Chronogram February 2006

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Retreat includes: • 7 nights in cozy, chic bungalows steps from the Caribbean Sea. • 3 delicious vegetarian meals a day, prepared by local chefs • 21⁄2-hour morning Vinyasa flow classes.

• 11⁄2-hour evening Level 1 restorative classes.

• 4-hour bike tour to the Mayan Ruins.

• Free time to enjoy a massage, relax at the beach, travel to the nearby cenotes or shop for local goods in the nearby town.

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FOUNDERS Jason Stern & Amara Projansky

PUBLISHER

Jason Stern

EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Brian K. Mahoney ART DIRECTOR

David Perry NEWS & POLITICS EDITOR

Lorna Tychostup ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Susan Piperato CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Jim Andrews MUSIC EDITOR

Sharon Nichols BOOKS EDITOR

Nina Shengold WHOLE LIVING EDITOR

Lorrie Klosterman POETRY EDITOR

Phillip Levine COPY EDITOR

Andrea Birnbaum INTERNS

Alysabeth Anderson, Lara Buongiorno, Jenna Hecker, Brianne Johnson PROOFREADERS

Marly Booth-Levy Laura McLaughlin, Barbara Ross

PRODUCTION PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

FIONN REILLY

Yulia Zarubina-Brill PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Kiersten Miench PRODUCTION DESIGNERS

Jim Maximowicz, Julie Novak

PUBLISHING ADVERTISING SALES

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Julian Handschuh does a back 180 over the barrier at TSX.

Jamaine Bell, Ralph Jenkins OFFICE MANAGER

Lisa Mitchel-Shapiro TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR

Justin Zipperle

NEWS AND POLITICS

20 SEEING ONLY EVIL Lorna Tychostup interviews former CIA agent Robert Baer.

The recent film Syriana is loosely based on Baer's memoir See No Evil.

COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK

26 SAVING FACE Jay Blotcher profiles Dr. M.T. Abraham, a local plastic surgeon who went to Guatemala last fall to reconstruct the faces of poor children.

28 ART OF BUSINESS Jonathan D. King rolls down to the TSX RockMusic SkateShop and SkatePark in Kingston.

ARTS & CULTURE

WHOLE LIVING GUIDE

32 PORTFOLIO Fawn Potash waxes photographic.

72 THE REAL HYPNOSIS Lorrie Klosterman chats with local hypno-

34 LUCID DREAMING Beth E. Wilson ponders the liquid rubber

therapists about tapping into personal power and wellness.

sculptures of Victoria Palermo at John Davis Gallery in Hudson.

76 INNER VISION Deep Ecology explores the sacred in nature.

37 GALLERY DIRECTORY What's hanging around the region.

BUSINESS SERVICES

40 MUSIC Sharon Nichols reports on the youth-rock scene at the

65 TASTINGS A directory of what’s cooking and where to get it.

Garage Rumble. Plus Nightlife Highlights and CD reviews.

44 BOOKS Nina Shengold uncovers a softer side of Mary Gaitskill,

78 WHOLE LIVING DIRECTORY For the positive lifestyle.

92 BUSINESS DIRECTORY A compendium of advertiser services.

author of the National Book Award-nominated Veronica.

THE FORECAST

46 BOOK REVIEWS Falling Palace: A Romance of Naples by Dan

99 DAILY CALENDAR Listings of local events. Plus previews of up-

Hofstadter; America: A Prophecy—The Sparrow Reader, edited by Marcus Boon; The Hudson: A History by Tom Lewis.

50 FICTION Different by Chris Brandon Whitaker.

54 POETRY Poems by local poets..

62 FOOD Jennifer May talks seafood with local fishmongers.

LODGING GUIDE 56 A COMPENDIUM OF HOTELS, INNS, AND B&Bs.

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coming performances and exhibits by Lou Reed, Denison Witmer, Corso de Palenzuela, "The Skin of Our Teeth," and more.

PLANET WAVES HOROSCOPES 110 ALL DOGS NEED JOBS Eric Francis Coppolino examines the significance of the Year of the Dog: 2006. Plus horoscopes.

PARTING SHOT 116 NEWBURGH: TIME & AGAIN Vintage photographs of the historic Hudson River port restored by Matthew Benson.

OFFICE ASSISTANT

Matthew Watzka CONTRIBUTORS Adam Allington, Emil Alzamora, Erica Avery, Matthew Benson, Jay Blotcher, Michael H. Brownstein, Eric Francis Coppolino, DJ Wavy Davy, Philip Ehrensaft, Hillary Harvey, Mike Jurkovic, Jonathan D. King, Jason Kremkau, Donald Lev, Dennis Lucas, Jennifer May, Susan Pilewski, Anne Pyburn, Robert Pucci, Fionn Reilly, Pete Remler, Kenneth Salzmann, Carl Schnedeker, Dash Shaw, d.n. simmers, Andy Singer, Sparrow, J. Spica, Heather Spoor, Reagan Upshaw, Beth E. Wilson, Bill Yake ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2006

LU M I N A R Y

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MARCH 2006 DEADLINE February 13 SUBSCRIPTIONS $36 / 12 issues ADVERTISING RATES Available upon request.

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On the Cover

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Photo by Jason Kremkau | www.jasonkremkau.com

tephen Spaccarelli used 495 sawed-off glass water bottles to create Vessels, a mixed-media sculpture (pictured on the cover and above) on display through February 11 at Yellow Bird Gallery, 19 Front St., in Newburgh.The glasses in Vessels are suspended by filament from the ceiling in the gallery's atrium, with water dripping from a reservoir into the glasses and a pool below. Spaccarelli said that sound, and how people would experience the piece in the space were his guiding influences in the construction of Vessels. "When I first saw the [Yellow Bird] space, I wanted to drop water and fill the space with sound. I wanted to create a choir of vessels." www.stephenspaccarelli.com; www.yellowbirdgallery.com

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Editor’s Note

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The truth is all that matters. —James Frey, A Million Little Pieces

ate in January I drove up to Catskill to interview Fawn Potash for this month’s Portfolio (p. XX).

A gifted artist and photographer, Potash told me while we were discussing her recent work—photographs covered with layers of encaustic and oil—that the truth wasn’t interesting to her, at least not in the tangible, photographic/journalistic sense. She was more interested in the “fictional truth” she said, a “kind of metaphoric understanding,” the type a novelist would attempt through the use of plot, characterization, and imagery.

The contradiction did not register until later that day. While I sympathized with Potash laying claim to the tools and justifications of the novelist in eschewing the representational pretense of “straight” photography—her spare, bewitching scenes do have a strong narrative element—those two heavily freighted words strung together, fictional truth, were the cause of some serious cognitive dissonance. The oxymoronic quality of fictional truth (like tight slacks, or plastic glasses) stuck in my craw, but it had less to do with Potash’s description of her work than with the curious contexts I’m finding the word truth in these days.

(NB: I do not wish to spar with those who would defend the uses of fiction. As a lover of literature myself and a veteran of many a course on critical theory in my former, carefree life as an English major, I believe I know, on an almost intuitive level, fiction’s unique ability to create vivid simulacra of life more revealing of human nature than the most diligently researched biography. For instance: If you want to get a glimpse into the workings of the adolescent female mind, read Margaret Atwood’s Cat’s Eye. The same case can also be made for the power of fictional reality in painting, film, or any of the arts. No one would confuse the magical, icon-laden landscapes of outsider artist Corso de Palenzuela with pictorially accurate depictions of pre-revolutionary Cuba, for instance, but his fanciful compositions tell stories not available to nonfiction. (Sparrow offers an appreciation of De Palenzuela’s work on p. 103). Syriana, a recent film based on the memoirs of former CIA agent Bob Baer (whom Lorna Tychostup interviews on p. 20) is a bit trickier to pin down in the fictional category as its fictionalized reality corresponds to what many believe to be true, but the film is clearly labeled a fiction by its creators nonetheless.)

The fictional truth that stuck in my craw, of course, was that of James Frey. For those who don’t follow the media industry in the same breathless manner that I do, here’s what happened to Frey: In 1992, Frey checked into rehab in Minnesota for addiction to drugs and alcohol. At some point prior to this, Frey lost his first love in a train wreck, was a wanted man in three states, had a double root canal without anesthesia (against treatment-program rules), fell in love with a doomed crack whore, spent three months in jail after hitting a police officer with his car while drunk driving, blew a .36 on a Breathalyzer, earning him the “County Record.” In May 2003, Frey published a memoir of his he-drinks-to-conquer recovery drama, A Million Little Pieces. Last September, Oprah picked Pieces for her book club. Since its publication, the book has sold 3.5 million copies, and was only slightly outsold in 2005 by the latest installment in another coming-of-age story, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

The problem with Frey’s memoir, however, is that it’s a tissue of lies; aside from checking into rehab and selling tanker loads of books, Frey made it all up—his jail time, his root canal, etc. (Is this the first time someone’s credibility has been brought into question by the fact that he didn’t do jail time?) Once the truth was outed by the Smoking Gun website on January 8, things in the realm of fictional truth got very interesting. Frey went on “Larry King Live” to defend the inaccuracies in his memoir, labeling his memoir a “subjective retelling of events.” Oprah phoned in to lend support to her embattled author. “The underlying message of redemption in James Frey’s memoir still resonates with me,” she said. “And I know it resonates with millions of other people who have read the book. That is real.”

What gets lost here, however, is this truth. Memoirs are supposed to be true—any librarian will tell you that these types of books are found in the nonfiction section. Frey wrote an autobiographical novel; a storybook, not a fact book. But to Oprah (and a large number of her book club members, I assume), the fact that it’s not true is seemingly beside the point. The fact that the book has an emotional truth, albeit a fabricated one, is paramount, because emotional truth sells.

It works in politics as well as publishing. Another person who understands the value of emotional truth is our president, whose major rhetorical innovation is to use emotional truth as a stand-in for the real thing—think of the administration’s discredited arguments to wage war in Iraq: WMDs, freedom for Iraqis, security in the Middle East, safety from terror.

The administration is currently peddling its latest emotional truth: Eavesdropping without warrants on its own citizens is protecting us from terrorists. That domestic surveillance is most likely illegal, is, like the truth in Frey’s case, beside the point—if you can get people to believe in the emotional truth of your story, that’s all that counts. And that’s just what the administration is trying to do, according to the New York Times: “Whether the White House can succeed depends on its success in framing a complicated debate.

Americans may be willing to support extraordinary measures—perhaps extralegal ones—if they are posed in the starkest terms of protecting the nation from another calamitous attack.”

The government knows it must convince us of the emotional truth of its need to tap our phones. The narrative it’s selling is simple: In order to be secure, we must give up a piece of our freedom. I don’t know about you, but I’ll stick with nonfiction.

One final oxymoron: warrantless wiretapping.

—Brian K. Mahoney 2/06 CHRONOGRAM 15

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Tees, Long Sleeve Tees, Baby Tees, Long Sleeve Baby Tees, Hoodies.

Design by David Perry.

Printing by Circulation.

Garments by American Apparel.

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Esteemed Reader Beauty is truth, truth beauty—that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

—John Keats Esteemed Reader of Our Magazine: “Why do you get up in the morning?”

I was caught short by this question as I complained to a friend about my seeming inability to overcome my shortcomings and bad habits, notably my difficulty in getting out of bed when the alarm goes off in the morning. After recovering from the shock at the interruption to my familiar litany of self-criticisms, answers began to pour into my mind.

“Well, there’s my responsibilities,” I began hesitantly, “the people that depend on me, the tasks that need to get done—” “Nonsense!” he retorted.

I felt like I was an adept before a fierce, stick-wielding Master, attempting the correct answer to a Zen koan. But lo, this was a friend I was speaking to—a real friend—and so I looked again.

“Beauty...Grace...Connection. In my heart of hearts, these are the things I get up for.”

The conversation had derailed my habitual self-pitying train of thought—those concerns that are like the ball of shit that occupies the dung beetle. My friend’s question unexpectedly put me in front of those things I truly value.

He wasn’t about to relent.

“What is beauty?” he continued.

“It is in everything, in varying degrees,” I responded. “Wherever I look for it, it is there. If I’m not looking for it, beauty eludes me.”

“Quit philosophizing. What is it?”

“Beauty is a thing’s true nature, revealed.”

“Good...And how do you perceive it?”

“When I am open and relaxed I see that it is always there.”

“What gets in the way?”

“When I have an agenda; when I want a situation to produce a particular result; when I am dissatisfied, I miss the beauty that is expressed through the person, thing, or situation that is before me.”

“How do you function when you experience beauty?”

“I am able to respond to it in a way that feels efficient and appropriate—like real service. I become graceful.”

“And how do you characterize the experience?”

“It is a connection. It really feels as though the beauty I am perceiving outside myself is connecting to a beauty inside myself—that there is no difference. It awakens and enlivens my whole being.”

“So the three things you get up for are actually one thing.”

“Yes.” “And what do you feel in the moments when you experience beauty, grace, and connection?”

“I feel Love.”

“So what you are talking about is a means to becoming a channel for love.”

“Yes.” This conversation revealed many things. Not only did it show what is truly important to me, but it also showed me a means of attaining it—that is to look for beauty; to connect to that beauty and feel its essential rightness; and to gracefully respond to the beauty I perceive. Perceiving beauty is easy to do in moments like this, as I sit in my home on the side of a mountain, at sunset. Across the valley Overlook Mountain is covered in mottled sunlight with clouds above flying across a pink and orange sky. The clouds are pushed by a fierce wind that whistles, and the trees outside my window bow and bend before it. Perceiving beauty is harder when I am confronted with a problem, an angry person, examples of injustice, or images of destruction and suffering in the world. But the task doesn’t change in either case. There is beauty in both the “beautiful” and the terrible.

Of course, what is truly important is different for each person, and it is up to each of us to discover and formulate what it truly is that we get up for in the morning.

—Jason Stern 2/06 CHRONOGRAM 19

photo provided

SEEING ONLY EVIL AN INTERVIEW WITH RETIRED CIA AGENT ROBERT BAER BY LORNA TYCHOSTUP

The first time I went to see Syriana, the friend who accompanied me left after the first half hour. We haven’t really talked about why.

Against Terrorism (Crown Publishers, 2002), that Syriana is based upon. Baer served mostly in the Middle East—Beirut, Lebanon and Iraq—as well as in Sudan, Morocco, and one tour in Paris. His job was to “run agents or sources across the Middle East gathering Intelligence.” An Arabic speaker, he was considered one of the

Three years of watching friends’ eyes glaze over while spewing

best on-the-ground field officers in the Middle East. In See No Evil,

the multitudinous minutia of knowledge I have acquired working in

Baer says that there is evidence linking Iran to attacks on American

Iraq have silenced me. Talk about torture. I loved the film, went to

interests, including the Khobar Towers bombing in Dhahran, Saudi

see it a second time—alone—and want to see it again. It felt familiar,

Arabia, that killed 19 US soldiers in 1996. He says that Iran has been

as one’s home does when returning to it after an absence. And it

mishandled by US diplomats since the 1980s, and that American

made me want to talk about Iraq with Robert Baer, a former case

foreign policy regarding the Islamic Republic is based on myths and

officer in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations. It is Baer’s memoir,

misinformation.

See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War

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I spoke with Baer by phone from his home in Colorado.

—LT

Glen Wilson

LEFT: ROBERT BAER AT THE “SEPARATION FENCE” BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE WEST BANK. ABOVE: GEORGE CLOONEY IN SYRIANA, A FICTITOUS ACCOUNT OF THE ALL-TOO-REAL CONNECTIVE TISSUE OF OIL, TERRORISM, POWER, UNBRIDLED WEALTH, AND WASHINGTON POLITICKING THAT HAS LEFT AMERICA VULNERABLE TO TERROR SUCH AS 9/11.

Lorna Tychostup: In See No Evil, you talk about how you joined the CIA in 1976, received a Cold War-type of training, and then after the Cold War ended, the CIA was slowly dismantled. Your basic premise is that this dismantling left the US vulnerable to attacks such as 9/11.

Robert Baer: The CIA was set up to counter or foresee state aggression based on the attack on Pearl Harbor; to figure when the US was going to be attacked and to penetrate the leadership of various countries. When the Soviet Union collapsed along with Eastern Europe in the late ‘80s, the CIA was left adrift. They didn’t really know what they were going to do. Were they going to support the military in Bosnia? Were they going to collect [information] on narcotics? People started retiring quickly. The mission was over. The political leadership of the CIA didn’t really know what the mission was. There was no leadership and there was no sense that we were at war in the Middle East against fundamentalists. These people never set foot in the Middle East. Politicians, the only place they’d ever been to was Tel Aviv. They just didn’t realize there was this growing hate. If you lived in the Middle East, you knew about it. But no one in the CIA was ever asked, “Is this a problem?” And all the warning signs they missed.

LT: Such as?

RB: In 1994, when Algerians were going to run a com-

mercial airplane into Paris. It was a very well-known case.

The French took the airplane back in Marseilles. But no one thought that could ever happen here, and this is in spite of 1996, when they indicted Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind. They stated flat-out, he was going to run—they knew about this from the Philippines investigation—airplanes into American landmarks. Bin Laden in 1994 said he was going to attack the United States, and it was incomprehension at a political level in Washington, that nobody would ever do this.

LT: It spread across many different administrations, not just the Clinton administration?

RB: Republicans. Democrats. Clinton could not care less. He’s just like Bush, completely dismissed the possibility of an insurgency in Iraq. Everybody who had a brain in their head knew that this was conceivable.

LT: In See No Evil you talk of a failed coup in ‘95 in Iraq and your attempt to alert people to it. Ahmad Chalabi was involved. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Jalal Talabani was involved. There was actual fighting going on, and they didn’t believe you.

RB: No, they just didn’t believe it because it was cloudy.

They couldn’t see it with satellites. Essentially the analysts and a lot of people at the desk level in Washington have grown up in shopping malls, and that’s their reality.

LT: You think it’s that simple?

RB: Sure it’s that simple. They have no idea what an Arab is. There’s this guy that just resigned from the CIA, he ran Iraqi operations, and he said out of the 40 people he had working for him leading up to the war, only two of them had ever met an Arab overseas.

LT: George Bush was in charge of the CIA— RB: That was the father, but as far as I can tell, he and [Brent] Scowcroft [former National Security Advisor to Presidents Ford and Bush] didn’t approve of this war.

LT: For exactly the reasons that we’re facing now. You also talk about politization and political correctness taking root within the CIA. Why was that happening?

RB: It’s a reflection of the American society. It’s better for the CIA to make people feel better about themselves.

For instance, minorities getting respect. They would have in the cafeteria a Cinco de Mayo day with Hispanic food. But were the people on the desk—the people that administered cases overseas—getting the proper respect?

If you stayed in Washington and never went overseas, and you worked eight to five, you were put in the same promotion cycle as the people who worked overseas in lousy places like Afghanistan.

LT: The American public has a love/hate relationship with the CIA.

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Glen Wilson

MATT DAMON AND GEORGE CLOONEY STAR IN WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES’ POLITICAL THRILLER SYRIANA, DIRECTED BY STEPHEN GAGHAN. ROBERT BAER, AUTHOR OF THE MEMOIR THE FILM IS BASED ON, HAS A WALK-ON ROLE IN THE FILM AS “CIA OFFICER #2.”

RB: It’s more like a hate relationship.

killing people on the slightest or wrong information.

LT: The CIA is looked upon as being meddlesome in other countries’ business, assassinating people—

LT: We don’t have enough well-trained people on the ground. They don’t know Arabic or Farsi.

RB: Well, it has since 2001. Who were the 16 people that died in that village? [On January 13, US missiles struck a house in Damadola, Pakistan, killing 18 people, including women and children. The intended target of the attack was Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s secondin-command. US officials claim the attack may have killed four al Qaeda members, though Zawahiri was not in the house at the time.] This starts to eat away at the consciousness of Americans. I don’t know who actually pulled the trigger. In that village in Pakistan it’s like a black suspect in Washington, DC, murders a white journalist, and the DC police [go] into a black neighborhood and start machine-gunning people because they might be suspects. When these policies are laid off on the CIA, people are mistrustful. In Syriana, whether people liked it or didn’t, their reaction is, “This all happened.” You say, “No, it didn’t happen, this is a fictionalized drama.”

RB: It’s also difficult to get in these groups. Remember, they’re made up of true believers. People who are ready to die are not going to be good spies. You could recruit American Arabs, send them over there to work in a business, and then get them to infiltrate these groups. At least you’d know that they were recruiting for suicide operations, and who is doing it now. It’s not rocket science.

LT: You’re saying the CIA isn’t involved in these things and was not allowed to be killing people, and yet the CIA in the movie is depicted as such.

RB: Yeah, but I didn’t write the script and it’s not a documentary. They had to get that feeling of dread across.

They couldn’t do it by just simply adapting my book.

But there are these instances, like the one in Pakistan and the one in Yemen in October in 2002, where you’re 22 NEWS & POLITICS CHRONOGRAM 2/06

LT: No, but the fear is, where is the fine line, then, between you finding out the information and blowing up the house in Pakistan?

RB: We don’t attack the mosques in Saudi Arabia where these people are being recruited. We don’t even want to know. They’re the people who are killing us now. Not Zawahiri. Zawahiri is not in charge of Qaeda. And Qaeda is just an idea. Going after him we’re seeking retribution as opposed to stopping future attacks, which are coming out of Saudi Arabia.

LT: You raise a lot of questions about the US relationship with Saudi Arabia, that the US is locked in a “harmony of interests” that set the stage for 9/11. Give some evaluation of Saudi Arabia, the US’s interests, and why were there 15 Saudis on the planes. Why were Saudi families whisked out of the US? Why do we have this connective tissue?

RB: What’s not mentioned in my book, or in Syriana, is Israel. As far as those people are concerned, Israelis are Americans. Look at the Israelis. They sound American.

They’ve got the same sense of humor, the same sense of irony, they dress like Americans; they are like efficient Americans, especially the military.

LT: They’re backed by lots of American dollars.

RB: And American dollars. It’s sort of like if you took a Ku Klux Klan colony and placed it in Detroit and you paid for it. Look at the 9/11 commission. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind, said it’s all about Israel.

We have to pay attention.

LT: Osama Bin Laden, in a speech that was released in 2004, said that his soul directed him after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982— RB: And flattened Beirut. This is an irritant. Not an irritant—this is the cause.

LT: In terms of US connective tissue with Saudi Arabia, you talk about the money, oil, Saudi fundamentalism, and about how the Saudis fund these fundamentalist groups through charitable organizations— RB: In the book my ideas become simpler and in some cases more refined. The point is that most Muslims—largely, you can’t put a percentage on it—think that we, the US, are at war with Islam. The other fact is that they’ve got 70 percent of the world’s oil resources, so our economic welfare is in their hands, and yet we’re

at war with them. That’s the contradiction, that’s [what] it comes down to.

LT: The LA Times published an article recently about how more than half of the Arab fighters in Iraq are Saudis, how millions of dollars continue to flow from wealthy Saudis through Saudi-based Islamic charitable and relief organizations to Al Qaeda and other groups, and that the Saudi government has not come through on any promises to monitor this or to really do anything— RB: They haven’t done anything. Who are the clerics that recruited the 15 Saudis that were recruited in Saudi Arabia? Who ultimately paid for 9/11?

They haven’t given us even the basics.

LT: What about the responsibility of our country to extract those answers from the Saudis?

RB: Well, it’s like the administration’s approach to global warming: Just deny it’s happening and get through the 2006 elections.

LT: A lot of people attached to politics who are ignoring these situations have some level of economic interest.

RB: Well, they do, and [in] getting elected. Any politician that proposes putting 50 cents’ tax on a gallon of gasoline or working up to that will be defeated. We’re addicted to cheap oil—Democrat or Republican. The American people don’t want to know. They say, “What do you mean we have to pay five dollars for a gallon of gasoline? It violates our constitutional rights. You can listen to our phones, but you can’t make us pay five dollars for gasoline.

It’s written right there in the Constitution.”

LT: We talk about wanting to get Osama Bin Laden, we have oil lobbies that are directing our politicians away from doing anything about any of this.

RB: But it’s also in their interest. Obviously, Syriana was over the top in terms of conspiracies, but they can get away with it because Americans don’t want to pay the real price of oil—no American does.

LT: So you’re saying it’s ultimately— RB: The people of America’s fault. The irony is, we’re dumping billions and billions of dollars every time we go to the gas pump into a jihad against us in Iraq that’s killing American soldiers. I’ve read, “One kid is dying in Iraq so the father of the kid next door can drive his Hummer.” And what’s more, the money’s coming from Japan and China, and in a certain sense from the Middle East, and then it’s filtering back. Blackwater, SAIC, Custer Battle—all these companies just basically got the 20 billion dollars that was supposed to go into construction.

Construction was never going to happen.

LT: Why? RB: You can’t dump 20 million dollars in a country in the Middle East and have even a tiny fraction going into real projects. That’s not the way the place works. So when Congress voted for that money, it was out of stupidity. It was either going to go into the hands of the American contractors or into the hands of Iraqi crooks. Iraq is a corrupt system. The only way you can really get around this is simply line

the contractors up and shoot them if they stole the money, which of course is not acceptable to Americans. It goes back to Ottoman corruption, corruption under Saddam, where his family was stealing vast amounts of money, taking the oil profits. For us to go in and turn this around overnight was insanity, to think we could do it—nationbuilding.

LT: You opposed the war in Iraq. Why? RB: I didn’t know about the weapons of mass destruction, whether [Saddam] had them or not; I knew there was no evidence that he had them. The point is, you can’t have us going in and removing the Arab leader. People forget history. Saddam was the shield of the Arabs, which protected them against the Persians. I knew that if we destroyed the Iraqi army, the only thing that’d hold that country together were American forces, which would mean a lifetime commitment. I don’t want to spend my retirement on building a nation in Iraq. There’s one study that came out that said it would cost two trillion dollars if we stay there until 2010. I don’t think if Americans had been told the truth—that we’d have to spend 10 years there and two trillion dollars—that they’d be really excited about this.

LT: Your laying a lot of this at the feet of the Arab community and the corruption. Most of the people I spoke to in Baghdad in February of 2004 loved George Bush and were very happy to be free of Saddam Hussein. They took me to task at times when I said I wasn’t going to vote for George Bush. I was shocked by that.

RB: That’s the initial euphoria. Not to defend Saddam, but if we’re going to liberate the whole world, where are the resources going to come from? Who is going to liberate those tribal areas of Pakistan we’re too afraid to even send a company into? Who is going to liberate Russia, which is going back into czarist times? I just don’t understand the terms of this argument.

LT: I know you talked about Qaddafi, how the US would have done anything to get rid of him.

What would the result have been?

RB: The same way in Syria—the Muslim Brotherhood. And you’ve got people at the [conservative] American Enterprise Institute—this is the insanity of Washington—you’ve got AEI saying we’d be better off with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt rather than Mubarak. This is just insanity.

LT: Can you give a brief description of the Muslim Brotherhood?

RB: It’s basically as much as you can unify Islamic fundamentalism. Bin Laden is a Muslim Brother.

His tutors were Muslim Brothers. Arafat was a Muslim Brother at one time. It’s a movement that was founded in the early part of the 20th century, saying that the only hope for the Islamic world is to go back to fundamentals, to the Koran, carry out the tenets of the Koran, and live according to the Koran—one of the tenets being jihad in forcing out foreign influence. It’s changed its name hundreds of times since it was founded by Hassan al-Banna. But essentially all these people, and Zawahiri certainly, was a Muslim Brother. They’re 2/06 CHRONOGRAM NEWS & POLITICS 23

very xenophobic, they think the Koran should be the constitution, and [that] it’s permissible to shed blood.

All their pronouncements are to the same effect. They’re a very violent organization [with] a political wing and a military wing.

LT: It’s okay, according to the Koran, to assassinate political opponents?

RB: Absolutely. They tried to kill [Egyptian president Abdul] Nassar in Egypt.

LT: The Muslim Brotherhood is a very strong force that has a presence in just about all the Muslim countries?

RB: Probably not just a presence, they probably have a majority that support them. It’s hard to say in a country like Egypt, which doesn’t have legitimate polls, but they did very well in the elections this time.

LT: The Wahabis. In what way are related to the Brotherhood?

RB: They’re an offshoot. They basically say, “Go back to the literal meaning of the Koran.” They think that the only salvation of Saudi Arabia and the Muslim people is to return to a religious society, to a caliphate, and if there are any foreigners living in this caliphate, they don’t get to vote—or, during Muhammad’s time, they didn’t get to ride horses. They can’t have religious services, they can’t sell or import Bibles, no liquor. Women have an inferior status. The Wahabis took Najaf and Karbala in 1803 and flattened it. They believed that all Shia should be put to the sword because they’ve fallen away from the true Islam, they’re apostates. Who did we turn Iraq over to? The Shia.

So we’re inflaming centuries-old animosities.

LT: You say [the Wahabis] serve as the inspiration of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and other radicals.

RB: Generally, at the risk of oversimplification. The Saudis certainly were happy the Taliban took over, even though they’re not exactly Wahabis. Because they were going back to an Islamic society and they thought this is the way to reform. The same corruption we’re talking about in Iraq. Whether it’s neocommunism or secular ideas, it’s going back to a religious state.

LT: Do you feel that this represents the majority?

RB: We don’t know. You see polls occasionally saying that more than 50 percent of Jordanians believe that Bin Laden is justified in committing suicide operations.

The majority of Pakistanis, Saudis certainly, were happy about 9/11, because they feel like they’re under attack.

I could be wrong, but there’s a strong anti-Western, anti-American sentiment. They think that we are trying to destroy them. And our outpost is Israel. I think it’s bizarre, in a very pragmatic sense, that America would be so strongly behind Israel. Simply in economic terms, it costs so much. I’m not just talking about direct aid, the billions we’ve given the military.

You’ve got Spielberg, Schindler’s List…you’ll never see a Hollywood movie that portrays the fact that Gaza has been a prison since 1967. And it is a prison. All you have to do is go there and watch people lining up trying to get into Israel—for heart operations. They can’t. They don’t have medical care. There are no modern hospitals. You can’t get a heart bypass in Gaza. And you also can’t get out. You’ve got 1.2 million people in prison, but you’d never see that reality—whether they’re terrorists or not— being portrayed that way. It’s guilt by association.

LT: You said you opposed the attack on Iraq— RB: I oppose not being able to pay my medical bills when I’m 70 years old because all my retirement has gone into the building of the Iraqi nation. Iraq was held together by the military, the security services, which Bremer and company eliminated in April 2003. So what’s going to replace them after we’ve destroyed all those tanks?

LT: [Laughing] A lot of those tanks were already destroyed. I saw them— RB: We were destroying them before, but they were all destroyed definitely after. There’s no armor to hold these three different peoples together who don’t really make up a nation LT: Would 500,000 troops on the ground in Iraq at the time we invaded have helped?

RB: Yeah, they would have helped in terms of holding it together. If we had [had] an American soldier on every corner, and daily raiding every house in Anbar province, yeah…the museum probably wouldn’t have been looted. But we still would have been an occupying force of 500,000 indefinitely. And the moment we leave they’re going to be killing each other. I think even the idiots understand this.

LT: This talk about building an Iraqi security force— RB: We’re simply arming the Shias and the Kurds, which doesn’t make for good relations with the Sunnis. They hate them. They’ve hated them since 680, since they killed the prophet’s grandchild. And we’ve just slammed that wedge back in there and made it worse.

[Disputes over who should lead Islam after the death of Mohammed led to the murder of both Mohammed’s son-in-law, Ali, and Hussein, Ali’s son and Mohammed’s grandson, in 661 and 680 respectively. Sunnis believe that Ali was the fourth and last of the “rightly guided caliphs.” Shiites reject the authority of the first three caliphs and believe that Ali should have been the first caliphate and that the caliphate should pass down only to direct descendants of Mohammed.]

RB: I just don’t know, I guess the Judeo-Christian idea.

If it’s true that we have 60-90 million Evangelicals that believe that Israel has to exist at the end-times, that’s probably part of it. A part of it is guilt for the Holocaust.

