedicated their education to — sculpture. Dominic knew he had to create — and he knew he could paint — so he spent years working as a house painter, building a skill base that art schools ignore.

Despite all his dedication to professional proficiency, that alone was not enough for this job. Beyond a workmanlike job, Dominic saw the potential to truly transform rooms with color, texture and pattern. What was called “faux painting” in the 1980s has evolved into architectural painting and his firm, Gold Star Painting, has had more than a decade’s track record of exquisite and subtle burnishing of interiors that has few equals in the region.

Cathi’s new path was similarly rigorous, but no less inspired. She saw pieces of life around her and wanted to capture them. So drawings in pencil, pen and ink came out of her hand — first portraits of children, families and pets, then adding school mascots. All the while the fine-arts sensibility was present — she regularly exhibits botanic and still-life renderings of extreme care and skill. She has her own business, C&D Studios — that is a platform for her full-focus art life.

You might say that Dominic was a “painter” and Cathi an “illustrator” — until you saw their work, and especially their home. Its subtle contrasts, complements and surprises bespeak both expertise and artistic insight in equal measure.

Throughout the course of a 17-year slog that advanced painstakingly from first floor to bathrooms to second floor, the

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An attic became a studio for Cathi Hay. Skylights and open space make a low-ceilinged loft feel light and bright

New bookcases and sheer flowing curtains make a small living area into a retreat.

38

october 2009

The kitchen lagged the rest of the house’s surfacing. Cathi’s lofted attic studio followed that, and the last piece — the master suite — was finally and completely rebuilt on the second floor of the 100-plus-year-old rear addition.

“I work day and night to get the best result at what I do,” says Dominic. And the execution in this home — glowingly smooth trim, delicately textured surfaces and flawlessly glazed walls — provide undeniable evidence he is indeed a master painter. His work serves to frame Cathi’s drawings that catch the eye and draw you deeper and deeper into their deliciously precise patterns and yet have their own seemingly effortless glow.

The home is not some worshipful history thesis. Strategic removal of the existing skin revealed the 1854 brickwork that lay hidden. Walls are pulled back to reveal timbering, a bedroom became a bath, and the master bedroom has skylights and a sculpted glass steam shower enclosure. The many (many) subtle tones and textures of the interior are timeless in their appeal. Although technically realized through the world of decoration, one senses that this home is obviously a life focus of two artists channeling their high art training into a reality that is neither affectedly pretentious nor predictably by-the-rules.

At long last, Dominic and Cathi are “done.” Their in-town antique has been truly reborn, its landscaping manicured and its exterior (complete with a gilt bit of trim here and there) complete.

However, the restless heart of an artist still beats inside them both.

“This was a labor of love,” sighs Cathi with relief. However: “The next one will be its opposite,” she adds — “a new modernist jewel in the woods.” v

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house was always “getting finished.”

Once the rooms had finished surfaces and the house had a tight, weatherresistant envelope, the Boscos circled back, room by room, to add trim, color, millwork, floor refinishing (yes, they did trust an outside source for that work, too) to create a home with an interior that is as glowing as any fine arts focal point.

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Potter’s Passion Maishe Dickman’s lifelong search for the few, the proud, the aquamarine

By Brandon Benevento

40

october 2009

I

n a converted carriage-house behind a turreted Queen Anne and a yard filled with Japanese maples, Maishe Dickman’s George Street studio feels at once typical of New Haven and a bit otherworldly, a quiet nook apart from the city.

Inside, amid the clutter and cool air inherent of a potter’s realm, Maishe produces mugs, plates, pitchers and platters — along with a few solely decorative pieces — in impressive quantities.

“We send out thousands of pieces a year,” he says, most going to galleries around the country. Phylis Satin, proprietress of New Haven’s Wave Gallery, calls Dickman “a great artist. People in New Haven might not realize he’s nationally acclaimed.”

While the modernist repetition of his large wall pieces looks dated and doesn’t grab the eye, most of his work very successfully blends smooth classic forms with innovative glazes like his blue-green combo which seems to display all the colors of a tropical sea and a mile-deep black that could easily grace the fenders of a Harley.

Dickman, who has been creating pottery in New Haven for 35 years, discovered his interest in ceramics as an industrial design student at University of Bridgeport when he encountered a required ceramics class.

By graduation time, as he set out for a job in New York, he had taken every pottery class UB offered.

Though he liked his fast-paced New York design job, the New Haven-born Dickman longed to return and open a studio here. “I thought for a time it might be for design work,” he says. But once he discovered his talent with clay, he knew the die was cast.

Needing lots of space, most potters, he explains, choose the suburbs or the country to set up shop. “But I love New Haven,” he says. His family is here. He grew up only a few blocks away, on Orchard Street.

Photographs: Anthony DeCarlo

So, happening to spy a for-sale sign one day, he purchased the George Street new haven

41

Dickman is renowned for his sublime glazes, including an unearthly and never-duplicated aquamarine.

property. “I had an idea,” he says in his slow, relaxed voice, “to open a studio that would be a center for neighborhood people to express themselves in clay.”

Though he freelanced for a few design clients for a time, he quickly found ways to support his studio from within.

He received a state grant for offering free classes for local kids, which also fit with his desire to reach out to the neighborhood. The kids could come and go as they pleased — providing they always cleaned up after themselves, and did their homework first. Thus Dickman became a tutor as well, helping the students — many from broken homes — with schoolwork before instructing them on the wheel.

“That was the homework group,” he recounts. He also taught adults at night.

Dickman’s classes, limited in enrollment to the four wheels in the studio, filled quickly. So he added another class, then another. All the money went back into the building. “Slowly,” he says, “it became a viable studio.”

vvv 42

october 2009

While the children of the kids he once taught are sometimes brought around by their ever-appreciative parents, the George Street studio is quieter now. There wasn’t enough time to continue to teach indefinitely, Dickman says without regret.

As always, he was behind on pottery orders. The neighborhood kids grew up; after years of teaching he let the classes peter out and focused on his own pottery.

Dickman’s work, particularly his extraordinary glazes, show this has been a worthwhile endeavor. “For a long time,” he says, “everything I did was in earth tones.” Then he took a trip to Bermuda.

He saw the bright aquamarine ocean there and knew he had to replicate its color. From this point ensued a 15-year alchemistic trial-and-error process of tweaking the two dozen ingredients in a glaze to capture that sublime blue-green. A friend at New Haven’s Creative Arts Workshop knew of his search and introduced him to a glaze he had developed called CAC Turquoise.

Dickman fiddled with the recipe — “getting green,” he says, “but nothing great.”

Then he tried it with another glaze called Lucy Ree Lavender. (In the pottery world, glaze “recipes” are typically named after their creators, who share them enthusiastically with other ceramists.)

“Lo and behold,” he says, drawing out the syllables, “blue.” The two glazes combine to form the third color, a rich yet watery blue that dissolves out of the turquoise and reaches its full depth in a band just under a pale horizon made by the Lucy Ree Lavender.

This color design was immediately successful, contributing to half of his sales.

In the past two years this figure has leapt to 90 percent, the artist says. Maybe it’s the economy, Dickman suggests. People want something bright.

Many of his other color schemes are just as distinctive, if not quite so compelling.

One, a rich red-and-black combination, originates from a visit to the Peabody Museum.

“I was in the Egypt section,” he recalls.

There he noticed some red-clay pots which he was certain were pit-fired, an ancient technique using an open fire

dug into the ground. Their rims, he determined, were stained black from being placed upside-down in whatever fuel — probably dung — the Egyptians had used.

Dickman recreated the look using a well-known glaze, Tomoko Black, in combination with a color named Shaner Red he remembered from college days.

(Dickman tends to speak about glazes as if they are friends or acquaintances.)

Here it was the red which required tinkering, this time inside the kiln.

Eventually he found that by beginning the reduction process — lowering the fuel-tooxygen ratio — earlier in the process, he could get a brighter finish. The glaze’s creator, says Maishe, was amazed at the result.

vvv Beyond the glazes, Dickman’s work, from small mugs to large platters, have a smoothness to their form that draws in the eye and deceives with an appearance of simplicity. “All my work is of the Bauhaus school,” he says, where form and function go hand in hand.

The potter’s other passion — a breathtaking collection of moths, butterflies and beetles, for which he has travelled around the world — also celebrates the union of form and function.

The insects, laid out like jewels in wooden-and-glass drawers hidden at the back of his studio, display the beauty which something purposeful — a wing, a mandible — can have. His best pottery — his vessels and plates — reflects the same.

As gallery owner Phylis Satin puts it, “How exciting to use his work at your [dinner] table!”

In his relaxed voice, Dickman allows, “I don’t consider myself an artist.” Artists, he explains, create from a need beyond the material, and don’t care about selling. “I’m a craftsperson and designer.”

Perhaps, but making money clearly takes a backseat to the creative process at the George Street Studio. Dickman’s credo of intertwined form and function includes a third element: “Pricing that allows anyone to buy. If they can’t,” he says, “I adjust the price.” He wants anyone who likes his work to have it.

“Ego pieces don’t appeal to me,” he says.

“It’s more appealing to make something people can afford.”

As for the business side, he’s learned how to operate his studio successfully, but has never loved this aspect of the work. As a passionate young artisan with piles of mugs and pitchers and no more relatives or friends to give them to, he began selling at craft shows, with little clue about pricing. “Everything was five bucks,” he says, attracting lines of eager buyers. Since then, he says, “We’ve always been six months to a year behind orders.”

Lately, his girlfriend Sharon Trivelli, with whom he lives by the beach in Milford, handles the day-to-day operations, such as contacting galleries and scheduling deliveries. And, he adds, “Doing it far better than I ever could.” In return, Dickman is helping her find her creative muse with clay. “He’s very patient,” she says, “and very, very passionate about what he does.” v

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GALLERY TALKS/TOURS

ART

Docent-led Exhibition Tours help museum visitors explore Mrs. Delany and Her Circle at the British Art Center (see below). 11 a.m. October 1, 8 & 15, noon October 3, 10 & 17, 2 p.m. October 4 & 18 at YCBA, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. Free. 203-432-2858, ycba.yale.edu.

CREATING ART The Yale Center for British Art presents a participatory program for children and their families. The Sketch Crawl (no actual crawling required).

No registration required, and no experience necessary. 2 p.m. October 4 at YCBA, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven.

Free. 203-432-2858, ycba.yale.edu.

Studio Tuesday is an informal, noninstructional “paint-in” that meets Tuesdays. Come work in a creative environment alongside other artists.

9:30 a.m.-noon October 6, 13, 20 & 27 at Margaret Egan Center, 35 Matthew St., Milford. Free. 203-878-6647, milfordarts. org.

Bring your sewing, fine art or craft projects to the Contemporary Sewing Circle. Artists share ideas and get advice from one another the second Thursday of each month. 6-8 p.m. October 8 at Artspace, 50 Orange St., New Haven. Free. 203-772-2709, artspacenh.org.

Make-a-Painting Sundays: Free Hands-On Fun. Painters are given brushes, palette, paint, canvas and a smock and are sent to paint down by the river or in Miss Florence’s garden.

All ages and skill levels welcome. There are also hands-on art projects, books, games and puzzles to enjoy. 1-5 p.m.

Sundays through October 25 at Florence Griswold Museum, 96 Lyme St., Old Lyme. $10 ($9 seniors and students, $6 children 6-12, under 6 free). 860-434-5542.

Take an Introductory Tour of the Yale Center for British Art’s permanent collection. 11 a.m. October 10 at YCBA, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. Free. 203432-2858, ycba.yale.edu.

The Yale University Art Gallery hosts aptly named Masterpiece Tours each weekend afternoon. 1:30-2:30 p.m.

October 3-4, 10-11, 17-18 and 24-25 at YUAG, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven.

Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily except Mon. (until 8 p.m. Thurs.), 1-6 p.m. Sun. Free.

203-432-0600, artgallery.yale.edu.

Discovering Strawberry Hill. Opening lecture by Michael Snodin, senior research fellow, Victoria and Albert Museum, marking the opening of Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill at the British Art Center. 5:30 p.m. October 14 Robert L. McNeil Jr. Lecture Hall, Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven. Free. 203-432-0600, artgallery.yale.edu.

The Yale University Art Gallery hosts a two-day Oswaldo Rodriguez Roque Symposium, The Art of Adornment: The American Jewelry Tradition from the 17th Century to the Present. Conference explores the study, production, and function of jewelry in America along four themes: fashion and jewelry; materials and techniques; jewelry as social signifier; and love, loss and remembrance.

