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Peekskill Girl Goes Retro

These days there can be so much retro in the clothes we wear that the style loses meaning to abundance. By definition, the 1940's and 50's custom-made dresses Alana Felton of Peekskill produces could easily fall into that category. But her Retro Shreds stand the most import test to originality that any girl could ask for.

One of her own biggest customers, she says, "Not a day goes by when some boy asks me out on a date."

At this point with a boyfriend of four years, she's not a taker but her original interest in dress design began on a much smaller scale when she was 10. "I sewed clothes for my dolls," she says.

Eventually, actual sized dolls - like herself - became a fit to her fashion sense. "I learned to sew grownup clothes when I was 16 and it took off from there," she says.

Starting with plaid and mini skirts, her high school interest in Punk Rock was the vehicle that let her time warp to where she wanted to be fashion-wise. It's a short step from old school Rock 'n Roll and then rockabilly, she says. Off that continuum, she took on a new look, and going back to the future, became a business through all the compliments she got from both boys and girls.

Officially, that would be in 2007 when she went to a rockabilly festival in North Carolina with nothing but a dress and a new business card. Nonetheless, she says, "I wouldn't sell my first dress until 2009."

In turn, with a dress like the "Goody-Goody" or the "Going Steady" a Retro Shred can eliminate a girls biggest fear. "You don't want to be caught out wearing something another girl is wearing," she says.

At Chucky Cheese or out to dinner on a date - probably not a big concern, but at a swing convention or square dance, the wrong retro could easily make a chick look like a copy. Starting with seven baseline dresses, she has a long conversation with the client to iron out the right fabric, trims, colors and buttons. So once she buys just the right amount of fabric, it takes a few weeks to make a dress that no one else in the world has.

Of course, what a great gift for a GI to give his girl but should a strong man really know how to sit down with her to custom piece a dress together? A gift certificate is so the boy can pick out a baseline dress for his riveter, she says, and Rosie can take it from there.

Either way, she'll make no judgment as to the fact that he always picks out the sexiest 50's dress, but it evens out as she finds a lot of girls are weary of dropping two or three hundred dollars on her designs.

As is, she sold nine dresses last year in between her work at the Peekskill Coffee House and the Coop at 103 South Division Street . It's just a small business, and I don't really have time to branch out, she says.

On the other hand, if she does get a sudden bump in sales, her wardrobe would be the only thing suffering the shortage of time. I still make most of my own clothes, she says, and I'm sewing all the time anyway. That's just as well, it seems there's no time for boys anyway.

Ato Essandoh of Copper Takes Pride in Role of Real Life African American Civil War Doctor

Ato Essandoh of BBC America’s Copper Takes Pride in Role of Real Life African American Civil War Doctor

 

By Rich Monetti

Ato Essandoh is (or was?) one of these actors who’s face you definitely know but appears before on screen with no name recognition. Movie roles in blockbuster films like Blood Diamond and Hitch have been frequently woven around TV appearances in shows such as Damages, The Good Wife and Law and Order. Most recently, the Schenectady born actor has emerged into a reoccurring role on Elementary with Lucy Lui. But now also playing Dr. Matthew Freeman on Copper has finally given him a permanent place to hang his shingle every week. Set in Civil War New York City, he couldn’t help but continue in that vein in accepting a small part in Django Unchained – even if it meant playing “the method” to a bloody conclusion. Actually mauled to death by a vicious dog as an oft escaped slave, Essandoh gladly met his untimely end in exchange for the chance to work with Quentin Tarantino. At least that’s what the internet reported.

 

Times Square(TS): I’m confused, I heard you were dead.

 

Ato Essandoh(AE): Yes, I’m calling from Heaven. Actually, I’m calling from Hell.

 

TS: Small gruesome role but I guess you really wanted to work with Tarantino.

 

AE: Hell yeah. There was no way I was turning that down.

 

TS: I get it. So you studied Chemical Engineering?

 

AE: Yes.

 

TS: Did you act before then?

 

AE: I didn’t. My girlfriend at the time dared me to do a play. I was on my way to a PhD at some point to become a professor or researcher, but that brought the acting bug out of me.

 

TS: What did your parents think?

 

AE: My parents went crazy but now they see me on TV, and they’re ok with it.

 

TS: I would think so, but when actors complain about the difficulty of their job, do you tell them to go try learning physics?

 

AE: All the time – especially when somebody is trying to memorize lines. I’m like dude, I did organic chemistry. You have no idea.

 

TS:  I studied Computer Science so I have a pretty good idea. Tell me about Copper’s Civil War setting.

 

AE: Outside of Gangs of New York, you have never really seen this side of the city. It was grimy and gritty – just a cesspool of disease and awful people in the Five Points section.