LT: You talk of the CIA being dismantled after the Cold War, about these wedges. Fear is being spread across the land, there are terrorists under the bed, they are everywhere and coming to get us. We are fed talk of “forever wars.” This feeds the Cold War mentality. It feeds the anti-terrorism system: We need to have another Patriot Act, we need to protect ourselves—like in the McCarthy era—against these people. We are locking people up in jails for no reason. There is a case to be made for all this, but do Americans really want to live like that again? Do you think we need to?

LT: Jewish Israeli Zionists lobby in the US?

RB: No. You could solve it by changing foreign policy.

RB: Well, they play on courts that are already there.

LT: And what would you envision that to be?

LT: So why are we supporting Israel so strongly?

24 NEWS & POLITICS CHRONOGRAM 2/06

RB: Get out of Iraq. Any time you’re bombing Muslims around the world, it makes things worse, it’s not going to make them better. And the chances of solving your problems with Predator and Hellfire missiles are zero.

Try that in a large American city. Have the police put up Predators and say, “All right, we think there’s a suspect in this building, we’re going to knock it down with a Hellfire missile,” and you’ll see what you get from that. Why should it be any different for them? You’ve got to do your best to implement [UN Resolution] 242 and bring along all the Arab countries and all the Arab organizations.

[UN Security Council Resolution 242 calls for Israel to withdraw from territory it captured during the Six-Day War in 1967 (East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights), areas mostly in Israeli control today—in exchange for defensible boundaries and an acknowledgement by its Arab neighbors of Israel’s right to exist.]

LT: Iraqis tell me they hate the occupation, they hate the troops being there. I ask, “Do you want them to leave?”

They say, “Well, not just yet…”

RB: Well, they know what’s going to happen.

LT: “…not until we have a security system.”

RB: Which they won’t ever have. Saddam tried to create a security system, and every time someone tried to kill him or his sons, he’d take whole villages and line them up and shoot them, which kept everybody quiet for a while.

LT: But that’s based on a dictatorship. Are you saying that it’s impossible for these people to live peacefully?

RB: Yeah. Because you just have to read the Koran. Apostates are not tolerated and the Shia are apostates. They can’t join the military in Saudi Arabia, they can’t own property in a lot of cases, they’re not trusted, they’ve been removed from the oil industry, they’re not considered as humans. These people can’t live with each other.

LT: That’s not my experience on the ground. Sunni live next to Shiite, they intermarry— RB: I know all about the tribes. In Anbar province [Sunnis] are married [to] Shia and they’ve got extensions. But the fact is, the vast majority of Shiites want the oil in Iraq, and they’re sitting on the major fields. In the [Iraqi] constitution it says, “We get the oil, Sunnis don’t.” And the more instability you get, the more these people are going to fall back on these primal differences.

I think it’s a wonderful, generous experiment; a lot of people believe in it in this country. They just don’t get it. It’s not going to happen. We’re not going to make a democracy in Iraq unless we stayed there a hundred years and we trained 100,000 Americans in Arabic every year to go over there and completely dismantle their society.

If that’s the way people want to spend their money. Who is paying for the war? The taxes haven’t been raised. We’re borrowing money. The supplemental budget for Iraq is a hundred billion dollars.

LT: Do we just pull out tomorrow? What now?

RB: I think people ought to start telling the truth, I think the president should get up and say, “All right, we’re going to be in this for the next 50 years. The people who were supposed to retire at 60 now get to retire at 75.” And then watch. And let the American people decide. I just don’t think anyone in Washington can tell the truth.

LT: Regarding the Iraqi people, do you think the troops should leave tomorrow?

RB: Probably, and let it happen. Let the divisions occur.

LT: Then what do you think would happen?

RB: There’d be a civil war.

LT: With how many different factions? I have heard that there are 20 different militias or brigades.

RB: It would make Somalia look civilized.

LT: You’re painting a total end-time scenario in terms of we’re damned if we do or if we don’t at this point.

RB: I was in Iran last spring and talked to one of the ayatollahs there. He said, “These people are wolves, are pitiless wolves”—this is the Sunni he’s referring to—“and as soon as we get an opportunity we’re going to go in and slaughter them.” He said this on camera to me, an American, ex-CIA on top of it. There’s a great article by Chris Dickey [in Newsweek] about [how] the Iranians all want nuclear bombs. All of them: liberals, pro-American, everybody thinks Iran should have one. What bothers me is, the people in Washington, in the think tanks, really don’t know what is going on and are making policy.

LT: You have such an intensely dismal view of people’s ability to do anything other than what they’ve been doing.

RB: I think they have to do it on their own, at their own pace. I don’t recall anybody arriving in the United States forcing democracy on Americans, or the British, or anybody else. It’s a very racist attitude to think that it has to be done from outside.

LT: I agree, but there were plenty of people in Iraq who wanted to participate in some form of democracy. They lined up to vote.

RB: Who knows what they’re doing it for? I worked for years with those people and it’s a different society. It’s a foreign country, and if we decide to impose our values at an enormous cost, it’s an experiment doomed to failure.

LT: What you’re saying runs against my experience. I went to Iraq looking for the people hating Bush, and all I found were people who were very happy to be free, very happy to think about being able to vote. Certainly not knowing the ramifications—there wasn’t a lot of literature, and they were following— RB: What they’re saying is, “Fine. Now let us get down and regulate things ourselves and [you] get out. You got rid of Saddam.” Everybody hated Saddam, probably including his family. But to say they’re better off with car bombs going off, and no gasoline, and murder— LT: One Christian woman—a minister in the Iraqi government—said to me, “What is wrong with your American peace-movement?” She’s 42 years old, she’s got two kids, takes them to work with her. I interviewed her both in Jordan and in the

Green Zone. She had to leave Iraq in 1988 when Saddam gassed her village. She went back. She told me: “Go back and ask the people of your country why they are trying to screw this up. Weren’t you willing to die in your country for democracy?”

RB: We did it ourselves, we didn’t have a foreign power come in and impose it.

LT: There are people in Iraq who do want it, but they’re fighting against thugs, outside terrorists, former Baathists, whatever you want to call them—there are so many different groups.

RB: You stand there in a hundred years and a hundred trillion dollars, or whatever it’s going to cost— LT: We opened up Pandora’s Box, and if we pull out—remember after the first Gulf War? We said to them, “Come. Show your faces. We’re here. And then we left. And [Saddam] mowed down 300,000.

And then the left said, “Look what you did!”

RB: It’s another mistake, but that’s a different one.

Morally there is no answer. If you created this problem, it’s yours. Arming the Shiite and the Kurds is not a particularly good solution. And that’s what we’re doing now. But you really have to get people in Washington to start telling the truth.

LT: How can you do that?

RB: You can’t.

LT: They’re up to their ears in oil money, both the Democrats and the Republicans. There are lobbyists. It’s connected to Osama Bin Laden, the Saudis are involved—the big secrets nobody wants to talk about. The American public is so goddamn confused as to what is going on. How come the Saudis were in the planes? How come we’re friends with them? And all of this just acts as some kind of a smoke screen that allows this to continue while people are lining their pockets with gold.

RB: Well, what they’re seeing is that it’s hopeless— “We might as well move off to a gated community.

I’m going to have a separate truce here. I’m going to get enough money that I can drive around my community with my electric golf cart.”

LT: Gated communities. We have private businessmen now who want to have their own space shuttles. It’s like they’re already thinking about what they can do to protect themselves against the masses that might hurtle themselves at them.

Is that part of your thinking?

RB: They don’t want to sit in traffic, either. Grab what you can, and send your kids to private schools.

They say, “It’s very logical, this is the best I can do.”

They don’t want to get involved in politics.

LT: What about solar energy, what about other alternative sources of running the world?

RB: I don’t know. The Roman Empire fell. They couldn’t deal with problems that were quite apparent to them.

LT: They had a 500-year run, too, huh?

RB: Yeah. We’re not going to have 500 years, though.

2/06 CHRONOGRAM NEWS & POLITICS 25

photos provided

COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK

Saving Face

D

by Jay Blotcher

uring a typical week, Poughkeepsie-based doctor Manoj T. Abraham offers a formidable model of the multitasking professional. The accomplished plastic surgeon shuttles between offices in Poughkeepsie and Rhinebeck, providing reconstructive work for faces that have been harmed by injury, cancer, or the simple ravages of age. At least once a week he travels to Manhattan, either to lead an operating team or to teach a residency program at the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary.

During one week last November, however, Dr. Abraham was far from the MidHudson Valley; he rode in a truck heading down an unpaved road through the rain forest of Guatemala. Mud slathered both sides of the vehicle. The hurricane season had just ended, but not before roads were submerged and rail bridges twisted into elbow pasta. Abraham, a member of a nine-member party, was headed for a small cement-block hospital in Mazatenango, where he would spend the next four days in 90-degree tropical weather, restoring the cleft palates of Mayan children.

It is not the first time Abraham, 34, has been to Guatemala; he first made the trip in 2002, invited by Ron Strahan, a UCLA-based doctor who began these medical missions nearly 30 years ago. Strahan, now in his 70s, conducts two humanitarian missions each year, focused on providing facial reconstruction to needy people. Previous destinations have included rural areas in Pakistan and Central and South America.

Strahan’s own foundation, the Children’s Rehabilitative Institute and Surgery Program (CRISP), solicits the donations needed for their journey and surgery.

The first time he went, Abraham admits, he was an ambitious medical student merely looking for fellowship experience. Now, as he surveys the dense foliage ahead and the familiar volcanoes rising in the distance, Abraham realizes that he has returned this time with a sense of purpose.

“Physically, it takes a lot out of you,” Abraham says, “but it’s very, very mentally 26 COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK CHRONOGRAM 2/06

clarifying. You just get so much back.”

Guatemala ranks as the second-poorest country in Central America, behind the Dominican Republic. The Mayan people live among the descendants of the Spanish colonists who rule this country, yet these indigenous people cling to ancient standards, living in wooden huts and working the land as farmers or jade miners. Poverty is crushing for the Mayans, and a virtual lack of health care is one of the measures of that indigent status. “It’s terrible in terms of the amount of need that they have,” Abraham says. An unstable political situation, reinforced by guerilla soldiers, further exacerbates the problem.

Six weeks before Strahan’s group arrived, the major bridge leading to Mazatenango was destroyed by Hurricane Stan. A replacement has been hastily constructed, but it offers only one lane of passage. This explains why the usual three-hour trip from the Guatemala City airport has taken more than twice that time. Abraham turns to offer a weary but encouraging smile to his wife, internist Dr. Kavita Aggarwal, part of the medical team. When they finally lumber into the hospital compound later that afternoon, a long line already snakes around the building. “People trek for days, sometimes on foot,” Dr. Abraham says, “to come in and see us.” They stand quietly, respectfully, holding children by the hand or in their arms. They know of the work that Strahan and Abraham are capable of.

The group begins unloading their cargo: donated supplies from the Mid-Hudson Valley hospitals: Vassar Brothers, Northern Dutchess, Kingston, and Benedictine.

“Typically, when you go on these missions, you take whatever you get,” Abraham says. Expired prescriptions are generally the standard. However, Dr. Abraham lobbied hard locally and obtained fresh medications, including antibiotics and antifungal medicines.

The condition known as a cleft lip and palate occurs when the normal fusion of cells

OPPOSITE: A CHILD WITH A LARGE CLEFT-LIP DEFORMITY BEFORE AND AFTER AN OPERATION TO REPAIR HIS PALATE; ABOVE (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): DR. ABRAHAM, CHIKELA CODY, A SURGICAL TECHNICIAN FROM VASSAR BROTHERS MEDICAL CENTER, AND DR. KAVITA AGGARWAI, AN INTERNIST AND WIFE OF DR. ABRAHAM, AWAKEN A PATIENT FROM ANESTHESIA FOLLOWING AN OPERATION; PATIENTS IN THE “WAITING ROOM”; DRS. ABRAHAM AND AGGARWAI; A MUDDY TRACK IN RURAL GUATEMALA.

in a fetus fails. Rather than growing together from the left and right side of the lip and roof of the mouth, the sections do not meet, leaving a gap. This malformation has serious consequences, impairing breathing, speech, eating, and swallowing. In the United States, this happens to one in every 800 babies. But due to ethnogenetics, it happens more often in the Mayan population, Abraham explains. While American children have the defect corrected during infancy, it is common to see Mayan adults with cleft palates.

Once the rest of the medical team arrives, Abraham begins his work. The clinic, partially funded with CRISP funds, is modest: five treatment rooms, one examination room, and an operating room. Over the course of the next five days, the medical team will evaluate more than 200 patients. To expedite matters, three patients are prepped simultaneously. Abraham works steadily from 8am to 7pm in the room whose walls are painted seasick-green. Dr. Strahan, suffering from arthritis, offers advice but mostly observes. Repairing a cleft lip and palate requires making an incision on either side of the gap from the mouth into the nostril. For the lip, the dark pink outer portion of the cleft is pulled down and the muscle and the skin of the lip are brought together to close the separation. To repair the palate, the surgeon makes an incision on both sides of the separation, moving tissue from each side of the cleft to the center or midline of the roof of the mouth. For Abraham, the process takes 90 minutes per patient. The team works on through the day into early evening. On occasion, when the power fails, a generator grinds into action. “You kind of make do with what you have,” Abraham says.

Meanwhile, Dr. Aggarwal journeys farther into the jungle to see patients unable to make the journey to Mazatenango. By Saturday evening, Dr. Abraham will have reconstructed the lips and palates of 50 patients, most of them between the ages of two and five. The surgeon also has the chance to see patients from his previous trip whose incisions have long healed. While Abraham does not speak Spanish, there is something universal in the shy smiles of the Mayan parents and their children.

“You know that you make such a big difference in these kids’ lives,” Abraham says, “because if we didn't go, then the chance of that particular child getting that operation is essentially none.”

Dr. Abraham is now back in his Poughkeepsie office, again tending to the growing number of patients needing emergency surgery to save faces damaged by accidents or ravaged by cancer. Just yesterday, a restorative surgery in Manhattan took half a day.

But a major part of Abraham’s practice involves facelifts and eye tucks, browlifts and Botox. After spending a week with Mayan children, repairing cleft palates, does he view his facelift patients differently?

“I’m often asked that by colleagues and friends,” Abraham says. “Why do I even do cosmetic surgery?” But he emphasizes the parallels between the Mayan children and his stateside patients: In restoring a face, he restores individual self-esteem. “My elective cosmetic-surgery patients are often the most grateful patients in the world.”

Abraham is already planning another trip to Mazatenango. Besides the satisfaction, what compels him to return? The doctor falls silent for a moment, his handsome face suggesting a reluctance to say more. But then he explains that as a child in Sri Lanka, he lived through an era of political unrest. He is a Tamil, a member of the ruling minority that came under attack by the Singhalese. One evening in 1979, a Singhalese mob rioted in his neighborhood, a ritual before elections. They killed men, raped women, looted, and destroyed houses. The Abrahams’ next-door neighbors were incinerated in their home. That night, the Abraham family huddled in their bathroom as stones rained through the window. But the bars on the doors saved their lives.

“I don’t look back on those experience as scarring,” Abraham says, “but as tremendously powerful motivation. One of the reasons I want to give back is because of a lot of my history.”

Dr. Manoj T. Abraham www.nyfacemd.com; The CRISP Foundation: (310) 476-5144.

2/06 CHRONOGRAM COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK 27

THE ART OF BUSINESS

TS

X

SK

AT

ING

AW

AY

IN

KIN

GS

TO

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T

he r-r-r-r-r-r click-clack was followed by a brief pause of silence as the skateboard spun in the air under the teenager with splayed arms and legs, sharply punctuated with an echoing boom as he stomped out the landing.

Rolling up the ramp he received fist pumps from other teens, as another dropped off to try a turn at practicing his latest. Popping his board up onto a rail three feet high, he slid down it on the tail and landed clean—boom—at the bottom of the ramp. The small crowd erupted in cheers. What do these young people have in common? They have something to do—and they have a place to do it. For that they can thank business partners Ingrid Dehart and Arthur Fine, who opened the flagship store of TSX RockMusic SkateShop and SkatePark in Kingston in April 2004.

Both Fine and Dehart confirmed that skateboarding was not part of the plan when they bought a T-shirt business in the Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston in 1990. After running a vegetarian restaurant in the West Village in Manhattan from 1975 to 1988, the couple opted for the comfort of their country home in Stone Ridge. They have successfully made the unlikely transition from the restaurant business in Manhattan to niche-market retailer in upstate New York, all while staying married.

Walking up to TSX one’s eyes are drawn to the warehouse behind and to the right of the storefront covered with fantastic graffiti, a sample of the work inside.

The interior of the store is an industrial–themed, two-story open design featuring painted cinderblock walls, steel beams, and a corrugated metal roof bisected with aluminum drainage-pipe ductwork for ventilation. The walls are covered

28 COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK CHRONOGRAM 2/06

by jonathan d. king

photos by fionn

reilly

EANDMPLOYEES SMALL BUSINESSES W

e couldn’t do this without the support of a great group of people,” Dehart said as she playfully ambushed manager Hal Van Etten with a hug. “Hal is like another son to me. And a lot of our employees have been with us for a really long time.” TSX currently employs 17 people in three locations, and Van Etten, co-manager Alex Gabler, and warehouse manager Chris O’Leary are three keys to Dehart and Fine’s success in growing their business. All three have been with TSX for several years and are entrenched in the skating world, bringing essential inside info to the business. For example, Dehart told me “Alex knows a lot of big people in the graffiti world, and every eight months or so he brings in great artists to keep things fresh.”

Dehart stressed the necessity of finding people that care about the business and most importantly, people who you can trust. Like a proud mother, she related, “It’s been amazing to me because I see the kids who have been here since we opened, and they couldn’t do an ollie or a kick flip or something like that when they got here, and now they are so good. It’s great to see and it’s a great lesson of life for people to learn that if you stay with something you can actually get better and improve at things.”

Confirming the importance of good employees to a small business, Fine talked of the necessity of crafting caring relationships between people. Commenting on managing a team successfully he said, “Remember that everyone is a person and always try to put yourself in the other person’s place. Treat individuals as individuals and show them the respect they deserve. And do the research, because there is tons of great information from countless sources regarding employing people as a small business owner.”

—JDK

OPPOSITE: MATT HARGROVE PERFORMS AN “OLLIE TO FAKIE” ON THE MINI-RAMP; TOP: TSX COOWNER INGRID DEHART BEHIND THE COUNTER, FLANKED BY SKATEBOARD MERCHANDISE AND PARAPHENALIA; BOTTOM: ALEX FORMICA GRINDS THE RAIL.

from floor to the ceiling with T-shirts, clothing, shoes, snowboards, and of course skateboard decks and hardware. Through the doors in back is a separate wing housing both a street skate park with a variety of ramps and rails and a half pipe dominating the far end of the building.

When they took over the little T-shirt store in the mall their main product was rock’n’roll T-shirts, which remain a hot commodity (evident in the selection on the wall). Apart from their popular wall of shoes, Dehart informed me, “to this day, our best-selling item is a Led Zeppelin shirt. Everyone still loves rock’n’roll.” She knows this because she’s able to track their inventory through a point-of-sale-system that gives her daily tallies of all three TSX locations.

It was at the suggestion of a couple of employees who were into skating in the early ’90s that they looked into carrying skateboard clothing. Dehart casually dropped the hippest brand names as she told me, “A lot of the companies that I work with now were just starting up, like Birdhouse that Tony Hawk belongs to, Alien Workshop, and Element, and we called them up and said we were thinking about carrying some skate stuff. They said we had to carry hardware, too, and we said okay. Now we have a great relationship with a lot of the major skating companies, who send professional teams to demo here because they have grown along with us.”

What began as a small selection of boards and hardware has exploded with the

mainstreaming of skating. Over the years, TSX expanded their mall-based chain to four stores, with locations in Kingston, Albany, Danbury, and Rotterdam. They closed the Danbury and Rotterdam locations and had just opened a Middletown site when, three years ago, the Kingston mall decided not to renew their lease on the central storefront, cutting an underhanded deal with a national chain competitor. Dehart still steams about it, but it was that incident that fomented the renovation of the former garage where we were standing. She said, “It was then we started thinking seriously about a skate park, because we realized there is nowhere for kids to skate around here, nowhere for them to go, nothing for them to do, and nowhere for them to use what we’re selling.”

Dehart said that this park was their contribution to the community. “In our growing with the industry we realized the value of skateboarding to young people in society, because it helps them develop physical skills, for one, and not every child enjoys teams sports and can be the quarterback. Skateboarding isn’t like that; everyone gets to participate, no matter what skill level.”

“We didn’t set out to do any of this,” said Fine in a phone interview from a skateboard shoe expo in Philadelphia. “It’s about trusting in the universe.” Fine gave sage advice to prospective entrepreneurs: “I would just say to follow your heart and do what you love and things will fall into place for you. We just followed our spontaneity and our impulses and trusted they would lead to good things, and they have.”

2/06 CHRONOGRAM COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK 29

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30 CHRONOGRAM 2/06

Hillary Harvey

Mary Gaitskill outside her home in Rhinebeck

Books, Page 44

FEBRUARY 2006

ARTS & CULTURE

CHRONOGRAM

“Together, we were assured admittance to exclusive clubs where, lifted up and out of the hoi polloi and deposited at the entrance by the doorman’s fastidious gaze, we handed our coats to a gaunt creature in a coat-lined cave, then walked down the glowing sound-chamber hall, where music, lightly skipping in the main rooms, here bumbled from wall to wall like a ghost groaning in purgatory. We turned a corner and the music showed its laughing public face. We entered the great night flower of fun, open and dark like a giant lily swarming with drunken fairies. Into the swarm we flew, Joy darting, hovering, seeking and finding the inevitable man handing out cocaine to girls.”

—from Veronica, by Mary Gaitskill ABOVE: JEFFREY GIMMEL OF SWOON KITCHENBAR ROLLS PAPPARDELLE NOODLES; BELOW: GIMMEL INSPECTS A BOX OF SHITAKE MUSHROOMS

1/06 CHRONOGRAM ARTS & CULTURE 31

Portfolio

Fawn Potash

Fawn Potash’s latest series of photographs is a marked departure from her previous conventional photographic work. Using a vintage Polaroid camera with a limited depth of field, Potash shoots on negative-positive film, developing the negatives only halfway, reversing the lightest tones. The photographs are then mounted on wood and sealed in a translucent encaustic medium. Potash uses etching tools to draw right into the wax on top of the photograph, adding oil paint for color in the etched lines. The result often completely obscures the work’s photographic origins, leaving the viewer guessing at the content of the original photographs, but revealing another level of lush, painterly imagery. Many of the images in her current work were inspired by themes of barrenness and fertility, tied to her three-year struggle to conceive, and later adopt, a child. [Potash and her husband adopted an infant, named Milo, in January of this year.]

Potash’s work has been published in Harper’s, the New Yorker, and Mirabella and her work has been exhibited and collected nationally and internationally. She is represented by the Howard Greenberg Gallery in New York City. “Visceral Landscapes,” an exhibition of mixed-media photography by Fawn Potash, will be exhibited through March 26 at the Center for Photography at Woodstock, 59 Tinker Street, Woodstock. (845) 679-9967; www.cpw.org; www.fawnpotash.com.

—Brian K. Mahoney

FAWN POTASH TALKS ABOUT HER WORK Fictional Truth I started out in art as a drawer and printmaker. This body of work feels very close to that original impulse to make objects. And I always have loved photography because I never knew what to draw—with a camera, the world presents itself to you. I think it’s why I can’t shoot journalistically, because the event is not interesting to me, the truth is not interesting to me.

I’m really interested in the same way that a novelist is interested in using words and characters and lives to present a fictional truth. I’m interested in a fictional truth, some kind of metaphoric understanding of things that exist in the world, whether those things are tangible or not. Using photography implies that there’s a tangible touchstone, and that’s all I want photography to be, a place to start.

Straight Abstraction I’ve never been the kind of photographer that needs to shoot all the time. I’ll have 20 sheets of film, and that’ll do me for the season. Out of that, I’ll get images that I like, and because I allow myself five variations on each image, that’ll keep me going for a long time. I need to photograph, I need that connection to the world—because you have to use something to illustrate what’s inside of you. Straight abstraction doesn’t interest me. I’m interested in the intersection of 32 PORTFOLIO CHRONOGRAM 2/06

abstraction and real life, the tension between the two. But I’m not interested in abstraction by itself, so I need that other side. I just don’t need it as much as most photographers.

The Struggle to Start a Family The struggle to start a family has driven the emotional end of this work. We spent three years trying to get pregnant and then two years trying to adopt. When we were trying to get pregnant, each time I got my period I would make a piece. A lot of them were ugly and messy and full of angst, but it was a way to get through it. To make art out of it is a way to keep going personally, to feel like: all is not lost, at least I made a piece. That seemed to be an effective technique, so I started to do it more.

Winter I hate winter, I hate being cold, I hate the snow. This whole photographic series started about this time of year, when you start to get those gorgeous garden catalogs in the mail. It’s a way my garden has never looked but it inspires desire in me in the way that men never have. I love my husband, but there’s something about going to other people’s gardens—I get jealous of people’s flowers. It just awakens something in me, getting those catalogs in January and

PHOTOS OF FAWN POTASH BY HILLARY HARVEY Opposite (clockwise from top): Winter Bird, photography, encaustic, and oil on wood, 6” x 18.5”, 2005; Fawn Potash in her studio; Potash cradling her son Milo outside her home, a renovated one-room schollhouse outside Catskill.

This page (clockwise from top left): Swamp with Bug Wings and Lotus, photography, encaustic, and oil on wood, 2.65” x 3.65”, 2005; Blue Oak Leaves, photography, encaustic, and oil on wood, 14” x 18.5”, 2005; Branches, photography, encaustic, and oil on wood, 14” x 18”, 2005; First Day of Hunting Season, photography, encaustic, and oil on wood, 10” x 36.5”, 2005.

February. I started to cut the flowers out of the catalogs and tape them on the dead stalks in my yard and take pictures of them, just as a way to have what I wanted. I decided that this feeling of longing is too much, I was going to have it, and I was going to have it where I wanted it. But the photographs didn’t come out happy. They came out sort of dark and Victorian.

Day for Night

What I want is a different season, but I can draw that season on top of it. I can draw that in the encaustic. I can transform what’s there into something else. So I have that stinking, horrible two hours out in the snow photographing, but it kind of makes it better that I’m making something in the season that I hate.

The film I use is a negative-positive film. I shoot in winter, so the negative needs a certain amount of time to develop. In the cold, it needs more time. And I never gave it enough time.

The images solarize because of that. I get this otherworldly effect, a sort of day-for-night feeling to the images and they felt emotional to me, more emotional than literal. I liked them as prints, but they never felt done to me. Once I started with encaustic, drawing on top of them, making them more sculptural, they felt like they reflected more an of an emotional internal landscape than the prints by themselves.

Teaching

The Way the Light Hits

I teach third-year undergraduate photography, when students are making their first serious body of work. I love my role as a guide, to be there for that moment of making the decision to be an artist, finding out if they have the commitment or not. I try and help them find their groove—what technique do they like, what subject is important to them, what rhythm for artmaking works for them. I love nurturing that in my students. It’s not about technique. I don’t care if they use a Xerox machine. It’s about finding what they have to say as artists.

In college, I did a study of the ways that people celebrate faith. Both my grandfathers were extremely religious, from different ends of the Judeo-Christian spectrum—one was a fundamentalist Baptist and one was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi. And it was just bad—the worst pictures I’ve ever made. The whole “covering a story” thing is not me, I’m not interested in it.

I would find myself interested in the way the light hit the voodoo priest I was shooting. I’d be fascinated with him, but I was more fascinated with the way he looked than the telling a story with a picture, which was what I needed to do.

2/06 CHRONOGRAM PORTFOLIO 33

Lucid Dreaming photos provided

BY BETH E. WILSON

The Next Thing (Little)

E

ver since the bad old pluralistic seventies, there’s been a persistent itch among many, always looking for the next Big Idea, the next Movement, the next ‘ism in the art world. Not too long ago, at a post-opening dinner celebrating an established painter (who had helped invent Op Art in the ‘60s), I was confronted with one of the artist’s former students, who had since settled into a comfortable academic job in an art department someplace in New England. At dinner, he came across as a bit too grandiose (about art in general and his own painting), and at one point vigorously gestured across the table as he informed us that he tells his students that he feels that “the next big movement is coming, just around the corner—you just need to keep your eyes open.”

Poor misguided soul—he’s probably been feeding them that line for 20 years! How long do you have to wait around before you figure out the bus isn’t coming?

In the postmodern era (postmodernism being probably the last of the significant “isms” at this point), the emergence of particular movements in a linear chronology has become so passé as to be laughable. How can you make a definitive statement or create a specific aesthetic when the world has been opened (largely by virtue of the ever-expanding world of media) to anything and everything under the sun? In this brave new (art)world of ours, aesthetic choices are no longer charged expressions of

34 LUCID DREAMING CHRONOGRAM 2/06

a coherent worldview—one way you might attempt to define an artistic movement as such—but have become instead something more like the decisions you make at the store: acid wash or over-dyed? Coke or Pepsi? Everything becomes a matter of (often arbitrary) taste, a fashion rather than a real position.

Now all of this can sound pretty damn cynical, and in fact—especially in the art world—it usually is, which is what makes an encounter with John Davis and his gallery in Hudson so special. His example leads me to think that instead of the Next Big Thing, we ought to consider a number of Next Little Things instead.

After Davis’s four-year hiatus, the Hudson Valley is once again blessed with his presence and ever-expanding vision. Davis started his first gallery in Akron, Ohio, in 1981, shifting operations to New York City in 1985, and focusing on primarily abstract painters and sculptors. In the 1990s, he moved again to Warren Street in Hudson, where he luxuriated in the space afforded by the upstate area’s then-lower real estate prices, filling not only a two-story exhibition space, but also a sculpture garden and a carriage house, not to mention the four-story elevator shaft that was regularly transformed by installations and experimental work.

Circumstances shifted again, and Davis closed the gallery and spent a year programming exhibitions at TSL in Hudson. In 2004 he was offered a space to show work in Manhattan, where he introduced a number of his artists directly to the New

SCULPTURE BY VICTORIA PALERMO OPPOSITE (L-R): COLUMNUS INTERRUPTUS, 2005, RUBBER, PVC, 17” X 12”; TWO VIEWS OF LOLA-LOLI, 2005, RUBBER, 73” X 16” (DIAMETER); ABOVE: VICTORIA PALERMO

York audience, to positive response.

Now that chapter has closed, and Davis has moved back into his former space at 3621⁄2 Warren Street in Hudson—his favorite, he says, of all the galleries he’s ever run. But this is no simple walk down memory lane: He’s spent a year doing studio visits, and has expanded his stable of artists to 30, doubling the number he represented in Hudson last time around. About a third of Davis’s clients are from Columbia County, another sizable group work in New York, and the others are scattered geographically from Boston to Connecticut to New Jersey.

Davis has always been oriented toward abstract work, which can be a bit tough to sell up here, given the region’s historical predilection for landscape painting. The atmosphere isn’t necessarily favorable for it in New York, either. A member of the art world cognoscenti recently remarked to him, when looking at work by one of the abstract painters he was representing, “You can’t be painting that way”—which confirmed to Davis that it was exactly the sort of work he should be supporting. His gently contrary spirit remains intact, guided by his very direct, genuine, and obvious enjoyment of the work and the artists that he shows, which allows him to ignore the vagaries of fashion, to provide a place where artists can find a voice and, in the process, develop a rich heritage of such work.

On February 4 Davis is opening a show of sculpture by Victoria Palermo, titled “Endangered Species.”

Both attracted and repelled by consumer products and packaging, she emulates the bright and shiny surfaces by dipping hollow, abstractly shaped armatures in often colorful liquid rubber. The almost obscenely glistening “skins” of the work both echo and critique the eye-candy emptiness of the boxes, bottles, and containers lined up on store shelves, pushed under our noses by advertising, that ultimately wind up in the landfill.