Hands-on workshops explore YUAG’s contemporary, costume and early American jewelry, as well as offer

‘Edward Crying’ by Joseph Adolphe. Oil on canvas, 40” X 44”. From Affinities at Westville’s Kehler Liddell Gallery. opportunities to visit New Haven studio jewelers and to view gemstones and jewelry at the Peabody Museum.

9:15 a.m.-5 p.m. October 16-17 (keynote lecture 5:30 p.m. 10/16) at YUAG, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven. Registration.

203-432-0615, artgallery.yale.edu/pages/ info/adornment.html.

EXHIBITIONS Opening

Through the Past, Richly John Carter, ‘View from the Hall at Strawberry Hill’ (1788), pen, ink, watercolor on laid paper. From the exhibition Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill opening this month at the British Art Center.

Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill.

Horace Walpole (1717-97) was the youngest son of Robert Walpole, first earl of Orford and prime minister

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under George I and George II. Horace’s birthright placed him at the center of society and politics, as well as of literary, aesthetic and intellectual circles.

His letters and other writings have made him the best-known commentator on social, political, and cultural life in 18thcentury England.

In his day he was

best known for his personal collections on display at Strawberry Hill, his pioneering Gothic-revival house on the banks of the Thames at Twickenham, outside London, and through which he constructed narratives of English art and history.

This groundbreaking British Art Center exhibition evokes the breadth and importance of Walpole’s Strawberry Hill

collections by reassembling an astonishing variety of his objects, including rare books and manuscripts, antiquities, paintings, prints and drawings, furniture, ceramics, arms and armor, and curiosities.

October 15-January 3 at Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. Free. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.Sat., noon-5 p.m.

Sun. 203-432-2858, ycba.yale.edu.

Affinities: Joseph Adolphe & Amy Browning. Affinities is a painters’ show with mutual respect, unique thought-filled processes, and evidence from both of the articulate and accomplished painters’ hands. Adolphe’s works are narrative, with exquisite draughtsmanship and color. Each image exists for itself, and also as a “piece of a psychological self-portrait midway in its development.” Browning’s paintings are impressionist and abstract. Her rich textural surfaces, and explorations of color and shape are informed by her “what if” search for unexpected landscape. October 1-November 1 (artists reception 3-6 p.m. 10/11) at Kehler Liddell Gallery, 873 Whalley Ave., New Haven. Open 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Thurs.-Sun. & by appt. 203-389-9555, kehlerliddell.com.

The exhibition Animal, Vegetable or Mineral is exactly what it sounds like: Works in a sundry media by multiple artists — as long as the work’s theme involves animals, vegetables and/or minerals. For the exhibition, juried by artist and SCSU Professor Mia Brownell, artists may submit work as late as October 10 during regular gallery hours. October 15-November 12 (opening reception 6-8 p.m. October 15) at Firehouse Art Gallery, 81 Naugatuck Ave., Milford. Open noon-5 p.m. Thurs.Sun. Free. 203-306-0016, fhgallery@ optonline.net, milfordarts.org.

Call of the Coast: Art Colonies of New England. Art colonies in Connecticut communities such as Old Lyme and Cos Cob as well as in Ogunquit and Monhegan, Me. played a key role in the creation of a regional identity in the early 20th century. They also provided inspiration for nationally recognized artists including Edward Hopper, Childe Hassam, Robert Henri, and George Bellows, among others. October 24-January 31, 2010 at the Florence

Griswold Museum, 96 Lyme St., Old Lyme. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily except Mon., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $9 ($8 seniors, $7 students, free under 12). 860-434-5542, flogris.org.

Continuing Seascapes: Paintings and Watercolors From the U Collection, an exclusive, small but stunning exhibition of marine paintings and watercolors from the Dutch “Golden Age” and by noted British artists. Through October 18 at Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. Free. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun. 203-4322858, ycba.yale.edu.

A significant collection of American Impressionist paintings by longtime Florence Griswold trustee Clement C. Moore is on view in Lyme in Mind: The Clement C. Moore Collection. Major works by the most notable members of the Lyme Art Colony, including Childe Hassam, William Chadwick, Frank Vincent DuMond, Edmund Greacen, Harry Hoffman, Willard Metcalf, Ivan Olinsky and Henry Ward Ranger. The paintings have never been shown together publicly. The collection conveys Moore’s personal and deeply felt appreciation for the Connecticut landscape, an affinity he shares with the colony painters. Through October 18 at the Florence Griswold Museum, 96 Lyme St., Old Lyme. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily except Mon., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $9 ($8

seniors, $7 students, free under 12). 860434-5542, flogris.org.

Paul Villinsky: Emergency Response Studio was inspired by artist Villinski’s visit to post-Katrina New Orleans in August 2006. He wished he could transport his studio from New York to the Lower Ninth Ward so he could create work in response to the conditions he found. Instead he created Emergency Response Studio by playfully rethinking and transforming a 30-foot Gulfstream Cavalier trailer into a rolling, off-the-grid live/work space that can house displaced artists or allow visiting artists to “embed” in post-disaster settings. Through November 8 at Zilka Gallery and CFA green, Wesleyan University, Middletown. Open noon-4 p.m. daily except Mon. (until 8 p.m. Fri.) Free. 860-685-3355, wesleyan.edu/cfa.

Home Grown is a group show of works by shoreline artists Patricia Barone, Paula Solimene and Ralph Levesque — colleagues and friends who paint similar subjects in varying styles. Come see how they interpret their love of New England with paint, found objects and canvas. Through December 8 (artists reception 6-8 p.m. October 15) at Wink Art & Design, 87 Whitfield St. (third floor), Guilford. Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays or by appt. 203-453-5921, digitalwink.com.

Mrs. Delany and Her Circle explores the life, world and work of Mary Delany, née Mary Granville (1700-88).

Though best known for her almost

Rockwell Kent’s ‘Wreck of the D. T. Sheridan,’ c. 1949-1953, oil on canvas, 27 3/8 X 43 7/8. From the collection of the Portland (Me.) Museum of Art, on view at the Florence Griswold Museum through January 1,000 botanical “paper mosaics” now housed in the British Museum, which she began at age 72, Mrs. Delany used her craft activities to cement bonds of friendship and negotiate complex, interlinked social networks throughout a long life passed in artistic, aristocratic and court circles in Georgian England and Ireland. Through January 3 at the Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. Free. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun. 203-4322858, ycba.yale.edu.

The Pull of Experiment: Postwar American Printmaking explores a dynamic and innovative 20-year

period following World War II that fundamentally altered the boundaries of intaglio printmaking. The exhibition features more than 40 prints drawn from the Yale University Art Gallery’s collection of works on paper that highlight experimental printing techniques, reflecting the creative spirit incited by the interaction of American and émigré artists following the war.

Through January 3, 2010 at YUAG, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. (Thurs. until 8 p.m.) & 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Sun. Free. 203-432-0600, artgallery.yale.edu.

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I N ST Y L E

Grrrl Power on Parade In the Brass City, mothers and daughters hit the runway By michael c. Bingham

S

ugar. Spice. Everything nice.

Contrast that with: Strong. Smart.

Bold.

Two different models of girlhood.

From an early age, girls are bombarded with media messages telling them how they should look and act. As they approach their teen years, they are exposed to ever more unhealthful societal pressures to conform to unrealistic expectations about their appearance and behavior. When you consider that the average American adult female is a size 14, it’s easy to see how impressionable young girls feel pressure to starve themselves or engage in unhealthy behavior like bulimia.

Girls Inc. (girlsincswct.org) exists to help girls stand up to those pressures and be comfortable in their own skin.

To advance that mission, the group held a September 19 mother-and-daughter fashion show, entitled In-Her Beauty (get it?) at its Park Place headquarters in the Brass City. Some 43 mothers and daughters took part, and Adrienne Wallace Hayward, new CEO of the southwestern chapter of Girls Inc., judged the event “a phenomenal success.”

Cherrie Lamb, photographed with daughters Rachel and Ashley: ‘The fashion show was based on embracing our differences and accepting ourselves for who we are.

PHOTOGRAPH:

46

Anne Day

october 2009

Before the mother-daughter teams bestrode the runway, they posed for formal portraits by professional photographer Anne Day. A wide array of children’s and women’s clothing stores from Waterbury to Greenwich donated or lent fashions for the show, which also featured custom-made designer fashions

by Magdelana of Silhouette Fashions in Waterbury and Toyin Okoro of Weston.

Explains Hayward: “All girls are sacred and necessary and we want them to value themselves and their relationships with their mother figures. This event was another great opportunity to remind them of that fact.”

Anne Day

But nothing like the fashion show had ever been attempted.

The idea to make it a jointmother-daughter event was intended to foster parental involvement, an aspirational mindset and self-esteem in girls without regard to their body types, sizes, etc.

daughters, 13-year-old eighthgrader Rachel, and fourthgrader Ashley, who’s nine.

PHOTOGRAPH:

Girls Inc. was founded in Waterbury in 1864 to help provide services to recently arrived young immigrant females. Today the 501(c)3 non-profit helps girls build confidence — academically, socially and physically — through a educational and social programs.

“At Girls Inc., they really encourage the girls to be strong, smart and bold,” explains Lamb, a single mom who hails from Canada. “It’s not just a mission statement.”

“Single parents have to balance work and children and homework. We want the best for our children, but sometimes it’s a struggle to be there. Girls Inc. fills that void.

The fashion show, Lamb observes, “was excellent. It was structured and organized” — keywords that Girls Inc. endeavors to impart to its young patrons. “The fashion show was based on embracing our differences and accepting ourselves for who we are.”

Cherrie Lamb of Waterbury walked the runway with her

That’s easier said than done in a world that bombards girls with cultural and media messages about how they ought to look and behave. v

How can you be sure they are safe in their home?

Melanie Vasas of Waterbury and her teen daughter Ashley were among more than 40 mothers and daughters who strode the Girls Inc. runway.

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CLASSICAL The most renowned choir of men and boys on this side of the Atlantic is usually found in residence inside an imposing Fifth Avenue edifice. But today you can hear the Saint Thomas Choir under the musical direction of John Scott right here in the Elm City, leading a contemplative service of sung evening prayer. Thomas Troeger preaches. 5:30 p.m. October 2 at Christ Church, 84 Broadway, New Haven. Freewill offering. yale.edu/ism.

scheduled multiple performances of some programs. So it is with Ritual Incantations, which takes its name from a work by Augusta Read Thomas featuring cello soloist Mihai Marica.

Also on the program: KIM: Nori III for Percussion Quartet and Electric Komungo; MOZART: Symphony No. 32 in G Major K. 318; BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 7 in A Major Op. 92. 7 p.m. October 13 at Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield. $40-$35. Also, 7:30 p.m. October 15 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. $65-$10. 203Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.

Indigo Girl (and native New Havener!)

The undergraduate Yale Symphony Orchestra performs the premiere of Pas de Deux by young composer Loren Loiacono (Yale ’10). Also, RAVEL: Concerto for the Left Hand (Lee Dionne, piano); BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4. 8 p.m. October 3 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. $15-$10. 203-5625666, yso.research.yale.edu.

Mezzo-soprano Janna Baty performs a Faculty Artist Series Recital accompanied by pianist Karl Paulnack, flutist Laura Gilbert and Jacques Wood, cello. BEETHOVEN: An die Ferne Geliebte; RAVEL: Chansons Madécasses (for mezzo-soprano, flute, cello and piano); CRUMB: Apparition (for soprano and amplified piano); OBRADORS: selected songs. 8 p.m.

October 7 at Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. Free. 203-432-4158, music.yale.edu.

Music of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Bernard Rands is the attraction of New Music New Haven.

8 p.m. October 8 at Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. Free. 203-4324158, music.yale.edu.

Thomas C. Duffy directs the Yale Concert Band in a performance of music by Hindemith, von Suppe, Kathryn Salfelder, Jack Stamp, Sousa, Frank Ticheli and more. 7:30 p.m.

October 9 at Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. Free. 203-432-4158, music.yale.edu.

Join the Yale Glee Club, Yale Symphony Orchestra and Yale Bands for the popular annual Parents’ Weekend Concert. 7:30 p.m. October 10 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. Free. 203-432-4158, music.yale.edu.

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra Percussion Quartet will rattle your bones with Big Bang Theory. Guest artists include Aly and Seny Camara, a father and son drum and dance duo from Guinea West Africa, and Korean master musician and composer Jin Hi Kim. 2 p.m. (Instrument Discovery Zone 1:30) October 10 at Omni New Haven Hotel Ballroom, 155 Temple St., New Haven. $15 ($12 senior, $5 children). 203865-0831, newhavensymphony.com.

Lucky for us, this season the New Haven Symphony Orchestra has

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october 2009

Chapel, Sterling Divinity Quadrangle, 409 Prospect St., New Haven. Free. 203432-4158, music.yale.edu.