 

TS: Is it Copper as in Cop?

 

AE: Yeah from the copper badges, but the origin is still up in the air.

 

TS: I heard it stands for Constable on Parole. I mean patrol

 

AE: Parole, yeah that was how bad it was. The cops were like a gang too.

 

TS: So when you get this role of a black doctor, do you go look it up?

 

AE: Oh absolutely. I thought it wasn’t possible but there were actually six practicing African American doctors during the Civil War. Educated in Scotland, Freeman was the first with a degree, had a practice and wrote many papers excoriating a lot of the eugenics ideas that were being pushed by people like Thomas Jefferson.

 

TS: What’s it mean to you to play this part?

 

AE: It means a lot, and there’s a notion that it’s hard to be cast in meaty three dimensional roles as a minority actor. But here I am, offered this incredible role that’s not just a token character that appears once in a while to give some token advice or something. He actually has a life and struggles of his own to deal with. That then carries a responsibility to portray this as realistically as possible, and it’s hard not to feel pride that I get to represent this part of African American History on TV.

 

TS: How have you used personal experiences with racism to play Dr. Freeman?

 

AE: What I realize is that because I live in these times I haven’t experienced racism anything like then. So my character can’t pop off like if somebody used the N-word now. There’s a fine line you have to walk because you’d get lynched doing that.

 

TS: Do you have to remind yourself after a scene that it’s Bob the Irish actor who just spewed that horrible dialogue and not a real racist?

 

AE: What is funny, and kind of pisses me off, is I get people who apologize to me before doing a scene. I’ll be like Dude, you’re ruining it – I know it’s fake. Like there was this one actor approaching me, and you could see he was about to apologize. I cut him off – do not apologize. This is the only chance you’re going to get to call me that word and live to tell about it. So have at it.

 

TS: How do you feel about not having much name recognition?

 

AE: I love the anonymity because nobody knows who you are so you can get away with a lot more. Not to pick on Paris Hilton but imagine if she was an incredible actress, but because we know her so well, it would be hard for her to pull off playing - let’s say, Mother Theresa. It also helps in keeping me from becoming typecast, and resulted in all these amazing characters I’ve played.

 

TS: You’ve played the bad guy and the good. What do you like more?

 

AE: I’m a nice guy so to get away with playing a bad guy you have to find what makes you bad, which is way more interesting.

 

TS: Seems like Dr. Freeman is a nice guy.

 

AE: I get a lot of leeway – especially in the second season. He’ll be less perfect, more warts on display, which will make him even more compelling to play and watch.

 

TS: You ever get confused going from Elementary to Copper?

 

AE: I do. Sometimes I’ll be shooting in Toronto til late, and then I’m jumping right on a plane to New York. Dr. Freeman stands and talks completely different from the thuggy character on Elementary. You’re all jet lagged, and you essentially have to get into another body and mind. Then before you know, there’s a cell phone in your hand, and you’ve got to figure out who you are.

 

TS: When is the season premiere of Copper?

 

AE: June 23^rd

 

TS: I’m not just saying this, but how do I get BBC America?

 

AE: Call you’re cable company.

 

TS: Thanks, really nice talking to you.

 

AE: Nice talking to you too.

The Japanese Version of Godzilla is an “A” Movie with Bite

Easily available on Full Movies, we've all probably seen the original Godzilla - Hooky toy dinosaur, breathing lightning and smoke, as Tokyo is trampled. This all while Raymond Burr looks on paternally - knowingly equipped to save the model buildings and emasculated Japanese Army. But the comical B-movie farce we know actually owns a real story line, which was too much to bear for American censorship - leaving a brilliant piece of political commentary without any bite. 

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https://vocal.media/futurism/the-uncut-godzilla-1954-japanese-version-is-an-a-movie-with-bite?via=rich 

My Occupation of Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street kind of excites me but attending means a trek into the city. The distance would seem shorter if my like minded friend rode the train south with me. I was correct in assuming that he'd exercise unrest from his couch, but on Saturday, I finally set my sights on the occupation.

My first action was to get lost in lower Manhattan. I found a member of the 99% and asked for directions to the revolution. "Huh," was all the hotdog man could muster until he realized I was talking about "the big crowd over there."

Making my way past the tourists, I anticipated something big. I reached Zuccotti and was first struck by - I'm sad to say - body odor. I walked further and more of the same, but as I continued, that was it. Intermittent traces of body odor contained among a thousand people. Sorry detractors, you could say the same about the Subway and there's no talk of hosing down that undeniable vehicle of civilization, democracy and capitalism.

Overcoming the olfactory aspect of my initiation, I likened my next impression to going to a football game. On TV, football looks like this grand game far removed from mere mortals. But when seen live, you realize, it's just 22 men playing a game.