The show’s title plays on multiple levels. Perhaps we are the endangered species, after we drown in our own shiny, plastic world—or, as the artist herself puts it, “I wonder about the viability of my endeavor—this spending endless hours in process in the age of instantaneous communication of ideas and images in cyberspace.” She nostalgically wonders whether there will be room for art objects, or for the concerns of her modernist art heroes in the future, which renders them (artists and art objects) something of an endangered species.

I like to think that with the assistance of people like John Davis, there may still be hope for us after all.

Instead of focusing his energies on chasing the latest fad, or courting the elite and powerful in a quest for his own fame and fortune, he’s got a much healthier and sane approach. Summed up nicely in a quasiZen motto he shared with me recently, “The most important part of what we’re doing is what we’re doing.”

One (little) step at a time.

“ENDANGERED SPECIES,” SCULPTURE BY VICTORIA PALERMO, ON VIEW FEBRUARY 4-25 AT JOHN DAVIS GALLERY, 3621⁄2 WARREN STREET, HUDSON. (518) 828-5907;

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WWW.JOHNDAVISGALLERY.COM. 2/06 CHRONOGRAM LUCID DREAMING 35

gallery directory 36

GALLERY DIRECTORY CHRONOGRAM 2/06

galleries ALBANY INSTITUTE OF HISTORY AND ART

THE COUNTRY HOUSE ARTS CENTER, INC.

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

271 STONE SCHOOLHOUSE ROAD, BLOOMINGBURG. 733-4309.

“Food of the Gods.” The purchase, preparation, and consumption of chocolate. Through April 28.

“Third Annual Minisink Valley High School Art Exhibit.”

February 16-February 26.

“Excavating Egypt.” Through June 4.

Opening Thursday, February 16, 4-8pm.

“Alice Morgan Wright: Sculptor and Activist.” Through April 16.

DEBORAH DAVIS FINE ART ALDRICH CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM

345 WARREN STREET, HUDSON. (518) 822-1890.

258 MAIN STREET, RIDGEFIELD, CT. (203)438-4519.

“Winter.” Group show. Through March 12.

Catherine Opie: “1999” & “In and Around the Home” Through May 14.

Jennifer Zackin: “Killamanta Kutimusaq (To the Moon and Back).” Through May 14.

ART SOCIETY OF KINGSTON 97 BROADWAY, KINGSTON. 338-0331.

“The Effigy Show.” February 4-February 18.

Opening Saturday, February 4, 5-8pm.

DIA 3 BEEKMAN STREET, BEACON. 400-0100.

“Dia’s Andy: Through the Lens of Patronage.”

Works by Andy Warhol.

“In and Out of Place: Louise Lawler and Andy Warhol.”

Images of work by Andy Warhol.

“Vera Lutter: Nabisco Factory, Beacon.” 4 large scale pinhole photographs of the factory. Through April 10.

“Agnes Martin: To The Islands.” Through June 27.

BARRETT ART CENTER 55 NOXON STREET, POUGHKEEPSIE. 471-2550.

EXPOSED GALLERY OF ART PHOTOGRAPHY

“Fred Tlumak Retrospective.”

Paintings, drawings, pastels, watercolors. Through February 4.

318 DELAWARE AVENUE, DELMAR. (518) 475-1853.

“Twelve Days in Paris.” Through February 7.

“Love.” Images of Gail Nadeau. February 11-March 14.

gallery directory

BAU 161 MAIN STREET, BEACON. 440-7584.

“Remnants, After the Storm.” Photographs in the wake of Katrina. February 11-March 5.

Opening Saturday, February 11, 6-9pm.

FARFETCHED GALLERY 65 BROADWAY, KINGSTON. 339-2501.

“The “F” Word.” Featuring infamous erotic artist, Meadow.

February 4-March 1.

Opening Saturday, February 4, 5-10pm.

BELLE LEVINE ART CENTER 521 KENNICUT HILL ROAD, MAHOPAC. 628-3664.

“33rd Annual All-County Student Art Show.”

February 3-February 26.

Opening Friday, February 3, 6-8pm.

FRANCES LEHMAN LOEB ART CENTER VASSAR COLLEGE, POUGHKEEPSIE. 437-5632.

“Presses, Pop, and Pomade: American Prints Since the Sixties.”

Printmaking Revolution of the Past Forty Years.

Through March 19.

CARRIE HADDAD GALLERY 622 WARREN STREET, HUDSON. (518) 828-1915.

GALERIE BMG

“Juicy and Wet.” Works by three contemporary painters.

February 2-March 12.

12 TANNERY BROOK ROAD, WOODSTOCK. 679-0027.

Reception Saturday, February 4, 6-8pm.

CHISHOLM GALLERY 3 FACTORY LANE, PINE PLAINS. (518) 398-1246.

“Sculpture By Liza Todd-Tivey.” Through February 10.

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

“50 Favorites.” 50 works of art follow the Institute’s 50 years history. Through May 17.

“The Clark: Celebrating 50 Years of Art in Nature.”

Through September 4.

“Paper Trails.” 100 great drawings, prints and photos.

February 19-April 30.

“In Memoriam.” Photographs by Leilani Claire.

Through February 12.

GALLERY AT DEEP LISTENING SPACE 75 BROADWAY, KINGSTON. 338-5984.

“Culture and Identity.”

Work by artists representing the heritage of Africa, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

February 4-February 26.

Opening Saturday, February 4, 5-7pm.

GARRISON ART CENTER 23 GARRISON’S LANDING, GARRISON. 424-3960.

“Paintings and Sculpture.” By Jerome Henry Roth and Lynn Ainsworth. Through February 19.

GCCA MOUNTAINTOP GALLERY COFFEY GALLERY

5348 MAIN STREET, WINDHAM. (518) 734-3104.

330 WALL STREET, KINGSTON. 339-6105.

“Landscape 2006.” Inspired by the Catskill Mountains and Hudson Valley. Through February 26.

“Landscape Paintings of Lynne Friedman.”

February 4-February 26.

Opening Saturday, February 4, 5-7pm.

“Art and Soul.” All-media art & crafts inspired by African American heritage. Through February 25.

COLUMBIA GREENE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

HUDSON OPERA HOUSE

4400 ROUTE 23, HUDSON. (518) 828-4181 EXT. 3344.

327 WARREN STREET, HUDSON. (518) 822-1438.

“Competition.” Community high school students juried competition. Through February 24.

“A Cellar Study.” Works by artist Joseph Ferm.

Through February 25.

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galleries

HUDSON VALLEY CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART

ROSENDALE CAFE

1701 MAIN STREET, PEEKSKILL. (914) 788-7166.

434 MAIN STREET, ROSENDALE. 658-9048.

“Figure it Out.” Sculpture and video.

“Jon’s Paintings.” February 1-February 28.

“Nostalgia.” Through March 31.

Reception Sunday, February 5, 2-4pm.

HUDSON VALLEY GALLERY

ST. JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH

246 MAIN STREET, CORNWALL-ON-HUDSON. 496-4785.

352 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA. (413) 623-2068.

“John F. Gould.” Centennial art exhibits.

February 10-February 26.

“Sculpture Now.” Outdoor sculpture exhibit.

Through August 23.

JOHN DAVIS GALLERY

SUNY NEW PALTZ

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

SAMUEL DORSKY MUSEUM, NEW PALTZ. 257-3858.

“Endangered Species.” Sculpture by Valerie Palermo.

February 2-February 25.

“Second Nature.” Faculty works.

February 4-April 2.

Reception Saturday, February 4, 6-8pm.

“Visual Offerings.” American Scenery: Different Views in Hudson River School Painting.

February 4-May 14.

KARPELES MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY MUSEUM

Opening Saturday, February 4, 2-4pm.

94 BROADWAY, NEWBURGH. 569-4997.

“Layered Collages.” Painted collages by Lisa Collado.

Through February 28.

TIVOLI ARTIST CO-OP

gallery directory

60 BROADWAY, TIVOLI. 757-COOP.

KIESENDAHL+CALHOUN ART GALLERY

“7th Erotic Art Show.” February 3-February 26.

192 MAIN STREET, BEACON. 838-1177.

“Dreams of Cuba.” Paintings by Corso de Palenzuela.

Through February 26.

M GALLERY

VAN BRUNT GALLERY 460 MAIN STREET, BEACON. 838-2995.

“Group Show 2.” New work by gallery artists.

Through February 27.

350 MAIN STREET, CATSKILL. (518) 943-0380.

“Ain’t Love Grand!.” Valentine’s tribute.

February 11-March 31.

MARK GRUBER GALLERY NEW PALTZ PLAZA, NEW PALTZ. 255-1241.

WALLKILL RIVER ART GALLERY 910 OLD FORGE, NEW WINDSOR. 689-0613.

“Inaugural Show.” Many artists in multiple genres.

February 5-May 26.

Opening Sunday, February 5, 3-6pm.

“Flowers in February.” February 11-March 26 Opening Saturday, February 11, 6-8pm.

WARNER GALLERY MILLBROOK SCHOOL, MILLBROOK. 677-8261 EXT. 132.

MILDRED I. WASHINGTON ART GALLERY 53 PENDELL ROAD, POUGHKEEPSIE. 431-8017.

“Black History Month Exhibit.”

February 23-March 22.

“Inge Morath: Photographer.”

Touring exhibition by the estate of Inge Morath.

Through February 15.

WASHINGTONVILLE ART SOCIETY 43 EAST MAIN STREET, WASHINGTONVILLE. 926 3490.

MONTGOMERY ROW SECOND LEVEL 6423 MONTGOMERY STREET, RHINEBECK. 876-6670.

“Large Format Color Landscape Photos.”

Through February 24.

“4th Annual Hudson Valley Bodyscapes.”

Figurative and anatomical works of art in any medium.

February 5-March 5.

WOODSTOCK ARTISTS’ ASSOCIATION MUROFF KOTLER VISUAL ARTS GALLERY SUNY ULSTER, STONE RIDGE. 687-5113.

28 TINKER STREET, WOODSTOCK. 679-2198.

“FUTURE VOICES: HIGH SCHOOL ART FROM ULSTER COUNTY.” FEBRUARY 1-FEBRUARY 24.

“The Shining Kingdom.”

Works by Hatti Iles portray fantasy and fairytale figures.

Through August 28.

NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM

WOODSTOCK ARTISTS ASSOCIATION MUSEUM

9 GLENDALE ROAD, STOCKBRIDGE, MA. (413) 298-4121.

28 TINKER STREET, WOODSTOCK. 679-2940.

“National Geographic: The Art of Exploration.” Through May 31.

“Color & Pattern.” Fabric collage art of Susan Minier.

February 11-March 5.

WALLKILL RIVER ART GALLERY

Opening Saturday, February 11, 4-6pm.

357 OLD FORGE HILL, NEW WINDSOR. 689-0613

Group show. Paintings by Shawn Dell Joyce, Gene Bove, and Steve Blumenthal.

February 5-March 31 Opening Sunday, February 5, 3-6pm.

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GALLERY DIRECTORY CHRONOGRAM 2/06

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

“Covalence.” Sculpture and paintings by Emil Alzamora & Stephen Spaccarelli. Through February 11.

gallery directory 2/06 CHRONOGRAM GALLERY DIRECTORY

39

Music

THIS IS NOT YOUR MOTHER'S GARAGE

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PHILIPPE GARNIER

BY SHARON NICHOLS

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (L-R): THE CHILLS, MANGO, THE WARHOL CROWD; (OPPOSITE): GARAGE RUMBLE FOUNDER KRISTEN GARNIER.

T

he Warhol Crowd bounced onto the stage in the early evening, the ninth in a series of youth bands to perform that autumn day. Exhibiting a degree of sophistication that was completely unexpected, guitarist and lead vocalist Dan Htoo-Levine, percussionist/vocalist Joe Fusca, bassist Brian Lindsay, and sax player Dan Cohen unfurled several groovy, jazzy, Dave Matthews-esque rock numbers, securing for themselves the “grand prize” award of the night. This wasn’t your typical high school battle of the bands, however. It was the first annual Garage Rumble, which took place last November at Woodstock’s Joyous Lake.

Local musician Kristen Garnier is the architect behind this new project, which was born from a love of her own experiences as a youth. She reminisces about the wonderful times she had as a teenager playing music, recalling many, many opportunities to perform.

“There was always a place to play,” she begins. “You could just throw together a band or put together a performance with other bands. That experience was so valuable.” Today the mother of a teenage son, Clark, Garnier has worked with the Woodstock Youth Theater and has met a lot of the kids in the area. When she heard of a battle of the bands at Onteora High School a few years back, she was excited to see the youth perform. “I was so impressed by these kids. But I also noticed that they really don’t get to play out.

40 MUSIC CHRONOGRAM 2/06

They don’t have anywhere to express their creativity, except for this one event. I checked with all the 12 or 15 high schools in Ulster County and nobody was doing a battle of the bands except Onteora. That was the one thing that was cool when I was a kid in high SARA AYERS school. At least the school would have a battle of the bands. You knew who the rock stars were, and the folkies. There was a musical community.”

Due to this dearth of musical outlets for teens in the area, Garnier felt compelled to take action. Garage Rumble was born in 2004, and she made sure it was done right. The idea was to put youth in a very professional venue so they could have the full experience, with good lighting and sound. As the project grew, Chris Andersen of Nevessa Production agreed to help with sound and also provided a professional stage manager for the bands.

Garnier was ecstatic to have such a high degree of professionalism for a youth event. But it was difficult to find the right space, as funds were lacking. “I did it with a song and a prayer. My parents really helped me out. I have to honor them because they’re not wealthy people. They’ve worked hard all their lives. But they knew how important it was for me to launch this, to help me fulfill a dream for these kids, something that I feel is really useful and important.”

Though Garnier did most of the legwork on her own, she had the help of many vol-

unteers, people such as Baker Rorick of the band Comfy Chair, who also writes for trade magazines and who helped provide sponsorship. “It gives credibility and I have to thank Baker for that. Bill Magill launched the website, and he did it graciously, from his heart. Now Chris Andersen is helping me take over the website. And I can’t thank my son enough for being in my life. If I didn’t have a kid who was constantly leading me back in the direction of being a teenager…he keeps me fresh, keeps me alive and remembering what everything’s all about.”

Garnier had considered the large space at Backstage Studio Productions in Kingston but had a nagging feeling that the event should take place in Woodstock. “Having been a musician myself and living here almost 11 years now, [the lack of a music scene] has really been sad for me. It’s heartbreaking.

I have this thing about Woodstock. I really respect and appreciate all the people here who have made this place a name in the past. But I think it’s time to make a switch now. It’s time for people to realize that Woodstock is a great community for arts and music, and we need to start freshening up that image. When we look into what’s going on with the youth and music, we find that it’s pretty exciting.

They’re definitely worth the professional adults’ time around here. It’s time to give a facelift to Woodstock musically.”

To submit to the 2005 Garage Rumble, each band was required to have at least one member from Ulster County and range in age from 13 to 19. There were a few exceptions. The Chills, runners-up from Marlboro Elementary and High School, had one 10- and one 12-year-old. SUNY Ulster’s Tragic Miracle had one 20-year-old, and another member that turned 20 between submission and the actual event. Initially, a small private panel judged 16 audition tapes and 9 bands were selected for competition. Other finalists include Patch Road from Saugerties High School and Columbia-Greene Community College, The Hottness from Kingston and Onteora High Schools, and Preferably Tapioca from Rondout Valley High School in Accord. The event was filmed by Ed Medina of MedinaWorks, and will be edited for viewing at film festivals and possibly for wider distribution.

The judges panel for the final event is also highly impressive—Psychedelic Furs guitarist John Ashton, international jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson, Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer, High Times rock critic and promoter Stacy Fine, and percussionist/ producer Harvey Sorgen of Hot Tuna fame.

Bands were judged according to musicianship, songwriting and arrangement, originality, stage performance and charisma, professionalism, and appearance. Playing both covers and original material, the nine competing bands were asked to provide 15 minutes of music for the judges, and genres touched upon indie, punk, power pop, raw rock, rock-meets-classical, and the jazz-rock stylings of winners The Warhol Crowd. The Warhols were awarded a day in the recording studio at Nevessa

ARLO GUTHRIE

Production and a state-of-the-art demo, an opportunity to be the opening band for a national or regional group at Joyous Lake, and a Q&A phone conference with producer Jim Wirt, who has worked with Alien Ant Farm, Live, Hoobastank, and Incubus.

“I can definitely see them playing at the college level,” says Garnier, “then moving onto the indie level. They’re not that different from what we’re hearing on ’DST, that level. I felt like a mom when they came out of the studio, I was so proud.” Because of her recent experiences and her passion for encouraging and inspiring youth in rock, Garnier, through her own Gleaming Iris Productions, is referring to herself now as a rock coach. “I like guiding and working with kids, maybe pulling out a better performance here or there, helping them work on stage charisma.”

Though Garage Rumble is technically a contest, Garnier says it’s really not about competition at all.

“The thing that was nice about the day is that I don’t think any of the kids felt like they were competing.

Everyone was elated because it was just so fun. Another beautiful thing about this is that all the families seemed very supportive about their kids being in music, and very appreciative. I can’t tell you all the letters I got from the parents after the event. There was a recognition that there really is a need for this sort of thing for young people.”

The second annual Garage Rumble will take place in the fall, but smaller showcases will begin in March. Volunteer support has been overwhelming. “People in the community want to give back,” Garnier says. “They’ve been doing music for a long time, either as musicians, writers, producers, promoters, managers, throughout the whole business.

That way we get to involve more bands, get them out there in front of these professionals to be honored and guided.”

Interested bands can check out submission guidelines on the website, and soon there will be information on how to become a panelist or a sponsor. To hear an MP3 of The Warhol Crowd and for more information on upcoming events, visit www.garagerumble.com.

2/06 CHRONOGRAM MUSIC 41

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

MID-WINTER MOSH February 5. Has anyone else noticed the explosion of notably-talented teen bands in the area? Four of the best—The Chills (first runners-up of Kristen Garnier’s Garage Rumble), Mango, Preferably Tapioca, and Tragic Miracle—take over the Forum stage with rock, punk, funk, and electric cellos. See the next musical wave at this all-ages Sunday matinee. Dads, take note: Super Bowl will be on the TV. $5. 5pm.

Kingston. (845) 331-1116.

WWW.FORUMLOUNGE.COM

THE WIFEYS February 11. This alt-chick quartet are like shadows, always packing up when I arrive, but the buzz on them is red-hot after gigs at Forum and BSP. Double-check their website before you go, as the Collective Space on Main Street changed hands recently. It’s also an after-party for a “Vagina Monologues” benefit performance earlier in the day. 8pm. New Paltz.

WWW.THEWIFEYS.COM

BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO/C.J. CHENIER February 12, 26. Don’t we wish this was one ticket!? Alas, the gris gris spreads thick this month, with Mardi Gras filling a ripe 10 days from the 18th to the 28th. These two bandleaders are heirs apparent to the zydeco crown, with a knight’s nod to the Towne Crier for scoring them both this month. High-heeled sneakers a must! 8pm. Buck: $30/$27.50. CJ: $25/$22.50/$15. Pawling. (845) 855-1300.

WWW.TOWNECRIER.COM

of New Paltz

CAPTAIN SQUEEZE/CRAWDADDY February 24, 25. Another double-barred bill of Cajun craziness on the eve of Mardi Gras, as New World takes their holiday fetes seriously, with Fat Tuesday near the top of the list. No doubt Chef Ric has copious Creole creations ready to eat, but he lays the music on thick too. Friday night whirl & twirl to Captain Squeeze and his Zydeco Moshers, and Saturday night reel ‘em in with the blues, funk, and Cajun rock of Jimmy Eppard and Crawdaddy. It’ll kick your ash ‘til next Wednesday! 9pm. No cover. Sauger-Stock.

(845) 246-0900.

WWW.NEWWORLDHOMECOOKING.COM

255-4SAM (4726)

HOWE GELB February 24. Singer-songwriter Howe Gelb of Giant Sand (originally the Giant Sandworms) brings his twisted desert songs to John Doe Books in Columbia County. After Gelb’s 20 years of indie rock tenacity, emusic.com calls his music “a highly original take on Southwestern roots and garage rock.” Call ahead for reservations as seating is extremely limited. 8pm. $20. Hudson. (518) 632-4273.

WWW.GIANTSAND.COM

THE SAINTS OF SWING February 25. Close your eyes and imagine the mighty Mississippi in Orange County. OK, it’s the Hudson River and the flavors of New Orleans are flowing from the kitchen of the Big Easy Bistro. The Saints, featuring legendary vocalist Rene Bailey, comprise both first and second lines, marching through the restaurant and serenading diners, Dixieland style. 7pm. No cover with drinks/dinner. Newburgh.

(845) 565-3939.

WWW.SAINTSOFSWING.COM

HALL AND OATES March 3. It was no fluke that in the Times Herald-Record’s Top Ten Live Shows of 2005, three of them (The Pixies, Los Lonely Boys, and Robert Randolph) were at UPAC, more than any other venue on the list. This gem of a theater will shine brightly when the original ‘80s hit-men Daryl and John light up their 80-year-old stage. Don’t be surprised to see the hip-hop contingent out in force, who’ve quietly been sampling H&O since De La Soul’s 1989 hit “Say No Go.” Presented by The Bardavon. (Murali Coryell rocks the after-party at Forum.) 8pm. $90/$55/$50. Kingston. (845) 339-6088.

WWW.UPAC.ORG

42 MUSIC CHRONOGRAM 2/06

CD REVIEWS RED MOLLY: RED MOLLY RED MOLLY, 2005

Laurie MacAllister, Abbie Gardner, and Carolann Solebello are the powerhouse Americana/roots trio who met during a jam session at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in 2004. I picked up their four-song, self-produced debut CD back in July at the Towne Crier Cafe.

Laurie leads the group on the first track, “Yellow House,” a sad up-tempo bluegrass lament about a woman who’s sent her good man away. Next is “Long Island Cowboy,” an original song

by Gardner with MacAllister singing lead. It’s a slow, lilting country tune that compares guys from New York City with the cowboys of Texas. “Darling Cory” is a traditional folk song that showcases the group’s fabulous vocal harmonies with Gardner singing lead; Abbie’s Dobro natural voice and slide guitar are one of the attractions of Red Molly. Finally, “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” the 1926 pop-country standard, rounds out the selection, with MacAllister singing lead while the band supports her with guitars and vocals. The only thing missing is Solebello’s clear, strong voice up front on at least one song.

For fans of traditional Americana, Red Molly’s CD is a breath of fresh air. For sound clips, schedules, and to purchase music, go to www.redmolly.com.

—J. Spica

SOUND GARDEN: CELESTIAL VOICES JSL RECORDS, 2005

Einstein said that the most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It’s unfortunate, then, that he wasn’t afforded the opportunity to hear Celestial Voices.

This 14-track disc is no plinky-plunky new age barf, unlike many of the “spiritual” discs New Leaf Distribution cranks out these days (though they occasionally pick up a truly glorious disc like this one—congratulations, ladies). This a cappella female chorale—Kyoko Kitamura, Marlene Primavera, and JSL composer/director/producer Judi Silvano—intertwine crystalline vocals ranging from soaring soprano to deep, earthy tones in a seamless soundscape that transcends the conventional relaxation recording.

The most blindingly beautiful ray of light is the one piercing through the heaviest thundercloud. And here comes the sun. For local listeners, this disc will inevitably draw comparisons to Prana or any number of groups of chanting yogis, monks, nuns, and the like. But this disc moves beyond the ecclesiastical, as its peaceful, placid sea of song has an underlying tone that echoes and haunts, summoning the listener beyond the watchtowers to who knows where. Einstein might have loved it.

Celestial Voices is the second in JSL’s meditation series; look for the piano, flute, and harp of Vibration Songs in the spring. For more information, visit www.jslrecords.com/meditation.

—Sharon Nichols

WALLY NICHOLS: SHARPIE INFECTIOUS RECORDS, 2005

Though Sharpie starts to lose its edge after Lennon and McCartney’s “Blackbird” (positioned midway through 15 tracks), you still have to enjoy listening to Nichols for a number of reasons.

First, you gotta love his Beck-ian visits to any number of rock ‘n’ rolls, instantly recognizable, iconographic landscapes.

You’ll hear U2 on “Find The Sun,” John Denver on “Colorado,” and Lovin’ Spoonful on “The One.” There’s a bluesy and belligerent Tom Waits roaming ‘round on “Whiskey.” The Velvet Underground with Bowie make an appearance on “Gansevort St. Love Song.” Then there’s more blues as guitarists Dan Goldman and Andy Goldsberg, drummer Seth Kornfeld, and keyboardist Scott Barkham go after the Beck brass ring on “Gimme a Woman.”

Then there’s his sense of humor: “Gimme a woman who can crush a walnut between her thighs,” from “Gimme a Woman.” Or this flippant bon mot from the folksy pop of “Fairway of Love”: “Rolling off the fairway of love and into the rough.”

Thirdly and fourthly, you’ve got to respect the inventor of “The Ladle Cradle,” billed as “the perfect thankyou gift for anyone who cooks”—as a guy who knows what people want and makes his music whether the masses like it or not. www.wallynichols.com —Mike Jurkovic 2/06 CHRONOGRAM MUSIC 43

Books

ART OF DARKNESS

by Nina Shengold photos by Hillary Harvey 44 BOOKS CHRONOGRAM 2/06

Mary Gaitskill

has lived a lot of lives. She burst onto the literary scene in 1988 with the aptly named Bad Behavior, a startling collection of stories that broke taboos without breaking stride. Gaitskill wrote with invigorating honesty about masochists, Dexedrine addicts, and prostitutes, finding a weird beauty in their unsensational, everyday lives.

Next came her novel Two Girls, Fat and Thin, whose themes of incest and bondage cemented Gaitskill’s reputation as a literary Bad Girl, and the acclaimed story collection Because They Wanted To. Last year, her long-awaited novel Veronica met with glowing reviews and a National Book Award nomination. The NBA judges’ citation read, in part, “Gaitskill is an unforgiving writer, harsh, caustic, and raw. All that masks the enormous accomplishment of her work, the ability to use the dark to cast light.”

Veronica casts its light on an unlikely friendship, recalled by a former model named Alison, now aging and ravaged by hepatitis. In place of the forward march of conventional plotting, we’re treated to a kaleidoscope of memories tumbling through Alison’s brain as she cleans an ex-lover’s office for wages and climbs an overgrown canyon. Past and present events touch each other like naked wires, sending off sparks. We see Alison as a numbly passive teen runaway in San Francisco, plucked from the gutter and groomed for the Paris runway. When that career crashes and burns, she moves to New York and meets the fiercely iconoclastic Veronica, an unglamorous older proofreader whose bisexual lover leaves her with AIDS. Gaitskill’s language has a fervid, hallucinogenic quality; she’s like reading crystal meth. “Outside, night was already putting on its neon, and traffic was laying the streets with knotted jewelry.” Though Veronica references Robert Mapplethorpe’s infamously theatrical self-portraits, its effect is more like an Avedon mug shot: Every pore and blown vein is exposed in a merciless light, but you can’t take your eyes from the image. When Gaitskill writes of “nightclubs like cheap boxed hell, full of smoke and giant faces with endlessly talking lips and eyes and snouts swelling and bulbous with beauty,” she perfectly captures the glamour and bloat of New York in the clubgoing eighties.

Mary Gaitskill is known for her candor in interviews, revealing her past as a stripper and sometime sex worker; she once told the Wall Street Journal, “Masochism is normal.” In author photos, her face looks severe, even fierce, but the delicate blonde who appears at the door of Terrapin’s Red Bistro, scanning the room with uncertain eyes, seems a far softer creature. Only when she stabs a fork into her endive salad and answers, “Why Rhinebeck?” with a gimlet-eyed, acid, “Why not?” is the Gaitskill who wrote Bad Behavior in evidence.

But the answer is as surprising as everything else about Gaitskill: The author, who seems allergic to anything vaguely New Age, met her husband at the Omega Institute. Four years ago, Gaitskill was invited by Rhinebeck resident Ann Patty, who edited Bad Behavior and Two Girls, Fat and Thin, to a spiritual and creative retreat for war veterans. One of the other instructors was writer Peter Trachtenberg (7 Tattoos), and though their romance took months to unfold, Gaitskill left Omega feeling “so beatific” that she misremembered the train ride to New York as 45 minutes and moved from Houston to Rhinebeck on impulse.

The oldest of three sisters, Gaitskill left home at 16.

She started writing in earnest two years later, while living in Toronto and working as a stripper. “It still had a feeling of burlesque then, though it was changing. The older strippers in their thirties and forties had feather boas, though they didn’t always want to bother with them. But there was a more fully developed idea of a show.” One of her favorite colleagues had an act based on Ken Russell’s The Devils, with a breakaway nun’s habit. Gaitskill’s specialty was, not too surprisingly, naughty schoolgirls.

Gaitskill doesn’t volunteer much about her childhood, but notes that the effusive dedication to her parents in Two Girls, Fat and Thin was “my crude attempt to let people know this was not about my parents.” It wasn’t entirely effective. “Some idiot reporter called my dad in Kentucky and asked how he felt about his daughter publishing a novel about father-daughter rape and incest.” She imitates her father’s bellowed response, “Do you think Edgar Rice Burroughs was raised by apes?” with affection.

The path to literary celebrity wasn’t smooth. Gaitskill completed some of the stories in Bad Behavior in her early twenties, but in spite of their obvious polish, couldn’t sell any of them to magazines or literary quarterlies, even with the help of an agent. Eventually, the whole collection was snapped up by Poseidon Press. The book’s accolades “surpassed my wildest dreams,” Gaitskill recalls, adding darkly, “I don’t know what would have happened to me if it didn’t meet with that kind of response, if it hadn’t been published at all. Nothing good.”

She is a rigorously careful writer, honing her prose in several-month binges, then laying the manuscript aside until she feels ready to return to it. She sketched out a first draft of Veronica nearly a decade before completing the book. “It was a seed that took a long time to germinate and blossom,” Gaitskill explains. “The process was very intuitive.” She fed her intuition by reading such stream-of-consciousness classics as Lighthousekeeping, The Hours, Mrs. Dalloway, and Ulysses—books that would “subconsciously support what I was doing”–and immersing herself in research. Knowing next to nothing about the fashion industry, she devoured books by models, conducted interviews with stylists and hairdressers, and went on studio shoots and a “go-see” (a model’s audition) to soak up details.

Gaitskill had no idea how Veronica would be received.

Though she says, “It’s about fall and redemption, that’s a universal story,” she feared that its densely stylized language would be off-putting, and that fans of her previous work would find it soft or sentimental. When one of her Syracuse University graduate students asked what her new book was about, Gaitskill replied, “Middle-aged women and their problems. You’ll hate it.”

The critical raves were thrilling, but Gaitskill is characteristically down-to-earth in her response. “I didn’t really get to enjoy it that much because I was too tired—I was teaching full-time, and constantly felt pulled in two directions.” Asked if she likes to teach, she says, “No,” letting the syllable sit by itself for a moment before adding that there are “good moments, and every now and then students I really like. But if I could afford to stop teaching, I would.”

Gaitskill’s current projects include several stories and another novel, begun in 2000 and written in alternating stints with Veronica. “I hope it won’t take me 10 years,” she sighs. Is there any subject about which she’d be uncomfortable writing? Gaitskill pauses. “I’d hesitate

to write from the point of view of someone from a different race or culture, or someone illiterate—someone whose life experience I’d be afraid I couldn’t understand well enough.

“I write about things that interest me or that I observe.

I also tend to write about things that trouble me.” She cites an unforgettable character in Veronica, an emaciated man who crawls around naked, compulsively licking the floors of an S&M club. Gaitskill saw someone doing just that, years ago, and the image stayed with her. “I thought he was insane, but it was such a metaphor. That man is a picture of obsession with all the juice wrung out of it.

Obsession can be very enjoyable. It warms you, makes you feel alive. But you take the juicy feeling away and you’re left with a hungry ghost, that desperate, hamsterwheel quality.”