Baroque flutist Ashley Solomon and harpsichordist Terrence Charlston comprise the early music duo Florilegium. 3 p.m. October 18 at Yale Collection of Musical Instruments, 15 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven. $20 ($10 students). 203-432-0825, yale.edu/ musicalinstruments.

The Yale Institute of Sacred Music presents “Music at Twilight,” a recital by soprano Dame Emma Kirkby, one of the world’s most renowned early-music specialists. 4 p.m. October 18 at Sprague PHOTOGRAPH: Jeaneen Lund.

MUSIC

Pianist Wei-Yi Yang performs the second recital of this season’s Horowitz Piano Series. Program includes: SCRIABIN 12 Etudes & PoemeNocturne, Op. 61; CHOPIN Sonata in B minor, Op. 58. 8 p.m. October 14 at Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. $20-$11 ($6 students). 203-4324158, music.yale.edu.

Sojourn to the Park City to hear a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Chorale) by the Greater Bridgeport Symphony with the Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut and the Fairfield University Chamber Singers. Concert opens with WAGNER: Siegfried Idyll. Transcendent music under the baton of GBS Music Director Gustav Meier. 8 p.m. October 17 at Klein Auditorium, 910 Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport. $55-$24. 203-576-0263, bridgeportsymphony.org.

The eight voices (as its name suggests) of the Yale Voxtet perform Of Maidens and Brides: Music by Johann Sebastian Bach and Contemporaries.

Program includes Coffee Cantata, other works. 8 p.m. October 17 at Marquand

In all the world, there’s no spectacle quite like the Yale Symphony Orchestra’s Annual Halloween Concert. Trust us on this one. 11:59 p.m.

October 31 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. Free, but advance tickets only. 203-562-5666.

POPULAR Drum Circle. Bring any hand percussion, large or small, and a chair and join this improvised ensemble.

Noon every Sunday at the summit of East Rock, New Haven. Free. jef@ eastrockstudio.com.

Founded in 1983 in Vladivostok by vocalist and songwriter Ilia Lagutenko, Mumiy Troll began as a garage band during the last years of the Soviet Union and soon gained immense popularity with the release of their first album, Morskaya, in 1997, which showcased a combination of melodic hard rock and Lagutenko’s offbeat lyrics and coy, androgynous performance style. With New Haven’s own Groovski. 9 p.m. October 3 at Café Nine, 250 State St., New Haven. $10.

203-789-8281, cafenine.com.

Hall, , 470 College St., New Haven. Free (advance ticket required). 203-432-4158, music.yale.edu.

Alternative rock darlings and the pride of Amherst, Mass., Dinosaur Jr. ambles into town for an all-ages show with Lou Barlow and the Missingmen. 9 p.m.

October 7 at Toad’s Place, 300 York St., New Haven. $25 ($20 advance). 203-6248623, toadsplace.com.

The Yale Chamber Music Society presents the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet. HAYDN: Quartet in D major, Op. 76, No. 5; BEETHOVEN: Quartet in F minor, Op. 95, (Serioso); BARTÓK: Quartet No. 6. 8 p.m. October 20 at Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. $34-$27 ($14 students). 203-4324158, music.yale.edu.

Get ready for banjoes, blues and breakdowns as WPKN brings the Tao Rodriguez-Seeger Band to the Nine.

The four-piece band’s leader and namesake plays guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. Rick Reyes opens. 9 p.m. October 8 at Café Nine, 250 State St., New Haven. $10. 203-789-8281, cafenine.com.

The best entertainment value in Connecticut: Under the baton of Music Director Shinik Hahm perform the superb graduatestudent instrumentalists of the Yale Philharmonia. BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture, Variations on a Theme of Haydn; MAHLER Symphony No. 4. 8 p.m. October 23 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. Free. 203-4324158, music.yale.edu.

Dubbed “The First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century. Vocalist Shaleah Adkisson and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra Pops channel the legendary performer in a Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald. 7:30 p.m. October 9 at East Haven High School, 7:30 p.m. October 10 at Hamden Middle School, 3 p.m. October 11 at Shelton Intermediate School. $45-$35. 203-8650831, newhavensymphony.com.

In support of her new release, In a Dream, jazz vocalist/composer Gretchen Parlato comes to Firehouse 12 for two shows October 16.

Emily Saliers and her father, theologian and musician Don Saliers, offer an evening of music and conversation exploring their musical journeys as well as the crossovers between the musical languages of Saturday night and Sunday morning. 8 p.m. October 13 at Battell Chapel, 400 College St., New Haven. Free. 203-432-5062, yale.edu/ism.

dramatic contrasts in music by Thomas Tallis and William Byrd. 8 p.m.

October 29 at Marquand Chapel, Sterling Divinity Quadrangle, 409 Prospect St., New Haven. Free. 203-432-4158, music. yale.edu.

Yale’s elite choral ensemble Schola Cantorum are joined by the Yale Collegium Players under the baton of new Schola Music Director Masaaki Suzuki for a performance of BACH: Cantata BVW 78 and 80, Jesu Meine Freude. 8 p.m. October 24 at St. Mary’s Church, 5 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven.

Free. 203-432-5062, yale.edu/ism.

The exciting young British early music vocal ensemble Stile Antico performs a program entitled “The Desire of Heavenly Harmonies,” which explores

Saxophonist/composer Steve Lehman makes his only Elm City appearance this year in support of his newest release, Travail, Transformation and Flow (Pi Recordings). With Chris Tordini, bass and drummer Damion Reid. 8:30 & 10 p.m. October 9 at Firehouse 12, 45 Crown St., New Haven. $15-$10. 203-7850468, firehouse12.com.

The Capitol Steps lend their distinctive brand of satire to the musical revue.

New Haven performance benefits

Christian Community Action. 7:30 p.m. October 15 at Shubert Theatre, 247 College St., New Haven. $38-$25. 203562-5666, 888-736-2663, shubert.com.

As part of Yale’s Duke Ellington Jazz Series comes a juicy Saxophone Summit featuring Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Antonio Hart, Todd Bayshore and Frank Basile. With Tootie Heath, drums, David Wong, bass, and pianist Michael Weiss. 8 p.m. October 16 at Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. $30-$20 ($12 students). 203-4324158, music.yale.edu.

keyboards. Fronted by Bitch, whom you may recall from her former band, Bitch and Animal Righteous Babe Records.

Baby G opens. 10 p.m. October 16 at Café Nine, 250 State St., New Haven. $8.

203-789-8281, cafenine.com.

Bitch & the Exciting Conclusion is a three-piece band that combines electric violin, ukulele, bass, drums and

Something wicked this way comes. The pride of Lodi, N.J., death-rockers the Misfits rock the Toad in an all-ages with Covin (sic) and Scare Bears. 8:30 p.m.

October 20 at Toad’s Place, 300 York St., New Haven. $22 ($20 advance). 203-6248623, toadsplace.com.

Alt-country pioneer Jason Ringenberg, late of Jason & the Scorchers, invades the Nine. Check out his former band’s blistering rendition of Dylan’s “Absolutely Sweet Marie” on YouTube for a taste. 9 p.m. October 20 at Café Nine, 250 State St., New Haven. $8. 203-7898281, cafenine.com.

Vocalist/composer Gretchen Parlato will perform original compositions as well as singular interpretations of music by Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Stevie Wonder in a performance celebrating her new release, In A Dream (Obliqsound). 8:30 & 10 p.m.

October 16 at Firehouse 12, 45 Crown St., New Haven. $15-$10. 203-785-0468, firehouse12.com.

Those irrepressible party animals Derik & the Funbags return to York Street for a 21-plus show. With Check Your Head & Accidental Groove, Love Gun, Progmatic. 9 p.m. October 16 at Toad’s Place, 300 York St., New Haven. $12 ($8.50 advance). 203-624-8623, toadsplace.com.

95 S. Turnpike Rd., Wallingford. $51. 203265-1501, livenation.com.

The NHSO Pops and vocalist Shaleah Adkisson channel Ella Fitzgerald for three local school performances (open to the public, of course).

Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson, doubtless the most famous flautist in all of rock ‘n’ roll, rocks the Chevy. 7:30 p.m. October 18 at the Chevrolet Theatre,

The audience-requested smooth jazz combo Pieces of a Dream delivers a little bit of soul the old fashioned way to created an unforgettable evening of music with guest vocalist Phil Perry. 8 p.m. October 23 at Lyman Center for the Performing Arts, SCSU, 501 Crescent St., New Haven. $30 ($25 staff, $15 students).

203-392-6154, lyman.southernct.edu.

Channel your inner Screamin’ Jay Hawkins as Go Kat Go! brings jump blues shouter Barrance Whitfield & the Monkey Hips to State Street. With Big Fat Combo. 9 p.m. October 23 at Café Nine, 250 State St., New Haven. $8. 203789-8281, cafenine.com.

songwriter/author/poet/multiinstrumentalist Van Morrison, a popular music treasure who’s No. 42 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list “The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.”

Oughta be higher. 8 p.m. October 24 at Palace Theater, 100 E. Main St., Waterbury. $353-$128. 203-755-4700, palacetheaterct.org.

Singer/songwriter Charlie Wilson will perform hits from his Gap band and solo albums including First Name Charlie, Last Name Wilson; There Goes My Baby; Burn Rubber; Outstanding; Early in the Morning and more. With Lenny Williams, Force MDs, Shomari & Lamone. 7 p.m. October 25 at Palace Theater, 100 E. Main St., Waterbury. $83$58. 203-755-4700, palacetheaterct.org.

Guitarist Steve Morse, late of the Dixie Dregs and Deep Purple, rocks York Street in an all-ages show. Holding Pattern opens. 8:30 p.m. October 25 at Toad’s Place, 300 York St., New Haven. $20 ($18 advance). 203-624-8623, toadsplace.com.

As part of the venue’s Fall 2009 Jazz Series, exciting young pianist Taylor Eigsti makes his Firehouse 12 debut.

With Harish Raghavan, bass, and drummer Aaron McLendon. 8:30 & 10 p.m. October 30 at Firehouse 12, 45 Crown St., New Haven. $15-$10. 203-7850468, firehouse12.com.

Who’s the Man? No debate: Van’s the Man — as in legendary singer/

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ONSTAGE THEATER The Yale Rep kicks off its 2009-10 season with Henrik Ibsen’s The Master Builder. Brilliantly successful architect Halvard Solness has willed his unspoken desire into reality at every turn — but not without a price. Now he lives in fear that the next generation will rise up and cast him aside. When Hilda Wangel, a bewitching young woman, arrives to collect on a decadeold debt, she breathes new life into the Solness home but also rekindles painful memories. Directed by OBIE Award winner Evan Yionoulis (Yale Rep’s Richard II and Black Snow), The Master Builder is a taut psychological drama by the playwright of A Doll’s House and Hedda Gabler. Translated

by Paul Walsh. (See review this issue.)

Through October 10 at University Theatre, 222 York St., New Haven. $67-$35. 203432-1234, yalerep.org.

William Gibson’s The Miracle Worker is a remarkable play about a remarkable human being. Twelve-yearold Helen Keller lived in a prison of silence and darkness. Born deaf, blind and mute, with no way to express herself or comprehend those around her, she flew into primal rages against anyone who tried to help her, fighting tooth and nail with a strength born of furious, unknowing desperation.

Then Annie Sullivan came. Half-blind herself, but possessing an almost fanatical determination, she would begin a frightening and incredibly moving struggle to tame the wild girl no one could reach, and bring Helen into the world at last. Ennobling and uplifting, Gibson’s inspirational story of courage and hope is one of the most moving dramas of the American stage.

Through October 11 at Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main St., Ivoryton. $35-$30 ($20 students, $15 under 13). 860-767-7318, ivorytonplayhouse.org.

New Haven’s historic Shubert Performing Arts Center jump-starts 2009-10 with JD Lawrence Presents The Clean Up Woman. Momma always

said, “Never let another woman sit on your bed and never ever let her clean your house.” Journalist Terri Adams pushes aside her newlywed domestic apron for a six-figure anchor job with WNY5. But when Terri starts neglecting home for her new position, her supportive husband comes to his wit’s end and demands she clean up her act, starting with the house. To keep the peace, her man and her job, Terri hires a local cleaning service recommended by a co-worker. But if not careful, she just might find “The Clean Up Woman” picking up more than she’s supposed to. Starring the Man of Many Faces himself, JD Lawrence. 8 p.m. October 2, 3 & 8 p.m. October 3 at Shubert Theater, 247 College St., New Haven. $42.50$32.50. 203-562-5666, 800-228-6622, shubert.com.