In other words, both come off less dramatic than when focused by the camera. Of course, that doesn't leave either devoid of the drama due it.

That said, seeing there were actually people living onsite was inspiring. I found two mic-checked speeches interesting and counted myself among a mass of people who probably hoped being there could make a difference. Signing numerous petitions also helped me justify my appearance.

A Laptop booth put a modern spin on revolution and kept a running count of online signatures. Importantly, a comment box enabled me to provide the cohesive message that I came prepared with in case the media - absent an ice pick - tried to portray me as a Trotskyite.

I didn't smell so there was little chance of that. But I had already devised one for the family derision I'll get from a group that last collectively nourished a novel when The Catcher in Rye came up on their high school syllabus - save one or two. Needless to say, I am surrounded by conservatives.

Nonetheless, my cohesion is this. The founders based our society on a balance and separation of power. Currently, our economic and political system is so dominated by money wielded by the rich that our republic is in danger of becoming something that exists only on paper.

In accordance, I looked for common ground from at least the "save one" from above. That would be my conservative brother. He believes many things that would upset liberals, but if you take him on, be ready because he'll put you in your place. He has a PhD in Math and devours books like they are Doritos at the mercy of a bong circle.

What he says about the 1% is that despite their shortcomings they are the ones who make the continental shifts that move the country. All those buildings above and transportation systems below didn't get there by following Jerry Garcia around in a fog or kicking the stuffing out of a Hacky Sack.

I agree and an efficient middle ground might have the 1% possessing half the political power instead of all of it. Luckily, attending OWS allowed me to place our disproportionate society in terms of a daily occurrence that all could understand. When I'm flipping radio stations and have a choice between Katie Perry and The Who, I choose Katie Perry.

Huh!

The Beatles first indoctrinated me in the 70's. I had my 15-20 albums and couldn't get enough of the old Album Orientated Rock format. Due to my economics and the corporate control of Rock, that amounts to a pretty small sampling.

So by the mid 80's, classic rock became a repetitive droning that only the likes of the latest Katie Perry could cure. So who cares? Sitting down to the Hari Krishna song circle at OWS provides the answer.

It was rhythmic, soulful and uplifting. Who knew? The point is the corporate controlled art form that Jack Black held so dear limited us to 200 songs to maximize profit. In turn, the shortened play lists that incurs less risk has made Lady Gaga seem more talented than Neil Pert. Me being swayed by Hari Krishna music shows I've been thrown out of balance and so has our country.

July 4th America in pictures

Peekskill Stills

Baseball’s Turn to Say it Ain’t So for Joe Jackson

Joe Jackson was likely involved in a plot to throw the 1919 World Series.  He, along with his White Sox cohorts, had to be suspended permanently for the survival of the game. But almost a hundred years later, can we lift the ban and give him a plaque in the hall.  There’s simply far more significant wrongs to make this a right.

As is, A. Bart Giamatti declined Jackson’s reinstatement in 1989, Bud Selig kept the consideration under review during his tenure and current commissioner Rob Manfred officially rejected the last petition.  Come on, the utter hypocrisy.

Let’s begin with baseball’s original sin.  The first ban on black players was instituted in 1867 by Pennsylvania State Convention of Baseball in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The official ban at the major league level occurred in 1890. The final straw, among a number of player mutinies, happened when the St. Louis Browns refused to take the field against the New York Cuban Giants.

I wonder if this action altered the outcome of any baseball games in the next 56 years.

This abomination in place, the players then got what they deserved when the owners missed the outcome of the Civil War.  The Reserve Clause had its partial beginnings in 1879 and served as baseball’s Peculiar Institution for the next 95 years.

Of course, the U.S. Government didn’t find it a laughing matter when the Federal League sued the National League to apply the Sherman Antitrust Act to baseball. Preventing companies from colluding to set prices or pay scales, the Supreme Court ruled that baseball was amusement and not interstate commerce. 

Someone should tell that to owners who ran Curt Flood out of the game when he challenged this system of legalized slavery. Charles Comiskey might take note also.

At the time, the rest of the baseball could.  Forcing his players to launder their own uniforms, the White Sox responded in accordance to their stingy owner and were known to have the filthiest uniforms in the major leagues.

The amenities aside, salaries were certainly not commensurate with the powerhouse that the White Sox were to the era. But Comiskey could make his case easy enough, according to Tim Hornbaker’s Turning the Black Sox : The Misunderstood Legacy of Charles A. Comiskey  “"Not every athlete deserved the money they thought they were personally worth, and it was up to a discerning owner to figure out who truly merited the big bucks," Hornbaker affectionately conveys Comiskey’s reasoning.

Such logic works perfectly in the absence of the free market. You know, the same place where Hornbaker can easily judge the value of his work, and the location of the banks that the owners laughed all way to.