Contrast this deeply disturbing image with the poster for the recent film of Gaitskill’s story Secretary, in which the title character crawls cutely toward the viewer, bearing her boss’s mail in her mouth like a puppy. Though Gaitskill publicly disdained the film adaptation, which softened her story’s sharp edges and lasting sting into a sort of Lifetime Bondage for Women fantasy, she has since declared it “kind of sweet.”

She’s also developed an interest in acting, and recently played a variety of ensemble roles in the Cocoon Theater’s production of A Christmas Carol in Rhinebeck. “I decided I was going nuts, writing so much. You’re always inside your head, you can go kind of crazy. It’s an inverted world, so cerebral. I wanted to do something physical, something creative, but not just me—where I could be part of a group, and there wasn’t so much riding on it. I mean, if you fail at a novel, it’s one thing, but if you’re not great as First Charity Lady…” Gaitskill lets loose a laugh, her body completely relaxed for the first time since we met. “Cocoon Theatre is like a Dickensian family. The kids all take part. They make all the costumes, sell refreshments at intermission.” Her enthusiasm is infectious.

Is it possible that Mary Gaitskill is—as a New Ager might say—getting mellow? Has she followed her character Alison’s path through a dark underworld and back into the tenuous sunlight of human connection? Maybe so, but fans of her earlier work will be happy to know she has not lost her edge. Reminded of an exchange in a 1994 interview, when a male journalist asked, “Have you turned any tricks?” and Gaitskill snapped back, “Yes. Have you?” her smile turns wicked. “He would if he could.”

2/06 CHRONOGRAM BOOKS 45

SHORT TAKES This month’s line-up of great reads by local authors has something for everyone, from media critics to tractor enthusiasts.

FOG FACTS LARRY BEINHART NATION BOOKS, 2005, $22

Subtitled “Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin,” the author of American Hero—the film Wag the Dog was adapted from it—takes a look at recent history, from 9/11 onward, and examines how the media has failed to deliver quality reportage, especially concerning the chicanery of the current administration.

YOU KILL ME ALISON GAYLIN SIGNET, 2005, $6.99

The engaging heroine of Off-Broadway chick-lit thriller Hide Your Eyes gets into more twisty, tongue-in-cheek mayhem in this addictively suspenseful sequel. Gaylin will speak at the Local Interest Book Club, Kingston Barnes & Noble, Wednesday, 2/22 at 7pm.

A LOVE LIKE NO OTHER: STORIES FROM ADOPTIVE PARENTS EDITED BY PAMELA KRUGER AND JILL SMOLOWE RIVERHEAD BOOKS, 2005, $23.95

Essential reading for adoptive families, this powerful anthology of twenty extraordinarily personal essays by accomplished authors includes a moving piece by Ulster County memoirist Laura Shaine Cunningham (A Place in the Country) about her Romanianand Chinese-born daughters.

TEACHING EMPATHY DAVID A. LEVINE SOLUTION TREE, 2005, $34.95

Concise and well-researched, this book provides thoughtful and specific methods of teaching children about a disastrously overlooked subject: empathy. With detailed sections on compassion, honor, good listening, and generosity, local author Levine explains how to impart these concepts to children.

DIAMOND STREET: THE STORY OF THE LITTLE TOWN WITH THE BIG RED-LIGHT DISTRICT BRUCE EDWARD HALL BLACK DOME PRESS, 2005, $16.95

This compulsively readable, genuinely funny reissue takes us back to pre-1950s Hudson, NY, when respectable citizens lived side by side with whores and gamblers, and both illicit and legitimate businesses thrived. A fascinating and entertaining addition to any local interest collection!

I GREW UP ON A FARM ALAN K. LEWIS, ILLUSTRATED BY BOB FLETCHER MOO PRESS BOOKS, 2005, $19.95

Lewis describes the simple pleasures of life on a farm through carefully chosen words and vintage photos, which Fletcher incorporates into paintings. Beautifully illustrated in a style reminiscent of an old family scrapbook, this story will enchant children and nostalgic adults alike.

46 BOOKS CHRONOGRAM 2/06

Falling Palace: A Romance of Naples

By Dan Hofstadter Alfred A. Knopf, 2005, $24

I

f Italy has an armpit, it is surely Naples.

Aside from being the subject of one very cheesy love song (“That’s Amore”), the city Dean Martin called “Old Napoli” tends to get short shrift not only among Americans, but even within its own country. As a halfItalian, eager to discover my father’s family roots, I traveled there one hot summer during college to find, as I made my way down the boot, that the Italians I met were pleased to discover my last name, but fell strangely silent when I proudly answered their automatic question “What part?” with “Naples.” Only when I reached Naples, and found it a place of such strong sensory overload that it sounded pungent and smelled loud, were the people I met heartily welcoming and thrilled to learn of my Neapolitan forebears—even once while I was being robbed.

Naples is a place of contradictions, a filthy city that is the repository for much of Italy’s most valuable art, a nearly unnavigable maze of streets and smog-laden piazzas crowded with beautiful young things on Vespas, whole families out together, con men, prostitutes, crazy drivers, and la ’ndrangheta—local Mafia. Perhaps it is the location—between mist-capped, smoldering Vesuvius and the glaring Mediterranean—that makes the city so off-limits to outsiders.

Yet, as writer Dan Hofstadter discovered, it is the profusion of contradictions that makes it, arguably, more fascinating than any other Italian city. During his first visit to Naples as a teenage New Yorker looking for meaning, Hofstadter believes he was seduced by the “crowdedness” of this noisiest of cities. Even sleep in Naples, he writes, “is crowded, full of faces, gestures, winks, and warnings.”

Fortunately for readers, Hofstadter is no agoraphobic. So caught up in “Naples’ warm, maternal, slightly musty embrace” was he as a disaffected teen that he still returns to Naples for assignments and sojourns from his Hudson Valley home. A former contract writer for the New Yorker, Hoftstadter is the author of three other nonfiction books (most notably The Love Affair As a Work of Art) and several translations of French classics.

His new book, Falling Palace: A Romance of Naples is part travelogue, part poem, and part nonfiction love story, chronicling the author’s infatuations with Naples and the beautiful but elusive Benedetta, who embodies her city’s sense of place as she serves as Hofstadter’s guide, muse, and mysteriously unobtainable object of desire. Derisively calling Hofstadter’s fascination with Naples a “wet-kiss theory,” she is nonetheless capable of being moved to tears over local customs. Once, after calling Hofstadter’s friend Gennaro, an uncannily accurate radio psychic, a fake, she purrs his praises for driving Hofstadter home. “But of course he would do that,” she says. “He is Neopolitan.”

Through Hofstadter, and Benedetta, we see Naples in all its messy historical glory—decaying palaces and churches, streets running together like knots, legendary cliffs—as a backdrop to a captivating cast of characters, dreamers all. These include Donato, the wedding photographer who understands that he must create albums that will become his poor clients’ most prized possessions; Gigi, who stutters, chain-smokes, and longs to be an actor; Tina and Marissa, who can cry over the wrong pair of shoes on a bride; Signora Perna, an ever-practical and intellectual true believer in other worlds; and Salvatore, who insists that as a boy he climbed down a shaft near Santa Lucia and saw stars at noon. As Hofstadter’s urban journey unfolds, Benedetta grows ever more mercurial. It is only years later, after a suspicious letter arrives at his home in New York, beckoning him back to Naples, that he is able to solve her mystery. For the light that this final meeting sheds on the nature of amore and Old Napoli, American readers will be grateful.

—Susan Piperato

2/06 CHRONOGRAM BOOKS 47

America: A Prophecy —The Sparrow Reader Edited by Marcus Boon Soft Skull Press, 2005, $15.95

A

merica: A Prophecy begins with Sparrow telling us how ill-suited he is to his name, which was bestowed upon him 25 years ago by a woman who wore a purple snood and called herself the Princess of Love. He thinks it’s too wimpy, and he has a point, but if we think of him as a small voice in the wilderness, something ever-present but not overbearing, fluttering at the edges of our consciousness, it’s not a bad fit.

After years of gradually becoming aware of Sparrow’s byline on letters to the editor and short pieces in various small magazines and free newspapers—wise commentaries, often funny, sometimes bittersweet—I grew curious about who this person was. Man? Woman? Young?

Old? Surely some sort of hippie, with that name, yet too humble and open-minded to be an ideologue. But after finishing this collection, I’m still not certain who he is. The book ends with approximately 100,000 biographical notes on Sparrow, and that number is only a slight exaggeration, as are some of the entries. I’m pretty sure he’s never been a submarine captain, but some things are clear: He’s a troublemaker who likes to take long baths, a substitute teacher living on a shoestring budget in the Catskills, a poet in the Greenwich Village scene, a Marxist who has run for President four times, a Conservative Jew and a Buddhist, a 50-something husband and father, and a fan of musicals. Mostly, he’s someone who pays attention. For a guy who hasn’t watched television in 28 years, he sure knows a heck of a lot about pop culture.

This collection spans the breadth of Sparrow’s writing: from surreal flights of fancy like an account of sex with an ant or an interview with Kurt Cobain after his death, to quiet observations about the sky in the Catskills and his baby daughter, to quotidian dramas like his wife’s having a cockroach stuck in her ear. Sparrow is a master at clever subversion (you gotta love a guy who hands out free books in front of The Wiz to discourage people from buying televisions), a student of history, and passionate about language and literature. My favorite is his “Translations of the New Yorker into English,” a piece that brings the reader up short—how can Sparrow nail in just a couple of sentences what took John Updike or Robert Pinsky five stanzas to dance around? Sparrow has no patience for pretension—it’s one of his best qualities; he seeks spirituality in a Manhattan Bloomingdale’s and beauty in e-mail spam. Yet he’s merciless in his disdain for the proliferation of bad poetry.

Currently a columnist for the Phoenicia Times and a frequent contributor to this magazine, Sparrow is finally achieving a bit of fame by writing bumper stickers. Short, pithy insights are his strength, and this collection includes dozens of his proverbs: Cerebral one-liners that sneak up on you, give you a tickle, and leave you pleasantly dazed. If only he wrote fortune cookies.

America: A Prophecy leans toward the silly, and that’s plenty entertaining, but what I like best is his own voice of reason, that of another befuddled human being trying to make sense of an absurd and frequently disappointing world. And the book’s organization, if there is one, is inscrutable. Pieces are dated, but not always with years, and since they jump around chronologically, keeping track of which President Bush and which wasteful Middle East war Sparrow is deriding requires some effort.

America: A Prophecy, like Sparrow, has no thesis; it’s best dipped into at random and savored in small doses—all the better to make it last. To quote one of Sparrow’s proverbs: One noodle, long enough, is a meal.

—Erica Avery

BOOK SENSE BEST-SELLER LIST AVAILABLE AT WWW.CHRONOGRAM.COM The Book Sense best-seller list is updated weekly and compiled from sales data from 450 independent bookstores throughout the US. Book Sense is a marketing initiative of the nonprofit American Booksellers Association, an organization through which independently owned bookstores support free speech, literacy, and programs that encourage reading.

48 BOOKS CHRONOGRAM 2/06

The Hudson: A History Tom Lewis New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005, $30

M

inus the Hudson River, American history would be a very different affair.

Tom Lewis rightly sees the Hudson Valley as a region of American firsts: the first great river that led explorers into the continent’s uncharted interior; the first line of defense in the American Revolution; the harbor for the number one city in the world economy; and the first battleground for post-1945 environmentalism. Lewis’s engaging overview of the Valley during the past five centuries, and the region’s national prominence during that time, fills an important gap. The last synthesis, Carl Carmer’s classic account, was published in 1939.

Like his predecessor, Lewis is a fine wordsmith who targets literate readers in general rather than specialists. Like Carmer, he’s obviously done his professional homework, but that’s a heavier assignment now. Over 90 percent of the history PhDs ever granted were earned after World War II, creating much higher stacks of paper on the history of the Hudson.

Eight out of The Hudson’s nine chapters focus on developments through 1900; the first chapter includes a capsulized natural history of the river and its landscape. Lewis reminds us that the Lower Hudson River is no river at all: It’s a fjord, a 150-mile-long deep channel where Atlantic saltwater mixes with fresh mountain water. Then we learn a goodly amount about the Valley’s biophysical milieu via minibiographies of three 18th- and 19th-century pioneer investigators.

Minibiographies constitute Lewis’s principal narrative tool. Where Carmer made history come alive through the lens of folklore, Lewis employs the lives of movers and shakers. As a teacher of literature at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, and maker of prize-winning documentaries, he knows just how to draw audiences into a good yarn.

But yarns about elites come at a price. We don’t see “history from below” reconstructing humble as well as mighty lives. Lewis’s discussions of slaves in pre-Civil War New York, or rural tenants’ revolts, indicate that he’s attuned to humble folks, but his spotlight is elsewhere. This approach precludes systematic information on socioeconomic trends, or even chronology. Nevertheless, Lewis’ spotlights are revealing.

The Hudson’s post-1900 history gets a lively, if overly condensed, final chapter. World War II, rather than Lewis’ symbolic choice of the turn of the century, really marks the great divide in the Valley’s social fabric. The post-1945 “highway-industrial complex,” plus mainframe computers, overturned basic economic patterns that persisted from the mid-1800s through the Great Depression.

When railways displaced canals, they followed parallel routes. Automobiles, by contrast, spread everywhere. Bridge and tunnel building boomed in the 1930s, but people lacked money to buy cars.

After 1945, they had cash. And before 1945, lumber, bricks, cement, and marble were transported down the River to build New York City. After 1945, new construction techniques used other materials from other regions. Long-distance trucking of produce along new highways from California dealt a further blow to the Valley’s agriculture.

Then, as older industries wound down, the Valley became IBM’s valley, and the nation’s first civilian high-tech belt. Lateral east-west commuting flows across the Hudson increased relative to traditional north-south flows along relatively isolated sides of the River.

Lewis turned an earlier book, Divided Highways, into a well-received documentary film. He’s uniquely qualified to delve deeper into the telling impact of post-1945 roads on the Hudson Valley than he does in his new book. The Hudson could also be the basis for a smashingly good script on the history of America’s great fjord, and an occasion to devote more attention to our Valley’s great transformation since World War II. —Philip Ehrensaft

“Playful, funny, touching, and unique. I don’t know a child who will not repeatedly request this book.”

–Stanley Tucci

2/06 CHRONOGRAM BOOKS 49

Fiction

Nearly 40 writers submitted short stories inspired by the 2004 One Book, One New Paltz community-reading selection, Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, to the Chronogram-sponsored Creative Writing Contest.

There were no submissions in the young-adult category. Every submission in the adult category was read anonymously and ranked by Creative Writing faculty at SUNY New Paltz. Those manuscripts receiving three points (the highest possible score) from all judges were selected as finalists. Many thanks to first-round judges Larry Carr, Dennis Doherty, John Langan, Tad Richards, Rachel Rigolino, and Jan Schmidt. Thanks are also due to Lyn Thoman, SUNY New Paltz Writing Programs Staff Assistant, who guarded the anonymity of the entrants and administrated the first-round judging.

I forwarded three short stories (the writers’ identities unknown to me) to nationally acclaimed novelist Da Chen, who read them anonymously. The finalists were (in alphabetical order): Irene McGarrity, “The Ruler of Ramen Noodles”; Abigail Robin, “Searching for Papa”; and Chris Whitaker, “Different.”

Announcing the winner, Da Chen wrote: “The winner is ‘Different.’ It is brave, raw, and utterly lyrical. It reads truthfully like some black-and-white Sundance documentary. The author skillfully unpeels every layer as we go along. Thus each paragraph ambushes the reader with grenades of more shocking revelations. What amazes me the most is the sweet tone, of a boy different but never bitter, depressed but never hopeless. One knows that a better weekend awaits him somewhere....”

—Pauline Uchmanowicz, Contest Coordinator

B

lue light seeped in around the edges of the curtains when Malcolm parted them to look at the still street below. Soon the sun would rise, and then doors would slam and cars would start up. For now, the morning was his, private and quiet. He had been awake since the middle of the night, when his father started pounding on his door and yelling obscenities. Although Malcolm was long in the habit of locking his door at night, it was hard to go back to sleep after one of his dad’s sieges. The wood of the doorframe was busted out at the handle from being kicked in before. Now, two heavy-duty slide bolts held fast opposite the hinges at top and bottom.

Malcolm yawned as he sat back in his chair and evaluated his night’s work. Underneath a gooseneck lamp and surrounded by eraser shavings lay a detailed drawing of a drum kit that included many cymbals, tom-tom drums, and a gong in the back. Malcolm flipped through the instrument catalog, that had been his patient model throughout the night, and then tossed it aside. Satisfied with his masterpiece, he tucked it carefully into his book bag, under the cover of his dreaded math textbook. The learning specialist in the Resource Room would be on his case for not doing his homework again. Why couldn’t they simply agree there was no hope for him in mathematics and move on to a more interesting subject? Malcolm shrugged it off and thought about showing his drawing to Steve Zeller instead. Steve’s thick immobile, lips and carefully combed blond bangs resting on top 50 FICTION CHRONOGRAM 2/06

of steel-rimmed glasses came to mind, and Malcolm started to get another erection. He pulled down his underwear to admire it for a moment. The temptation to jerk off again was strong, but he decided to save it. It was Friday, and you never knew what might happen. He flicked the head with his finger before pulling up his underwear.

“Down, boy.”

After showering and dressing entirely in black, Malcolm opened the minifridge stashed in the corner of his room and poured a half-glass of orange juice. The last of the vodka splashed into the glass; it was time to pay another visit to his supplier. Savoring a big gulp, Malcolm set the drink down next to a mirror ringed with lights. This was one of his favorite parts of the day. It was a private time to put on his public face. Armed with a can of hairspray in one hand, he teased and prodded his hair with the other. Within minutes, his hair-do defied gravity and symmetry. It was like a painting: Too many touch-ups could destroy the effect. Now he was ready to face another day in high school.

Malcolm sat on the edge of the chorus riser in the Band Room. He could hear the muted thump and crash of a drummer practicing in one of the soundproof booths in the back. The wobbling melody of a horn playing a new piece wafted in the background from another booth. Malcolm knew that Steve Zeller usually spent his study hall period practicing in the Band Room. He couldn’t decide whether or not it would be a good idea to show Steve his drawing. Would it seem cool or weird? The thumping came to

a dramatic and splashy finale, and then there was silence. Malcolm’s heart began to beat faster. What should he do? He sat paralyzed with the drawing in his hands. Steve walked into the Band Room and tucked two drumsticks into his back pocket. He was a junior with a muscular body, but the glasses and pockmarks on his face made him look less intimidating.

“Hey, Malcolm. What’s up?”

“Nothing a drink wouldn’t fix.”

Steve laughed. “Yeah, right. You thinking of joining the chorus?”

“No, just blowing off my math tutor. You sounded really good back there.”

“Thanks. I was only working up a sweat.”

“Sounds exciting.”

“Oh, yeah? Cut myself on the snare, though.”

Steve showed a bloody knuckle. “Check it out.”

“Ouch. That must have hurt.”

“Not really. What do you got there?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just an idea I was messing around with.”

“Let me see it.” Steve took up the drawing and examined it closely. “Check you out, Malcolm. This is awesome!”

Malcolm was relieved. “Do you think so?” He gazed upon Steve’s cherished profile with the piece of paper up to his face.

“Totally. You’ve got the major prog rock set-up here. Check out all this Ludwig gear.”

“Do you prefer Ludwig or Pearl drums?” Malcolm observed that Steve’s bangs were pasted to his forehead with sweat rather than resting on the tops of his glasses as usual.

“They’re both decent.” Steve seemed to notice how intently Malcolm was looking at

him. “Uh—but if I had the money, I’d probably go for a set of Sonor Delites.”

“Oh, really? What kind do you have at home?”

“I’ve got a Pearl fusion five-piece. It’s okay.”

Steve laughed nervously and put the drawing on a music stand. “It sure beats the hell out of those Tama hunks of junk they got in there.”

Malcolm laughed nervously too. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” The horn had gone silent, and soon they would have company. His mind was going blank.

“I don’t know why the school doesn’t spend more of its budget on musical instruments.”

“Uh—right. I don’t know.”

An awkward pause was broken when Phil Tibble emerged from his practice booth with an instrument case in hand. He slung it into the storage bins along the wall and then strode up to the chorus riser with a smile.

“Hey, Steve. Just the man I wanted to see.”

“Hey, Phil. What’s going on?” Steve knocked knuckles with Phil.

“Not too much.” Phil gave Malcolm a dubious look and decided to ignore him. “So, I was wondering if maybe you could go over this horn chart with me sometime before Band on Monday?”

“Before Monday?! Dude. I guess I could meet you right after school today for a little while.”

“Excellent! You da man, Steve.”

“Sure, no problem.”

Steve and Phil started toward the door.

Malcolm felt crushed from being ignored. “Well, it was nice talking to you.”

2/06 CHRONOGRAM FICTION 51

Steve looked back, puzzled. “Uh—whatever. I’ll see you around.” He gave Phil a smirk as they left the Band Room.

“Bye,” said Malcolm wistfully.

Malcolm picked up the drawing from the music stand and stuffed it huffily into his book

bag. He sat there for a moment treasuring the heartache before he shuffled off to class.

M

alcolm walked out the front door of Middlekill Area High School. Only parents and salesmen used that entrance, but Malcolm knew it was best to avoid the school bus platform after school. There, he would usually be bumped into, tripped up, or at the very least, called a faggot. He had always thought that the ridicule would stop when he became a senior, but evidently his status as a faggot was yet lower than that of the zitty freshmen who got laughs for trying to spit on him.

The afternoon was hot and hazy. It seemed as if the day were tired out and just going through the motions until sundown. Malcolm walked up Main Street and then turned onto the county highway. From the look of the empty parking lot, they were still between shifts at the Pancake House. He opened the tinted glass door and let the book bag slide off his shoulder as he took a seat at the counter. It smelled warm inside like hot food, dishwater, and smiles. A round waitress whisked past him.

“Hi, Shirl.”

“Oh, hi, Malcolm. I’ll let your mom know you’re here.”

“Is there a check for me by any chance?”

“Not if you didn’t work last week.” Shirl backed through the kitchen doors with a smile.

Malcolm looked around the dingy restaurant. This was his second home, and he often thought of how he would redecorate it. Today, a pink and aqua Malibu theme came to mind. First off, the dull brown paneling would get a coat of pink paint. Then, aqua silhouettes of palm trees and sailboats would replace the copper relief still lifes on the wall. Finally, he would make the middle-aged waitresses wear sunglasses, sandals, aqua halter-tops, and, what the hell, pink hot pants. Malcolm smiled at the thought.

“Glad to see yer in such a good mood.” Trish was short and energetic, but looked like she could be Malcolm’s grandmother.

“Oh, it’s just a facade to keep you from feeling guilty, Mother.”

“That’s my boy.” Trish winked as she poured a fountain soda for Malcolm. “What do you want to eat?”

“I’m not hungry. I’m just here for the ambience.”

“Oh, that’s our special today.” Trish liked it when her son spoke French. “Have a tuna melt with that?”

“Well, if you insist.”

Trish placed the soda and a straw on the counter.

“Soup or salad?”

“The tuna melt’s fine.”

“How ’bout some fries on the side?”

52 FICTION CHRONOGRAM 2/06

“Just the tuna melt, Mother.”

“I’ll be right back.” Trish disappeared into the kitchen.

Trish was the cook at the Pancake House, and she often came out of the kitchen to joke and gossip with the customers. This used to embarrass Malcolm, but now he thought she was a hoot. People often told Malcolm that his mother was a wonderful person. He always thought they said it because she put up with his father. At the moment, he could see that other people loved his mother for the same reasons he did: because of her sense of humor and her caring ways. He wanted to be just like his mother when he grew up except without the large, impoverished family.

After a while, Trish reappeared with a tuna melt deluxe. “Here you go, hon. Watch.

Those fries are hot.”

“Thanks, Mother. This looks delicieux!”

“Well, if you put it that way, you’re welcome.”

Trish scrunched her nose at Malcolm and leaned her elbows on the counter. “Have you seen your brother lately?”

“He didn’t come home yesterday, and you can forget about tonight because it’s the weekend.”

“He hasn’t stopped in all this week for a meal.”

“Mother, haven’t you noticed Darren has a liquid diet?” Malcolm coyly popped a few fries into his mouth.

“I’m worried he’s turning out like his father.”

“Don’t worry, Mother, because—because it’s too late!”

Malcolm and Trish shared a laugh.

“That’s terrible to say.” Trish winked at Malcolm. “He’s young still. He’ll come around yet.”

“Whatever. Have you heard from Big Sis?” “Tonda came by for lunch just this afternoon. And you should see little Corey. He’s getting so big!”

“Oh, I know. I’ve been a bad uncle lately.”

Malcolm munched regretfully on some more fries. “I’ll go visit them sometime soon.”

“I wasn’t gonna say nothing, but why don’t ya stop by tonight?”

“It’s Friday. I’m going to the movies.”

“You always go to the movies.”

“But I have a rendezvous with friends tonight, Mother. I can’t abandon what little social life I have.”

“Well, suit yourself. Corey’d love to see ya.”

Trish straightened out the condiments on the counter.

“Now, look at who didn’t want any fries?”

Malcolm stared at his lone tuna melt with mock alarm. “What fries? I ordered a fruit cocktail!”

“Oh, so it’s dessert you want now.”

They both giggled.

“No, I’m fine. Have to watch my figure, you know.”

“So, you want a fruit cocktail to go with your figure?”

“No, that’s okay, Mother. I still have the sandwich.”

“I’ll be right back.” Trish vanished into the kitchen.

After finishing a fruit cocktail topped with whipped cream, Malcolm stooped over to give his mother a hug and a kiss. She had to get the specials ready for dinner; he had to go meet his “friends.” As he plodded across the parking lot of the Pancake House, Malcolm felt a brief twinge for fibbing to his mother about his social plans. There would be time to see his nephew later in the weekend. He loved his family, but sorely needed doses of freedom in between them to keep from getting too depressed. Although he knew he would miss them when he left town after graduation, he dreamed of a new life in the city all the time. The only thing that stood in the way of his post-graduation dream was passing math. Why couldn’t they accept he was simply different in that area and just give him the dumb diploma?

M

alcolm walked down Main Street toward the Capitol Theater. Its art deco marquee was lit up even though it was still light outside. The first and last letters of the neon sign didn’t work, so the theater proclaimed itself as the “apito” at night. It was one of the few sights that endeared Middlekill to Malcolm. He went up to the curved window of the ticket booth and wrapped on the glass. Someone peeked between the closed blinds and then, after a pause, unlocked the front door. Charles Keefer was an overweight man in his mid-twenties with skin that flaked badly. He held the door open with one hand like a doorman and motioned for Malcolm to enter.

T

he sun set gloriously across the sky outside while Malcolm sat in the corner of the ill-lit projection booth. The air reeked of film and machine oil, and there was little breathing room thanks to the huge projectors. Feeling lonely, Malcolm took a nip of the vodka. Some social life he had, and so much for his rendezvous with all those “friends.” Malcolm was almost used to being a social outcast ever since he had come out of the closet. There were times when the aloneness was hard to take, though. This was one of them. He thought of whom he might see in the theater that night. Malcolm often lingered in the cinema lobby after shows to see if anyone else was lonely and open to adventure. So far, none of the moviegoers in Middlekill had been adventurous. Maybe Steve Zeller would show up alone and wouldn’t ignore him again because of sidelong glances from other guys. Malcolm pulled the drawing of the drum kit out of his book bag and looked at it dreamily for a while. Then, very carefully, he tore it up into tiny pieces of paper and sprinkled them over his math book.

���������������������� ��������������������������

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“Get in before someone sees you.”

“Always charmant, Charles.”

“Hey, if I get caught, I lose my job.”

“Well, while you’re still employed, why don’t you have the name changed? The Capitol Theater makes no sense at all.”

“It works for me.”

“But think about it. This isn’t a theater, and it’s not in the capital.”

“So? Middlekill’s the county seat.”

“You’re reaching there, Charles. Then it should be called the County Cinema.”

“Don’t bust my balls.”

“I think you should walk right up to Mr. Kratts and demand that he change the name to the County Cinema immediately.”

“Yeah, right. And he’d fire me for insubordination. Come on.”

Charles lumbered across the lobby with his arms stiffly straight by his sides. The cinema stank of stale popcorn and carpet freshener. The worn red carpet was brown in the middle where people usually tread.

Malcolm followed Charles up the spiral stairs to the cramped manager’s office.

“Charles, you shouldn’t be afraid to speak your mind.”

“Look, I have enough to do as it is. I open up, sell concessions, run the projector, clean up, and close down. What more do you want from me?”

Malcolm giggled at his exasperation. “Well, you could start by cleaning up this office. It’s a disgrace.”

“Who cares? Nobody ever sees it.” Charles collapsed heavily into a chair on wheels and leaned back until it creaked.

“It’s the principle, Charles. I’m sure these are inhumane working conditions somewhere in the world.

I insist you call the union right now.” Malcolm picked up a phone that was half-buried on the desk.

“Don’t touch stuff in here!” Charles snatched back the phone.

Malcolm laughed, and then pretended to be offended. “I was merely standing up for your rights.”

“Well, don’t! I don’t need your help.”

“Oh, Charles. You’re no fun!” Malcolm sighed. “Do you have a bottle for me?”

Charles’ eyes narrowed. “Do you have money for me?

“Well, there’s the problem. Perhaps you could put it on my tab until next week?”

“No way.” Charles leaned forward and pumped his eyebrows. “Of course, there are other ways of paying.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Charles. I’m not that desperate tonight.”

“Hey, I’m just reminding you of the options. You’d be surprised how many others go for it.”

Charles grinned unpleasantly.

“I’m sure I wouldn’t be.” Malcolm sighed.

“Look, I’ve got ten dollars. I can get the other five to you by next Friday.”

“Oh, you should have said so! Ten bucks will buy you a pint.”

“A pint? Shouldn’t that be seven-fifty?”

“It is what it is. Do you want it?”

Malcolm dug into his pocket and tossed the money onto the desk.

“You’ve become quite the businessman, Charles.”

Charles flipped open the top of a cardboard file box and pulled out a pint from a stand of bottles.

“And it’s a pleasure doing business.”

“Georgi. Only the finest.” Malcolm slipped the bottle into his book bag.

“Just don’t spill it in the theater.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll curl up in the balcony, and no one will know I’m here.”

“That’s out tonight. I’ve got customers.”

Charles smiled dirtily.

“No! Who?” “Can’t say.” Charles ushered Malcolm out of the office. “Just wait in the projection booth until six forty-five. Then come down to the lobby and take a regular seat.”

“I’ll be sure to wave to Mr. Kratts.”

“Stay away from the ticket window!”

� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

������������ 2/06 CHRONOGRAM FICTION 53

POETRY

EDITED BY PHILLIP LEVINE. You can submit up to three poems to Chronogram at a time. Send ‘em if you got ‘em, either via snail-

mail or e-mail. Deadline: February 10. 314 Wall St., Kingston, NY 12401. E-mail: poetry@chronogram.com. Subject: Poetry.

i cut myself dreaming —p

Lane change; failure to signal

A Man and His Clone

She’ll take the keys without discussion; he’ll be content, unquestioning in the passenger seat.

I am on a westbound train, sitting at a white tableclothed table playing casino with my cloned son Robert.

Robert’s not too bright, but he’s goodhearted, or wants to be.

He is beating me more often than not at this game I’ve taught him, which my father (of whom, unfortunately, I’m no clone) taught me.

I think we are in Oklahoma, or maybe New Mexico—one of those gorgeous western states speeding past us as we play our cards.

I would ask Robert where we are, only I know he wouldn’t know if I don’t.

We are on our way to California, where a man and his clone may feel reasonably secure. I once had a premonition I would die there; that was in 1965. It hardly matters now.

The first mapmaker, while clearly lacking the global view, was persuaded nonetheless by elongated blots approximating where he’d been.

She’ll navigate little-known landscapes, accelerate past exit ramps, breathe easily, exhale minor mysteries, drive on.

She’ll drive on, passing roadside signs, indecipherable and that’s okay.

Early cartographers were defeated by perspective; we map madly now, measuring continents and gardens and galaxies and the shortfalls of the soul.