With music by Neil Sedaka (duh) and book by Erick Jackson and Ben H. Winters, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do showcases 18 of the Breen Building tunemeister’s most loved hits — including “Where the Boys Are,” “Calendar Girl,” “Sweet Sixteen” — all wrapped around a sweet comic story of mistaken identity, friendship and love.

October 1-25 at Seven Angels Theatre, 1 Plank Rd., Waterbury. $48-$32.50. 203757-4676, sevenangelstheatre.org.

It’s the longest-running off-Broadway musical ever. With book and lyrics

by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt, The Fantasticks tells the story of Luisa and Matt, a couple entering the bloom of their youth.

Scheming to encourage their budding love, their fathers hire the trickster El Gallo to “thwart” their romance. By moonlight, Matt and Luisa fall Hard for each other — but will their love wither in the cold morning light? Amanda Dehnert directs. October 7-November 1 at Long Wharf Theatre, 222 Sargent Dr., New Haven. $70-$30. 203-787-4282, longwharf.org.

Brimming with hum-able tunes and plenty of heart, Avenue Q won a 2004 Tony for Best Musical — and this month it plays at two area venues.

Called “subversive and uproarious” by the New Yorker, Avenue Q is about trying to make it in NYC with big dreams and a tiny bank account. The show features a cast of humans and puppets who tell the tale in a smart

Barbara Lehrer Real Estate Expert

and risqué fashion. (Parental advisory: puppet nudity.) 8 p.m. October 9, 2 & 8 p.m. October 10, 2 p.m. October 11 at Shubert Theater, 247 College St., New Haven. $68-$15. 203-562-5666, 800-2286622, shubert.com. Also 8 p.m. October 16, 2 & 8 p.m. October 17 at Palace Theater, 100 E. Main St., Waterbury. $59$49. 203-755-4700, palacetheaterct.org.

The SCSU Theater Department and the Crescent Players join forces to stage Shakespeare’s epic Othello. Sheila Hickey Garvey directs. 8 p.m. Octobe13-

and celebrates women who navigate the most brutal of circumstances.

The “wives” of a rebel commanding officer form a community in a hostile war zone. Their world is transformed by the arrival of two newcomers and the unceremonious return of a former “wife” turned rebel soldier. Each woman finds her own means of survival, but at what cost? A new play by Danai Gurira, the OBIE-winning co-author of In the Continuum, Eclipsed is a chilling, humanizing, and surprisingly funny portrait of transformation and renewal, directed by Liesl Tommy (Angela’s Mix Tape and The Good Negro). (Strong language.) October 23-November 14 at Yale Repertory Theatre, 1120 Chapel St., New Haven. $67-$35. 203-432-1234, yalerep.org.

In Phèdre, Jean Racine’s 17th-century “fairy tale for fools,” the gods wield love as a weapon, using it to turn the world upside down. In this Yale School of Drama production, Queen Phèdre, dying from an uncontrollable love for her stepson Hippolytus, savagely wages war against herself and her own fate. Politics and passions, the mind and the body contaminate each other as a cursed family struggles to navigate a labyrinth of dangerous secrets and unspoken desires. When love unleashes the monster within, is there any hope of salvation? Directed by Christopher Mirto from a translation by Ted Hughes. 8 p.m. October 27-31, 2 p.m.

October 31 at University Theatre, 222 York St., New Haven. $15-$10. 203-432-1234, drama.yale.edu.

Steven Sondheim’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum may just live up to its billing as “America’s Funniest Musical.” Comedy A whirl of mixed identities, swinging reigns supreme when a thoroughly doors, double takes, double entendres, disarming slave named Pseudolus outrageous puns and gags is schemes to gain his freedom by helping Sondheim’s A Funny Thing Happened his master’s son get the girl he desires. on the Way to the Forum, now playing at It’s an accelerating whirl of mixed Goodspeed identities, swinging doors, double takes, double entendres, outrageous puns and gags that will keep you laughing all the way home. Winner of 16, 2 p.m. October 17-18 at Lyman Center, tons of Tony Awards including Best Southern Connecticut State University, Musical. Directed and choreographed 501 Crescent St., New Haven. $10 ($5

by Ted Pappas. Through November 29 seniors, students, SCSU staff ). 203-392at Goodspeed Opera House, 6 Main St., 6154, tickets.southernct.edu.

East Haddam. $73-$31. 860-873-8668, goodspeed.org.

Set in 2003, Eclipsed unearths the wreckage of Liberia’s vicious civil war

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Been Up So Long It Looks Like Down to Me Yale Rep opens 2009-10 with Ibsen’s harrowing Master Builder The Master Builder, by Henrik Ibsen.

Directed by Evan Yionoulis. Produced by the Yale Repertory Theatre. Through October 10 at the University Theatre, 222 York St., New Haven. 203-432-1234, yalerep.org.

By Brooks Appelbaum

H

enrik Ibsen famously asserted, “I do but ask. My call is not to answer.” This statement may be seen as the guiding principle of Yale Repertory Theater’s season-opening production of The Master Builder, directed

by Evan Yionoulis. Ibsen’s late play, which follows his better known works of social criticism such as A Doll’s House, An Enemy of the People and Ghosts, asks numerous questions about the human psyche, and more specifically the artist’s dilemma. It answers few.

The play’s premise rests on Ibsen’s investigation of an artist’s unique triumphs and torments. The “Master Builder,” artist/architect Halvard Solness (David Chandler), embodies the artist as a tortured middle-aged man. Solness has to balance his allegiance to his unconscious — his “helpers and servers” — with his responsibilities to the living people surrounding him. In addition to maintaining this equilibrium, there is always the terrifying possibility — faced by all artists — that this time the “helpers and servers” simply won’t come.

And for Solness, there are even more tormenting questions: What if, he wonders, he willed his success into existence at the expense of his wife’s

Susan Heyward plays Hilda Wangel in Yale Rep’s 2009 season-opening production of Ibsen’s The Master Builder.

PHOTOGRAPH:

T. Charles Erickson

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David Chandler and Susan Heyward in the Yale’s Rep’s production of The Master Builder.

PHOTOGRAPH:

T. Charles Erickson

happiness? And what if “the young” in the form of his youthful apprentice, Ragnar (Slate Holmgren), are about to “break” him (as he broke his own elders) and bring on the “retribution” that Solness feels certain is his due?

acting as his better self, exhorting him to draw close to his wife, Aline (Felicity Jones), who has been silently mourning for a dozen years the loss of her ancestral home and her infant sons. Hilda’s final moments onstage, while more subtle and complicated than the slamming of Nora’s door, nonetheless severely challenge the romantic notion of the selfless muse.

Ibsen’s play has a relentlessly psychological focus, and the playwright dramatizes Solness’ torments largely through a familiar device. Into the Master Builder’s life comes a young woman, Hilda Wangel (Susan Heyward), who claims to have met him ten years ago when she was 13. He had completed a church in her village with a “gloriously high tower,” she glowingly reminds him. She also reminds him that he promised to come back for “his princess” and build her a beautiful “palace.” He did not come back and he is not even certain whether her story about the two of them really happened. So Hilda has come to claim her palace and her Master Builder.

Yionoulis and her scenic designer, the brilliant Timothy Brown, have created a remarkable stage-world in which the psychological realm is made manifest.

Solness, we learn, is terrified of heights, and the production’s use of skyscapes evokes both his terror and his dreams of limitless power. As the set-pieces become increasingly surreal, and Solness’ paranoid fear of being thought “sick,” “mad” or “crazy” begins to take over, we sense that we are looking out from inside his mind. Few productions anywhere have so magnificently captured this effect.

Hilda’s adoration of Solness is matched only by her ambition for him and what she calls a “robust conscience” (we might call it an amoral world-view). In her he sees someone who can vanquish Ragnar with her own youthful energies, laid at his feet. However, the relationship between Hilda and Solness is not so simple. One moment Hilda is on fire about Solness’ future greatness, and the next she is

Unfortunately, key performances are both less sweeping and less precise than Ibsen’s script demands. Solness must evoke a complex combination of erotic magnetism and grateful surrender, overweening ambition and guilt, extreme arrogance and self-loathing. David Chandler hits some of these notes, and he certainly handles the language — which even in Paul Walsh’s crisply contemporary translation is a

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mouthful — with admirable facility. But he never quite reaches the depths required for the role to resonate emotionally.

Susan Heyward is a powerful presence, but she has been directed to play Hilda as if she were closer to 13 than 23. This is confusing since Hilda makes much of having waited ten years after their first meeting for her Master Builder to arrive.

Heyward’s Hilda tries on sexuality with a pre-pubescent playfulness, and this choice tempers the electricity that should make her a genuinely dangerous force in the Solnesses’ lives.

In roles that chart the Master Builder’s slide towards an utterly self-centered state, Slate Holmgren, Robert Hogan and Irene Sofia Lucio are all skillfully poignant. As Doctor Herdal, Bill Buell provides spot-on comic relief.

The strongest performance here is that of Felicity Jones as Aline Solness. She never remains in one place — injured jealous wife, mourning mother — for long, and each of her delicate moods is simultaneously clear and mysterious.

We understand exactly the source of her feelings, but her pain is so deep that we fail (as Ibsen and Yionoulis intend for us to fail) all attempts to enter it with her. In this production, she is the unanswerable question that remains in our hearts and minds. v

BELLES LETTRES Milford author Michael Dooling, who previously penned Charles Island: An Historical Account, will discuss (and of course sign) his newest volume: Milford, Lost & Found. 6:30-8 p.m.

October 1 at Collected Stories Bookstore, 12 Daniel St., Milford. Free. 203-874-0115, collectedstoriesbookstore.com.

The Blackstone Writers Group meets first Mondays. The mission of its members is to support one another by supplying motivation to write, sharing ideas and techniques, as well as critiquing one another’s work, whether fact or fiction, novels or short stories, plays or poetry. Meet other local writers; find camaraderie and possibly comic relief. 6:30-7:30 p.m. October 5 at Blackstone Library, 758 Main St., Branford. Free. 203-488-1441, b.shaw@ snet.net, blackstonelibrary.org,

ext. 318, events@blackstone.lioninc.org, blackstone.lioninc.org/booktalk.htm.

The Elm Street Book Group meets to discuss Ruth Reichl’s Garlic & Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise. A world-renowned food critic and editorin-chief of Gourmet magazine, Reichl really needs to “go undercover” when she tries out restaurants. In her new book she reveals some of the comic absurdities of the epicurean world that she uncovered while in various eccentric disguises. 6-7 p.m. October 14 at New Haven Free Public Library, 133 Elm St., New Haven. Free. 203-946-8835, septbookgroup.eventbrite.com.

Middletown’s Green Street Arts Center hosts a three-session Introduction to Screenwriting course taught

by Michael Ennis. Storytelling for movies is a singular craft that requires concise, visual language and a strong appreciation for character, dialogue

as well as newspapers, prints and works written and annotated by Hester Thrale Piozzi and others, the exhibition explores the tensions of memory and identity found in the competing lives of one of England’s first literary celebrities.

Through December 19 at Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St., New Haven. Open 9 a.m.-7 p.m. weekdays (until 5 p.m. Fri.), noon-5 p.m.

Sat. Free. 203-432-2977, beineke.library@ yale.edu.

BENEFITS AIDS Project New Haven hosts a Masquerade Gala, including cocktails, silent auction, awards, dinner and dancing. During the event, the group’s Alvin Novick Memorial Award will be presented to Rosa Biaggi of the state’s Department of Public Health; Marrakech Inc. and ACORD will receive APNH’s Community Partnership Award and the Volunteer Award will be conferred on Jere Lepley. 6 p.m.midnight October 3 at Adanti Student Center Ballroom, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent St., New Haven. $150 ($50 cocktails, silent auction and cabaret only). Reservations. 203-6240947, apnh.org.

The Hospital of St. Raphael presents Cruising Against Cancer, a competitive auto show to benefit the hospital’s McGivney Center for Cancer Care. More than 200 antique, exotic and muscle cars. Also, raffles, food, live music. 8 a.m.-3 p.m. October 10 at Honeywell, 12 Clintonville Rd., Northford. $5 (under 12 free, $10 per show car). 203-867-5524.

CINEMA

Can you tell which two Presidents are portrayed in Lyman Orchards’ 2009 corn maze? (Hint: It’s not Fillmore and Coolidge.) Get lost in Middlefield through November 1.

The Mystery Book Club meets the first Wednesday of each month to discuss a pre-selected book. Books available for loan in advance of discussion. 3-4 p.m. October 7 at Blackstone Library, 758 Main St., Branford. Free. 203-4836653, events@blackstone.lioninc.org, blackstone.lioninc.org/booktalk.htm.