Anecdotally, Ty Cobb made 20,000 a year and Joe Jackson, his certain equal, made a paltry $6,000. Comiskey also sat out his star pitcher Eddie Cicotte to prevent him from winning his 30^th game and earning a $10,000 bonus.

Window dressing to the larger crimes, again I’m not arguing against the immediacy that Jackson’s infraction required, but isn’t it time we let it go. Is there really a danger that baseball players will suddenly miss the message Commissioner Landis sent a hundred years ago – especially since the free market largely legislates the issue out of existence.

Pete Rose takes care of the rest of the problem, but if Joe Jackson continues to be left out of the hall, we diminish far more significant areas where baseball itself should be saying it ain’t so.

More Bridge Lane

The Meetles Can't Be Beat in the NYC Subway System

A lot of times just the thought of descending into the subway can compound the complexities of living in New York City. But not even the spirit of the most hardened New Yorker can be sunk as the sounds of live Beatle's music rises to greet them every Friday and Saturday night at the Times Square and Herald Square Subways.

The four man, two woman recreation is known as The Meetles. “It’s a play on the Beatle’s album, “Meet the Beatles,” says the band's drummer Eric Paulin.

With the numbers and gender identity obviously off, the Meetles make no attempt to recreate the long ago visuals. “It’s more like a people’s Beatle's cover band,” he says.

And he’s not the only one who stacks the Meetles up against more polished productions such as Broadway’s Rain. “We have more rough edges," he says, "but people who’ve seen both are very charmed by the organic quality of what we are doing."

The four hour long party among the masses has got to go along way toward accomplishing that. On the other hand, the subway presents the Meetles with the same types of survival of the fittest issues that the rest of us face.

Aside from the rough atmosphere, non sanctioned freelance artists attempt to infringe on their space. "Sometimes they give us grief, and we have to get the cops to help us,” he says. "So it can turn into a bit of a scene."

The fact that most of the cops love the Beatles, and their act eases the eviction, but no wave of blue support can warm their chilled instruments or frozen digits when winter sets in.  Although it is summer that truly gives the band pause.  Adding 20 degrees to the New York City heat and humidity, he says, "you have to be extremely careful and pace yourself because a heart attack is definitely in play."

That said, the middle aged Meetles still go at it full tilt. Keeping the breaks very short and enduring the cold and heat almost every weekend throughout the year, he says, "I truly believe this is the hardest working band in the subway."

But it must suffice in order to sustain what the Meetles are after. "We get a crowd. We want to keep the crowd," he says. "So yes we want to make money, but we also want to keep up the fun and good spirits."

Metrocards submerged, Meetlemania puts destinations on hold and tapping feet on the move – even if New York has dealt them yet another difficult hand. "A lot of people come up to us and say 'we’re having a miserable time but you just made you our day,'" he relays.

The Meetles, who definitely dabble into other feel good classic Rock 'n Roll, were unfortunately born out of the worst day in Beatle history. Every December 8^th (and on John Lennon’s Birthday) musicians from all over converge on Strawberry Fields in Central Park. There they play homage to the fallen Beatle. Paulin has been doing it since 1998, and the first stages of the Meetles grew out of that. "We played there so many times that we decided to get together and do some projects," he said.

By 2007, they would go on to become a house band at various Beatle Meetups, (which also serves in the origins of the name), and in 2009 Paulin convinced the first iteration of the Meetles to play the subway. "All those people checking you out and digging what you are doing," he said, "band mates liked the gig."

But he concedes that the first Meetles were not quite there. Additionally, playing in the subway created a different type of groupie that always kept things in flux. "So many fans wanted to play in the band," he says, "and it just got way too loud and big."

Settled on six for about a year, which includes his wife Naomi on base, the dollars pile up in varying degrees. “Sometimes the money is ok, and sometimes it’s very good, he says.

In contrast, the Meetles met up with a little more financial bulk when a producer from 30 Rock saw the show in the subway and invited them to play the rap party.  "They didn’t get to see us in all our Times Square glory, where we're getting a 150 people going, but they all liked the music and were very cool to us," he said.

Still, their most connected acknowledgement came quietly in the form of a simple gesture. "She stopped for 30 seconds, smiled and gave us a peace sign,” he says as Yoko Ono passed them playing at Strawberry fields in 2005.

A day in the life the Meetles won't even try to beat

John Tortorella Couldn’t Get the New York Rangers to Follow His Lead but His Press Conferences Said a Lot About the Media

The Rangers just fired John Tortorella. He refused to yield his style to the makeup of the team roster and got what he deserved. But I'm definitely going to miss his press conferences and not just for the entertainment value.