But for all of that and science, who can fix a point and say, “I am there or was or will be?”

She’ll take the keys, without discussion.

—Kenneth Salzmann

—Donald Lev

Bobby Bell The morning Bobby Bell left my house, the geometry of line on the sidewalks changed texture to a river of skin cells under a platform microscope.

Sometime you want to push back memory until you remember the only way you know, the sun an egg yolk, dried grass taking on its coloring, the lawn running egg drippings on a greased cast iron pan.

He was my best friend and then he wasn’t. I stood there, waiting, watching him go.

I can see my shadow cross the shadow of a tree, then the shadow of a parked car, then the shadow of an elderly couple walking down the sidewalk holding hands. They knew my name.

—Michael H. Brownstein

Facing Pages putting it all back together say I sent you dozens of roses deep red American Beauties emanating fragrance so you and all the sisters can pluck all the petals one by one, in fits of pique each an enchanted lamentation love, love knot placed in the pool of your tears at least there would be rose water the antediluvian dampness our lips

tearing it all asunder say you served me plates of tapenades ripened Tuscan balsamics disseminating radiance then me and all of mine could dip full our fingers two by two, to touch and seek every embarrassed dedication need, need not tossed onto the deck of my fears the most we might see pottery shards the ancient ceramics our hearts —Carl Schnedeker

54 POETRY CHRONOGRAM 2/06

untitled

Old Mr. Lincoln

I dreamt away the afternoon Leveled on a beach chair with That book you sent me yesterday.

It just killed me.

Long before he was A caricature selling cars with Washington, Deconstructed by historians, A pensive marble on the Mall Or an icon on classroom walls, The savior of the union, the great emancipator, The original man in black Was tired and hoping to feel A stirring beneath the wrinkled shell Buckling under his clothes, And perhaps to loosen the mask his face, Destined for pennies and five-dollar bills Had become, Furrowed like a winter road.

After the War, Decisions and proclamations, Speeches formed on trains, Telegraph messages Anticipated and unwanted, The empty solace of home.

After tramping through mud, Minnie ball carnage Running red, Sulfurous air, Stifling Potomac heat and Political intrigue With its incessant mosquito drone.

After a winter long on Dark drafty rooms, Hollow boot sounds on wood, Derisive laughter, And in smoky halls The hushed contemplations of Conspiracy, Honest Abe went to the theater And found his way home.

That Robert guy, The one who loved so much, He took up every page With thoughts of Iris This Iris, who would not love him back.

It reminded me of me.

I used to love a girl Who had long legs.

I watched her all the time Across the street.

It was always Summer, Like now, And she was always there In front, before the house With older boys.

I watched from up above, Behind the blinds, While mother Vacuumed or did some wash And dad played chess by mail.

Days went by When all I did was stare At her, at them, The games they played With water, smoking.

It didn’t go on that long.

You see, we had to move again From Brooklyn When the police came And took it all away.

—Pete Remler

Greeting Card for Gertrude Stein a rose is a dog is a pig is a rose is a rose is a tree is a goat is a car is a rose is a rose is a skunk is a golf club is a manic episode is a rose is another tree is a rose is a rose is a rose is a rose

—Robert Pucci

Aging, we grow asymmetrical— strength in one eye and the opposite leg, and our lives gyre slowly at first— then like old nations we pull in our arms and spin thin strings of fire.

Insurance Assurance that we will arrive safely through this portal, despite the siren calls of calculated risks .

Actuaries be damned! that we may live to see the demise of our grandchildren’s grandchildren.

The limb that can be spared, the lump benign, as we ponder the wonder of divine intervention.

That we might never take for granted the probability of being struck by murderous flows of falling blue ice.

—Susan Pilewski

In the Panhandle Each native thing, it seemed, on my uncle’s ranch grew thorns—mesquite, cacti, goathead stickers.

Out back, beyond the barbed wire that circled the house, a tiny stream trickled from puddle to puddle, belabored by the sun and incessant wind, escaping finally into the Palo Duro Canyon.

Its bed was barely three feet wide, easily vaulted by children seeking arrowheads, and its scant offering ignored by the cattle as they plodded toward the windmill with its tank of tepid water.

One year, my uncle told me, when even the sparse annual rainfall did not come, the stream failed completely, and —who would have thought it?— he found fish in there, little fish all dead and dried up.

Whoever dreamed they could live in there?

How is it with you, my poems?

—Reagan Upshaw

Howl Over there a wolf howls Knowing —d.n. simmers

—Bill Yake

—Dennis Lucas

2/06 CHRONOGRAM POETRY 55

Inside Mount Merino Manor Bed & Breakfast in Hudson.

chronogram LODGING

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2/06 CHRONOGRAM 61

Food

Getting Schooled Tips From Your Fishmonger

F

ish mongering is an old trade. It’s an art that’s passed down. There is so much to learn because there are so many fish in the sea,” says Steven Kraus, manager of Gadaleto’s Seafood Market in New Paltz. Indeed, simply standing before the cornucopia of fresh and frozen filets, whole fish, shellfish, and live lobsters in a large retail fish store is enough to cause confusion.

Seafood, long considered a healthy food choice, has become so riddled with questions and concerns that many diners now avoid it altogether. However, if shoppers know what to look for, it is possible to find fish that is fresh, delicious, sustainably raised, and ecologically harvested.

True, fish is a savory, low-fat source of animal protein, and full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, but fish can also be contaminated with mercury, lead, PCBs, and pesticides such as DDT. Our own Hudson River is also a source of fish, and popular with anglers (although the Department of Environmental Conservation recommends eating not more than one meal per week of sport fish caught from the Hudson River). Seafood is also highly perishable. However, while no one could consider the Hudson Valley a seaside region, we are fortunate to be in close proximity to the largest fish market in North America—the Fulton Fish Market in New York City—and we’re not that far from New England waters, either. Most of the fish we consume, however, is commercially fished or else farmed, and both practices are suspect at best. Commercial fisheries use a variety of methods and gear; some of which are considered environmentally friendly, others downright destructive. Dredging, for example, involves dragging a heavy, metaltoothed frame along the seafloor to catch bottom-dwelling shellfish such as scallops, clams, and oysters. Dredging ensures a bountiful harvest of shellfish, but also causes significant habitat damage, and many fish, sea turtles,may and other marine life are unintentiontext & photos bysharks, jennifer ally caught as “bycatch,” the term for fish and animals accidentally caught and discarded overboard, dead or dying. (Worldwide, for every pound of shrimp hauled in there are three to fifteen pounds of bycatch.)

Fish farming can be a responsible and—in many cases—more sustainable choice, but 62 FOOD CHRONOGRAM 2/06

text & photos by jennifer may

not all fish farms are created equal. Most farmed salmon are raised in crowded pens set in the ocean and they produce tons of feces, spread disease, and need antibiotics and other drugs. On the other hand, farmed oysters, clams, and mussels filter tiny plankton out of the water for their food and require no supplemental feeding—leaving the water cleaner than before they arrived. What works well for one species does not necessarily work well for another. Happily, there are many guides available to help you make conscientious decisions (see below).

Josh Kroner, chef and owner of Terrapin Restaurant in Rhinebeck, has taught classes through SUNY Ulster on how to buy and prepare fresh fish. The biggest tip Kroner offers retail consumers: “Know your fishmonger.” He explains, “Fish rather slowly transform from being super fresh, to not so fresh, to downright rancid.” And while no fish purveyor would knowingly sell a bad piece of fish, in a world where the biggest financial loss is in how much fish is thrown away, it is simply good business practice to sell the oldest pieces first. Befriending the fishmonger and becoming a regular customer is one way to hope to receive the freshest pieces. Kroner also suggests planning meals around whatever your fishmonger recommends, rather than shopping with a fixed menu in mind. (The concept of substitution works equally well for choosing a well-managed species as opposed to a depleted one: Farmed striped bass easily replaces red snapper, Pacific rockfish, or orange roughy.)

It is Kroner’s opinion that frozen shrimp are a better choice than fresh. “The quality of shrimp deteriorates dramatically in one day,” says Kroner. He describes how big shrimp boats are outfitted with processing units so shrimp are frozen immediately after being pulled from the water. “The public perception of frozen is bad, but in this case it preserves freshness,” he says.

Kroner purchases fresh fish for Terrapin (for such dishes as his lauded horseradishcrusted sushi-grade ahi tuna with miso aioli) from True World Fish—a Japanese company based in New Jersey that he discovered after phoning several sushi restaurants. He says he prefers True World Fish because it has direct contact with the fishermen aboard boats

OPPOSITE: A PORGY AT GADALETO’S SEAFOOD MARKET; ABOVE: MIXED FISH AT GADALETO’S: PORGY, BLACK SEA BASS, RED SNAPPER, STRIPED BASS, & BOSTON MACKEREL.

and bypasses the wholesale market. This brings the fish from Japan’s waters to Kroner’s table with minimal delay. Sustainable fishing practices also affect which fish Kroner buys for the restaurant. Because farmed salmon, Chilean sea bass, and swordfish all fall under the “avoid” heading of the Seafood Watch list, Kroner will not serve them. Instead, he regularly serves grilled Alaskan wild salmon, and occasionally, bluefish or mackerel, which he purchases in small quantities, enough for about 15 plates at a time.

“Fish mongering is an industry built on loyalty and trust,” says Steven Kraus, of Gadaleto’s Seafood Market—a New Paltz-based retail store, restaurant, and wholesale supplier to many area restaurants (including the French Corner in Stone Ridge, Calico’s in Rhinebeck, Ugly Gus in Kingston, and Beso in New Paltz). Twice a week, on Sundays and Wednesdays at 1am, owner Steven Gadaleto climbs into his big white truck and drives to the Fulton Fish Market (now in the Bronx) to hand-pick fresh fish from an array of vendors. He makes this journey as his father and grandfather had done before him since 1945. Frozen fish and shrimp are shipped to Gadaleto’s from major fish houses in Boston, and live lobsters arrive twice a week direct from Portland, Maine. The entire inventory rotates twice a week.

Kraus says a big clue as to the quality of the fish is in its presentation. If fish is well iced and presented beautifully, it’s probably also handled well behind the scene. A good fish purveyor, says Kraus, is constantly rinsing and re-icing his fish. This keeps bacteria to a minimum and helps fish look their best.

Tips from Kraus to the retail shopper: For whole fish you want to see clear eyes and red gills, and the flesh should be firm, not squishy. Fillets should be moist, and should smell fresh and clean like the ocean. Fish and shellfish should never be sitting in water.

There should be no off-color: If the flesh is red, it should be red, if it’s white, it should be white—browns and yellows are not a good sign. Shellfish should be tightly closed, not open. If the shells are open, they should close when touched. Mussels should be set on ice in net bags so they can drain. Hearing a hollow sound when tapping an oyster shell is not good. Lobsters should be lively, not limp—you want to see some gusto, so if it tries to raise its claws up at you when you approach, you have found yourself a good dinner.

Perhaps the biggest trick to win a fish purveyor’s favor is a warm greeting. “Say hi to the fishmonger, and he will point you in the right direction,” says Kraus.

At the end of January, retail shoppers will start to see detailed country of origin labels (COOL) beside their fish at large supermarkets. COOL was implemented by the US Department of Agriculture and is intended to provide consumers with more information about the foods they eat. All fresh seafood—including shellfish, filets, steaks, and king crabs—will have their source country prominently displayed along with the current notation of farmed or wild (frozen and prepared are exempt). Seafood manager Joe Longendyke of Adams Fairacre Farms in Kingston believes this will save time for the staff as these days more and more people request the information.

Fish from all over the world arrive at Adams every day at 8am on trucks from Boston, and all fish are inspected by Longendyke before they are accepted. He has been Adams’ seafood manager for 12 years, following 13 years as chef at Mariner’s Harbor seafood restaurant in Highland. As Longendyke says, he knows fish. “I’ve used the same 10 to 12 wholesalers since the day I got here,” he says. “No one tries to pull a fast one, and if I have any questions they take it right back.”

Jeffrey Gimmel, the owner and chef at the Swoon Kitchenbar in Hudson, buys fish from sources that are as local as possible, with shipments arriving by overnight delivery from seafood purveyors in Nantucket two to three times per week. He avoids fish from South America, the Far East, and warm Pacific waters. Less travel ensures the fish have been out of the water for a minimum of time, and Gimmel prefers the brinier flavor of fish from cold Atlantic waters, such as Maine cod, scallops, sole, and in summer and fall striped bass. The salmon on Swoon’s menu is farm-raised organically in Scotland, and their Atlantic cod is hook-caught as opposed to trawl-caught.

Both Gimmel and Kroner are looking forward to the bounty of the late-winter Maine sweet shrimp season, in which tiny shrimp swim into the inlets and coves in New England and are caught by hand-tossed nets. Gimmel likes to serve these shrimp as sashimi with a spicy sauce, or he will poach them with white wine and shallots for 20 to 30 seconds.

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ABOVE: CHERRYSTONE CLAMS AT GADALETO’S; BELOW: JOE LONGENDYKE, SEAFOOD MANAGER AT ADAMS FAIRACRE FARMS IN KINGSTON, FILETS AN ARCTIC CHAR, A CLOSE RELATION OF SALMON.

John Novi, chef and proprietor of the Depuy Canal House in High Falls, says, “Fishmongers have come a long way since I started 37 years ago.” When he began, he had one source for fish and that was frozen.

Fresh fish of any sort was a special order. However, Novi advises, frozen fish isn’t terrible, and on occasions when a fish he wants is only available in 20 pound shipments he will freeze the extra to be used for secondary dinners and benefits. Throughout winter, Novi receives fresh fish on Thursdays and Saturdays.

With so much to consider, selecting good fish from the bad can be a confusing experience, full of conflicting information. There are, however, several online guides to help you make quick, smart decisions while at the fish counter. Try www.thefishlist.org, www.seafoodchoices.org, or www.oceansalive.org. (Oceans Alive also posts consumption advisories for fish which should be eaten in limited quantities or not at all because of contamination.) The most detailed and convenient list of safe and unsafe fish is produced by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, at seafoodwatch.org. The Northeast Seafood Guide for 2006 prints onto one page and folds to the size of a business card, to be tucked into a wallet for easy reference. Fish are listed under the headings “best choices,” “good alternatives,” and “avoid.” Enjoy halibut or sole from the Pacific instead of those from the Atlantic which are caught with bottom-damaging trawlers, advises the Guide. Mahi mahi, Pollock, and farmed rainbow trout all make good replacements for grouper, which have depleted stocks and high levels of mercury; and instead of the over-fished and bottom-trawled monkfish, try farmed catfish or tilapia. According to the Seafood Watch, shrimp from the US are generally good alternatives to imported sources as regulations on equipment and practices are more stringent.

Whether you’re purchasing a whole porgy at the seafood counter to grill over an open fire, selecting caviar at the Hanson Caviar Company in Kingston, or choosing between imported swordfish (not good) and farmed catfish (very good) at a local restaurant, the choices you make as a consumer matter. Shrimp scampi tastes that much sweeter knowing the nets that caught them were built to allow endangered sea turtles to escape unharmed.

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tastings directory BAKERIES The Alternative Baker “The Village Baker of the Rondout.” 100% Scratch Bakery. Stickybuns, Scones, Muffins, Breads, Focaccia, Tartes, Tortes, Seasonal Desserts featuring local produce, plus Sugar-free, Wheat-free, Dairy-free, Vegan, Gluten-free, and Organic Treats!

Cakes and Wedding Cakes by Special Order. We ship our Lemon Cakes nationwide, $30 2-pound bundts. Open Thurs. -Mon. 8am-6pm; Sun. 8am4pm. Closed Tue. and Wed. Well Worth The Trip!

35 Broadway, at the historic waterfront district, Kingston. (845) 331-5517 or (800) 399-3589. www.lemoncakes.com.

CATERING Blue Mountain Bistro Catering Co. On and off-premise catering. Sophisticated Zagatrated food and atmosphere in a rustic country setting - wide plank floors, rough hewn beams and a stunning zinc bar. Chef-owner Erickson’s Mediterranean cuisine has garnered praise from Gourmet and New York Magazines to Hudson Valley Magazine (Best Tapas in the Hudson Valley 2004). 1633 Glasco Turnpike, Woodstock, NY 12498. www.blue mountainbistro.com. (845) 679-8519.

Pad Thai Catering Delicious, affordable, and authentic Thai cuisine served with authentic Thai hospitality to your group of six or more. Lunch or dinner served in your home

by Chef & Owner Nuch Chaweewan. Please call (845) 687-2334 for prices and information.

HOME MEAL DELIVERY

NATURAL FOOD MARKETS Beacon Natural Market Lighting the Way for a Healthier World... Located in the heart of historic Beacon at 348 Main Street.

Featuring organic prepared foods deli & juice bar as well as organic and regional produce, meats and cheeses. Newly opened in Aug. ‘05, proprietors L.T. & Kitty Sherpa are dedicated to serving the Hudson Valley with a complete selection of products that are good for you and good for the planet, including an extensive alternative health dept. Nutritionist on staff. (845) 838-1288.

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

We manufacture and deliver our excellent selec-

PUBS Snapper Magee’s Heralded as having “the best jukebox in the Hudson Valley” by the Poughkeepsie Journal, The Kingston Times, and Scenery Magazine. Snapper Magee’s is the Switzerland of pubs, a rock & roll oasis where everyone is welcome. Daily happy hour specials from 4-7 weekdays and noon-2 on weekends.

Always open late. 59 N. Front Street, Kingston, NY. (845) 339-3888.

RESTAURANTS 23 Broadway A wine-friendly bistro with creative Mediterranean cuisine. Chef Rich Reeve has developed a menu featuring Spanish tapas, fine steaks, fresh seafood and pastas. In a restored historic building with exposed brick walls, brass-top bar, and a glassenclosed, temperature-controlled wine room. This is a casual, cool spot with big, bright, bold flavors, Zagat rated, and a CIA destination restaurant (SoHo and Kingston). Dinner Wed. through Sun.; Brunch Sun. www.23broadway.com, 23 Broadway, Kingston. (845) 339-2322.

Agra Tandoor Restaurant Now open: “The Area’s Finest Indian Cuisine.”

Open seven days a week with $7.95 lunch specials and $6.95 take-out boxes. BYOB. Open for Lunch: 12-2:30pm and Dinner: 4:30-10pm. Saturday and Sunday Brunch: 12-3pm. Buffet Dinner on Wednesdays: 5-9:30pm. 5856 Route 9 South, Rhinebeck, NY. (845) 876-7510.

tastings

Healthy Gourmet to Go (845) 339-7171. www.carrottalk.com. See Vegan Lifestyle in the Whole Living Directory.

tion of pastas to fine restaurants, gourmet shops, and caterers throughout the Hudson Valley. Call for our full product list and samples. Open to the public Mon. - Fri. 10am to 6pm, Sat. 11am to 3pm.

Located on Route 28W between Kingston and Woodstock. (845) 331-9130. www.labellapasta.com.

Aroma Osteria 114 Old Post Road, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590.

(845) 298-6790.

Beso Located on Main St. in the heart of New Paltz is Beso, formerly The Loft. Spanish for “kiss”, Beso offers casual fine dining by owners Chef Chadwick Greer and Tammy Ogletree. Fresh, modern American cuisine, seasonally inspired by local Hudson Valley farmers. Get cozy in the intimate dining room under skylights and glowing candlelit tables, or sit at the bar for a more casual experience. Housemade pastas like Acorn Squash Raviolis, Hazelnut Crusted Halibut, or Braised Beef Short Ribs. And for dessert, Maple Mascarpone Cheesecake. Private parties, families, children welcome. New Hours 5

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nights a week, closed Mondays and Tuesdays, dinner from 5pm - 10pm. We no longer serve brunch on weekends. Call or visit our website (845) 255-1426. www.beso-restaurant.com.

Catamount Restaurant Located near Phoenicia and Woodstock, the Catamount Restaurant has been a locals and visitors favorite for years. Experience the pastoral beauty of the surrounding Catskills as you dine creekside in the warm, inviting dining room. Chef Mike Fichtel and his team have created a locallyinspired menu that features perfectly seasoned steaks and chops, creatively prepared fish and poultry and several vegetarian dishes. And don’t miss the desserts created from the Emerson Bakery. “The Cat” as locals call iT, has a full bar including a great selection of local and regional micro-brews and international wines that can be enjoyed next to one of our two large stone fireplaces. Panoramic views are the signature of The Cat, a perfect location for weddings and banquets under the outdoor pavilion. The Catatmount is open for dinner Wed.-Sat. 5pm to 10pm and Sunday from 12pm to 8pm. Call (845) 688-2828 for reservations. www.emersonplace.com/dining/ catamount.

The French Corner Chef Jacques Qualin, former NY Times critically acclaimed chef of Le Perigord in NYC, impresses with his innovative style of cuisine which cleverly combines ingredients typical of his native Franche-Comtè, France with the sumptuous ingredients available from the Hudson Valley. All of The French Corner recipes are made on premise

by Chef Jacques including the breads, pastries, and desserts. Route 213 West, just off Route 209, Stone Ridge. Dinner-Wednesday through Sunday from 5 pm, Prix Fixe $25 available every evening.

Brunch Sundays from 11am. Tel: (845) 687-0810.

Web: www.frcorner.com.

Fresh Company At our kitchen in the Hudson Highlands, we gather great local and imported ingredients for

Gilded Otter A warm and inviting dining room and pub overlooking beautiful sunsets over the Wallkill River and Shawangunk Cliffs. Mouthwatering dinners prepared by Executive Chef Larry Chu, and handcrafted beers brewed by GABF Gold Medal Winning Brewmaster Darren Currier. Chef driven & brewed locally! 3 Main St., New Paltz. (845) 256-1700.

Hana Sushi Best authentic sushi in the Hudson Valley! Superb Japanese sushi chefs serve the best authentic sushi with extended Dining Area. Sit at the counter or tables and enjoy all your favorites from Chicken Teriyaki and Udon to Yellowtail and Special rolls.

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

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

Monday-Thursday Dinner 5-9pm. Friday Dinner 5-10pm. Saturday Dinner 4:30-10pm. 7270 South Broadway, Red Hook, NY. (845) 758-4333. www.hana-sushi.com.

Hickory BBQ Smokehouse Located on historic Route 28 between Kingston and Woodstock, Hickory offers diners Hudson Valley’s finest barbecue and smokehouse cuisine such as ribs, pulled pork, smoked beef, fish and free-range chicken. Whether enjoying your meal by the fireplace in Hickory’s three-star dining room or sipping a cocktail at the wood bar, Hickory’s staff is trained to make you feel as comfortable as you would at home. Hickory also features several vegetarian options, steaks, homemade desserts, happy hour specials, a complete takeout menu, and catering and special events in our private dining room. You can enjoy live music featuring the area’s hottest bands on Friday and Saturday nights. Open daily for lunch and dinner. 743 Route 28 (3.5 miles from NYS Thruway Exit 19). (845) 338-2424.

Email: www.hickoryrestaurant.com.

tastings

The Emerson at Woodstock Experience Woodstock’s newest, hottest restaurant. Chef Jessica Winchell uses her creative talents with a menu celebrating the Hudson Valley’s bounty of fresh, seasonal ingredients. Local trout and other wild fish, grass-fed poultry and meats, and small-farm produce highlight a menu that changes with the seasons. The Emerson features two dining atmospheres, the romantic Riseley Room or the more spirited Rick’s Bistro, with one menu featuring a wide array of selections, including several vegetarian options. And wine director Finn Anson has hand-picked the Emerson’s wines, appropriate for any occasion and budget.

The Emerson is available for birthdays/anniversaries, corporate parties and other occasions. Open for dinner, Tue.-Sun. 5:30pm to 10pm (9pm Sun.), brunch Sat. & Sun. 10am to 3pm. Call (845) 679-7500 for reservations. www.emersonplace.com/dining/woodstock.

events of all sizes and pocketbooks, from grand affairs to drop-off parties. True to our name, we emphasize the freshest, finest ingredients, because great food is the spark that ignites a convivial gathering. Our style is reflected in meals that encourage hospitality and leisure at the table, the elemental enjoyment of eating and drinking well. Garrison NY. Tel: (845) 424-8204. www.FreshComapny.net.

Joyous Café Is it any wonder that Joyous Café is the most exciting new eating experience in Kingston? Whether it’s Breakfast, Lunch, or Sunday Brunch, the wonderfully prepared food and attentive service are outstanding. Open Monday through Friday 8 am - 4 pm. Sunday Brunch 9 am- 2 pm. Serving Dinner evenings of UPAC events. 608 Broadway, in The Heart of Broadway Theater Square, Kingston. (845) 334-9441. www.joyouscafe.com.

Kyoto Sushi 337 Washington Ave, Kingston, NY 12401.

(845) 339-1128.

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Luna 61 “Best Vegetarian Restaurant.”

–Hudson Valley Magazine.

“Food is simply delicious, four stars.” –Poughkeepsie Journal.

“Imagine spicy Thai noodles, delicate spring rolls, and the best banana cream pie you’ve ever eaten. Join the Culinary Revolution.” –Dutchess Magazine. Luna 61 is relaxed and funky, candlelit tables, cozy, and romantic. Organic wine and beer. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday: 5-9pm. Friday and Saturday: 5-10pm. Now Accepting Credit Cards.

61 East Market Street, Red Hook, New York 12571. Tel: (845) 758-0061.

Machu Picchu Peruvian Restaurant The only authentic Peruvian restaurant in Orange County, NY. Family owned and operated since 1990. Serving the community traditional dishes from the mountains and coast of Peru. Trained in Peru, our chefs make authentic dishes come alive. Wine list available. Serving Lunch and Dinner Sunday through Thursday 10am-10pm and Friday & Saturday 10am11pm. Closed Tuesday.

301 Broadway, Newburgh.

(845) 255-2600. Web: www.mac hupicchuperuvianrest.com.

tastings

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

BISTRO & BAR “High quality sophisticated cooking” – The New York Times

Tel. 860.435.1011 Dinner Tuesday – Saturday Sundays – Brunch and Dinner Lakeville, CT. 68

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Marcel’s Restaurant Casual and comfortable dining, warm country inn atmosphere.

Price range $13.95 - $32.95.

Now offering daily 4-Course Prix Fixe specials starting at $15.95. House specialties: Pate Du Jour, Duck Laprousse Grand Marnier, Coquilles St. Jaques, and Filet Tournedos.

Marcel’s is proud to announce it is celebrating 33 years of fine food and service. Check out our web site for our seasonal menu@marcelrestaurant.net or to check the date on our next jazz night. We have a complete take-out menu, and catering is available. We have also recently added a vegetarian menu and a young guest menu. Our hours of operation are Thursday-Monday 5-10pm. Sundays 3-9pm.

Located at 1746 Route 9W, West Park, New York. Call (845) 384-6700 to place an order or to make a reservation.

Mexican Radio 537 Warren St, Hudson, NY 12534. (518) 828-7770. cpmljs@ecoipm.com.

Neko Sushi & Restaurant Voted “Best Sushi” Restaurant

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by Chronogram readers and rated four stars by Poughkeepsie Journal. Serving lunch & dinner daily. Eat-in or Take-Out. We offer many selections of Sushi & Sashimi, an extensive variety of special rolls & kitchen dishes. Live lobster prepared daily. Parking in rear available.

Sun.-Thur. 12-10pm; Fri. & Sat. 12-11pm. Major credit cards accepted. 49 Main Street in the Village of New Paltz.

Tel: (845) 255-0162.

OII Food. Tapas. Wine. Gallery.

Catering. The newly opened OII in historic Beacon has wide appeal. Dine on contemporary American fusion cuisine in the elegant yet casual dining room while admiring the work of local artists. Sample a medley of tapas and wine at the bar. Call for your off-premise catering needs. 240 Main Street Beacon, NY 12508. Serving Dinner Sunday-Thursday 5-9pm; Friday and Saturday 5-10pm. Closed Mondays. Reservations recommended. Tel: (845) 231-1084.

Web: www.oiiny.com.

tastings

Osaka Japanese Restaurant Want to taste the best Sushi in the Hudson Valley? Osaka Restaurant is the place.

Vegetarian dishes available. Given four stars by the Daily Freeman. 8 Garden St., Rhinebeck. (845) 876-7338 or (845) 876-7278. Visit our second location at 74 Broadway, Tivoli.

(845) 757-5055.

Pastorale Bistro & Bar Eat up, Dress down, in this hip country bistro. High quality, sophisticated cooking that could fit in anywhere says the New York Times. Serving updated bistro classics in a 1760’s colonial. Bar with signature cocktails, lively ambience. Tuesday-Saturday dinner. Brunch & Dinner on Sundays 12-8pm. Summer Patio.

Private dining for up to 50. 223 Main Street (Rt. 44), Lakeville, CT 06093. (860) 435-1011.

Plaza Diner Established 1969. One of the finest family restaurants in the area. Extensive selection of entrees and daily specials, plus children’s menu. Everything prepared fresh daily. Private room for parties & conferences up to 50 people. Open 24/7.

27 New Paltz Plaza, New Paltz.

Exit 18 off NYS Thruway. (845) 255-1030.

Soul Dog Featuring a variety of hot dogs, including preservative-free and vegetarian hot dogs, chili, soup, sides, desserts & many glutenfree items prepared in-house.

Open for lunch Mon.-Fri. 11am4pm. Redefining the hot dog experience! 107 Main Street, Poughkeepsie, New York.

(845) 454-3254.

Wasabi Japanese Restaurant 807 Warren Street, Hudson, New York, 12534. Open 7 days a week. Tel: (518) 822-1888.

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whole living 

THE REAL HYPNOSIS TappingWellness and Personal Power “I ALWAYS LEAVE FEELING I DID THE WORK, WITH HELP, BUT NEVER LIKE ANYTHING’S BEEN IMPOSED ON ME. IT’S VERY EMPOWERING.” —AMY, HYPNOSIS CLIENT Cable television currently is running a little segment that is doing no favors for the image of hypnosis as a helping modality. In that segment, a hypnotist on a public sidewalk appears to transform random passersby into slaves to his suggestions, who believe for a few minutes they are a famous celebrity, or see one walk by, or otherwise lose touch with reality. Then the hypnotist snaps them out of it to witness their antics on videotape.

It’s entertaining, but such “stage hypnosis” reinforces a decades-old misconception against which hypnotists in the healing arts constantly struggle. Sharon Slotnik, a hypnotist in private practice near New Paltz, explains, “It’s from stage hypnosis [entertainment acts] that most of the myths come, where people bark like a dog, dance like Presley.” She and other hypnotists agree that stage hypnotists prescreen volunteers to find the 10 percent of people who can go deeply into the subconscious from the awake state, and that people who volunteer want to perform or have been paid to play along. “You cannot be made to do something you don’t want to do, or do things that go against you morals, ethics, and common sense,” says Slotnik.

THE REAL HYPNOSIS So forget the notion of hypnosis turning you into a zombie. Instead, working with the mind at a level other than everyday, linear thinking can modify perceptions, behaviors, and feelings to one’s advantage. “Consciousness is a continuum,” Slotnik explains. Normal awake thought generates beta brainwaves, whereas “meditation, in which you clear your mind and brain patterns, creates alpha waves, and hypnosis is closer to the theta waves”—the realm of creative imagery.

Kary Broffman, a registered nurse and certified hypnotist with a practice in Hyde Park, describes what she does this way: “I teach self-help. Hypnosis is just a word that describes a set of tools to help someone go into an inner-focused state of concentration. Hypnotists guide the process and teach people how to do it.” In fact, she adds, “All hypnosis is self-hypnosis.”

“Hypnosis couldn’t be more different from being out of control,” agrees Frayda Kafka, a hypnotist with offices in Kingston and Pleasant Valley. “The process actually gives clients greater control, a tool they can use to change a pattern rather than succumb to it.” Kafka likens the process to guided visualization, meditation, or daydreaming: “aiding the client in entering a relaxed state where imagination and subconscious are accessed, and logical thinking takes a back seat.” A former threepack-a-day Camels smoker who has been smoke-free since 1976, Kafka began her work as a hypnotist assisting clients with smoking cessation and now uses it for myriad conditions.