Gordon Turnbull, general editor of the Yale Editions of the Private Papers of James Boswell, discussed Boswell’s Life of Johnson: The Director’s Cut in conjunction with the exhibition Really As It Was: Writing the Life of Samuel Johnson (see below). Noon October 13 at Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St., New Haven. Free. 203-4322977, beineke.library@yale.edu.

New members are welcomed to the Blackstone Library Book Group. The group meets on the second Tuesday of every month to discuss a pre-selected book. Books available for loan in advance of discussion. 6:45-8 p.m.

October 13 at Blackstone Library, 758 Main St., Branford. Free. 203-488-1441,

and story structure. Participants will examine and practice these elements through readings, exercises and writing, writing, writing! 10 a.m.-noon October 17, 24, 31 at Green Street Arts Center, 51 Green St., Middletown. $65. 860-6857871, greenstreetartscenter.org.

Beinecke Library archivist Diane Ducharme, who processed the archives of the Boswell family, discusses “Romantick Family Solemnity”: The Biographer as Laird of Auchinleck. In conjunction with the exhibition Really As It Was: Writing the Life of Samuel Johnson (below). Noon October 27 at Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St., New Haven. Free. 203-4322977, beineke.library@yale.edu.

Really As It Was: Writing the Life of Samuel Johnson. In celebration of the 300th anniversary of his birth in 1709, this exhibition examines the life of Samuel Johnson — author, critic and above all conversationalist — as it was written after his death. Drawing on James Boswell’s correspondence and the manuscript of his Life of Johnson,

Round Eyes in the Middle Kingdom.

Independent filmmaker Ronald LeVaco was born in China of Russian Jewish parents. His family fled when he was ten years old after the People’s Republic of China was established on October 1, 1949. This is the Connecticut premiere of the film, cosponsored by International Association of New Haven. 6:30 p.m. October 1 at New Haven Free Public Library, 133 Elm St., New Haven. Free. 203-946-8835.

Come get your Anime fix on a regular basis with other aficionados at the Anime Club. 2-5 p.m. October 3 at Blackstone Library, 758 Main St., Branford. Free. 203-488-1441, dimbarion@gmail.com, freewebs.com/ branford-anime-club.

As part of its Film Buff series, the Orange-Case Library presents On the Waterfront (1954, USA, 108 min.).

Marlon Brando portrays an ex-fighter (who coulda been a contendah) in this Oscar-winning drama of labor racketeering. Directed by the celebrated Elia Kazan, whose craft is the subject of a new book, Kazan on Directing. 1 p.m.

October 24 at Orange-Case Memorial Library, 176 Tyler City Rd., Orange. Free.

203-891-2170.

The Friends of Orange’s Case Memorial Library once again host to Horrors at the Bijou featuring Witch’s Dungeon

CALENDAR director Cortlandt Hull, who returns with more movie props and tales about the famous Universal Studio Monsters. Not suitable for young children. 7:30 p.m. October 26 at OrangeCase Memorial Library, 176 Tyler City Rd., Orange. Free. 203-891-2170.

COMEDY Comedian Ron (Tater Salad) White is best known as the cigar-smoking, scotch-drinking funnyman from the “Blue Collar Comedy” phenomenon. But with two Grammy nominations, a gold record, two of the top rated one-hour specials in Comedy Central history, a book that appeared on the New York Times bestseller List, and CD and DVD sales of over ten million units, White has established himself as a star in his own right. 8 p.m. October 2 at Palace Theater, 100 E. Main St., Waterbury. $48.75. 203-755-4700, palacetheatrect. org.

WSHU-FM radio presents An Evening with David Sedaris. Acclaimed author of New York Times bestsellers (When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim, Me Talk Pretty One Day). Sedaris visits the Shubert for an evening of engaging recollections and readings, followed by Q&A and book signing. 8 p.m. October 5 at Shubert Theatre, 247 College St., New Haven. $63-$43. 203-562-5666, 888736-2663, shubert.com.

Southern Connecticut State hosts rising standup star Kevin Hart, one of the most versatile comedy actors in film and television. He premiered his one-hour comedy special I’m a Grown Little Man on Comedy Central and is the host of BET’s Comic View: One Mic Stand. He was recently seen in the action comedy spoof Superhero Movie.

With special guest Dan Boulger. 7:30 p.m. October 17 at Lyman Center for the Performing Arts, SCSU, 501 Crescent St., New Haven. $15 ($10 staff, $5 students).

203-392-6154, lyman.southernct.edu.

Test your knowledge and have fun doing it at Anna Liffey’s Trivia Night. Teams of one to five members compete for prize money. Topics range from music to movies, politics to Shakespeare, geology to sports and everywhere in between. Ages 21 and older. Arrive early to get a table. 9 p.m.

October 6, 13, 20 & 27 at Anna Liffey’s, 17 Whitney Ave., New Haven. $10 per team.

203-773-1776, annaliffeys.com.

CULINARY Chef Jerry Reveron, proprietor of the Woodward House in Bethlehem (Conn.) hosts A Tasteful Event 2009, a food and wine tasting to benefit the Southbury-Middlebury Youth & Family Services. Sample savory delights from

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New Haven. Free. cobb@astro.yale.edu, astro.yale.edu.

local area restaurants along with a variety of international artisan wines.

6-8 p.m. October 8 at Golden Age of Trucking Museum, 1101 Southford Rd., Middlebury. $40 advance, $45 at door.

203-758-1441.

Nature Babies: Bats at the Beach.

Moms, dads, grandparents and guardians: Bring your youngster to the Coastal Center for a handson introduction to nature. This Connecticut Audubon Society (CAS) “Nature Babies” program features an outdoor discovery walk or live animal presentation, plus stories, songs and crafts. For children ages 3-5 accompanied by adult. Little brown bats work hard all summer eating insects and are now getting ready for a long winter’s nap. 10:30-11:30 a.m. October 8 at CAS Nature Center at Milford Point, 1 Milford Point Rd., Milford. $10 CAS members (1 adult and child), $15 non-members. 203-878-7440, ctaudubon.org.

City Farmers Markets New Haven.

DOWNTOWN: 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Wednesdays through November 25, Church St. at the Green. WOOSTER SQUARE: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays through December 19 at Russo Park, corner Chapel St. and DePalma Ct. FAIR HAVEN: 3-7 p.m. Thursdays through October 29 at Quinnipiac River Park, corner Grand Ave. and Front St. EDGEWOOD PARK: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Sundays through November 22 corner Whalley and West Rock Aves. 203-7733736, cityseed.org.

Chamard Vineyards Farmers Market.

Local producers gather on Cow Hill Road with some of the region’s freshest fruits, vegetables, eggs, cheese, flowers, maple syrup, honey, gourmet foods, breads and baked goods. Live music, too. Noon-3 p.m. Sundays through October 25 at Chamard Vineyards, 115 Cow Hill Rd., Clinton. 860-664-0299, chamard.com/events.html

DANCE Chicago-based Natya Dance Theatre (NDT) serves as an agent of cultural preservation, presentation and exchange. It was founded nearly 25 years ago as a school of classical Indian dance. Artistic director Hema Rajagopalan has received numerous dance choreography fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and has produced more than 100 dance dramas. 2 p.m. October 4 at Crowell Concert Hall, Wesleyan University, Middletown. $15-$8. 860-685-3355, wesleyan.edu/cfa.

Luis Bravo’s Forever Tango features 14 world-class tango dancers, one vocalist and an 11-piece onstage orchestra. It opened on Broadway in June 1997 for what was planned as an eight-week run — and instead became something of an international sensation. 7:30 p.m.

October 7 at Shubert Theatre, 247 College St., New Haven. $58-$38. 203-562-5666, 888-736-2663, shubert.com.

Come to the Green Street Arts Center for a five-week exploration of Balinese Dance, widely admired for its beauty as well as for the ways in which it involves the performer’s total body, from eyes to toes. Taught by Shoko Yamamuro and Pete Steele. 7-9 p.m.

Wednesdays October 14-November 11 at Green Street Arts Center, 51 Green St., Middletown. $110. 860-685-7871, greenstreetartscenter.org.

Fall Faculty Dance Concert. Wesleyan dance faculty members Rachel Boggia and Iddi Saaka share an evening of solo and duet performance/collaborations with guest artists. 8 p.m. October 30-31 in Patricelli ’92 Theater, Wesleyan University, Middletown. $8-$6. 860-6853355, wesleyan.edu/cfa.

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Public-relations expert James Lukaszewski will discuss ‘Rebuilding Trust in America’s Institutions’ October 29 at Quinnipiac.

EXPOSITIONS, FAIRS & FESTIVALS It’s time for the West Haven Apple Festival. Arts, crafts, music, food, fun and above all apples! 5-9 p.m. October 3, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. October 4, noon-5 p.m.

October 5 on the West Haven Green. westhavenapplefest.com.

The Eastern States Exposition is New England’s six-state fair. It’s a New England extravaganza with top-name entertainment, major exhibits, the Big E Super Circus, the Avenue of States, New England history and agriculture, animals, rides, shopping, crafts, a daily parade and a Mardi Gras parade and foods from around the world. Through October 4 at 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield, Mass.

Most exhibits & buildings open 10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. $10 advance ($8 ages 6-12).

413-205-5049, thebige.com.

FAMILY EVENTS Be among the first to explore Lyman Orchards’ newly designed Corn Maze.

Lyman’s four-acre, craftily carved cornfield maze offers a fun, educational source of entertainment for all ages.

Not everyone you’ll meet in the maze is lost; specially trained “corn cops” are on duty at all times to point you in the right direction. Designed by Guiness World Record maze designer Brett Herbst. 3-6 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. weekends through November 1 at Lyman Orchards, 32 Reeds Gap Rd., Middlefield. $9 ($5 ages 4-12, under 4 free). 860-349-1793, lymanorchards.com.

Each Tuesday the Yale Astronomy Department hosts a Planetarium Show.

Weather permitting there will also be public viewing of planets, nebulae, star clusters and whatever happens to be interesting in the sky. Viewable celestial objects change seasonally. 7 & 8 p.m. October 6, 13, 20 & 27 at Leitner Family Observatory, 355 Prospect St.,

Nature Babies: Migrating Monarchs.

(See above listing.) Beautiful Monarch butterflies are migrating south — come find out why. 10:30-11:30 a.m. October 22 at CAS Nature Center at Milford Point, 1 Milford Point Rd., Milford. $10 CAS members (1 adult and child), $15 nonmembers. 203-878-7440, ctaudubon.org.

FIELD TRIPS The Connecticut Audubon Society hosts Charles Island Explorations. Discover the natural history and folklore that make this island a Milford treasure.

Wear comfortable footwear that can get wet as you hike the half-mile tombolo out to the island. Water, a snack, hat and sunscreen are recommended. 9:45 a.m. October 10 at end of boardwalk, Silver Sands State Park, Milford. $12 adult/$6 child CAS members; $16/$10 others ($7 seniors). Reservations. 203-8787440, ctaudubon.org.

LECTURES A former New York Times correspondent who covered the Supreme Court for three decades, Linda Greenhouse delivers the 2009 Silver, Golub and Teitell Lecture, The Lessons of Guantanamo Bay. Now a member of the law faculty at Yale, 6 p.m. October 8 at Quinnipiac University School of Law, 275 Mt. Carmel Ave., Hamden. Free. 203-582-8652.

Just in time for All Hallow’s Eve comes author, medium and psychic Sylvia Browne in for an all-ages appearance at the Chevy. 7:30 p.m. October 25 at the Chevrolet Theatre, 95 S. Turnpike Rd., Wallingford. $71-$51. 203-265-1501, livenation.com.

Tales of True Hauntings. Get ready to be spooked as the founder of the Nutmeg State Paranormal Society, Jeff Lambert, and other team members show attendees video, evps (electronic voice phenomena) and photographs of ghosts captured during several of the group’s investigations. All proceeds benefit East Haven’s Hagaman Library.

7 p.m. October 29 at East Haven High School. $10 ($5 students).

James E. Lukaszewski, chairman and CEO of the public-relations firm

Lukaszewski Group Inc., will deliver the lecture, Rebuilding Trust in America’s Institutions. A management consultant who specializes in crisis management, Lukaszewski is the author of Why Should the Boss Listen to You? The Seven Disciplines of the Trusted Strategic Advisor. 5 p.m. October 29 in the Mancheski Executive Seminar Room Quinnipiac University, 275 Mt. Carmel Ave., Hamden. Free. 203-582-8652.