Why is it necessary - especially in the playoffs - to stick a press conference in the face of an athlete who's just suffered a devastating loss? All you're going to learn is whether an athlete can manage the pain of a loss.

How enlightening. It's like watching a train wreck, and as we judge, most of us would not do much better.

But real train wrecks are probably exciting, and Tortorella's definitely qualify. He was vintage after a brutal loss in last year's playoffs.

Reporter: Did you feel this was the kind of effort you needed to win tonight?

Tortorella: No.

(The final score should have made that obvious.)

Reporter: After the great effort in game four, are you disappointed with what your team brought tonight?

Tortorella: Didn't I answer that the first time?

Apparently not and there's plenty more of that on Youtube.

Of course, the media is definitely serving the fans when we gain insight into the decision making process at crucial junctures in a game. Why was a ball cutoff or how come you passed on that three?

Hearing from the winner probably has value too, but I do not need a coach reluctantly explaining how the defense looked in the first half. "Well, we have to do a better job fighting over screen and switching on the pick and roll."

No kidding and do I really need half the screened blocked off when the interview runs into the third quarter.

Nonetheless, there must be a demand for this. Are we so sure?

As soon as I hear an athlete is about to be interviewed on sports radio, I turn it off. It's not that they have nothing to say, but uttering anything the least bit interesting could find a leadoff hitter awakening from a coma two days later - "Rawlings" knowingly imprinted on their forehead.

Either way, we in New York take pride in the demands made of our athletes, and the relentless reporting of our media verifies our passion. But does it really serve us?

It seems that 27 Yankee championships provide the proof. How then do explain the Knicks, Rangers, Mets, Nets and Jets.

Conversely, The San Antonio Spurs, St. Louis Cardinals, Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils say something all together different…A vigilant media has very little to do with success - especially since an owner can never be fired.

Furthermore, how many athletes have been run out without a fair chance? But New York will never be St. Louis and I'm glad. How pathetic is it that they never boo their own. No matter, a kinder, gentler fan base means little if a player doesn't have the goods.

So where am I going with this? Seeing the Tortorella press conferences gave me delusions of grandeur. Athletes and coaches would follow suit, and we'd be spared the spectacle of the media and leagues thinking that they are delivering something compelling.

Never going to happen, but this all doesn't mean I don't want to take part in the agony. I just believe it's done best through the emotional analysis of the sports radio personality or similarly suffering columnist - not in reveling in the discomfort of the athlete who fell short.

And if all you care about is pain, Ranger season tickets are on sale now.

Valley Girl Brings you Back and Makes you Believe

Ah the 1980’s, did they ever happen and did that long lost girl really exist? I recently dialed up 1983’s Valley Girl to find out if I actually lived through them and came out the other side.

It’s the old story of the boy from the wrong side of the Hollywood sign who tries to woo the valley girl from the right. In 1985, my first viewing of Nicholas Cage as “Randy” made me believe and definitely “stopped the world” in Modern English.

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Tarrytown - North Broadway

Stop with the Voter Fraud Nonsense

In a democracy, like professional sports, if you’re not cheating you’re not trying.  So I don’t blame Republicans for trying to suppress voters through Photo ID laws. Trying to rig the system, it’s what you do – just ask FDR, LBJ, JFK and George W. Bush. But what I do take issue with is Americans who buy the Republican line that voter fraud is an issue that can skew our elections. It’s just not how political parties have gone about it historically.

According to a New York Times 2007 analysis, only 120 cases were filed with the justice department over a five year period. That said, I don’t think this necessarily makes my point. Voter fraud attempts to go undetected and cases filed can’t be used to determine the total number.

That’s where common sense comes in. First of all, in a country where less than 50% of the population votes in presidential elections, people are actually going to peruse the state to cast multiple votes. Please?

That entirely leaves a concerted effort from above. Let’s examine a state election. The New York State race for governor had 3.5 million voter turnout in 2014.  So in an election with a 1% margin, approximately 17,500 votes would have to be altered.

The endeavor then becomes a matter of dividing up the labor. 3,500 people enlisted to vote 5 times, 1,750 to vote ten, etc. No matter, you now have a conspiracy consisting of thousands of people.

That means each person will have to be vetted, and just because they take part, doesn’t mean they’ll be mum if the authorities start poking around. In addition, what of those that decline you’re offer? This leaves your conspiracy far from water tight and puts the organizers in a pretty untenable position.A conspiracy on this grand scale must also carry penalties that escalate in kind.

The practical alternatives have been historically abound and typically involve getting control of ballot boxes. The Lyndon Johnson-Coke Stevenson Senatorial Election of 1948 is my favorite.

Detailed in Robert Caro’s Means of Ascent, Stevenson held a 20,000 vote lead and results only remained from San Antonio, where Johnson lost by a 2-1 margin in the first primary. Instead, the rout was turned to an 87 vote victory for Johnson. 