Hypnosis clients report, as do professional medical and psychology journals (including the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis), numerous and diverse benefits of hypnosis. It can alleviate emotional and psychological difficulties such as phobias (fear of flying, elevators, injections, etc.); anxiety and stress; anger; obsessive-compulsive disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder; sexual dysfunctions; eating disorders; and low self-esteem. Hypnosis can relieve symptoms of physical ailments directly or indirectly and was the first complementary modality to be approved in the US for pain treatment, such as chronic joint pain, phantom limb pain, and pain associated with multiple sclerosis, cancer, or cancer treatments. Hypnosis can also enhance personal endeavors, such as artistic expression, sports performance, sexual pleasure, and personal empowerment.

WHAT HAPPENS IN A HYPNOSIS SESSION A professional hypnotist will develop a strategy for each client to target specific needs.

Unlike psychotherapy, hypnosis can achieve results in just a few sessions. Group hypnosis may work for some people, but often it does not. “I’ve never met one person who’s been successful with that,” Slotnik advises. Similarly, generic audiotapes available for purchase may induce relaxation, but do not address individualized needs as does one-on-one consultation with a professional.

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Sharon Slotnik structures the first meeting with a client to answer questions and dispel any myths or fears. “This is mandatory for rapport and trust between hypnotist and client. I give them an overview I’ve written about hypnosis, and information about what they want help with—anger management, anxiety, food choice, whatever it is. We also go over the homework I gave them over the phone before the first meeting.” That homework includes writing down long- and short-term goals, and noticing what triggers the condition.

Kary Broffman first helps the client identify core beliefs and fears—information she can use to the client’s benefit during the hypnosis session. “Very rarely do I hypnotize someone at the first meeting.

Instead I will teach breathing techniques and relaxation techniques, how to be more conscious of the body-mind connection in daily activities, and to be observant of behaviors.” The client discusses what was discovered in the next meeting.

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With trust established and the client’s goals defined, the hypnotist guides the client through a hypnosis session. It begins with relaxation (“induction”), achieved any number of ways. “As a hypnotist, you learn how the client sees the world—visual, auditory, kinesthetic—to find what works for each individual,” says Broffman. “You can use staring in a certain direction, progressive relaxation, counting backwards—while reminding the client they are always in control and can open their eyes at any time.”

Kafka often uses color; Slotnik has used poetry for a client who was a poet, music for a musician.

The heart of the hypnosis session is a combination of guided imagery and spoken ideas, phrases, and reassurances that is meaningful to the client.

Kafka describes her process as a blend of intuition about what a client needs and the client’s description of what he or she needs, to create a personalized, symbolic mental link for immediate gratification.

She tells of a young woman who had fallen in love with her boss and moved in with him. After just a few weeks, he broke off the relationship, leaving her with no place to live, no income source, and no clue about her future. “She couldn’t stop crying, literally. She would start to tremble and then not be able to stop the tears. She couldn’t function. I asked her if there was something that she really liked. Her face brightened when she talked about a lime-green jogging suit. Yes, a jogging suit. So that’s what we used. I had her relax and guided her through imagining this suit. I also added supportive, confidence-building comments and included ‘limegreen jogging suit.’ We tested it as she recalled the breakup, became upset, then silently repeated ‘lime-green jogging suit’. She immediately grinned, accessing the positive image and feelings from the session. She was able to regroup and gain control, going on to rebuild her life productively instead of

being incapacitated by her emotions.”

Amy, another client of Kafka, knew of the relaxing benefit of hypnosis from self-help techniques in books, but sought a hypnotist for deeper psychological changes. “At different times in people’s lives, they need different things. The hypnotherapy cut through the talk [of traditional talk-based psychotherapy]. It has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done,” Amy says. “We focused on clues to help alleviate chronic depression. One was the color yellow. It’s not a color I usually gravitate to, but now I notice it, like seeing yellow flowers, and I feel my spirits lift. I have been amazed. It has opened up a bridge that allowed the progression to feeling better.”

A client may return as needed for sessions and consultation with the practitioner, or replay at home an audiotape of a session (which many practitioners provide). Hypnotists teach the induction and hypnosis process, too. Some offer other support. “I truly empathize with the folks who are struggling to stop smoking,” says Kafka, “and I make myself available to talk to them any time of the day or night after the sessions.” A hypnotist also may accompany a client to medical procedures or other situations where on-the-spot support is desired.

SUBCONSCIOUS MIND OVER BODY Hypnosis can aid wellness by replacing conscious awareness of physical distress with calming images that have detectable impact on the body.

For example, a study at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse found that over 80 percent of children who learned self-hypnosis to manage airway diseases had less anxiety, chest pain, habitual coughing, hyperventilation, breathing difficulty, or vocal cord dysfunction.

Maryann Patterson of Lake Katrine, who has emphysema, turned to hypnosis with wonderful results. “If you get out of breath, you have anxiety, and you think you can’t breathe, which makes it worse. To help me learn how to relax, I picked a scene with a peaceful feeling—I had just come back from the ocean so I chose that.” During the session the hypnotist spoke about the serenity of the ocean, the waves, and the beach, while repeating a key word, linking it subconsciously to the serenity. “Now when I say that word it makes me relax, so I’m not tense, and can breathe. It absolutely works.”

Colette Dowling, a pscyhotherapist in New York City, turned to hypnosis for help coping with surgery. “I was dealing with a lot of physical pain and anxiety. I really found hypnosis very helpful.

You can bring yourself down from your anxiety. It’s too bad more people don’t know that they could use hypnosis and other light-trance techniques when they have anxiety-producing medical experiences coming up.”

Some medical doctors not only tolerate but encourage hypnosis to aid patients during hospital

stays, pre- and post-operative periods, and even during medical procedures. Dr. Mehmet Oz is a cardiovascular surgeon and Director of the Complementary Care Center at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. For years he has used complementary modalities like hypnosis for heart surgery patients, as recounted in his book Healing from the Heart. Clinical studies have found that selfhypnosis by awake patients during procedures (such as opening clogged blood vessels or kidney blockages) significantly reduced anxiety, pain, cardiorespiratory complications, need for pain-relieving drugs, and even the duration of the surgical procedure. Further, average patients (not just those preselected for hypnotizability) benefit from being guided through a generalized self-hypnosis script.

More than just a pleasant assist for millions of procedures done on conscious patients, researchers of one ongoing study predict hypnosis could prevent thousands of cases of serious complications and deaths that result annually from adverse reactions to intravenous sedatives.

Those sedatives moderate anxiety and pain, both of which can be diminished through subconscious suggestions.

Hypnosis is also a valuable ally in childbirth. Kary Broffman is certified in “hypnobirthing,” in which she teaches pregnant couples self-hypnosis along with breathing, visualization, and guided imagery techniques. “It helps with inner focus and relaxation for a more satisfying, calming birthing experience. It also gives the birth companion a set of tools that work with the body’s own energy, and it doesn’t preclude medical intervention.”

GROWTH AND GUIDANCE Hypnosis isn’t just for overcoming problems. It can enhance creativity, solidify confidence, kindle enjoyment of work, and improve athletic performance. As applied to the latter, explains Slotnik, “you would bring in a list of skills you want to improve, and what it would take to do that. Then I would help you imagine yourself out there, and create imagery [spoken aloud] about how you feel, look, and perform.”

J.M. DeMatteis is a professional writer who regularly enjoys hypnosis as “a means of accessing a doorway between the conscious and unconscious mind. When I’ve felt really stuck, I’ve been able to go home [after a session] and get working again. I would liken it almost to shamanic journeying. Things come in that seem they’ve come from the gods.” While hypnosis often feels like “play” to DeMatteis, he adds that it can empower one’s self-concept and help with deep or difficult issues. “When you’re in the hypnotic state, it doesn’t feel traumatic, because you’re being empowered to look at things a different way.”

Kary Broffman offers “hypnocoaching,” a blend of hypnosis and neurolinguistic tools with personal coaching skills. “Regular personal coaching works with the conscious mind. But 90 percent of the mind is subconscious—habits, beliefs, behaviors, everything that’s automatic.

Hypnocoaching is very powerful because you’re using the subconscious. It goes to core beliefs and goals, and you are going to have a happier life because you’re living your truth.”

People who benefit from hypnosis describe a puzzlement that something so relaxing and, in some ways, ordinary, can usher in the changes it does—sometimes where numerous other strategies have failed. It deserves higher priority among helping modalities. Hypnosis is a bit mysterious, but such is the nature of the subconscious, the realm of unfettered imagining and power of intention.

New laws in New York State prohibit the use of the term “therapist” by people who do not have a master’s or higher degree in social work. Therefore, “hypnotist” will be replacing “hypnotherapist” to describe most practitioners. And while there are many schools offering certification in hypnosis, there currently is no licensing or regulation of this specialty in New York State.

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REKINDLING A SACRED RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE BY LORRIE KLOSTERMAN

W

hen I was young, my father’s passion for the outdoors took my family to many remarkable places. We camped under redwoods, beside boulderedged rivers and newt-filled lakes, at the hem of gargantuan sand dunes. We hiked miles upward to turquoise alpine lakes and glaciers. My brother and I befriended chipmunks and marmots along the trails; found signs of bear and sometimes the bear itself; played hunter-gatherer with sticks and acorns; made shelters of branches.

Decades later, my career-track myopia, played out in large cities, supplanted all but a few tightly scheduled excursions to natural places, and even my awareness of the wilderness receded into coffee-table picture books of magnificent lands. And though those urban years were valuable, they sometimes seemed painfully sterile and lacking in meaning. At one point, I fell into despair. I suppose it would have been a good time to turn everything over to God, but I couldn’t trust a higher power who, according to the version of Christianity I had learned, punished good people who slipped up once, and worked in mysterious, often unfair ways. Using meditation to find an inner calm failed, too; I had no inner calm to discover.

After one especially grim night while I was living in Boston, I found a bench by the river just as the sun was rising. To the backdrop of roaring commuter traffic, that gold disk once again proved itself a reliable, easy companion. At my feet a pair of sparrows awakened by the sun picked through the grass for seeds. For the several minutes I watched them my inner agony was quelled. That morning’s peaceful respite got me through the rest of the day; and gradually, seeking outdoor moments and experiencing the remarkable world of nonhumans became a form of therapy for me.

A few years later, I was introduced to “deep ecology” at a workshop held at the 76 WHOLE LIVING GUIDE CHRONOGRAM 2/06

Omega Institute in Rhinebeck. Deep ecology, I learned, is difficult to define because it means different things to different people: It has been variously described as a perspective, philosophy, discipline, phenomenon, form of spirituality, and more. At its core, though, is the affirmation that humans are inextricably enmeshed with the Earth’s living and nonliving components.

Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess articulated the fundamental ideas of deep ecology in the 1960s, and coined the term. By the 1980s, he and several others were clarifying the concept intellectually, ethically, spiritually, and practically. Naess and George Sessions articulated the principles that Earth’s nonhuman life has intrinsic value independent of any usefulness to people; that humans have the “right” to reduce the richness and diversity of nonhuman life only to fulfill vital needs, but that humans are exceeding that right; that all life, including humanity, could flourish nonetheless if our actions toward nature were to change. The change needed, however, is not only intellectual. What needs to happen is a deep, spiritual, experiential reawakening to our interconnectedness with the living earth.

“Through thousands of years of conditioning, absorbed by osmosis from the day we were born, we have succeeded in creating this incredibly pervasive illusion of separation from nature,” says John Seed, environmental activist and facilitator of the Omega workshop on deep ecology, called The Council of All Beings. Seed developed the workshop with Joanna Macy (author of Earth As Lover, Earth As Self and coauthor with Seed of Thinking Like a Mountain: Towards a Council of All Beings) to move humanity away from the pervasive anthropocentric mindset toward one that is biocentric—valuing all life.

“Every intact indigenous culture that we look at has, at its root, a series of ceremo-

ALYSABETH ANDERSON

DEEP ECOLOGY

nies and rituals whereby the human community acknowledges and nourishes its interconnectedness with the land and the rest of the Earth community,” says Seed. “We ‘moderns’ may be the first culture, in our arrogance, to relegate these things to the realm of mumbo jumbo. [But] we have a deep longing for reconnection with the Earth. With this longing repressed, a host of displacement activities arise. We feel a pervasive emptiness and spend our lives trying to fill the gaping wound with all manner of ‘stuff.’ We dig up and chop down the Earth to make and power all the hair-driers and microwave ovens and electric toothbrushes with which we try, unsuccessfully, to fill the hole.

It’s not really all these material goods we want, however, but a certain psychological state that we imagine will follow. It never does, of course, and no amount of ‘stuff’ brings us peace.”

Rupert Sheldrake, one of several contemporary writers on the reemergence of a reconnecting with nature, writes in The Rebirth of Nature: The Greening of Science and God, “From the time of our remotest ancestors until the seventeenth century, it was taken for granted that the world of nature was alive.

But in the last three centuries, growing numbers of educated people have come to think of nature as lifeless. In the official world—the world of work, business, and politics—nature is conceived of as the inanimate source of natural resources, exploitable for economic development.”

But there is another reality, Sheldrake continues: “In our unofficial, private world, nature is most strongly identified with the countryside as opposed to the city, and above all with unspoiled wilderness. Many people have emotional connections with particular places, often places associated with their childhood, or feel an empathy with animals or plants, or are inspired by the beauty of nature, or experience a mystical sense of unity with the natural world. Children frequently are brought up in an animistic atmosphere of fairy tales, talking animals, and magical transformations. For several generations, Westerners have grown used to living with these internal divisions.” Sheldrake believes that such a split is spreading widely around the world.

Since Naess’s earliest articulation of deep ecology, psychologists, environmentalists, sociologists, religious leaders, philosophers, and educators have generated a robust literature of magazine articles, books, websites, workshops, college courses, and a handful of videos on the topic. Deep ecology has impacted views and actions related to the environment in the arenas of activism, public policy, models of urban development and land use, sustainability, and politics.

Deep ecology is also a spiritual exploration and avenue of personal healing. “Most personal therapies are treating an illusory self, or what could be termed our small self, that is, a body separate from the rest of Creation,” explains Bill Pfieffer, executive director of Sacred Earth Network (SEN), a nonprofit organization based in Petersham, Massachusetts. SEN’s mission is to build a sustainable culture by teaching people to connect with the earth through experiences in nature and remem-

bering indigenous wisdom. “Deep ecology at its best is not so much a philosophy, but a practice of shedding our sense of separation and experiencing ourselves as the Earth moving through us as food, water, air, and fire (metabolism). Seldom do we take the time to be aware and honor this greatest of mysteries. But when we actually feel that we are inextricably linked to a vast web of life, we get needed perspective on our neurosis and see it as a small, rather unimportant part of ourselves.

I believe waking up to our larger, real, ecological Self is fundamental to us humans transitioning to a sustainable society.”

In Ghent, New York, the Nature Institute offers workshops, field trips, talks, and even a weeks-long immersion course (Goethean Science Studies) to transform how people perceive the natural world.

“We live in this culture of abstraction,” explains director Craig Holdrege (and author of the acclaimed Genetics and the Manipulation of Life: The Forgotten Factor of Context). “We place concepts and models and ideas in front of our experience. So to have a spiritual experience in nature is not at all a given.

At the Nature Institute, we work on transforming ourselves so we experience something very deep in nature—a sense of wholeness. Just being out in nature, attending to what happens around you, to the qualities of the light and the air, and the bird that flies across and what it does, walking in a wetland area, where the water isn’t quite frozen and the light is being reflected in the water. You have this incredible play of nature. A practice we cultivate a lot is changing your perception through inner work, which allows one to be much more in touch with oneself as well as nature. There is a very meditative aspect to this work.” For example, people are asked to “observe a plant very carefully, then to repicture it later, to really internalize what they see, not intellectually, but ‘live into it.’ Building up these internal pictures enriches a person’s sensitivity and creates a full sensual experience.

It also changes you, makes you more deeply connected to your own experience.”

Hodrege expresses the core of deep ecology in a question: “If we extract ourselves out of the world, then what do we take our wholeness from?”

Lorrie Klosterman offers two deep-ecology workshops in March at Dutchess Community College: “Discovering the Ecological Self” and “Brainstorming the Ecological Self” (a one-day intensive). To register: (845) 431-8910; http://cfweb.sunydutchess.edu/programs.html and link to “Self Management and Development.”

SELECTED RESOURCES: The Nature Institute: www.natureinstitute.org (518) 672-0116.

Sacred Earth Network: www.sacredearthnetwork.org (978) 724-0120.

John Seed writings; deep-ecology resource list: www.rainforestinfo.org.au.

Joanna Macy and Molly Young Brown: Coming Back to Life: Prctices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World Elisabet Sahtouris: Earthdance: Living Systems in Evolution and LifeWeb: www.ratical.org.lifeweb.

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whole living guide ACUPUNCTURE

ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE

Dylana Accolla, LAc

Judith Youett The Alexander Technique

Treat yourself to a renewed sense of health and well-being with acupuncture, herbal medicine, Chinese bodywork, and nutritional counseling. My emphasis is on empowering patients by teaching them how to practice preventative medicine. Great for gynecological problems, chronic pain, and managing chronic illness. Two locations: Haven Spa, 6464 Montgomery Street, Rhinebeck, and Woodstock Women’s Health, 1426 Route 28, West Hurley. (914) 388-7789.

The Alexander Technique is a simple, practical skill that, when applied to ourselves, enhances coordination, promoting mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. Improve the quality of your life by learning how to do less to achieve more. Judith Youett, AmSAT. (845) 677-5871.

AROMATHERAPY Joan Apter

Acupuncture Health Care, PC

whole living directory

Peter Dubitsky, L.Ac., Callie Brown, L.Ac., and Leslie Wiltshire, L.Ac. Mr. Dubitsky is a faculty member and the Director of Clinical Training at the Tri-State College of Acupuncture, and a member of the NY State Board for Acupuncture. Ms. Brown and Ms. Wiltshire each have years of acupuncture experience in private practice and in medical offices. We are all highly experienced, national board certified, NYS Licensed acupuncturists. We combine traditional Asian acupuncture techniques with a modern understanding of acupuncture and oriental medicine to provide effective treatments of acute and chronic pain conditions, and other medical disorders. In addition to our general practice we also offer a Low Cost Acupuncture Clinic which is available for all people who meet our low income guidelines. 108 Main Street, New Paltz, NY 12561, Phone 255-7178.

Deep Clay with Michelle Rhodes, ATR-BC, LMSW See Psychotherapy.

ASTROLOGICAL CONSULTING Eric Francis: Astrological

Ms. Ellis is a magna cum laude graduate of Columbia University in pre-medical studies and has been practicing acupuncture in Rosendale since 2001.

In 2003 she completed post-graduate work in the study of classical Chinese herbal medicine. Ms. Ellis trained at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for the treatment of cancer patients with acupuncture. Ms. Ellis also has special training in infertility treatment, facial acupuncture and chronic pain. Her new, expanded location is at the medical offices of Rosendale Family Practice. Evening and weekend hours and sliding scale rates. Phone consultations available. 110 Creek Locks Road, Rosendale. www.HudsonValleyAcupuncture.com.

(845) 546-5358.

Consultations by Phone. Special discount on followups for previous clients from the Hudson Valley. (206) 854-3931. eric@ericfrancis.com. Lots to explore on the Web at www.PlanetWaves.net.

For the past 16 years, Dr. Hoon J. Park has been practicing a natural and gentle approach to pain management for conditions such as arthritis, chronic and acute pain in neck, back, and legs, fibromyalgia, motor vehicle and work-related injuries, musculoskeletal disorders, and more by integrating physical therapy modalities along with acupuncture. Dr. Hoon Park is a board certified physician in physical medicine and rehabilitation, pain medicine, and electrodiagnostic studies.

His experienced, friendly staff offer the most comprehensive and individualized rehabilitative care available. Please call the office to arrange a consultation. New patients and most insurances are accepted. 1772 Route 9, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590. Half mile south of the Galleria Mall. Tel: (845) 298-6060.

WHOLE LIVING DIRECTORY CHRONOGRAM 2/06

ART THERAPY

Stephanie Ellis, LAc, Chinese Herbalist

Hoon J. Park, MD, PC

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Offering luxurious massage therapy, including Raindrop Technique, with therapeutic essential oils to relieve stress, boost the immune system, and address system imbalances. Natural animal care, individual consultations for a healthy home and personal concerns, spa consultant, classes, and keynotes. Essential Oils, nutritional supplements, personal care, pet care, children’s and home cleaning products from Young Living Essential Oils. For more information contact Joan Apter, CMT. (845) 679-0512. japter@ulster.net. www.apteraromatherapy.com

BODY & SKIN CARE Absolute Laser, LLC The leaders in innovative skin care are now offering the Biomedic Facial. A gentle, clinical, deep cleansing facial, for all skin types. Absolute Laser offers commitment to beautiful skin through outstanding care and service. Offering Laser Hair Removal, Microdermabrasion, Vitalize Peel, and Fotofacial RF. The Fotofacial RF is the next generation in high-tech skin enhancement. These gentle, no downtime treatments are used to improve cosmetic appearance of the face, neck, hands, and body. The results are brighter, smoother, more radiant and luminescent skin. This process delivers results that skin care products alone cannot do!

Recover and rediscover the youth and vitality of your skin. Call for a complimentary consultation: Janice DiGiovanni, (845) 876-7100. Springbrook Medical Park, Rhinebeck.

Blissful Beauty by Brenda Relax and revive with a professional beauty treatment from Brenda Montgomery, Licensed Aesthetician.

Specializing in Burnham Systems Facial Rejuvenation, Belavi Facelift Massage, Anti-Aging facials, Acne treatments, and Body treatments. Also offering airbrushed makeup for a flawless, natural look for your next big event. Your skin is not replaceable; let Brenda help you put your best face forward! Call (845) 616-9818.

Made With Love Handcrafted lotions, crèmes, and potions to nurture the skin and soul! Therapeutic oils, salves, and bath salts made with the curative properties of herbal-infused oils and pure essential oils. No petroleum, mineral oils, or chemicals are used.

Host a home party! Products available at Hudson Valley Therapeutic Massage, 243 Main Street, Suite 220, New Paltz. For a full product catalogue e-mail madewithlove@hvc.rr.com or call us at (845) 255-5207.

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

determined practice of the principles and the will to persevere. Call Hawks, (845) 750-6488.

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

CHILDBIRTH

By integrating traditional and alternative therapy/ healing approaches, including Body-Centered Psychotherapy, IMAGO Couples’ Counseling, and Kabbalistic Healing, I offer tools for self healing, to assist individuals and couples to open blocks to their softer heart energy. Ten-session psychospiritual group for women in recovery. Offices in Poughkeepsie and New Paltz. (845) 485-5933.

Catskill Mountain Midwifery

Rosen Method Bodywork

CHINESE HEALING ARTS

BODYWORK bodhi studio Through bodywork one can connect with the body’s own inherent wisdom and self healing abilities. With skill, intuition, and care, we offer therapeutic massage, bodhiwork, Reiki, warm stone massage, aromatherapy, earconing, and a full range of ayurvedic treatments including Shirodara, Abyanga, and Swedna. Melinda Pizzano, LMT and Helen Andersson, D.Ay. Call for an appointment.

(518) 828-2233.

CAREER AND LIFE COACHING Allie Roth/ Center for Creativity and Work Career and Life Coaching for those seeking more creativity, fulfillment, balance and meaning in life and work. Offers a holistic approach to career and life transitions. Also specializes in executive coaching, and coaching small business owners, consultants and private practitioners. 25 years experience. Kingston and New York City offices. Tel: (845) 336-8318. Toll Free: (800) 577-8318. Web: www.allieroth.com. Email: allie@allieroth.com.

CHI GONG/TAI CHI CHUAN Second Generation Yang Spiritual alchemy practices of ancient Taoist sorcerers yielded these two treasures of internal arts.

Chi Gong prepared the body to withstand rigorous training and overcome the battle with time. Tai Chi Chuan became the expression of the energy in movement and self-defense. These practices have brought health, vitality, and youthfulness to myself and my students. The only requirement is

Kary Broffman, RN, CH See Hypnosis.

Judy Joffee, CMN, MSN See Midwifery.

Chinese Healing Arts Center The Wu Tang Chuan Kung Association was founded by Doctor Tzu Kuo Shih and his family for the purpose of providing the American public with instruction in the ancient Chinese arts of Tai Chi Chuan, Chi Kung, and traditional Chinese Medicine. 264 Smith Avenue, Kingston. (845) 338-6045 or (203) 748-8107.

whole living directory

Rosen Method is distinguished by its gentle, direct touch. Using hands that listen rather than manipulate, the practitioner focuses on chronic muscle tension. As relaxation occurs and the breath deepens, unconscious feelings, attitudes, and memories may emerge. The practitioner responds with touch and words that allow the client to begin to recognize what has been held down by unconscious muscle tension. As this process unfolds, habitual tension and old patterns may be released, freeing the client to experience more aliveness, new choices in life, and a greater sense of well-being. Julie Zweig, M.A., Certified Rosen Method Bodywork Practitioner. (845) 255-3566. www.RosenMethod.org.

See Midwifery.

CHIROPRACTIC Nori Connell, RN, DC Nori combines 28 years as a registered nurse with 18 years of chiropractic experience to offer patients a knowledgeable approach to removing the interferences in the body that lead to disease. She combines accredited techniques such as NeuroEmotional technique, kinesiology, and Network Chiropractic to work with the body’s innate intelligence and its ability for healing. Dr. Connell also offers workshops on natural health care for the family and is also one of the directors of Alternatives Health Center of Tivoli. (845) 757-5555.

Also at Rhinebeck Cooperative Health Center.

(845) 876-5556.

Gabriels Family Chiropractic Dr. Christopher Gabriels is pleased to announce the opening of his office at 67 Mill Hill Road in Woodstock. I am experienced in a myriad of techniques (diversified, applied kinesiology, SOT, Activator, nutrition) and provide gentle adjustments in a comfortable atmosphere. You only have one body, let me help you make the most of it by restoring your body’s natural motion and balance.

Call (845) 679-5325 to make an appointment.

Dr. David Ness Dr. David Ness is a Certified Active Release Techniques® (ART) Provider and Certified Chiropractic Sports Practitioner® specializing in helping athletes and active people quickly relieve their pain and heal their injuries. In addition to providing ® traditional chiropractic care, Dr. Ness utilizes ART to remove scar tissue and adhesions in order to restore mobility, flexibility, and strength faster than standard treatments will allow. If you have an injury that has not responded to treatment, call Dr. Ness for an appointment today. (845) 255-1200.

Dr. Bruce Schneider New Paltz, New York 12561. (845) 255-4424.

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COLON HYDROTHERAPY Connie Schneider, Advanced Level I-ACT Certified Colon Hydrotherapist Colon Hydrotherapy is a safe, gentle, cleansing process. Clean and private office. A healthy functioning colon can decrease internal toxicity and improve digestion; basics for a healthy body. New Paltz, NY. (845) 256-1516. See display ad.

CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY Craniosacral Therapy

whole living directory

A gentle, hands-on method for enhancing the body’s own healing capabilities through the craniosacral rhythm. Craniosacral aids in the release of stress-related conditions such as anxiety, nervousness, insomnia, depression, digestive, menstrual, and other problems with organ function, breathing difficulties, and headaches. Increase energy, reduce pain, and improve immune system function. Effective for whiplash, TMJ, sciatica, fibromyalgia, scoliosis, arthritis, low back tension, and chronic pain.

Also helpful for children with birth trauma, learning difficulties, chronic ear problems, and hyperactivity.

Hudson Valley Therapeutic Massage, Michele Tomasicchio, LMT. (845) 255-4832.

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

Setting the standards for excellence in dentistry for more than 25 years, the Center for Advanced Dentistry attracts clients from throughout the northeast and abroad. Their client-centered approach to providing comprehensive dental services for adults and children includes “old school” care and concern combined with the latest technologies. The office is conveniently located 1.5 miles east of the NYS Thruway, exit 18. 494 Route 299, Highland. www.thecent erforadvanceddentistry.com. (845) 691-5600. Fax (845) 691-8633.

ENDERMOLOGIE Endermologie is the mechanical manipulation of the skin and subcutaneous tissues for therapeutic purposes. Elizabeth Troy has been trained and certified as an Endermologist by LPG, the creators of Endermologie and the CelluM6 Key Module machine. Endermologie has been proven and recognized by the FDA to diminish the appearance of cellulite. Contact Elizabeth Troy at (914) 475-8838 or email elizabethtroy11@hotmail.com for additional information.

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WHOLE LIVING DIRECTORY CHRONOGRAM 2/06

EQUINE FACILITATED HEALING

work; and Channeling available. Contact Joel Walzer for sessions. (845) 679-8989. www.flowingspirit.com.

Equisessions with Ada Citron Taoist counselor of 10 years. Therapeutically oriented equine facilitated encounters are based on the model introduced in The Tao of Equus by Linda Kohanov, recent presenter at Omega Institute. Riding can be involved in later sessions. Ada, an equestrian herself, presented her program “Chi Kung for Horse People” at the 2005 Region 1 Conference for NARHA. www.adacitron.com. (845) 339-0589.

FENG SHUI DeStefano and Associates Barbara DeStefano has been the owner of DeStefano and Associates, an interior design business, for 18 years. She received certification in Feng Shui from the Metropolitan Institute of Interior Design and has completed advanced work with several Feng Shui Masters. Feng Shui is the perfect marriage to interior design. It brings a spiritual dimension to your space.

Barbara can create a kind of beauty that touches your spirit, and brings balance and harmony to a level that transcends the superficial. Barbara is available for consultations, guest speaker engagements, and workshops. (845) 339-4601.

Feng Shui Wei

Healing By Design Feng Shui consultations, classes. Explore how Feng Shui can increase the flow of abundance, joy, and well-being in your life. Create your home or office to support your goals and dreams. Contact Betsy Stang at bebird@aol.com. or (845) 679-6347.

Healing, Pathwork and Channeling

by Flowing Spirit Guidance It is our birthright to experience the abundance of the universe, the deep love of God, and our own divinity!

It is also our birthright to share our own unique gifts with the world. We long to do it. So why don’t we? Our imperfections get in the way. As we purify, we experience more and more fully, the love and the abundance of God’s universe. We can have it in any moment. We can learn to purify our imperfections AND experience heaven on earth. Jaffe Institute Spiritual Healing; Path-

Join us for an empowering, life-changing, six-month, transformational training. This comprehensive program includes: Meditation, Visualization, Sound work, Breath work, Movement, Sacred Ceremony, Essential Grounding and Releasing Practices, and 33 Professional Healing Techniques. School starts September 23, 2005. Free special intro evening: Self-Healing with OLHT August 26 + September 9, 7:00-9:00pm; Special Introductory Weekend: Access Your Healing Potential August 27-28 and September 10 -11.

(NYSNA CEU’s available). Ron Lavin, MA, founder and director of the international OLHT schools, is a respected spiritual healer with 26 years of experience.

He heads seven OLHT schools in Germany and one in Rhinebeck, NY. He has worked with the NIH in Distance Healing for eight years. Appointments and Distance Healing sessions are available in Rhinebeck, NY. Call (845) 876-0259 or e-mail ronlavin@aol.com. www.OneLightHealingTouch.com.

The Sanctuary: A Place for Healing A quaint healing center in a quiet part of downtown New Paltz. Specializing in Craniosacral Therapy, Stress Point Release through Chiropractic, Swedish & Sports Massage, Shiatsu, and Energetic Reiki. New offerings include meditation and nutritional counseling.

5 Academy Street, New Paltz. Call for an appointment.

(845) 255-3337. (845) 853-3325.

HEALTH FOOD

whole living directory

Designing Your Life with Feng Shui. The intuitive practice of Feng Shui balances your individual energy with your home or workplace and harmonizes the effect your surroundings have on all aspects of life: health, wealth, relationship, emotional well-being, mental clarity, peace, self-fulfillment. Sensitive, revitalizing personal and space clearings. Intuitive Feng Shui® certification. Free 15-minute phone consultation. Contact Sharon Rothman: (201) 385-5598; www.fengshuiwei.com.