Take part in an Southern Connecticut State Halloween tradition to hear America’s best-known ghost hunter, Lorraine Warren, tell stories of her encounters with the supernatural. 8 p.m. October 30 at Lyman Center for the Performing Arts, SCSU, 501 Crescent St., New Haven. $10 ($8 students, staff ). 203392-6154, lyman.southernct.edu.

MIND, BODY & SOUL Tai Chi on the Terrace. In this sixsession series participants will learn a ten-form set of Yang-style tai chi derived from the Yang-style 24 form, which is the most widely practiced form in the world. Instructor Kathleen Brenner. 5:30-6:30 p.m. October 6, 13 at New Haven Free Public Library, 133 Elm. St., New Haven. Free. Registration. 203946-8835, taichifall.eventbrite.com.

Led by Nelie Doak, Yoga promotes a deep sense of physical, mental and emotional well-being. Classes are designed to help cultivate breath and body awareness, improve flexibility, strengthen and tone muscles, detoxify the body and soothe the spirit. All levels welcome. Bring a yoga mat. 56:15 p.m. Fridays at Blackstone Library, 758 Main St., Branford. $10. 203-4881441, ext. 313, yogidoakie@earthlink. net or events@blackstone.lioninc.org, blackstone.lioninc.org.

SPORTS/RECREATION Birding Sorting Out Bird Songs. Birdsong can be an incredible aid to finding and identifying birds. Instructor Frank Gallo will introduce the basics of birding by ear, using sound resources as well as the tips, tricks and even pitfalls to identifying birds by sound. Is that an oriole or a tanager singing? 7-9 p.m. October 6 at CAS Nature Center at Milford Point, 1 Milford Point Rd., Milford. $30 CAS members, $50 others.

203-878-7440, ctaudubon.org.

Canoeing Join the Connecticut Audubon Society for a guided Family Canoe Tour of Milford’s 840-acre Charles Wheeler Salt Marsh. Steeped in local history, the marsh offers an abundance of birds and other wildlife, beautiful vistas and a chance to paddle and relax. 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. October 4 at Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center, 1 Milford Point Rd., Milford. $19 members/$29 others (canoe rental $25/$35 per person, $65/$95 per canoe). 203-878-7440, ctaudubon.org.

Cycling

Hikes

Elm City Cycling organizes Lulu’s Ride, weekly two- to four-hour rides for all levels (17-19 mph average).

Cyclists leave at 10 a.m. from Lulu’s European Café as a single group; no one is dropped. 10 a.m. Sundays at Lulu’s European Café, 49 Cottage St., New Haven. Free. 203-773-9288, elmcitycycling.org.

Join the Connecticut Audubon Society for a fabulous Full Moon Walk. Savor the nocturnal view of Trail Wood under the full moon. Warm up around the woodstove with a cup of tea. 7:30 p.m. October 4 (also November 1) at Trail Wood Sanctuary, 93 Kenyon Rd., Hampton. Members free, $3 others. 860928-4948, ctaudubon.org.

The Little Lulu (LL) is an alternative to the long-standing Sunday morning training ride. The route is usually 20-30 miles in length and the ride is no-drop, meaning that the group waits at hilltops and turns so that no rider is left behind. Riders should come prepared with materials (tubes, tools, pumps and/or CO2 inflators) to repair flats. 10 a.m. Sundays at Lulu’s European Café, 49 Cottage St., New Haven. Free.

203-773-9288, paulproulx@sbcglobal. net, elmcitycycling.org.

The sixth annual Tommy Sullivan’s Run for the Ribbons is a 3.45-mile trail race and two-mile fitness walk. Race proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure Connecticut. 10 a.m. October 4 at Tommy Sullivan’s Café, 240 N. Main St., Branford. $20 run, $12 walk. 203-4817453, wssac-ct@juno.com.

Critical Mass. Participants meet at the flagpole on the New Haven Green at 5:30 p.m. on the last Friday of each month for a slow-paced ride through New Haven streets. The ride ranges from 30 minutes to over an hour depending on weather. Critical Mass is not an organization; it’s an “unorganized coincidence”. After the event, everyone is invited to a potluck dinner at the Devil’s Gear Bike Shop.

5:30 p.m. September 25 at Temple and Chapel streets, New Haven. Free. elmcitycycling.org.

Road Races/Triathlons

The eighth annual Autumn on the Sound 5K incorporates a road race, two-mile walk and kids’ fun run. Flat out-and-back USATF-certified course affords opportunity to lower that PR! 10 a.m. October 11 at Savin Rock Conference Center, Capt. Thomas Blvd., West Haven. $15 (race), $10 (walk), $6 (kids) advance; $20/$12/$8 after 10/4. 203-481-7453, wssac-ct@juno.com.

Benefiting the Hospital of St. Raphael’s McGivney Center for Cancer Care, the Sara Forbes Memorial Branford Shores Fall Classic is a four-mile race and two-mile fitness walk through the Indian Neck section of Branford. 10 a.m. October 18 at Lenny’s Indian Head Inn, 205 S. Montowese St., Branford. $15

(race), $10 (walk) advance; $20/$12 after 10/10. 203-481-7453, wssac-ct@ juno.com.

Start your Halloween off right by running the Wildcat Welcome Back 5K Run/Walk, which benefits the Seymour High School Student Scholarship Fund.

8:30 a.m. October 31 at Seymour High School, 2 Botsford Rd., Seymour. $25 run, $15 walk ($25 day of race). 203-888-2561, ext. 1129, hbrown@seymourschools.org.

Spectator Sports In football, the Southern Connecticut Owls host their crosstown rivals, the resurgent University of New Haven Chargers 7 p.m. October 2). Conference rivals Stonehill come to town for homecoming (1 p.m. October 17), followed by Merrimack (7 p.m. October 30). At Jess Dow Field, 125 Wintergreen Ave., New Haven. $5 adults, $3 children.

203-392-6003.

In women’s soccer in the shadow of the Sleeping Giant, the Quinnipiac Lady Bobcats play host to Bryant (3 p.m. October 4), Sacred Heart (1 p.m.

October 11), Wagner (noon October 18) and Monmouth (1 p.m. October 25).

Quinnipiac University, 275 Mt. Carmel Ave., Hamden. Free.

Led by senior outside hitter Jenna Tammell, the Southern Connecticut Owls volleyball squad has started its season 13-0 (at press time)! This month they play host to Franklin Pierce (5 p.m. October 3), crosstown rivals UNH (7 p.m. October 6), College of St.

Rose (noon October 10), University of Bridgeport (4 p.m. October 10), Felician College (7 p.m. October 12), UMass/ Lowell (7 p.m. October 17) and Pace (7 p.m. October 27). Pelz Gymnasium, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent St., New Haven. Free.

University of New Haven Charger football is back. Watch the reinstated Division II squad host American International (October 10) and Pace (October 24) at newly renovated Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium with its signature state-of-the-art blue and yellow turf. All games 1 p.m. at Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium, West Haven. $7 ($4 visiting students, seniors, children).

Come out to the Bowl for the tradition and pageantry of Yale Bulldog Football, as the Elis continue their 138th home campaign against Patriot League adversaries the Lafayette Leopards (October 3) and then against Ancient Eight rivals Dartmouth Big Green (October 10). Noon at Class of 1954 Field, Yale Bowl, 276 Derby Ave., West Haven. $15-$7 (age 14 and under free).

203-432-1400.

Please send CALENDAR information to CALENDAR@conntact.com no later than six weeks preceding calendar month of event. Please include date, time, location, event description, cost and contact information. Photographs must be at least 300 dpi resolution and are published at discretion of NEW HAVEN magazine.

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Presidential Corn Maze September 5 - November 1

Call Maze Hotline for Schedule (860) 349-6015 $1 of each ticket supports the American Cancer Society

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32 Reeds Gap Road, Middlefield, (860) 349-1793

PICK-YOUR OWN APPLES & PUMPKINS new haven

55

WO RDS of MOUT H

By Liese Klein

PHOTOGRAPH:

NEW EATS: Basil Restaurant

Anthony DeCarlo

Proprietress Claudia Tjia with a sampling of Basil’s bounty, including chicken teryaki, roti chicken canai, salt and pepper shrimp and seafood noodle soup. Drinks include a Bubble coconut drink and Thai iced tea.

A

change in name and ownership doesn’t always bode well for a restaurant, but in the case of Basil — the former East Melange noodle house on Howe Street in New Haven — change is a good thing.

New owner Claudia Tjai and her husband, Chef Chew Kai Chow, have brought Southeast Asian spice to a menu of Cantonese classics. Former owners of Kari, the standout Malaysian eatery in Westville, the couple has updated the Howe Street space and added a pinch of curry.

A makeover has turned a utilitarian space into a calming environment of tile, chrome and wood with mustardyellow accents and a wall-sized waterfall.

Mellow folk music and well-spaced tables add to the mellow vibe.

Bubble tea is a great start to a meal, with fresh-tasting flavorings enlivened by springy, green-tea-flavored tapioca balls.

Thai iced tea and coffee are also on tap as

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part of the pan-Asian theme.

Appetizers include chicken and tofu satay, along with Chinese staples like steamed and fried dumplings, pork buns and fried wontons. The roti canai, puffy Southeast Asian bread with a curry dipping sauce, offers a nice change from the usual. The bread is fresh and tender and nicely sops up the mild sauce.

Turnip cake is another quirky offering blending a crispy fried exterior and a pillowy, mashed-potato-like interior.

Sweet soy dipping sauce perks up the mild flavor.

No need to augment the flavors in the Singapore mee hoon, an assertive variation of the classic Southeast Asian noodle dish. The musky, grainy spice mix sparks magic with sprouts, scallions and thin rice noodles.

Venture out of your comfort zone with the specials, drawing from the cuisines of China, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. “Salty Fish with Chinese

Eggplant” translates into thin strips of chicken, ginger, garlic and silky chunks of eggplant bathed in an intense sauce with a hint of briny complexity. The casserole makes a showy entrance, bubbling and steaming away in its own ceramic crock.

The menu’s extensive selection of noodle soups from across Asia beckons as winter approaches, along with Thai curries and an array of teriyaki meats over rice. Cool off from the spicier offerings with sorbet, pineapple and coconut gelato and an “Exotic Bomba” of mango, passion fruit and raspberry sorbetto.

Basil is perfect for the nights when you crave Asian food but can’t make a decision about which cuisine you want to savor. You get authenticity, a wide selection and a stylish setting at this promising addition to Howe’s “Asian Row.” Basil Restaurant, 142 Howe St., New Haven (203-865-4000).

BREAKFAST/DINERS The Pantry, 2 Mechanic St., New Haven (203-7870392). Lines get long on weekend mornings at this East Rock institution, known for its breakfast goodies like gingerbread pancakes, fluffy waffles and hearty omelets.

Bella’s Cafe, 896 Whalley Ave., New Haven (203387-7107). Brunch with flair is the specialty at this Westville favorite. You can’t go wrong with the daily specials or omelets like the Tuscan with eggplant and peppers or the Tex-Mex with cheddar and salsa.

Parthenon Diner, 374 E. Main St., Branford (203-4810333). Open 24 hours for hearty, well-made Greek and diner fare, with some low-carb and vegetarian offerings. Another location (not 24/7) in Old Saybrook at 809 Boston Post Rd. Copper Kitchen, 1008 Chapel St., New Haven (203777-8010). Downtown’s most convenient spot for a

Owner Scott Griffin, his wife and a partner opened Griff’s this summer to fill a niche in local offerings.

Griffin drew his inspiration from the casual foods of his childhood in North Florida, and brings a Southern-style hospitality and cuisine to the new eatery.

“This is the stuff I like to eat,” Griffin says.

The sunny greenand-orange color scheme and guitarpicking rooster logo give Griff’s a sunny, down-home feeling reminiscent of a deep South barbecue joint.

A jug of sweet tea and a stack of Moon Pies add to the ambience.

Athenian Diner, 1064 Boston Post Rd., Milford (203878-5680). Visible from Interstate 95 — if not from outer space — this chrome-and-glass landmark draws customers from all over the region with its hearty portions and tasty classics. Great Greek favorites and overstuffed sandwiches. Open 24 hours. Also open all night in New Haven at 1426 Whalley Ave.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN/KOREAN Bentara Restaurant, 76 Orange St., New Haven (203562-2511). Supersized noodle soups and spicy curries are good bets at this Ninth Square Malaysian/

Kari Restaurant, 1451 Whalley Ave., New Haven (203389-1280). Bright flavors and unusual ingredients make this Malaysian restaurant worth the drive up Whalley. The friendly servers are happy to explain the cuisine to newcomers and highlight the catch of the day.

Pot-Au-Pho, 77 Whitney Ave., New Haven (203-7762248). Great for a quick bowl of pho, Vietnamese soup, along with tasty noodle dishes and affordable Asian specialties. Limited hours, so call ahead.