This had various county officials casting ballots for multitudes of absent voters.  One precinct’s entire results suddenly appearing – almost all in favor of Johnson.  Additionally, there were numerous areas like Jim Wells County where Johnson received 200 more votes when a seven in the hundreds place was changed to a 9.

And even though a Federal District Court ordered Johnson’s name off the general election pending an investigation, Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black voided the move.  

But in a modern sense, Florida Attorney General Katherine Harris takes the cake in the 2000 Presidential election in which a computer program keyed on ex-felon names to do a mass purge on the voter rolls. Only using last names and since a highly disproportionate amount of the prison population is African American, 47,000 likely and legal Democratic voters were disenfranchised along with the felons.

Of course, not even a 7^th grade programmer would make that mistake, but the manipulation provided enough plausible deniability to escape punishment and throw the election to George Bush. So much for mobilizing thousands of people when you can be thousands of more times effective by feigning stupidity or making sure key supporters have proximity to the count.  The same goes for perpetrating a mass disenfranchisement by raising the level of a false threat and disenfranchising people who are more likely to vote Democratic.

I hope this clears up question as to the motives of the Republican Party, and if you’re still not deterred, here’s your options.

The first is you think the Democrats have their own versions of voter fraud, and you feel this is fair game, which I think is a valid point of view.

That leaves that two possibilities – either you don’t believe in Democracy or you’re a racist.

Mt. Kisco Childcare Makes a Trip to the Wolf Conservatory in South Salem

The Mt. Kisco Childcare After School program took a trip on Wednesday to the Wolf Conservatory Center in South Salem, and six year old Adrianna was not hesitant to let her affections known despite fables such as Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. “They are so cute, soft and fuzzy,” she said. But unfortunately the human race has long chosen to believe fairy tales rather than trying to understand the wolf, and we have nearly pushed the species to extinction as a result.

America once home to 250,000 wolves, the number dwindled to 500 by 1970 as fear won out. “People thought wolves wanted to eat us,” Teddy shared what he learned.

But the truth historically cowers like a wolf pup in the face of his alpha’s stern tail.  “Wolves are afraid of us,” said Joseph B as he actually witnessed Alawa keeping his distance behind the chained linked fence that cordons off 20 acre sanctuary.

The myth dispensed for the kids, the reality of disappearing wolves began to clue humans in on the important role the canines play in the ecosystem. For instance, the hunting and killing of wolves in Yellowstone National Park caused the elk population to explode and decimated the plant life as herbivores had free reign to feed.

In turn, smaller animals moved on as their food supply disappeared.

The early 70s finally had the park realizing their mistake and introducing wolves back in brought Yellowstone back to its original splendor. “The park healed itself,” said Spencer the conservatory guide.

Taking the information in, Joe C had an idea of his own to bring the wolf back nationwide. “We can speak to everyone, and tell them not to hurt wolves,” said the third grader.

But if he could speak wolf, he has a pretty good idea what they might say after the poor way we’ve treated them. “We give you a lot of love so why don’t you give some back,” he pretended.

So as might be expected, the humans failed in their attempts to open a dialogue – the wolves mostly ignoring the chorus of human howls. “They knew we were people, and we couldn’t fool them,” Camilla said of the three wolves who made a quiet appearance before the kids.

25 more making the conservatory their home, being fruitful and multiplying doesn’t have the population growing exponentially, according to Spencer.  “When pups are born, some are taken from the litter and are introduced in the wild in North Carolina,” he says. “This works pretty well to get them acclimated to nature.”

Those left behind get three squares a week, which usually comes from all the dead dear found on the local highways. The hunting part no longer part of family dinner, the hierarchical structure still exists to divvy up the meal. “An alpha male and an alpha female head up the packs and act like a mom and dad, while older siblings also look after the young,” said Spencer.

As such, Grace R could see herself in the alpha mom role. “I would be strict and nice because some puppies need love and some need discipline – just like kids,” said the 8 year old.

Victoria M wasn’t sure about all that, but she knew what she would do if she was a wolf. “I’d howl at the moon,” said the first grader.

No harm in that – a lesson the rest of us need to learn when it comes to wolves.

Trip to Hungary

Somers - Drive Down Valley Pond

Sorry, The Force Awakens Put me to Sleep

On Sunday, I went to see Star Wars Episode 7.  The reviews and commentary on Facebook overwhelmingly positive, I still entered with a significant degree of restraint given the catastrophe of the prequels.