One Light Healing Touch: Healer Training School

Pleasant Stone Farm 130 Dolson Avenue, Middletown, NY. pleasantstonefarm@usa.net. (845) 343-4040.

HEALTH PUBLICATIONS Hudson Valley Healthy Living A comprehensive directory of Mid-Hudson health services, products, and practitioners, along with articles on health issues of interest. Published biannually (April/October) by Luminary Publishing, Inc., the creators of Chronogram, 50,000 copies are distributed in the region throughout the year. Contents are also available on the Web at www.hvhealthyliving.com. See www.hvhealthyliving.com for advertising rates or call the HVHL sales team at (845) 334-8600.

HERBS Monarda Herbal Apothecary In honoring the diversity, uniqueness, and strength of nature for nourishment and healing, we offer organic

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and ecologically wildcrafted herbs using tradition as our guide. Certified Organic Alcohol Tinctures, Teas, Salves, Essential Oils, and more. Product Catalog $1.

Workshops and Internships. www.monarda.net.

(845) 688-2122.

HOLISTIC HEALTH Julie Barone Certified Holistic Health Counselor Live with vibrant energy! Whole foods nutrition and lifestyle consulting can help you kick the junk food habit, achieve better health, tune in to your body, and eat well for life. Individual programs are customized to your health goals. Special People Pet Wellness program for you and your pet. Whole foods cooking parties – fun, educational, and delicious! Free consultation. (845) 338-4115 julieabarone@yahoo.com. www.peoplepetwellness.com.

Marika Blossfeldt, HHC, AADP Holistic Health and Nutrition Counselor, Yoga Instructor You were meant to lead a happy and fulfilling life.

What’s holding you back? Create change now.

Discover the foods and lifestyle that truly nourish your body and soul. Infuse your life with radiant health!

One-on-one counseling, lectures, wellness workshops, whole foods cooking classes, yoga, summer retreats.

(646) 241 8478, marika@delicious-nutrition.com.

Beacon.

Kary Broffman, RN, CH A registered nurse with a BA in psychology since 1980, Kary is certified in Ericksonian Hypnosis, Hypnobirthing, and Complementary Medical Hypnotism, hypnocoaching with the National Guild. She has also studied interactive imagery for nurses. By weaving her own healing journey and education into her work, she helps to assist others in accessing their inner resources and healing potential. Hyde Park. (845) 876-6753.

One-Session Hypnosis with Frayda Kafka CHT Practicing for over 29 years, Frayda has helped people with smoke cessation, weight loss, pain, childbirth, worry, habits, fears, sleep, confidence, and easing medical procedures. Almost any behavior you can think of can be mediated with hypnosis.

Known for her easy, light manner and quick results, she has a knack for saying just the right thing at the right time so that a major shift can be initiated. After your session, you will have an audiotape to use at home. Employee workshops and gift certificates are available. Fees are altered for groups. Please call or email Frayda with your questions or for an appointment. Tel: (845) 336-4646. Email: info@Ca llTheHypnotist.com. Web: www.CallTheHypnotist. com.

INTEGRATED ENERGY THERAPY Integrated Energy Therapy

Priscilla A. Bright, MA, Energy Healer/Counselor

whole living directory

Specializing in women’s stress, emotional issues, and physical illness, including stress-related anxiety, depression, and physical burnout. Women in transition, businesswomen, mothers, all welcome. Experienced counselor. Faculty, Barbara Brennan School of Healing. Convenient offices in Kingston & New Paltz. Initial phone consultation no charge. (845) 688-7175.

John M. Carroll, Healer John Carroll is an intuitive healer, teacher, and spiritual counselor, who integrates mental imagery with the God-given gift of his hands. John has helped individuals suffering from acute and chronic disorders, including back problems and cancer. Remote healings and telephone sessions. Call for consultation. Kingston.

(845) 338-8420.

HOLISTIC TAROT & EXPRESSIVE HEALING ARTS Holistic Tarot/Expressive Healing Arts Discover more about your inner being and psychic energy powers, changing your life in a compassionate, creative, progressive way. Tarot, Meditation, Expressive Healing Arts/Mandala Dance, Spiritual Art Therapy, Energy/Aura Healing, Spiritual Studies. Classes/workshops for groups/individuals with Cenira - Artist, Expressive Arts Facilitator and Intuitive Counselor. Tel: (845) 594-8612. Email: cenira@ceniraarts.com.

HYPNOSIS Achieve Your Goals with Therapeutic Hypnosis Sharon Slotnick, MS, CHt. Increase self-esteem; break bad habits; manage stress; alleviate pain (e.g. childbirth, headaches, back pain); overcome fears and depression; relieve insomnia; improve study habits, public speaking, sports performance; heal through past-life journeys, other issues. Sliding scale. Certified Hypnotherapist and Counselor, two years training Therapeutic Hypnosis & Traditional Psychotherapeutic Techniques. (845) 3892302. New Paltz, Kingston. See also Psychotherapy.

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IET heals with the pure energy of SPIRIT and the gifts of the angels. Suppressed emotions, limiting beliefs, and past-life memories are cleared from the Energy Anatomy on a cellular level. Remember and live the true expression of your soul’s purpose. Also combining Spiritual Guidance, IET, and Massage.

17 years experience. Dona Ho Lightsey, LMT, IET Master. New Paltz. Web: www.learniet.com/dona_ ho_lightsey.asp. Tel: (845) 883-7899.

Ione, Director, Ministry of Maat, Inc. Spiritual and Educational organization with goals of fostering world community. (845) 339-5776.

INTUITIVE HEALING Guidance of Spirit, Wisdom of Heart Heart-based Intuitive Healing, Karma Release with Crystals, Space Clearings & Blessings, Long Distance Healings, End-of-Life Transitions, Guided Meditation/visualization. Thursday evenings at 7: 30 pm. Self healing is a process of self-discovery.

Within the space of the heart discover what you need to heal. Kate DeChard M.Ed. The Soul Sanctuary, 6052 B Route 9, Rhinebeck, NY 12572.

JEWISH MYSTICISM/KABBALAH Chabad of Woodstock Providing Jewish people from all backgrounds the opportunity to experience the depth and soul of the Jewish teachings and vibrant way of life. Offering Jewish resources, workshops, gatherings, and classes. Rabbi Yisroel Arye and Ilana Gootblatt, co-directors. (845) 679-6407. www.chabadof woodstock.com.

Irene Humbach, LCSW, PC Kabbalistic Healing in person and long distance.

(845)485-5933. See Body-Centered Therapy.

JIN SHIN-JYUTSU Kenneth Davis, CPLT See Psychotherapy.

MASSAGE THERAPY Joan Apter See Aromatherapy. For more information, contact Joan Apter, CMT. (845) 679-0512. Email: japter@ ulster.net. Web: www.apteraroma therapy.com.

bodhi studio See Bodywork.

Ada Citron, LMT Practicing since 1988, Ada Citron, LMT, has offered Swedish, Sports Massage, Reiki, Pranic Healing, Chair Massage, Shiatsu, Barefoot Shiatsu and Chi Nei Tsang (CNT) Chinese abdominal massage.

Shiatsu and CNT are currently her preferred modalities. Classes offered in CNT. House calls fee commensurate with travel time. www.adacitron.com. (845) 339-0589.

Donna Generale Licensed Massage Therapist

whole living directory

If you have not experienced the deep, penetrating, and rigorous effects of Tuina massage, you owe it to yourself and your senses to enjoy a session. A myriad of hand and arm techniques provides a detailed massage that’s incomparable for sore muscles, aches and pains. When blended with Swedish massage strokes, the treatment is tempered with soothing comfort and relaxation. Whether you want a leisure hour and a half or a 15 minute “quick relief,” or any other length of time you prefer. Also: Shiatsu, Sports & Medical massage. Call me at (845) 876-1777.

Hudson Valley Therapeutic Massage Michele Tomasicchio, LMT, specializes in Integrative Massage—incorporation of various healing modalities: Swedish, Myofascial Deep Tissue, Craniosacral, and stretching to facilitate the body’s healing process. A session may include all or just one modality.

No fault accepted. Gift certificates available. By appointment only. 243 Main Street, Suite 220, New Paltz.

(845) 255-4832.

The Living Seed Yoga & Holistic Center See Yoga.

Shiatsu Massage Therapy Leigh Scott is a licensed Shiatsu Massage Therapist with 20 years experience and a former teacher at the Ohashi Institute in New York City. Leigh uses her skills and knowledge of Shiatsu, as well as Reflexology and Polarity, to give a very satisfying hour-long massage.

(845) 679-3012.

MEDITATION Zen Mountain Monastery Offering year-round retreats

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geared to all levels of experience: introductions to Zen meditation and practice; programs exploring Zen arts, Buddhist studies, and social action; and intensive meditation retreats. South Plank Road, Mt. Tremper.

(845) 688-2228.

MIDWIFERY Catskill Mountain Midwifery, Home Birth Services Give birth as you wish, in an environment in which you feel nurtured and secure; where your emotional well-being, privacy, and personal preferences are respected. Be supported by a tradition that trusts the natural process. Excellent MD consult, hospital backup. (845) 687-BABY.

Suzanne Berger Certified nurse midwife at the Women's Care Center offering a full range of holistic, alternative and traditional services. Serving Kingston, Benedictine and Northern Dutchess Hospitals. Rhinebeck (845) 876-2496. Kingston (845) 338-5575.

Recover from your eating issues and enjoy a full life!

199 Main Street, New Paltz. (845) 489-4732.

Vitamin Navigator Confused about what to eat and what not? Find your own bioindividuality, your diet is as unique as you are, your optimum health can be achieved without serious deprivation. Andrew Wright Randel HHC AADP has 15 years experience with alternative and complementary health care. Call for appointment (914) 466-2928. www.vitaminnavigator.com

NUTRITIONIST Valerie Crystal, MS, Clinical Nutritionist "If I don’t make time for healthy eating, I’ll have to make time for illness.” Valerie Crystal, MS, Clinical Nutritionist.

Assessments and diagnostic testing for chronic disorders caused by poor eating habits. Learn how, what and when to eat and heal yourself! House calls available. Free Phone consultation. Tel: (518) 678-0700.

NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING Homebirth and Gynecology Practice of Judy Joffee, CNM

whole living directory

This practice offers a unique and exquisite opportunity for woman care in a powerfully compassionate and sacred manner. I offer complete prenatal care focused toward homebirth. For the nonpregnant woman, individualized gynecological care, counseling, and selfdetermination await you. Also offering school, work, and general physicals for all ages. Call for consultation.

(845) 255-2096.

Julie Barone Certified Holistic Health Counselor

NATURAL FOODS

Live with vibrant energy! Whole foods nutrition and lifestyle consulting can help you kick the junk food habit, achieve better health, tune in to your body, and eat well for life. Individual programs are customized to your health goals. Special People Pet Wellness program for you and your pet. Whole foods cooking parties – fun, educational, and delicious! Free consultation. (845) 338-4115. julieabarone@yahoo.com. www.people petwellness.com.

Beacon Natural Market

OSTEOPATHY

Lighting the Way for a Healthier World... Located in the heart of historic Beacon at 348 Main Street. Featuring organic prepared foods deli & juice bar as well as organic and regional produce, meats and cheeses.

Newly opened in Aug. ‘05, proprietors L.T. & Kitty Sherpa are dedicated to serving the Hudson Valley with a complete selection of products that are good for you and good for the planet, including an extensive alternative health dept. Nutritionist on staff. (845) 838-1288.

Sunflower Natural Foods Market At Sunflower we know the food we eat is our greatest source of health. Sunflower carries certified organic produce, milk, cheeses, and eggs; non-irradiated herbs and spices; clean, pure organic products to support a healthy lifestyle; large selection of homeopathic remedies. Sunflower Natural Foods is a complete natural foods market. Open 9am-9pm daily. 10am7pm Sundays. Bradley Meadows Shopping Center, Woodstock. (845) 679-5361.

NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE Naturopathic Medicine Dr. Thomas J. Francescott, ND. Free Your Mind – Release Your Body – Energize Your Spirit! Solve health issues, enhance wellness, and gain awareness. Scientifically proven naturopathic solutions for challenging and/or chronic health concerns. I offer naturopathic expertise in a sacred space to help you feel better.

Graduate of the prestigious Bastyr University. Call Rhinebeck Cooperative Health Center: (845) 876-5556. www.drfrancescott.com.

NUTRITION

Applied Osteopathy Joseph Tieri, DO, & Ari Rosen, DO. Drs. Tieri and Rosen are New York State Licensed Osteopathic physicians specializing in Cranial Osteopathy. As specialists in Osteopathic manipulation, we are dedicated to the traditional philosophy and handson treatment of our predecessors. We have studied with Robert Fulford, DO, Viola Freyman, DO, James Jealous, DO, and Bonnie Gintis, DO, and completed a two-year residency in Osteopathic Manipulation.

We treat newborns, children, and adults. 3457 Main Street, Stone Ridge, (845) 687-7589. 138 Market Street, Rhinebeck, (845) 876-1700. By Appointment. For more info call or visit www.appliedosteopathy.com.

PHYSICIANS Doctors that Make House Calls Board Certified Family Practitioner with over 15 years will make house calls! Doctors that Make House Calls is now serving the Wappingers, Fishkill, New Windsor, Hopewell, Montgomery, Cornwall, Hyde Park, Balmville and other surrounding areas. Tel: (845) 896-7712. Call for detailed brochure of our services.

Women Care Center Empowerment through information. Located in Rhinebeck and Kingston. Massage and acupuncture available. Gynecology—treating our patients through the most up-to-date medical and surgical technologies available, combined with alternative therapies.

Obstetrics—working with you to create the birth experience you desire. Many insurances accepted.

Evening hours available. Rhinebeck (845) 876-2496.

Kingston (845) 338-5575.

Jill Malden, RD, CSW Prominent Nutritionist specializing in eating behavior and eating disorders for 15 years. Warm, nonjudgmental treatment. Understand the effects of nutrition on your mood, anxiety level, cravings, concentration, energy level, and sleep, in addition to body weight.

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PILATES Pilates of New Paltz We are a fully equipped studio of certified, experienced, caring instructors with the knowledge to chal-

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lenge students while respecting their limitations (injury/illness, age, etc.).

We are offering a special package price for four introductory lessons and offer small group reformer classes and mat classes. We are open 6 days a week with a very flexible appointment schedule. (845) 255-0559.

PSYCHOLOGISTS James Cancienne, PhD Licensed Clinical Psychologist offering adult psychotherapy and couples counseling. Jungian-based psychotherapy for people in crisis, those with ongoing mental health difficulties, and those wishing to expand their personality and gain greater satisfaction from their relationships and work. Some insurance accepted and sliding scale. Hudson.

(518) 828-2528.

Carla J. Mazzeo, PhD

whole living directory

Licensed Clinical Psychologist offering psychodynamic psychotherapy for adolescents and adults. I have experience working with trauma, mood disturbances, sexual assault, depression, anxiety, grief/bereavement, eating/body image difficulties, alcohol/substance concerns, teenage problems, relationship difficulties, sexuality issues, or general self-exploration. Dream work also available. New Paltz location.

Reduced fee for initial consultation.

(845) 255-2259.

Mark L. Parisi, PhD Licensed psychologist. Offering individual psychotherapy for adults.

Specializing in gay men’s issues, anxiety, depression, relationship concerns, adjustment, issues related to aging, disordered eating, body image, sexual identity, and personal growth. Medicare and some insurance accepted. 52 South Manheim Boulevard, New Paltz.

(845) 255-2259.

Monarda Herbal Apothecary Join us for medicine making and herbal studies in our outdoor classroom along the beautiful Esopus Creek.

2005 Herbal Internships Seasonal Herbal Workshops Weekday & Weekend Sessions Beginning in May 2005 with Jennifer Costa, Herbalist

Monarda Offers: FULL HERBAL PRODUCTS LINE CERTIFIED ORGANIC ALCOHOL TINCTURES PRIVATE CONSULTATIONS

Website Herbal Catalog: www.monarda.net E-mail: monarda@hvc.rr.com (845) 688-2122 PRINTED HERBAL PRODUCTS CATALOG: SEND $1 TO

1305 Old Route 28 Phoenicia, New York 12464 86

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Jonathan D. Raskin, PhD Licensed psychologist. Insightoriented, meaning-based, problem-focused, person-centered psychotherapy for adults and adolescents facing problems including, but not limited to, self-esteem, interpersonal relationships, life transitions, family issues, career concerns, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and bereavement. 199 Main Street, New Paltz. Free initial consultation. Sliding scale. (845) 257-3471.

PSYCHOTHERAPY Kent Babcock, LMSW Counseling & Psychotherapy Development of solutions through simple self-observation, reflection, and conversation. Short- or long-term work around difficult relationships; life or career transitions; ethical, spiritual, or psychic dilemmas; and creative blocks.

Roots in yoga, dreamwork, spiritual

psychology, and existential psychotherapy. Sliding scale. Offices in Woodstock and Uptown Kingston.

(845) 679-5511 x4.

Debra Budnik, CSW-R Traditional insight-oriented psychotherapy for long- or short-term work. Aimed at identifying and changing self-defeating attitudes and behaviors, underlying anxiety, depression, and relationship problems. Sliding scale, most insurances accepted, including Medicare/ Medicaid. NYS-licensed. Experience working with trauma victims, including physical and sexual abuse. Educator on mental health topics. Located in New Paltz, one mile from SUNY. (845) 255-4218.

Deep Clay Art and Therapy Deep Clay Art and Therapy with Michelle Rhodes Licensed Master Social Worker, ATR-BC. A creative and grounding approach for crisis management, transitions, and deep healing. Individual, couple, and group arts based psychotherapy. Weekly “Dreamfigures” group for Women in transition. Gardiner (845) 255-8039 deepclay@mac.com www.deepclay.com

Elise Lark, LCSW, LMT Body & Creativity-Centered Psychotherapy SYNtegration Therapy utilizes acupuncture and muscular releases, sensation awareness, active imagination, and body-centered dialogue to explore physical symptoms, behavioral patterns, and inner conflicts. Fast-acting, highly effective, it will give you the practical tools, insight, and direction needed to move forward in your life. Sliding Scale.

Free Consult. Tel: (845) 657-2516.

Dr. Nancy Rowe, PhD, CET Heart Centered Counseling & Expressive Arts Therapy Emotional healing for children and adults using talk, imagery, sandplay, expressive arts, and/or movement. Background in transpersonal psychology, play therapy, family therapy, spiritual guidance, authentic movement, and expressive arts therapy.

Offices in Woodstock and Kingston. Call Nancy, (845) 679-4827. www.wisdomheart.com.

Licensed psychologist. Insight-oriented, culturally sensitive psychotherapy for adults and adolescents concerned with: relationship difficulties, codependency, depression, anxiety, sexual/physical trauma, grief and bereavement, eating disorders, dealing with divorce, gay/lesbian issues. 199 Main Street, New Paltz. Free initial consult. Sliding scale. Tel: (914) 262-8595.

With combination of “talk” therapy for self-knowledge and hypnosis to transform negative, selfdefeating thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Faster symptom relief. Feel better and make healthier choices. Sliding scale, Certified Hypnotherapist and Counselor. (845) 389-2302. New Paltz, Kingston.

See also Hypnosis.

Rachael Diamond, LCSW,CHt

Richard Smith, CSW-R, CASAC

Holistically-oriented therapist offering counseling, psychotherapy, and hypnosis. Specializing in issues pertaining to relationships, personal growth, life transitions, alternative lifestyles, childhood abuse, codependency, addiction, recovery illness, and grief.

Some insurances accepted. Office convenient to New Paltz and surrounding areas. Free Half Hour conseltation call (845) 883-9642.

Potential-Centered Therapy (PCT) alters thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that block growth. A psychodynamic approach incorporating NLP, EMDR, and hypnosis, PCT resolves addictions, trauma, limiting beliefs, and destructive behaviors.

Twenty years experience and a gentle spirit guide you through an accelerated process of profound healing. Gardiner. Tel: (845) 256-6456. Email: richardsmithcsw @earthlink.net.

whole living directory

Peter M. del Rosario, PhD

Change Your Outlook, Heal, and Grow Sharon Slotnick, MS, CHt.

Eidetic Image Therapy A fast moving, positive psychotherapy that gets to problem areas quickly and creates change by using eidetic (eye-DET-ic) images to promote insight and growth. The eidetic is a bright, lively picture seen in the mind like a movie or filmstrip. It is unique in its ability to reproduce important life events in exact detail, revealing both the cause and solution of problem areas. Dr. Toni Nixon, EdD, director. Port Ewen. (845) 339-1684.

Amy R. Frisch, CSWR Psychotherapist. Individual, family, and group sessions for adolescents and adults. Currently accepting registration for It’s a Girl Thing: an expressive arts therapy group for adolescent girls, and The Healing Circle: an adult bereavement group offering a safe place to begin the healing process after the death of a loved one. Most insurances accepted. Located in New Paltz. (914) 706-0229.

Irene Humbach, LCSW, PC

Judy Swallow, MA, TEP Integrative body/mind therapist using Rubenfeld synergy and psychodrama in her work with individuals, couples, groups, and families. Inquire for workshops and training, as well as therapy. New Paltz. (845) 255-5613.

Wellspring Evolutionary coaching using movement and breath to access and clear lifelong patterns and transform relationships. Rodney and Sandra Wells, certified

by Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks. (845) 534-7668.

Julie Zweig, MA Verbal Body-Centered Psychotherapy utilizing doctoral level training in psychology and 15+ years of experience as a therapist, as well as the principles of Rosen Method Bodywork, but without touch.

See also Body-Centered Therapy. New Paltz, New York. (845) 255-3566.

See Body-Centered Therapy.

REBIRTHING Ione Author and psychotherapist: Qigong, Meditation, Hypnotherapy, and Dreams. Specializing in the creative process. Healing retreats, Local and Worldwide.

845) 339-5776.

Susan DeStefano Heart-centered therapy for healing the body, mind, and emotions. Improve relationships, release the past, heal the inner child through personal empowerment. (845) 255-6482.

Martin Knowles, LCSW Taking a systemic approach to well-being and relationships for over 20 years, Martin Knowles works with individuals, couples and families in Uptown Kingston. His effective, down-to-earth style amplifies and encourages natural talents and resources, bringing out the best in each of us. (845) 338-5450, ext. 301.

SCHOOLS & TRAINING Institute of Transpersonal Psychology ITP is an accredited graduate psychology school offering clinical and nonclinical certificates, MA and PhD degrees. The curriculum combines mind, body, and spiritual inquiry with scholarly research

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and self-discovery. Graduates have strong clinical skills and can communicate in a variety of complex relational circumstances. Tel: (650) 493-4430. Email: itpinfo@itp.edu.

Web: www.itp.edu.

SHIATSU Leigh Scott See Massage Therapy.

SPAS & RESORTS The Spa at Emerson Place The Emerson Spa is open! This Asian-inspired design invites guests into an oasis of relaxation that is surrounded by the Catskills’ pastoral beauty. Individually-tailored treatments are created by the European-trained staff who are skilled at delivering virtually all the Emerson Spa’s 40+ treatments.

Men and women alike will enjoy the personalized attention they receive while enjoying experiences such as Ayruvedic Rituals, Aromatherapy Massage, Deep-Tissue and FourHand Massage, Hot Stone Therapy and Detoxifying Algae Wraps. Call (845) 688-1000 or visit our website at: www.emersonplace.com.

SPIRITUAL

whole living directory

Healing, Pathwork and Channeling by Flowing Spirit Guidance It is our birthright to experience the abundance of the universe, the deep love of God, and our own divinity! It is also our birthright to share our own unique gifts with the world. We long to do it. So why don’t we? Our imperfections get in the way. As we purify, we experience more and more fully, the love and the abundance of God’s universe. We can have it in any moment. We can learn to purify our imperfections AND experience heaven on earth. Jaffe Institute Spiritual Healing; Pathwork; and Channeling available. Contact Joel Walzer for sessions. Call (845) 679-8989 or visit our website at: www.flowingspirit.com.

Ione Egyptian Mysteries, Scarab Teachings™, Journeys to Sacred Sites.

(845) 339-5776.

STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION Hudson Valley Structural Integration Structural integration is a form of soft tissue manipulation based on the lifelong work of Dr. Ida P. Rolf. It is a process-oriented whole systems approach that seeks to improve one’s health and vitality by balancing the body and re-establishing appropriate relationships.

Benefits include feeling lighter, more energy, greater freedom of movement, relief from chronic pain,

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and positive psychological effects.

We offer a safe place for exploration and work with sensitivity and compassion. Krisha Showalter and Ryan Flowers are certified practitioners of the KMI method.

Rhinebeck, (845) 876-4654.

SUCCESS COACHING Aina Williams Have you thought about working out, changing careers or improving your interpersonal relationships but are unsure where or how to begin? Life coaching can help in all aspects of your life. If you want to change your life, give us a call, our team has over 10 years of experience helping people make important changes to reach their potential, move through life with ease and find happiness. Your Life 360°. By Appointment. For more info call (845) 750-3459.

Tarot-on-the-Hudson Rachel Pollack

whole living directory

Exploratory, experiential play with the Tarot as oracle and sacred tool, in a monthly class, with Certified Tarot Grand Master and international Tarot author Rachel Pollack. All levels welcome. Tarot Readings in person or by phone.

Appointment/Info: rachel@rach elpollack.com. (845) 876-5797.

Rhinebeck. Also see ad.

THERAPY Toni D. Nixon, EdD Therapist and Buddhist Practitioner Offering a unique combination of techniques that integrate therapeutic goals & spiritual practice. The basic principles of Buddhism and psychotherapy are concerned with the goal of ending human suffering. Both paths to liberation are through greater self-awareness, a broader view of one’s world, the realization of the possibility of freedom, and finding the means to achieve it. In essence, effective psychotherapy moves toward liberation, and Buddhist practice is therapeutic in nature. Eidetic Image therapy is a unique and powerful method that encourages the liberation of the mind and spirit from obstacles that block the way to inner peace.

Specializing in life improvement skills, habit cessation, career issues, women’s issues, & blocked creativity. By phone, online, and in person. (845) 339-1684. www.eidetictherapy.com.

VEGAN LIFESTYLES Andrew Glick Vegan Lifestyle Coach Certified Holistic Health Counselor.

The single most important step an individual can take to help save the planet’s precious resources, improve and protect one’s health,

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and to stop the senseless slaughter of over 50 billion animals a year...is to Go Vegan. What could make you feel better about yourself than knowing you are helping the planet, your own health, and the lives of countless animals all at the same time?

If the idea is daunting and seems undoable to you, then let your personal Vegan Lifestyle Coach take you through steps A to Z. Whether you’re a cattle rancher eating meat three times a day or a lactovegetarian wanting to give up dairy, it’s a process that can be fun, easy and meaningful. You can do it easily with the proper support, guidance and encouragement from your Vegan Lifestyle Coach.

(845) 679-7979. andy@meatfreezone.org or www.meatfreezone.org.

See display ad.

Healthy Gourmet To Go Try our colossal coconut macaroons dipped in dark chocolate or our delectable pan-seared cornmeal crusted homemade seitan cutlets over rosemary smashed potatoes with mushroom gravy.

From old-fashioned home cooking with a new healthful twist to live/raw foods and macrobiotics, HGTG has dishes to please every palate. Weekly Meal Delivery right to your door. Organic, vegan, kosher. Baby Registry. Gift Certificates. Catering.

Visit www.carrottalk.com.

(845) 339-7171.

WOMEN’S GROUPS Honoring the Soul with Adele Marcus, LCSW-R, ACHT

whole living directory

See Psychotherapy.

Offering yoga classes to children from infant to teen.

We offer classes to Daycares / Preschool, Camps & After School programs. We offer Parent/Child & Family yoga classes, school aged yoga classes and teen yoga classes. We are currently in over 25+ locations throughout Orange, Dutchess, & Sullivan Counties.

Call for your free trial class today at: (845) 791-1553 or contact us directly at: www.thechildrensschoolofyoga. com. Email: thechildrensschoolofyoga@juno.com.

Jai Ma Yoga Center Offering a wide array of Yoga classes, seven days a week, from Gentle/Restorative Yoga to Advanced.

Meditation classes free to all enrolled. Chanting Friday evenings. New expanded studio space. Private consultations and Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy sessions available. Gina Bassinette, RYT & Ami Hirschstein, RYT, Owners. New Paltz. (845) 256-0465.

The Living Seed Yoga & Holistic Center Open to the community for over 5 years. Inspiring movements of inner freedom and awareness. We offer Yoga classes for all levels of students, gentle/ beginner to advanced. Including Pre & Post Natal Yoga, Family & Kids Yoga, as well as a variety of Dance classes, Massage, Acupuncture, Sauna & Organic Yoga Clothing. New Paltz. (845) 255-8212. www.thelivingseed.com. The Living Seed Yoga & Holistic Health Center 521 Main St. New Paltz, NY 12561.

Phone: (845) 255-8212. Web: www.thelivingseed.com.

Email: contact@thelivingseed.com

Satya Hudson Valley Yoga Center

Women’s Health & Fitness Expo

Satya Hudson Valley Yoga Center is located in the heart of Rhinebeck village, on the third floor of the Rhinebeck Department Store building. We offer classes for all levels, 7 days a week. There is no need to pre-register: we invite you to just show up. For more information, visit www.hudsonvalleyyoga.com or call (845) 876-2528.

womensexpo@hotmail.com. (845) 338-7140.

WORKSHOPS Back to Basics at “The Barn” Life Transformational Metaphysical Workshop Series begins August 5 in Gardiner. Set in idyllic location - 130-year old renovated barn abutting Shawangunk Mountains, Author, Hand Analyst/ Life Coach shares joyous process of Evolving Consciously. Discover your Life Purpose/Life Lesson through your unchangeable Soul Goal hidden in your unique fingerprint patterns! To register for this workshop, call (845) 256-1294 or visit www.terrasoleil.com/workshops.

See Holistic Wellness Centers.

WHOLE LIVING DIRECTORY CHRONOGRAM 2/06

The Children’s School Of Yoga

WOMEN’S HEALTH

StoneWater Sanctuary

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YOGA

Yoga on Duck Pond Grounded in the alignment of the inner and outer body, yoga can reduce your stress, reshape your body, recharge your mind. “Working with Donna is a spiritual and physical adventure for me. I experience a renewed sense of well-being, increased mobility, clarity of mind, and a natural diet adjustment. She is helping me change my life.” –Carlo Travaglia, sculptor. Donna Nisha Cohen, director and certified instructor, over 20 years experience. Stone Ridge. Classes Sunday through Friday. Call for times, and information on prenatal and private sessions. (845) 687-4836.

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business directory ACTING Sande Shurin Acting Classes Revolutionary new acting technique for Film/ Stage/TV. The book: Transformational Acting...A Step Beyond, Limelight Editions. The technique: Transform into character using current emotions.

No recall. No forward imagining. Shurin privately coaches many celebrities. The classes: Thursday eves. at 7pm, Woodstock. Master classes at the Times Square Sande Shurin Theatre. (917) 5455713 or (212) 262-6848.

R & F Handmade Paints

ANTIQUE RESTORATION

ATTORNEYS

Antique Clock Repair and Restoration

Law Offices of Andrea Lowenthal, PLLC

Specializing in Grandfather clocks, Tubular chime clocks, European, Atmos and Carriage Clocks, Antique Music boxes. Pickup and delivery. House calls available. Free estimates. One year warranty. References available. For appointment call Ian D.Pomfret at (845) 687-9885 or email idp1@verizon.net.

Offices in Hudson and Manhattan, serving individuals and businesses throughout the Hudson Valley and New York City. Estate Planning (wills and trusts) and Elder Law (planning for you or your aging relatives), Domestic Partnerships (for GLBT families), Family Matters, Business Formations and Transactions, and Real Estate. Intelligent and sensitive approach to your personal and business legal matters. Please call (518) 671-6200 or (917) 301-6524, or email Andrea@LowenthalLaw.com

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ARCHITECTURE DiGuiseppe Architecture Inspired, Sensitive, and Luxurious…these are the words that describe the quintessential design work that is DiGuiseppe. The firm, with Design Studios in Accord, New York City, and Boca Raton, provides personalized Architecture and Interiors for each and every client. Whether the project is a Sensitive Historic Renovation, a Hudson Valley Inspired Home or Luxurious Interiors, each project receives the attention of the firm’s principal, Anthony J. DiGuiseppe, AIA RIBA, an internationally published architect and award-winning furniture designer. Accord (845) 687-8989, New York City (212) 439-9611. diarcht@msn.com, www.diguiseppe.com.