Oriental Pantry Grocery & Gifts, 486 Orange St., New Haven (203-865-2849). A foodie favorite for its home-style Korean dishes like soups and bibimbap.

Takeout sushi, breakfast sandwiches and Asian drinks and sweets are also available.

Soho New Haven, 259 Orange St., New Haven

EDITOR’S PICK: Griff ’s Chicken Shack

Anthony DeCarlo

ootball season snacks don’t have to mean mass-market grease anymore, thanks to the opening of the new Griff’s Chicken Shack in Hamden. Lightly spiced and breaded slabs of white-meat chicken are the specialty at this new eatery, a home-grown alternative to chain fast food.

Patricia’s Restaurant, 18 Whalley Ave., New Haven (203-787-4500). Tasty and very affordable diner basics in an unironically retro setting near Broadway and the Yale campus.

fusion hotspot. The stylish interior and extensive cocktail list also make it an excellent pre-nightlife stop. Open for lunch.

PHOTOGRAPH:

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diner-style, affordable fry-up of eggs, bacon and toast. Cash only, but you won’t need much of it.

Family ties: The Griffins’ daughter Ava-Louise feasts on chicken fingers, a pulled pork sandwich, red bean rice and sweet iced tea.

Griff’s improves on traditional fried chicken in its signature offering — baskets of chicken “fingers” with homemade dipping sauces. At four to five inches long, these fingers are actually more like slabs, and are addictive with their light breading and perfectly cooked white meat.

Best of the dipping

sauces are Bobcat BBQ, with a nice peppery punch, and the smoky Hickory BBQ. TNT Buffalo sauce is for those who like to sweat while they eat and enjoy a powerful dose of Tabasco.

Four or five fingers with sides can serve as a hearty meal for less than $10. For sides, stick with the fries or the red beans and rice, a satisfying serving of

beans with chunks of sausage and vegetables over perfectly cooked long-grain rice. Like the slaw, the beans are a bit bland and benefit from a dollop of dipping sauce.

Accompany your meal with some of that syrupy sweet tea or pick from a cooler full of Foxon Park sodas and other drinks.

Chicken Shack is perfect for an afternoon of football or a casual family meal — order big, as the chicken makes great leftovers. This fresh, homemade food scores as a new addition to Hamden’s vibrant casual food scene.

Griff’s Chicken Shack, 3000 Whitney Ave., Hamden (203-909-6636).

Takeout from Griff’s

new haven

57

Anthony DeCarlo PHOTOGRAPH:

Tengda Asian Bistro Manager Kenny Heen and waitstaff Sylvia Wang with a spectacular surf and turf bird’s nest Thai-style.

JUST A TASTE: Tengda Asian Bistro

T

he shops were closed for the night and the Whole Foods was (still) under construction, so what were all these cars doing in this plaza off the Post Road in Milford after dark? The answer was in the back corner of the lot where the insistent thump of house music spilled into the night air — the new Tengda Asian Bistro.

A successful micro-chain with eateries in Fairfield and Westchester, Tengda opened its latest restaurant this summer in the shiny new Whole Foods plaza in Milford (the eponymous upscale market is slated to open November 1). And like other mini-chains like Thali and Lao Sze Chaun that have expanded into our area in recent years, this new contender brings sophisticated style and top-flight ethnic cuisine to the increasingly diverse Post Road dining scene.

At first glance Tengda seems more a place for girls’ nights out and first dates than an interesting meal. The beat

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never stops on the house music and the neon-lit bar and marble-topped sushi bar promise more style than substance. But despite a steady murmur, the cavernous space inside allows for conversation at a reasonable volume. Attentive servers are also close at hand to explain dishes and offer recommendations.

Create your own nightlife outing with one of the tropical, Asian-themed cocktails: a coconut concoction was refreshingly dry and balanced. A range of saketinis and Scorpion Bowls are also available for the adventurous imbiber.

The pan-Asian menu is heavy on the sushi and Japanese “hibachi” stir-fry, in addition to lots of noodle dishes and Chinese classics. We went for the Thai crab cakes, which showcased the kitchen’s skill with flavors, sauces and presentation. The meaty, expertly seared cakes made for a stunning plate with a splash of chili sauce and salad.

Everything was fresh and flavorful and blended perfectly on the palate.

The cleverly named Post Roll was also stunning to look at with vivid layers of salmon, mango, tuna and avocado, although the combo needed a hit of wasabi and soy sauce to come alive.

But the lemongrass shrimp entrée brought the flavor back with beautifully grilled shrimp in a lively sweet-sour lemongrass sauce with the tang of tamarind. Chestnuts and bok choy added texture and color to an artfully constructed dish.

Tengda joins Coromandel, Shanghai Gourmet and Lao Sze Chaun as interesting Asian eateries tucked between the furniture stores, chain restaurants and empty storefronts of Milford’s commercial main drag. Tengda is well worth braving the turn lanes of the Post Road for a well-executed meal in a stylish setting.

Tengda Asian Bistro, 1676 Boston Post Rd., Milford (203-877-8888).

(203-745-0960). Right downtown and in an elegant space, Soho draws a diverse crowd for its top-notch Korean fare. Try the mandu dumplings and fieryhot chicken galbi.

Midori, 3000 Whitney Ave., Hamden (203-248-3322).

Big flavors in a small space are the hallmark of this Korean/fusion restaurant, tucked away in a strip mall. Best bets are soups, the fresh-tasting bibimbap and spicy bulgogi.

THAI Thai Taste Restaurant, 1151 Chapel St., New Haven (203-776-9802). A standout on Chapel’s “Thai Row,” with toothsome basics like pad thai, drunken noodles and green curry.

Bangkok Gardens, 172 York St., New Haven (203-7898718). Tasty Thai in a charming, light-filled dining area with great service. Wide ranges of classics and vegetarian options.

Rice Pot Thai Restaurant, 1027 State St., New Haven (203-772-6679). Great spot for a romantic dinner and some truly tasty Thai food. Try the impeccably fresh spring rolls, delicately flavored soups and assertive curries.

Thai Awesome, 1505 Dixwell Ave., Hamden (203-2889888). Tangy curries and rich soups make this Thai eatery worth the drive from downtown, but leave time to find parking on this busy stretch of Dixwell.

The Terrace, 1559 Dixwell Ave., Hamden (203-2302077). The chef’s French training shows in this Thai eatery’s above-average plating and seductive flavor combinations.

Ayuthai, 2279 Boston Post Road, Guilford (203-4532988). Quality Thai in a casual setting. Excellent duck and curry plates, along with above-average papaya salad and desserts.

CHINESE/TAIWANESE Iron Chef, 1209 Campbell Ave., West Haven (203-9323888). Unusual Taiwanese specialties and wellexecuted classics shine at this student favorite.

House of Chao, 898 Whalley Ave., New Haven (203389-6624). This Westville institution draws diners from across the region for its bright flavors and eclectic menu.

Lao Sze Chaun, 1585 Boston Post Rd., Milford (203-7830558). You don’t get much more authentic locally than this outpost of Szechwan delicacies and tasty dim sum.

East Melange Too, 142 Howe St., New Haven (203848-3663). Affordable and authentic noodles and Cantonese classics keep this lively eatery near Yale hopping at all hours.

Great Wall of China, 67 Whitney Ave., New Haven (203-777-8886). Its location near downtown’s best Asian market and an affordable, high-quality buffet attracts a multicultural clientele to this Yale-area spot.

COFFEE SHOPS Cafe Grounded, 20 Church St, Guilford (203-453-6400).

Tasty sandwiches and coffee drinks star at this aviation-themed cafe that operates inside a quonset hut near the town’s Green.

Publick Cup, 276 York St., New Haven (203-787-9929).

Top-notch sandwiches, coffee drinks and teas with a creative flair and a studious vibe that befits its oncampus location. You can even order ahead online.

Kasbah Garden Cafe, 105 Howe St., New Haven (203-777-5053). Quality teas, good conversation and Moroccan treats on New Haven’s best outdoor patio.

Willoughby’s Coffee & Tea, 258 Church St., New Haven, (203-777-7400). Enjoy both the low-key ambience and the region’s best selection of premium roasts and rarities at this small chain.

With Branford and Madison locations.

Bare Beans Coffee, 14 East Grand Ave., New Haven (203-260-1118). A funky new outpost of quality beans and drinks over the bridge in Fair Haven. Weekday mornings only for drinks; order top-quality organic, Fair Trade and eco-friendly beans online at barebeanscoffee.com.

Cafe Atlantique, 33 River St., Milford (203-8821602). Visit this neighborhood favorite for creative caffeinated classics, bistro food and wine and a charming indoor/outdoor seating area.

Pick your own Crisp Apples, Juicy Peaches & Sweet Pears.

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FUSION CUISINE Mickey’s Restaurant & Bar, 2323 Whitney Ave., Hamden (203-288-4700). This eatery’s sophisticated interior and artful blend of Israeli and Italian flavors bring big-city flair to downtown Hamden.

Sip a Mickey’s margarita with your Marrakech salmon and Israeli couscous and you’ll swear you’re on the beach in Tel Aviv.

Bespoke, 266 College St., New Haven (203-5624644). High-end Latin fusion with a flair, wit and excellent service. Try the lobster arepa and duckconfit empanada upstairs at Sabor, the in-house Latin lounge. Fixed-price pre-theater menu serves up three courses for only $29.

Friend House, 538 Boston Post Rd., Orange (203-7956888). In a plaza next to Trader Joe’s, Friend House brings together stylish sushi and Chinese and Thai favorites. Best bets are the inventive hand rolls with ingredients like mango, tempura flakes and mint.

1,000 Chapel St • New Haven 203.562.3888 • clairescornercopia.com

Adriana’s

RESTAURANT & W INE BAR

Formosa, 132 Middletown Ave., North Haven (203-2390666). Creative and beautifully presented dishes with pan-Asian panache. Don’t miss the Szechwan “ravioli,” tender chicken dumplings in a delicate peanut sauce, or Taiwanese seafood specialties.

Kudeta, 27 Temple St., New Haven (203 562-8844).

Every major cuisine of Asia is represented on Kudeta’s menu, with something for every taste in an evocative interior. Generous and inventive drinks along with good sushi and noodle dishes.

FRENCH Union League Café, 1032 Chapel St., New Haven (203562-4299). New Haven’s most beautiful dining room and world-class cuisine near the heart of downtown.

Le Petit Café 225 Montowese St., Branford (203-4839791). Prix-fixe menu features beautifully prepared classics with a modern twist in a casual setting.

Caseus, 3 Whitney Ave., New Haven (203-624-3373).

Quiche and onion soup with top-notch cheeses stand out at this charming bistro.

Gastronomique, 25 High Street, New Haven (203776-7007).Classics like croque monsieur and steak tartare, plus sandwiches and burgers, expertly prepared at affordable prices. Takeout only.

Now Booking Holiday Parties

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AMERICAN Bespoke, 266 College St., New Haven (203 562-4644).

Cutting-edge presentation and flavor combinations take center stage at this successor to Roomba. Latin flavors are featured in the upstairs lounge, called Sabor. Open for lunch.

Foe, 576 Main St., Branford (203-483-5896). The perfect setting for a romantic evening, Foe shines with sublime beef and pasta dishes. A black fig and cherry-glazed duck breast also showcases the chef’s sure hand with poultry. Lunch and bar menu.

Sage American Grill & Oyster Bar, 100 S. Water St., New Haven (203-787-3466). The tranquil harborfront view sets off skilled seafood and raw bar selections.

Excellent seasonal specials and a full bar add to the attractions of this veteran favorite.

Foster’s, 56-62 Orange St., New Haven (203-859-6666).

The chef himself is likely to bring over your meal at this acclaimed newcomer in Ninth Square. Comfort food with cutting-edge flair like llama burgers on toasted brioche.

Zinc, 964 Chapel St., New Haven (203-624-0507).

Consistently excellent food, drinks and service in a central location. Innovative seafood like tamaricured tuna with wasabi oil is a good choice, along with the drink specials and seasonal desserts.

INDIAN Thali, 4 Orange St., New Haven (203-777-1177).

Downtown’s best Sunday buffet, with ample meat and vegetarian selections as well as fresh masala dosa crepes and unusual treats like goat curry and carrot pudding.

Zaroka Bar & Restaurant, 148 York St., New Haven (203-776-8644). Opulent setting for one of the city’s most popular Indian buffets. Enjoy the birayani pilafs, crunchy pappadum crackers and fluffy desserts.

Royal India, 140 Howe St., New Haven (203-787-9493).