Let me divulge of few things first before rendering my decision. First, I love JJ Abrams.  Lost and the Reboot of Star Trek is all I’ll ever need.  Secondly, I’ve gone to quite a few very good movies and disliked them the first time.  Among them include, The Big Lebowski, Unforgiven, Fargo, Ocean’s 11 and even The Wrath of Khan. I have an idea of what the movie is going to be, and of course, I’m disappointed.  A second viewing usually does the trick though.

Read more : https://vocal.media/futurism/star-wars-the-force-awakens-put-me-to-sleep?via=rich

Word Origins put you in the Catbird Seat

Point Blank Range - The term derives from French middle age usage. Blanc translates to white and refers to the white circle found at the center of a target. Point references the point of an arrow. So if the point was aligned to the blanc on the target, the archer would hit it as long as he was close enough where gravity wouldn't come into play. In other words the shot was taken at point blank range

Indian Giver - This offensive term means giving a gift and then deciding you want it back. Its evolution has morphed from the misguided idea that the Indians gave us America and then wanted it back. But the real origin arose from the travels of Lewis and Clark. Indian tradition saw gift giving as an extension of trade. So the tandem felt slighted that Indians expected a reciprocation of equal value when for any gift presented. This was contrary to the idea that the giving of a gift from the European point of view could be left at that. This clash of cultural value gave rise to the term.

Dressed to the Nines - It was once said that tailors required nine yards of material to make a suit. So the more material used, the more impressive the attire, and the designation of a well dressed person ensued.

In the Nick of Time – In old England, meals began with pudding, which at the time consisted of a sausage or haggis stew. So if you made it for the beginning of the meal, you had arrived at “pudding time.”

The term was abridged to designate a more precise arrival than simply getting their about the time dinner started. As such, a nick referred to the manner in which people kept score by notching or cutting a surface. At the same time, pudding started to refer to a sweet dessert, which created an obvious discrepancy between the beginning and end of a meal. So nick replaced pudding and sufficed to describe getting there just under the wire.

Sitting in the Catbird Seat.  This has its origins in the American South.  Catbirds are proficient at imitation and their nemesis – the cat – is who they chiefly mock. Proudly, the catbird elevates to the highest perch so as to emote their preeminence. Once there, it is said, they have reached the cat bird seat – or in human terms – reaching the optimal position to sit pretty.

Kick the Bucket – Contrary to what some believe, it likely does not originate from the idea that someone would stand on a bucket and kick it away in order to hang themselves. In 16th Century Engand bucket also meant beam from the French trebuchet. Thus, animals awaiting slaughter hung from their feet until the fatal blow, and the final struggle was said to culminate when the animal’s death rattle kicked the bucket.

Firefly doesn't Flicker out in 2005 Film

As a science fiction fan, I was partially aware of Firefly’s cult status, and when coming across the movie adaptation a few years later, I was compelled to watch the 2005 sleeper. 

In the face of 26th Century overpopulation, human beings sought open outer space, and like in the settling of the American West, outliers resisted the centralization of government control. Devastating war ensued before “the Alliance” formerly brought human kind under the authority of “civilization.”

Read more : https://vocal.media/futurism/serenity-picks-up-where-firefly-let-off?via=rich

A bit of Hungary

Billy Idol at the Beacon

Romanticizing Guns – Don’t be so sure of your Amore

Guns, how some people lose all perspective at any consideration of curtailing them. Frustrated and exasperated, I try to understand and seek the psychology behind such irrational thinking. In my opinion, one aspect derives of over glorified historical interpretation. So I’m going to make my argument.  But the chance it makes an impact beyond my bubble are about as small as the possibility that Obama-care will provide enough penal implants to actually alleviate our gun crisis. Nonetheless…

We had a revolution. An armed populace certainly played its part, and that gets a rise out of every NRA member who lives to leave off the well-regulated militia part.

But revolution - did we really need one? Yes, the founding fathers had some pretty nifty ideas. The bill of rights and, separation of powers come to mind first. But my favorite is the protection of minority rights (or opinion), which is a crucial guard against the type of mob rule that has unraveled democracies to the present day.

On the other hand, people like George Washington took a look around the Ohio Valley during the French and Indian war and saw the opportunity to pad their patriotism with some sort of monetary successor to English poundage

And how much did they really care about having the consent of the common man when one man, one vote applied only to property owners. Still, a little democracy is better than none, and ours continues to evolve.

But patience wasn’t necessarily providing a murderous platform for Pol Pot or Stalin. The colonists were subjects of the crown and not being bled dry like South Africans at the bottom of a diamond mine. In fact, according to David McCullough’s 1776, when the British soldiers came to New York, they found the richest people in the world and had no idea why there was a revolt.

Additionally, England was clearly on its own way to a separation of power. Doesn't anybody remember, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Hey, they were talking about England.

So a whole lot of people got dead because rich people wanted to be more rich. In contrast, Canada signed the British North America act in 1867 to gain their Independence.

