8 minute read
On the Bookshelf
On the Bookshelf picture books
Start September with sweet stories
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By David Shannon
Max Midas isn’t like the other kids. Instead of trying to make friends, he decides to make millions and spends it all on what he loves best: GOLD. Gold statues. Gold fountains. Piles and piles of gold, and atop them all, a golden castle. But one day, things get lonely inside his shiny castle and Max finally learns that gold isn’t worth anything without friends and family by your side. Viking
By Bobby Moynihan; illustrated by Julie Rowan-Zoch
SNL actor Bobby Moynihan’s (SNL) debut picture book proves sheep are anything but snoozeworthy, introducing a cast of the weirdest, wackiest, funniest sheep you’ve ever seen. From riding jetpacks to prancing on the moon, it’s safe to say these might be the LEAST boring sheep you’ve ever encountered. JDon’t be surprised if the giggles keep you up long past bedtime! Putnam
‘Patchwork’
By Matt de la Peña; illustrated by Corinna Luyken
In profound, uplifting verse and sumptuous artwork, this book explores the endless possibilities each child contains. A young dancer may grow into a computer coder; a basketball player might become a poet; a class clown may one day serve as an inspiring teacher; and today’s quiet empath might be tomorrow’s great leader. A profound and uplifting new classic for readers of all ages. Putnam
‘Noodle and the No Bones Day’
By Jonathan Graziano, illustrated by Dan Tavis
Noodle is a sweet, silly old pug who enjoys doing all his favorite activities with his favorite human, Jonathan. But one day when Jonathan goes to take Noodle on his morning walk, he finds Noodle still comfortable in bed. When Jonathan lifts Noodle up, Noodle just flops over. Noodle isn’t sick or sad — but he also isn’t interested in going for walks or sitting outside (he will accept snacks, though). Margaret K. McElderry Books
Editor’s note:
Fall a great time for self-care
What’s not to love about September? The days are generally mild and sunny with cooler nights that don’t require any supplemental A/C. Crowds die down as students get back to the business of studying and travelers return to their pre-vacation lives. Vegetable gardens overflow with late tomatoes, squash and corn. It’s like the summer we’ve been waiting for … all summer long.
Ask a kid what they think of September, and you might get a different answer, depending on how they feel about going back to school.
At least this year we can be grateful that the school day will look vastly different than the past few years. It is nice to think that the worst of the pandemic is now in the rearview mirror. We’ve all been through a lot, and it will be good to take some time to reflect on how these past three years have changed us. And after that, we can focus on a little self care and wellness to rebuild our resilience.
Thanks for reading Family Now! Check out our articles and more at www.cdfamilynow.com and mail your story ideas and pictures to Capital District Family Now, P.O. Box 100, Delmar, NY 12054, or e-mail me at robertsk@ spotlightnews.com. Kristen Roberts Editor, Capital District Family Now
From the cover
n Mayhem
continued from Page 1
rightly headlined Lollapalooza that summer, and before kids returned to school that fall, dominated the MTV Video Music Awards.
However, my 1992 experience was caught up in everything related to Pearl Jam. Too many years have passed to allow me to accurately explain why I first picked up a copy of “Ten.” It was darker than what was popular at the time. With the crumbling of the Berlin Wall, we didn’t need to escape to the B-52s or Jesus Jones. There was honesty hiding behind Eddie Vedder’s baritone voice, and Michael McCready’s fuzzy guitar.
The alternative sound swept across the country with ripped denim, muted plaid and fuzzy bass riffs. The lyrics, if you could understand them, were full of an angst teenagers couldn’t quite put a finger on, but to which they inherently related. A young Generation X was coming out from the shadows of a decades-long cold war and a laughable anti-drug campaign defined by Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No.”
Without Communist Russia to play the role of the Big Bad Wolf, political pundits turned their focus on corporate greed. My generation went from saving the whales to saving the rainforest after growing up under the threat of acid rain and a depleting ozone layer. An expanding media that reached out across the world never turned off. The visuals of global affairs were omnipresent in a 24-hour coverage telecast. My generation was labeled as apathetic and aloof by Baby Boomers, who not long before, similarly pulled away from conformity to set out on their own path.
Woodstock ’99 was a hard no for me. I’m a creature of comfort. I need to be assured that I can wash off the day in my shower and sleep in my own bed. For me, and many of my peers, there was always a polystyrene stench that wafted off of Woodstock ’99.
Online magazines are freshly shocked by the dirty details revealed in the Netflix documentary “Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99,” released in early August. As the Peace Dove flies, Rome is less than 100 miles away from Albany — it is, in essence, our backyard. The events from those three days have been known to us. When the new documentary doesn’t rehash the price gouging, the violence and the rapes, it reveals Michael Lang’s and John Scher’s feigned ignorance and their quickness to deflect responsibility for it all. That’s when the anger comes bubbling back.
Lang, the Woodstock patriarch who brought it all together in 1969, said he wanted to recapture that spirit of peace, love and harmony. What wasn’t said was that the spirit was lost under the sea of 350,000 bodies who attended Woodstock ’94 — with only 164,000 tickets sold. So he secured Griffiss Air Force Base, which President Bill Clinton closed four years before as his new site. With a fortified military base to keep out the riff-raff, Lang turned to Scher to build out a winning setlist.
Scher was a hot-shot promoter who grew into prominence by booking The Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones and The Who at the 3,200-seat Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey. For Lang, he garnered all of the popular musicians of the day, including players from the burgeoning nu-metal scene. Korn, Rage Against the Machine and Limp Bizkit may not have fit Lang’s party theme, but neither did Nine Inch Nails or Rollins Band five years before. They nonetheless ushered in a different, volatile audience, who Scher invited and would later point many of his fingers at.
The documentary is rich with subtleties, and they are heavy between the two organizers. Lang passed the music duties to Scher. When the music got too rowdy, Scher blamed the musicians. When the audience protested against the conditions, he pinned it on a generation unwilling to grow up. Disregard the environment he and Lang helped create; a failed infrastructure and the lack of basic amenities — all byproducts of corporate greed.
Lang, who died a few months after he was interviewed, was meticulous with his answers. He met each question with unwavering eye contact and a hint of a smile. He prefaced each answer with a pregnant pause. If he had worn a Brooks Brothers suit, his demeanor would be mistaken for the head of a Fortune 500 company. Instead, he came off as Country Smart; only speaking of what he knew, what he wanted, and shrugging off the rest.
In 2016, I approached Lang to ask him about his plans for the 50th anniversary of the original Woodstock festival. News had already circulated in national magazines. Local outlets started speculating as to where he’d go next, with a heavy hint of NIMBYism. Rome was already a hard no. I was surprised by his quick response. He answered back, providing his personal email address, and asking ahead of time for my questions. After explaining my conversational style, I shared that I would ask about Woodstock ‘99.
He never answered back.
The writer is editor-at-large of Capital District Family Now.
Michael Lang, the Woodstock patriarch who brought it all together in 1969 (LEFT), said he wanted to recapture that spirit of peace, love and harmony. Woodstock ’99 (ABOVE) did not deliver.
NowFamily Capital DistriCt generations together Capital District Family Now is a unit of Community Media Group LLC. Published monthly. Deadline for advertising and calendar events is the 5th of the month preceding publication. Display advertising rates are available on request. Capital District Family Now reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason. We do not guarantee any of the information, services or products published in this or any issue. The opinions expressed by the contributors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this paper. © Copyright Capital District Family Now. No portion of Capital District Family Now may be reproduced without written permission from Community Media Group LLC. publisher | John McIntyre editor | Kristen Roberts
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