Tasty North Indian fare in an intimate setting on Howe’s mini-restaurant row. Nice variety at lunch buffet with fresh bread.

Darbar India, 1070 Main St., Branford (203-481-8994).

Award-winning shoreline favorite with excellent atmosphere and north Indian classics, run by Royal India owner. Spicy vindaloos and tandooris are a good bet.

Coromandel, 185 Boston Post Rd., Orange (203-7959055). Great breads and regional specialties from the local outpost of a celebrated Fairfield chain. Try the shrimp in coconut sauce and unusual lentil dessert.

this cozy eatery in Ninth Square. A great place to sample wines and small plate.

of lamb, is on tap at this neighborhood eatery. Also vegetarian and seafood options.

Tre Scalini Ristorante, 100 Wooster St., New Haven (203-777-3373). Acclaimed pasta, seafood and antipasti in an opulent Wooster Square setting.

Also open for lunch.

King Falafel, 240 College St., New Haven (203-8483076). Follow a trip to the Shubert with a tasty falafel sandwich across the street at this late-night favorite. Large portions of the freshest fried chickpea patties in town, with all the trimmings.

L’Orcio, 806 State St., New Haven (203-777-6670).

Outstanding modern Italian in an intimate setting.

You can’t go wrong with the pasta specials and perfectly cooked and seasoned steaks.

Roseland Apizza, 350 Hawthorne Ave., Derby (203-7350494). Don’t let the casual pizzeria decor fool you — this Valley favorite makes some serious Italian food. Look for the daily specials and enjoy.

Adriana’s Restaurant, 771 Grand Ave., New Haven (203-865-6474). Meat is the thing at this Grand Avenue favorite, especially veal and sausages. Fresh pasta and classics in a formal setting.

MEXICAN Moe’s Southwest Grill, 46 Whitney Ave., New Haven (203- 776-6637). Healthy burritos, tacos and other Tex-Mex favorites along with addictive queso cheese sauce. Beer and wine are served, along with margaritas.

Baja, 63 Boston Post Rd., Orange (203-799-2252). An expansive salsa bar and fish taco entrée appeal to homesick Californians and big eaters.

Guadalupe la Poblanita, 136 Chapel St., New Haven (203-752-1017). Simple, authentic cuisine from Puebla in a down-home atmosphere.

Jalapeno Heaven, 40 N. Main St., Branford (203-4816759). Tasty Americanized fare in a cozy setting with excellent margaritas.

Long Wharf Taco Trucks, Long Wharf Drive near Veterans Memorial Park, weekdays at lunch. Tacos as they’re served in Mexico — just corn tortillas, meat, cilantro and a spicy sauce — eaten al fresco by New Haven Harbor.

Mezcal, 14 Mechanic St., New Haven (203-782-4828).

Big portions and wide-ranging menu with lots of surprises. No liquor license.

Taqueria Mexico No. 1, 850 S. Colony Rd. Wallingford (203-265-0567). The best tortas — or small sandwiches — in the area, filled with spiced meat and accompanied on the weekends by a lipsmacking posole hominy soup.

Viva Zapata, 161 Park St., New Haven (203-562-2499).

Toothsome classics and a killer sangria in a festive pub atmosphere. Open for lunch.

Kasbah Garden Café, 105 Howe St., New Haven (203777-5053). Moroccan-style lamb and vegetable dishes prevail on the limited but tasty menu. Savor mint tea and baklava outside on the idiosyncratically landscaped patio.

SEAFOOD Lenny’s Indian Head Inn, 205 S. Montowese St., Branford (203-488-1500). Fried clams praised by national critics and the freshest steamers around make Lenny’s a local favorite. The Shore Dinner covers all the bases with cherrystones, corn on the cob, lobster and steamers.

Lenny & Joe’s Fish Tale, 1301 Boston Post Rd., Madison (203-245-7289). What it lacks in formality it makes up for in taste — the freshest, crispest fried seafood around. The perfect spot for quick eats after beach or a coastal drive, with an ice cream stand onsite.

Guilford Mooring, 505 Whitfield St., Guilford (203458-2921). Pasta dishes, a stellar chowder and a full range of grilled fish set this Shoreline favorite apart.

And where else can you savor Lazy Man’s Stuffed Lobster as you watch lobstermen at work.

YellowFin’s Seafood Grille, 1027 South Main St., Cheshire (203-250-9999). Flavors are light and bright at this fusion eatery, with a menu that ranges from cioppino to Asian scallop salad to Tilapia St. Tropez. A raw bar and house-brewed beer round out the offerings.

Jimmie’s of Savin Rock, 5 Rock St., West Haven. 9343212. Take the family out and enjoy the boardwalk view at this West Haven institution, known for its moderate prices and casual atmosphere. All the fried favorites, a full menu of broiled fish and lobster and the famous split hot dog.

SUSHI Wasabi, 280 Branford Rd., North Branford (203-4887711). Good quality rolls and sashimi at reasonable prices, along with Korean specialties like mandu dumplings and bibimbap rice bowls. The sake flows freely on Monday nights, a favorite with students.

MIDDLE EASTERN

Akasaka, 1450 Whalley Ave., New Haven (203-3874898). Unusual specials like baby octopus and blowfish make this veteran eatery worth a visit.

Live sea urchin roe and scallops are also a best bet, along with tasty pickled vegetables.

ITALIAN

Mamoun’s, 85 Howe St., New Haven (203-562-8444).

Cheap plates of falafel and Syrian-style specialties like stuffed eggplant keep this student favorite hopping late into the night. Make sure the fryer’s fired up and stick with the classics like baklava.

Sono Bana, 1206 Dixwell Ave., Hamden (203-281-9922).

Fresh fish, inventive rolls and extensive combo options make this a neighborhood favorite. Try a fruity saketini with your sashimi “boat” and ask the chef to load up on the catch of the day.

Consiglio’s of New Haven, 165 Wooster St., New Haven (203-865-4489). Beautifully executed Italian classics and a warm, welcoming atmosphere set this Wooster Square eatery apart. Open for lunch and private parties; also hosts a series of cooking classes.

Istanbul Café, 245 Crown St., New Haven (203-7873881). With its airy yet opulent interior, this critics’ favorite has the best ambience in town and flavorful food. A grilled octopus salad and red lentil soup are standouts, along with lamb dishes.

Miya’s Sushi, 68 Howe St., New Haven (203-7779760). Unusual combinations like rolls with cheese and Ethiopian spices are the draw. Let go of your preconceptions about sushi with help from some of the infused-sake cocktails.

Skappo Italian Wine Bar, 59 Crown St., New Haven (203-773-1394). White truffles and chestnuts are two of the compelling flavors you’ll encounter at

Turkish Kebab House, 1157 Campbell Ave., West Haven (203-933-0002). Every kind of kebab imaginable, from doner to minced chicken to cubes

Number 1 Fish Market, 2239 State St., Hamden (203-624-6171). Make your own sushi at home with fresh seafood from this market, which supplies

Swagat, 215 Boston Post Rd. West Haven (203-931-0108).

A tiny outpost of south Indian favorites near the University of New Haven. Best bets are the masala dosa and many vegetarian dishes, plus the friendly service.

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many area restaurants. The helpful staff will steer you toward the best quality tuna, salmon, scallops and red snapper; items like sea urchin roe are available to order.

VEGETARIAN Claire’s Corner Copia, 1000 Chapel St., New Haven (203-562-3888). This veggie veteran has updated its menu with lots of vegan options, of-the-moment meat substitutes and superfoods like acai berry juice.

The homey ambience and location seal the deal.

Edge of the Woods, 379 Whalley Ave., New Haven (203-787-1055). The natural market offers a superb selection of vegetarian products in addition to a lunchtime buffet with salad bar, hot entrées like lasagna and seitan stir-fry and a colorful array of main-dish salads.

Shoreline Diner & Vegetarian Enclave, 345 Boston Post Rd., Guilford (203-458-7380). Non-veg diner fare along with vegan favorites like a tempeh Reuben with sauerkraut on grilled rye and “Twin Towers” of vegetable strudel. Great place for groups with

different dining preferences.

Thali Too, 65 Broadway, New Haven (203-776-1600).

Tasty Indian vegetarian street food you won’t find anywhere else in the state, if not the region. Try the super-sized masala dosas and exotic yogurt drinks.

Ahimsa, 1227 Chapel St., New Haven (203-786-4774).

Wide-ranging vegan fare is featured at this (kosher) eatery that uses no animal products. South Indianstyle dals and curries star at the daily $10 lunch buffet, with more offerings at Sunday brunch.

ankees, Red Sox. Republican, Democrat. Scotch drinker, bourbon drinker. Some preferences seem etched in stone.

So imagine the surprise of this lifelong Scotch aficionado on a recent evening when she found herself switching sides: Enjoying a bourbon cocktail as much as anything else she’d tried in months.

A sweet-and-sour head of apple cider foam serves as an aromatic entrée into the Empire, a signature offering at the 116 Crown cocktail lounge in downtown New Haven. Sweet vermouth took the edge off the hearty portion of Four Roses bourbon and elevated the Empire into a mellow, easy-drinking yet potent coldweather treat.

The Empire is only one of dozens of inventive offerings at 116 Crown, which celebrated its second year in business in August. Owners John and Danielle Ginnetti keep shaking up the cocktail and food menu to stimulating effect. This year the pair has collaborated with the Yale Farm to

bring local produce to both the highball glass and plate.

Anthony DeCarlo

Y

PHOTOGRAPH:

JUST A SIP: 116 Crown Autumn Cocktails

Fall drinks with Yale Farm-sourced ingredients include the Four Thieves, in which lavender adds a floral note to a refreshing, citrusy combination of blueberry vodka, lemon and Cointreau.

Watermelon pulp brings both vegetal depth and a pleasantly dense texture to the Guerrero, spiked with tequila, bitters and Chartreuse.

In the food department, squash blossoms from the Ivy’s gardens soar in an airy tempura batter nicely punctuated with basil and sea salt. A rich, briny ricotta filling makes the blossoms an ideal complement cocktails or one of the seasonal craft beers on tap, which include selections from celebrated Westchester brewery Captain Lawrence.

What doesn’t change with the seasons is 116 Crown’s welcoming atmosphere — the backlit bar serving as a kind of hearth bringing together young professionals, students and the nightlife crowd. The owners and attentive

Inventive cocktails such as the Glitterati are as much a feast for the eyes as for the palate at 116 Crown.

bartenders made even this lone female diner feel welcome and comfortable, abetted by a relaxing yet offbeat soundtrack.

Booths lined in cylindrical cushions lure those seeking a

more secluded space.

At around $12, most cocktails are reasonable considering the ingredients and considerable alcohol content of many concoctions.

Low-cost parking is available both at the Temple Street Garage and at the site of the former New Haven Coliseum: 116 Crown, 116 Crown St., New Haven (203777-3116).

new haven

61

Wine-Tasting Gone High-Tech Oenophiles will love the bounty of offerings at new Tastings

By Susan E. Cornell

W

ith more than 80 wines from regions all across the world, “Tastings — A Wine Experience” in Mystic boasts one of the largest selections of wines-by-the-taste.

Here customers peruse the various wines housed in high-tech machinery and, with the help of “wine guides,” order by the taste, half-glass or full glass. Tasters are given a tasting card with a monetary value, the wine guide inserts the card, presses the button, and the tasting begins.

Top-of-the-line equipment called the Napa Technology System allows the wine to stay fresh for nearly two months. With the Napa system, wines are pressurized with argon to keep the oxygen from the wine.

Tastings is a franchise, with additional locations in Florida, Texas and Georgia.

The Mystic Tastings features a wine bar and restaurant, while the others have a retail component and are more self-service.

Each customer is given a card for notes and the bar is lined with information on everything about each wine, from flavor and region to vintage.

There are 80 wines on the automated system, but Tastings also offers “regular” service like other restaurants with wines by the glass — featured reds, whites and regional wines. From Connecticut, for example, are labels including Jonathan Edwards and Sharpe Hill.

The atmosphere is not at all intimidating.

Tasters with any level of experience 62

october 2009

Yet another reason for a Mystic road trip — more than 80 wines at (literally) the tip of one’s fingers.

— from novice to sommelier — can enjoy themselves.

It’s not a fine dining atmosphere, but more of a bistro atmosphere.

One menu is served throughout the day. The focus is on nice salads and sandwiches and gourmet flatbread pizzas, small plates and bistro plates.

The concept is to experience different flavors on a sharing concept.

Located at 4 Hendel Drive in Mystic, Tastings opens at 11:30 a.m. daily except Monday and noon on Sunday. Reservations recommended for six or more as well as for Friday and

Saturday. Visit awineexperience.com or call 860-572-WINE (9463). v

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