Who says the pen isn't mightier than the saber. But that's not really the point. Gun people romanticize the American Revolution, and the flint lock when waiting out a relatively benign authority would have worked out just as well for the rank and file.

Putting aside that the NRA does the same with its members by using their dues to lobby more profits for the gun industry, let's go west.

The gun had to be an essential tool to live the frontier. Hunting and the law sparse in the vast open space, the six shooter defines independence and self-reliance. Throwing off the yoke of the eastern elites makes the nostalgia all the more noble too.

But if you remember, a whole lot of space had to be cleared of indigenous people, and the Homestead Act is nothing short of an occupying force. So you're right, guns don't kill people, people kill people. This means you’re once again romanticizing the role the gun played - this time under the guise of genocide.

Now, I wish I was in Dixie. Given that three million human beings were being held in bondage, Southerners biggest fear was the real possibility of an all-out race war. The availability of guns certainly had to help allay the fear.  The same might have been said of ending of slavery, but replacing the curious institution with terror and segregation might not have so easily settled southerners.

Instead, they clung to their guns. Any chance the underlying fear is still there? Of course not, racism is gone. The southern strong hold just wants to be able to shoot rabbits with semi-automatics and put the final bow on the just society that President Obama ushered in when he walked into the White House.

So there you are. The key historical allusions that put such a strut in your red state open carry ties to fighting a war that was far from a necessity, an imperialistic expansion that nearly wiped out an entire continent and an inbred racism that you still cannot let go of.

I’m happy to clarify this for you…You’re welcome.

Star Trek : The Motion Picture Searches for the Original Series and Finds it

I was so into Star Trek as a kid – and its tragedy of lasting only 79 episodes – that I used to dream my own original episodes in REM sleep. Always awakened to the disappointment that the nocturnal adventure didn't really exist, it’s still unfathomable to me that when Star Trek : The Motion Picture came out, I didn’t go see it.

I can only imagine how the space time continuum of my consciousness would have erupted had I actually been present before the big screen for what I consider the 80th and final episode of Star Trek.

Instead, I saw it four years later – slightly more mature – and not completely engaged among all the goings on in my college dorm. Bored by the pace, I kept walking away – even while my Star Trek compatriot of a roommate implored me to stick with it.

Stunned by the ending, I realized that I lost the chance to actually see one of those dreams become real, and my awe would always have to be retroactive and after the fact. Today, I reaffirmed those feelings and my reverence for this film.

In doing so, I know I’m distinctly among the minority in terms of Trekkie's.

Yes, Star Trek II and IV are wildly entertaining, but they and the others are mostly soap operas in search of superficial friendship, manufactured feelings of family and grandiose visions of galactic congeniality. Ok, so was the TV series. The difference is 60's Star Trek was done by grinding out real conflict among the cast.

Star Trek:TMP shares this approach. Meaning, Kirk comes right out looking to kick some ass and not entirely in terms of the planetary threat involved. He wants the Enterprise and takes it. Unlike in Star Trek II when Kirk usurps Captain Spock, James Tiberius doesn’t ask sitting Enterprise Captain Will Decker how he feels about it, he just does it.

Going from this baseline, William Shatner recreates the command presence found at the helm of Star Trek’s original five year mission. At the same time, while always remaining open to discussion, the later films made Kirk seem like a consensus builder and put the main characters outside the triumvirate of Spock, Kirk and Bones on almost equal footing.

In earlier contrast, Sulu, Checkov and Uhura saw Kirk as their captain. They look to him for courage, inspiration and leadership - not a place at the three dimensional chessboard to chit chat. That’s real and only The Motion Picture has this crucial element that helped make Captain Kirk such an enduring figure.

And then of course, the most important lacking in the remaining sequels is something called Science Fiction. Of course, we know Trek two through six has whales, genesis and God, but TMP tries to truly penetrate what it means to be human – and actually searches.

Equally important, TMP largely does this within the confines of the Enterprise’s bridge - just like the series.

Of course, the humor is there – provided mostly in this adventure by the cynical, probing exchanges surrounding Bones, and true to form, it doesn’t overshadow the main course of bringing sense to the universe. 

On the downside, Spock is somewhat of a dolt but that's simply because Leonard Nimoy is trying to make sense of a character that is supposed to be lost.

Despite his failure and the fact that the plot is partially lifted from an original episode, all is forgiven as the omnipotent entity threatening the earth is stunningly unraveled in the simplest possible human terms. "Is this all that I am, is there nothing more," Spock voices the alien's disposition and reason for menace.

A question that's familiar to both gods and men, according to the stunted Spock - or just another day at the office for the Star Trek we grew up with and didn't really get until The Next Generation arrived. 

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