ART GALLERIES Van Brunt Gallery Exhibiting the work of contemporary artists.

Featuring abstract painting, sculpture, digital art, photography, and video, the gallery has new shows each month. The innovative gallery Web site, www.vanbruntgallery.com, has online artist portfolios and videos of the artists discussing their work. 460 Main Street, Beacon, NY 12508.

Tel: (845) 838-2995.

ART SUPPLIES Catskill Art & Office Supply Traditional fine art materials, studio furnishings, office products, journals, cards, maps, and gifts.

Creative services, too, at all three locations: photo processing, custom printing, rubber stamps, color copies, custom picture framing, and full-color digital output. Pushing the envelope and creative spirit for over 20 years. Woodstock: (845) 6792251; Kingston: (845) 331-7780; Poughkeepsie (845) 452-1250.

Manny’s Since 1962, big city selection and small town service have made Manny’s special. We offer a full range of art materials, custom picture framing, bookmaking supplies, and the best selection of handmade and decorative papers north of Man92

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hattan. Manny’s, it’s more than just an art store. 83 Main Street, New Paltz. (845) 255-9902.

Internationally known manufacturer of Pigment Sticks and Encaustic paint right here in the Hudson Valley. Stop in for a tour of our factory, get paints at discounted prices, sign up for an Encaustic or Pigment Stick workshop, or check out bi-monthly exhibits in the Gallery. Open Mon.Sat. 10am-5pm. 506 Broadway, Kingston. (845) 331-3112. www.rfpaints.com.

Schneider, Pfahl & Rahmé, LLP Manhattan law firm with offices in Woodstock, provides legal services to individuals, institutions, professional firms, companies, and family businesses. Specific areas include: Real Estate, Estate Planning, Corporate, New Media and Arts, and Entertainment Law. Each matter is attended to by a senior attorney who develops a comprehensive legal plan with the client. (845) 679-9868 or (212) 629-7744. See website www.nycrealestateattorney s.com or www.schneiderpfahl.com.

BEVERAGES Esotec Ltd. Now Located in Tech-City Kingston, NY. Choose Esotec to be your wholesale beverage provider.

For 20 years we’ve carried a complete line of natural, organic, and unusual juices, spritzers, waters, sodas, iced teas, and iced coffees. If you are a store owner, call for details or a catalog of our full line. sales@esotecltd.com. or www.esotecltd.com.

(845) 336-3369.

Leisure Time Spring Water Pure spring water from a natural artesian spring located in the Catskill Mountains. The spring delivers water at 42oF year-round. The water is filtered under high pressure through fine white sand. Hot and cold dispensers available. Weekly delivery.

(845) 331-0504.

The Golden Notebook A feast for book lovers located in the heart of Woodstock, we are proud to be a part of Book Sense: Independent Bookstores for Independent Minds. In addition to our huge database, we can special order any book in or out of print.

Our Children’s Store located right next door has an extensive selection of books and products exclusively for the under-14 set. We also carry the complete line of Woodstock Chimes. 25-29 Tinker Street, Woodstock. Tel: (845) 679-8000, fax (845) 679-3054. Email: thegoldennotebook@hvc.rr.com Web: www.goldennotebook.com.

Mirabai of Woodstock The Hudson Valley’s oldest spiritual/holistic bookstore, providing a vast array of books, music, and gifts that transform, renew, and elevate the spirit. Exquisite statuary and other art works from Nepal, Tibet, Bali. Expert Tarot reading, astrological charts/ interpretation available. 23 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock. (845) 6792100. www.mirabai.com.

CARPETS / RUGS Anatolia Tribal Rugs & Weavings Direct importers since 1981– Natural-dyed Afghan carpets; Balouchi tribal kilims; Russian sumaks; antique Caucasian carpets; silk Persian sumaks; Turkish kilims. Hundreds to choose from 2’x3’ to 9’x12’. Kilim pillows, $20-$55. We encourage customers to try our rugs in their homes without obligation. Open 6 days a week 12-6pm. Closed Tues. MC/Visa/AmEx. 54G Tinker Street, Woodstock. (845) 679-5311.

CHILDREN’S ART CLASSES The School for Young Artists An Extraordinary Art Experience! The School for Young Artists provides you with the tools, materials, instruction and support to achieve your goals. Our studio is about the joy of learning and the power of making art. Classes and individual sessions for children and adults. Call Kathy Anderson (845) 679-9541.

CINEMA Upstate Films Great International Cinema. Contemporary & Clasic. 26 Montgomery Street, Rhinebeck. Tel: (845) 876-2515. Web: www.upstatefilms.com.

CLOTHING Haldora

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Haldora, a family name from Iceland meaning Goddess of the Mountains. Haldora designs a lifestyle in women’s clothing and scarves—styles which are timeless, understated, and have a forgiving elegance. She designs and cuts her own line, then sends it to her seamstress where it is sewn locally in New York State. Her fabrics are mostly natural, including many kinds of silk, linens, and cotton in many colors, with wool added in winter. Also at Haldora, you will find other complimentary lines. In season, she has wool, cotton, and cashmere sweaters, which include Margaret O’Leary and Kincross Cashmere. Haldora carries a full line of Hanro of Switzerland undergarments and sleepwear. Shoes are also important to finish your look. Some of the lines carried are Arche, Lisa Nading, and Gentle Souls. Haldora also carries jewelry in a wide range of prices. Open Daily. 28 East Market Street, Rhinebeck, NY. Tel: (845) 876-6250. www.haldora.com.

COLLEGES Dutchess Community College Dutchess Community College, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, was founded in 1957. The College offers an educational policy of access, quality, opportunity, diversity, and social responsibility. DCC’s main campus in Poughkeepsie is situated on 130 scenic acres with facilities that are aesthetically pleasing and technologically advanced. The College has a satellite campus, Dutchess South, in Wappinger Falls, and learning centers in Carmel, Staatsburg, and Pawling. (845) 431-8020. www.sunydutchess.edu.

Mount Saint Mary College An independent liberal arts college offering more than 30 undergraduate programs; graduate programs in business (MBA), education, and nursing; and noncredit courses. 2,500 women and men. Its beautiful campus overlooks the Hudson River and is conveniently located off I-84 in Newburgh. (845) 569-3222. www.msmc.edu.

CONSIGNMENT SHOPS Past ‘n’ Perfect A quaint consignment boutique that offers distinctive clothing, jewelry, shoes, and accessories, and a unique variety of high quality furs and leathers. Always a generous supply of merchandise from casual to chic, contemporary to vintage, with sizes from infant to adult. Featuring a diverse and illuminating jewelry collection. Open Tuesday to Friday 10am-5pm, and Saturday 10am-4pm. Conveniently located at 1629 Main Street (Route 2/06 CHRONOGRAM BUSINESS DIRECTORY

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44), Pleasant Valley, NY–only 9 miles east of the Mid-Hudson Bridge. (845) 635-3115. Web: www.pastnperfect.com.

The Present Perfect Designer consignments of the utmost quality for men, women, and children. Current styles, jewelry accessories, and knickknacks. Featuring beautiful furs and leathers. Open Mon.-Sat. 10am-5pm, & Sun. 12-5pm. Located at 23G Village Plaza, Rhinebeck, NY 12572. (845) 876-2939.

COSMETIC & PLASTIC SURGERY M. T. Abraham, MD Facial Plastic, Reconstructive & Laser Surgery, PLLC. Dr. Abraham is one of few surgeons double board certified and fellowship trained exclusively in Facial Plastic Surgery. He is an expert in the latest minimally invasive and non-surgical techniques (Botox™, Restylane™, Thermage™, Photofacial™), and also specializes in functional nasal surgery. Offices in Poughkeepsie, Fishkill, & Rhinebeck with affiliated MediSpas. (845) 4548025. www.NYfaceMD.com.

CRAFTS

business directory

Crafts People

See Literary.

Bethany Saltman I am a professor of writing & literature as well as a professional writer & editor who most recently edited local writer Erin Quinn’s Pride and Politics.

I have over a decade of experience working with teens, grad students, professionals and editors and I am available to help you with your writing projects. References available. Call or email for a free consultation. Tel: (845) 688-7015. Email: bethanysaltman@gmail.com.

EDUCATION RESOURCES Math Tutor Customized, creative tutoring for students of all ages. Get help with arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and precalculus. Prepare for Regents, SATs, GREs, and GEDs. I emphasize fundamental concepts, number sense, real life application and problem solving skills. Individual and group sessions. Contact Halle Kananack at (917) 232-5532 or learn@mathwithhalle.com.

Please visit my website at www.mathwithhalle.com

EVOLUTION

Deep Clay Showroom

Cat Quinn, professional decorative artist, setting the standard for excellence in Custom Faux Finishes for your home and business. With infinite possibilities, your walls, floors, ceilings, fireplaces and furniture can be transformed using my faux finishing techniques. A full spectrum of decorative finishes using plasters, glazes, and many other mediums, help to fill your home full of your unique personality and spirit. Don’t miss the beauty and exhiliration of transforming the rooms you live and work in every day into spaces that reflect your sense of style. Portfolio showing a phone call away. (845) 532-3067.

Pottery and Dreamfigures Wood-fired, raku, and stoneware. From everyday mugs and bowls to Tea Ceremony ware. Simple forms, natural colors, islands of calm, created by artist/therapist Michelle Rhodes. Studied pottery in Bizen and Tea at Urasenke. Open by appointment year round.

(845) 255-8039 www.michellerhodespottery.com.

First Street Dancewear First Street Dancewear in Saugerties, NY offers quality dancewear for Adults and Children. We have dancewear, knit warm-ups, ballet, jazz, tap shoes, gymnastics wear, skatewear, accessories, and gift items. We also feature a line of women’s active wear clothing suitable for Yoga and Pilates.

Call (845) 247-4517 or visit our website at www.firststreetdancewear.com.

DESIGN Actionpact Solutions Actionpact Solutions is your premiere, award-winning, full-service graphic, Web, and multi-media design firm located in Kingston, New York. We offer fresh, fun, and functional advertising and design solutions for businesses of all sizes. Make a pact for action and contact us today for your free consultation! Call (845) 532-5398 or email support@actionpactsolutions.com.

DISTRIBUTION Chronogram Is Everywhere!

Have you ever noticed that wherever you go, Chronogram is there? That’s because our distribution is so damn good. We can distribute your flyer, brochure, business card, or publication to over 800 establishments in Ulster, Dutchess, Columbia, Greene, Putnam, and Orange counties, and now with new stops in Peekskill, Westchester County. Call us at (845) 334-8600 or e-mail distribution@chronogram.com.

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Manuscript Consultant

Representing over 500 artisans, Crafts People boasts four buildings brimming with fine crafts, the largest selection in the Hudson Valley. All media represented, including sterling silver & 14K gold jewelry, blown glass, pottery, turned wood, kaleidoscopes, wind chimes, leather, clothing, stained glass, etc. Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday 10:30am-6pm. 262 Spillway Road, West Hurley. (845) 331-3859. www.craftspeople.us

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EDITING

Discovery Institute To Know. To Understand. To Be. Offering intensive training in a living school of psycho-transformism in the tradition of G.I. Gurdjieff. Web: www.discove ryinstitute.org.

FAUX FINISHES Faux Intentions

FINANCIAL SERVICES Center for Financial Wellness, Inc. I don’t sell anything! I help you become financially independent – retire early, reduce your taxes, build an investment portfolio, do work that you love, get out of debt! Robin Vaccai-Yess, Certified Financial Planner™, Registered Investment Advisor, Fee-Only. Visit www.financiallywell.com to receive my free Enewsletter and to register for workshops. (845) 255-6052. www.financiallywell.com.

FOOD SERVING PRODUCTS Cool Cover™ CoolCover™ keeps food cool, fresh and visible for hours using patent-pending air flow design.

Perfect for entertaining at home, indoors and outdoors. CoolCover™ can be tipped back into stable, upright position for easy self serving.

Clear, durable, food safe polycarbonate protects food from insects and pets. Great for everyday use as practical tool for healthy eating. No ice. 15 7/8” L x 11 7/8” W x 5 5/8” H. Price - $34.99. Web www.coolcover.us. Toll Free: (800) 601-5757.

FRAMING Catskill Art & Office See Art Supplies.

Manny’s See Art Supplies.

GARDENING & GARDEN SUPPLIES Mac’s Agway in Red Hook/New Paltz Agway Specializing in all your lawn and garden needs. We carry topsoil, peat moss, fertilizers, organics, grass seed, shavings, straw, fencing, pet food, bird seed, bird houses, and more. Mac’s Agway, 68 Firehouse Lane, Red Hook, NY (845) 876-1559; New Paltz Agway, 145 Route 32N, New Paltz, NY (845) 255-0050.

Hours for both locations: Mon.-Fri. 8am-5:30pm; Sat. 8am-5pm; Sun. 9am-3pm.

GIFTS Earth Lore Walk into a world of natural wonder: amethyst caves and heart-shaped druzies, quartz crystal spheres and sculptures, orbs of obsidian, lapis and jasper. PLUS a gallery of wearable art. Navaho necklaces of turquoise and coral, pendants and bracelets of moldavite, tektite and meteorite; watches crafted from oxidized copper, brass, sterling; an array of Baltic amber in all its hues: honey, lemon, butterscotch, cognac...., fashioned into jewelry that makes a statement. Earthlore also offers unique objects of home decor such as a 100 yr old camel bell from Afghanistan, a Thai rain drum, and fossilized salt lamps from the Himalayas. A great place to find gifts from around the globe. 2 Fairway Drive, Pawling N.Y. (845) 855-8889. Open Tues. thru Fri. 10am - 6pm. Sat 10-5.

GLASSBLOWING Glassblowing.com

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The glassblowing.com studio offers Beginner Workshops in both Glassblowing and Beadmaking. Lee Kind has been teaching glassblowing since 1990 and has the ability to make this hot medium safe for anyone to try. In addition to teaching, Lee creates a line of “one of a kind” lamps and lighting installations for both homes and businesses. For more information call (845) 297-7334 or www.glassblowing.com.

GUITARS McCoy’s Guitar Shop Specializing in professional stringed instrument repairs and the best set-ups in the area at reasonable, musician friendly rates.

Psychotherapy extra. Used guitars and basses bought and sold.

Services available by appointment only. Conveniently located in Rosendale.

HAIR SALONS Trends Hair Design Trends is a cutting-edge hair design center offering New York City styles at Hudson Valley prices, specializing in modern color, cut, and chemical techniques for men and women. Waxing and nail services available. Open Tues. through Fri, 9am to 7pm; Sat. 10am to 3pm. Gift certificates available. 29-31 West Strand, Kingston. Tel: (845) 340-9100.

HOME DESIGNS Eco-Arch Design Works - Janus Welton, AIA, BBEI An award-winning design architect, offering over 15 years of Traditional Chinese Feng Shui expertise to her Ecological and Healthy Building Design Practice: combining Building Biology, Solar Architecture, and Feng Shui to promote “Inspiring and Sustainable” environments for the 21st Century.

Unlock the potentials of your site, home, or office to foster greater harmony, prosperity, spirit, health, and ecological integrity. Services include: Architecture, Planning, Commercial Interiors, Professional Seminars and Consultations.

E-mail: ecoarchitect@hvc.rr.com or see www.JanusWelton DesignWorks.com. (845) 247-4620.

HORSEBACK RIDING LESSONS Frog Hollow Farm English riding lessons for adults and children. Solar-heated indoor, large outdoor, cross-country course, extensive trails.

Summer camp, boarding, training, and sales. Emphasis on Dressage as a way of enhancing all horse disciplines. Holistic teaching and horse care. 572 Old Post Road, Esopus. Tel: (845) 384-6424. Web: www.dressageatfroghollowfarm.com.

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INTERIOR DESIGN

MUSIC

DeStefano and Associates

Burt’s Electronics

Barbara DeStefano has been the owner of DeStefano and Associates, an interior design business, for 18 years. She received certification in Feng Shui from the Metropolitan Institute of Interior Design and has completed advanced work with several Feng Shui Masters. Feng Shui is the perfect marriage to interior design. It brings a spiritual dimension to your space.

Barbara can create a kind of beauty that touches your spirit, and brings balance and harmony to a level that transcends the superficial.

Barbara is available for consultations, guest speaker engagements, and workshops.

Tel: (845) 339-4601.

Good music deserves quality sound! Avoid the malls and shop where quality and personal service are valued above all else. Bring Burt and his staff your favorite album and let them teach you how to choose the right audio equipment for your listening needs. 549 Albany Avenue, Kingston. Monday through Friday 9am-7pm; Saturday 9am-5pm; and Sunday 12pm-4pm.

(845) 331-5011.

INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS Webjogger Blazing fast broadband Internet access. Featuring symmetrical bandwidth, superior personal attention and technical support, rock-solid security and reliability, and flexible rates. Complementary services include e-mail, Web hosting, accelerated dialup, server collocation and management, and customized networking solutions.

Webjogger is a locally grown company with offices in Tivoli and Kingston. Call (845) 757-4000 or visit us online at www.webjogger.net.

LITERARY Submit to Chronogram

business directory

Seeking submissions of poems, short stories, essays, and article proposals. Accepting pieces of all sorts. With SASE, send submissions to Chronogram, 314 Wall Street, 2nd floor, Kingston, NY 12401. info@chronogram.com or check out our web site:www.chronogram.com.

MONTESSORI SCHOOL Maria’s Garden Montessori School Cultivating creativity, compassion- and a lifelong love of learning. Serving children 3 years through second grade in a country schoolhouse surrounded by gardens, woodlands and streams. Combining the outstanding materials and attention to detail of Montessori education with an emphasis on creativity and child-generated curriculum inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. 8:30 am-3:30 pm, with part-time options for preschoolers. Half or full day kindergarten. 62 Plains Road, New Paltz, NY 12561. (845) 256-1875.

Email: info@mariasgardenmontessori.com.

NURSERIES See Landscape Products & Services.

Writing workshops and private instruction for writers. (845) 339-5776.

PAINTING

MAGAZINES The only complete arts and cultural events resource for the Hudson Valley. Subscribe and get the lowdown first. Whether you live in the Hudson Valley or just visit, you’ll know what’s going on. Send $36 for yearly subscription to: Chronogram, 314 Wall Street, 2nd floor, Kingston, NY 12401. info@chronogram.com. www.chronogram.com.

Quadrattura Painting - Interior/Exterior & Interior Decorator Finishes.

Serving the area since 1997 with pristine jobs for the economy-minded homeowner, as well as decorator and faux finishes, completed with old-world craftsmanship and pride.

Wallpaper removal, light carpentry, plaster.

Environmental paints available. Free estimates.

Call: (845) 679-9036.

PERFORMING ARTS

MEDIATION & CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Powerhouse Summer Theater/ Lehman-Loeb Gallery

Pathways Mediation Center

Vassar College Box 225, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604. (845) 437-5902. Email: befargislanc @pop.vassar.edu.

A unique mediation practice for couples going through divorce, or families in conflict, with the innovative, combined services of two professionals. Josh Koplovitz has 30 years as a Matrimonial & Family Law Attorney, and Myra Schwartz has 30 years as a Guidance Counselor. This male/female team can effectively address all your legal and family issues. Use our one-hour free consultation to find out about us. Tel: (845) 331-0100.

Rodney Wells, CFP, Member AFM & NYSCDM If you’re separating, divorcing, or have issues with child support, custody, or visitation, choose mediation. On average, mediated agreements are fulfilled twice as often as litigated court decisions and cost half as much. I draw on my experience as a financial planner, psychotherapist, and pro se litigant to guide couples in a responsible process of unraveling their entanglements, preserving their assets, and creating a satisfying future. Cornwall, New Paltz, and NYC. (845) 5347668. www.mediated-divorce.com.

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Vassar College, Poughkeepsie. A listener-supported, non-commercial, student-run, alternative music station. Programming is provided by students and community members, and includes jazz, new music, folk, hip hop, polka, new age, international, blues, metal, news, and public affairs programming. WVKR Web casts at www.wvkr.org. Tel:(845) 437-7010.

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WVKR 91.3 FM

PET SERVICES & SUPPLIES Pussyfoot Lodge B&B The Pioneer in Professional Pet Care! Full house-pet-plant-sitting service, proudly serving three counties for 32 years. Experienced, dependable, thorough, and reasonable housesitting for your pets’ health and happiness. Also offering a cats-only resort with individual rooms.

Extensive horticulture and landscaping knowledge in addition to domestic and zoo animal experience. Better Business Bureau Metro NY/Mid-Hudson Region Member. (845) 687-0330.

PET SITTING Why have your dog spend its day in a kennel, when it can stay comfortably at home and I’ll take care of it for you. Pine Bush, Walden, Newburgh, Middletown. Tel: (845) 406-8932.

PHOTOGRAPHY France Menk Photography & Photodesign A fine art approach to your photographic and advertising requirements. Internationally exhibited. Major communications/advertising clients.

My work is 100% focused on your needs. www.photocon.com. (845) 256-0603.

Michael Gold Artistic headshots of actors, singers, models, musicians, performing artists, writers, and unusual, outlandish, off-the-wall personalities.

Complete studio facilities and lighting. Creative, warm, original, professional. Unconditionally guaranteed. www.michaelgoldsphotos.com and click on to the “Headshots” page. The Corporate Image Studios, 1 Jacobs Lane, New Paltz.

(845) 255-5255.

PIANO Adam’s Piano Featuring Kawai and other fine brands. 75 pianos on display in our Germantown (just north of Rhinebeck) showroom. Open by appointment only. Inventory, prices, pictures, at adamspiano.com. A second showroom will be opening in New Paltz in November.

Superb service, moving, storage, rentals; we buy pianos! (518) 537-2326 or (845) 343-2326. adamspiano.com

interaction. Students are accepted year-round.

Funded by NYS Dept. of Education, OCFS and OMRDD. Contact Kate Haas (845) 889-4034 x534 or visit www.andersonschool.org.

Hudson Valley Sudbury School A radically different form of education based on the belief that children are driven by a basic desire to learn and explore. We trust that children, given the freedom, will choose the most appropriate path for their education. Our democratic School Meeting expects children to take responsibility for their lives and their community. Year-round admissions. Slidingscale tuition. Web: www.hudsonvalleyschool.org Tel: (845) 679-1002.

High Meadow School Pre-kindergarten through 8th grade, committed to a child-centered education that engages the whole child. Intimate, nurturing, with small class size and hands-on learning. A program rich in academic, artistic, physical, and social skills.

Fully accredited. Route 209, Stone Ridge, NY. Call Suzanne Borris, director. (845) 687-4855.

Maria’s Garden Montessori School

205 Old Route 9, Fishkill, NY 12524.

(845) 896-6291. cloijas@nssupply.com.

Mountain Laurel Waldorf School

PLUMBING & BATH

PRINTING SERVICES New York Press Direct At NY Press Direct we exist for one reason - to delight our customers! What does that mean to you? Worry-free shopping for all your printing and fulfillment needs. Our solutions are leading edge in the industry. Our pricing is among the most competitive in the northeast region. Call John DeSanto or Larry Read for more information. (845) 457-2442.

PUBLISHERS Monkfish Book Publishing Company Monkfish publishes books that combine spiritual and literary merit. Monkfish books range from memoirs to sutras, from fiction to scholarly works of thought. Monkfish also publishes Provenance Editions, an imprint devoted to elegant editions of spiritual classics. Monkfish books are available at your favorite local or online bookstores, or directly from us. Rhinebeck, NY. Tel: (845) 876-4861.

Web:www.monkfishpublishing.com.

REAL ESTATE Willow Realty Willow Realty is a small, personalized Real Estate Agency in Ulster County, New York. We have access to all the properties in the Multiple Listing Service, but high-pressure tactics are not part of our sales kit. We have extensive experience in buyer agency and new construction. We listen to you! New Paltz. (845) 255-7666.

SCHOOLS Anderson School Anderson School is an educational residential community, serving children and adults (ages 5-21) with autism and related developmental disabilities, in Staatsburg, New York. Education and residential programs are designed to foster continuous growth, independence and social

business directory

N & S Supply

Cultivating independence, confidence, compassion, peace, and a lifelong love of learning.

Serving children 3 years through first grade in a one-room country schoolhouse surrounded by gardens, woodlands, and streams. 8:30 am-3: 30 pm, with part-time options for preschoolers.

Half or full day kindergarten. Affiliated with the American Montessori Society. 62 Plains Rd., New Paltz, NY 12561. (845) 256-1875. Email: info@mariasgardenmontessori.com.

At the Mountain Laurel Waldorf School, not only can all students do their best in academic basics, they can find and achieve a balance in rich programs of drama, speech, Spanish, Russian, painting, music, creative writing, woodwork, and more. Waldorf Education: for the head, heart, and hands. Nursery-8th Grade. 16 South Chestnut Street, New Paltz. Call Judy Jaeckel.

(845) 255-0033.

Woodstock Day School Woodstock Day School, a state-chartered, independent school and member of NYSAIS, providing quality education for pre-school through high school students since 1972. Small classes and a 6:1 student-to-teacher ratio allow us to give each child the individualized consideration necessary for a positive learning experience.

PO Box 1, Woodstock. (845) 246-3744. Web: www.woodstockdayschool.org.

SPECIALTY FURNITURE Art of the Grape Let us give your tired cabinet a new life and convert it into a wine cabinet or custom design a wine cabinet to your style and taste, with matching cocktail table and/or wine tasting table. We also do bars and wine cellars. We supply everything you need to enjoy your wine.

515 Columbia St. Hudson, NY (518) 822-0770.

Email: deekeegan1@aol.com. Hours: 11am to 4pm Thurs., Fri., Sat. or by appointment.

STONEWORK See Landscape Products & Services.

TATTOOS Pats Tats Since 1976, Pat Sinatra and her team create custom, one-of-a-kind tattoos in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. Excellent portraits, tribal, gothic, Oriental, Americana, and realism. Gray, black, and color. Appointments are advised.

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Walk-ins available Tuesdays and Fridays. More than just a mark, it’s an experience! 948 Route 28, Kingston, NY 12401. Tel: (845) 338-8282.

Email: pat_sinatra@yahoo.com.

and hosting for $80 per year for sites under 50MG. All sites are custom made for your individual needs. Free estimates. (845) 883-9007.

Visit my website at www.karenwilliamsdesign.com.

WEB DESIGN/DEVELOPMENT

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Actionpact Solutions

fete accompli

See Design.

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BUSINESS DIRECTORY CHRONOGRAM 2/06

WINE In Good Taste 45 Main Street, New Paltz, NY. (845) 255-0110.

Email: ingoodtaste@verizon.net.

WRITING WORKSHOPS Wallkill Valley Writers Creative writing workshops in New Paltz led by Kate Hymes, poet and educator. Aspiring and experienced writers are welcome. Wallkill Valley Writers provides structured time, a supportive community and a safe place for you to fulfill the dream of writing your stories, real or imagined.

Many writers find the community of a workshop benefits their work and keeps them motivated. (845) 255-7090.

Email:khamherstwriters@aol.com.

EVENT LISTINGS FOR FEBRUARY 2006 photo provided

the forecast

FORECAST

CAPTION

MERYL JOAN LAMMERS PERFORMS IN KINGSTON AND POUGHKEEPSIE THIS MONTH

MUSICAL PRIESTESS One evening last summer during Kingston’s monthly First Saturday Artwalk, I strolled into Mezzanine on the Rondout to scope the scene. Hearing music wafting down into the coffee bar, I ascended the stairs to see what was happening on the upper level. Recognizing Tracy Chapman’s “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution,” I was instantly hooked by the young woman sitting at the mike in the dim light. The ravishing voice, the faultless guitar execution, the beaming countenance of Meryl Joan Lammers.

Apparently, Lammers is a regular at the Mezzanine Bookstore, which recently added a wine bar. Not that booze is required for Lammers to pack the place. The third time I saw her there, I was sandwiched between bodies clear in the back. No doubt the proprietors will have to start removing bookcases to keep up with her growing fan base. Or bust out a wall.

The fates have other plans for 25-year-old Lammers besides being a singer/songwriter, though. She’s a board-certified music therapist and is currently working with autistics at the Anderson School in Staatsburg. Since most of her kids are nonverbal, she uses music to help them express themselves.

“Kids with autism have social deficits. They don’t really communicate, nor do they have imaginative play with each other. Music provides them with a sense of community and they start to interact—playing drums, singing songs.”

Lammers has just released October, a five-song demo of originals, and the final cut, “My Little Child,” is about one of the special kids in her life. “He is the king of stim [self-stimulation]. He can’t sit down for two seconds and he’s constantly looking around. But when he’s with me, he’ll sit at the piano for an entire half hour and play. One day I stopped playing and he picked up my hand, put it on the keys and looked at me like, why aren’t you playing? I looked at this child and thought, ‘I know you’re in there somewhere.’ And it inspired me to write that.”

At times Lammers’s style echoes artists such as Jewel, Bar Scott, Happy Rhodes, and even Simone Felice’s one-time project The Big Empty. On the demo she plays both piano and guitar, but her perfect pitch vocal style and emotionally driven acoustic instrumentation are uniquely her own. October is a lovely piece of work.

When talking about a six-month internship with Hospice that she completed, she says it was the most amazing experience of her life thus far. “I was, in a lot of ways, like a musical priestess to these people who were at the door of passing to the next realm. To see people really open up to you and trust you through that, people who had Alzheimer’s who would all of a sudden start singing or dancing and telling you about their life, it was really wild.”

Lammers views music as the highest form of divinity. “I’ve seen it transform what appears to be the untransformable. It is my highest form of magic, and, I believe, the most powerful force in the world next to love.”

Meryl Joan Lammers will play the Cubbyhole Coffeehouse, 44 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie, on February 4 at 9pm, and Mezzanine Coffee House and Wine Bar, 79 Broadway, Kingston, on February 18 at 8pm. www.myspace.com/meryljoanlammers.

—Sharon Nichols 2/06 CHRONOGRAM FORECAST

99

photo provided

LOU REED PERFORMS AT THE BARDAVON IN POUGHKEEPSIE ON FEBRUARY

11

THE GODFATHER OF PUNK Last October, the sell-out crowd that filled Carnegie Hall for Antony & the Johnsons also came to pay respects to that group’s celebrity mentor, Lou Reed. The androgynous Antony was “discovered” when Reed plucked him from a decade of overlooked East Village performances and then harnessed Antony’s bottomless melancholy for Reed’s two most recent albums before taking him on a world tour.

Reed (and his wife, Laurie Anderson) have since become acolytes of the cult of Antony. The rest of us fans of Antony find ourselves mothering the chunky white boy in Goth

FORECAST

hand-me-downs who seems to have inherited Nina Simone’s husky pipes.

While even diehards admit that Reed’s best musical days are behind him, there was a reverent hush on that evening last October when he was coaxed onstage for Antony’s first encore. As Reed accompanied Antony’s ethereal moan on guitar, scribbling across the chords, he sounded as bracingly world-weary as ever.

You could follow Reed around Europe this winter, starting with a performance at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. Or wander no farther than the Bardavon on Saturday, February 11. There, Lou Reed and longtime band members Fernando Saunders, Mike Rathke, Rob Wasserman, and Tony “Thunder” Smith will serenade the faithful.

These days, wearing eyeliner and a baleful glare qualify as bona fide rock attitude. But Lou Reed offers a living rebuke to a generation of poseurs. Maddeningly contradictory, he shrugs off slavish followers who want him to “just play the old stuff,” and continues to reinvent himself with every new album.

A protégé of Supreme Huckster Andy Warhol, Reed penned “Walk on the Wild Side,” about the divine freaks in Warhol’s stable—but by 1986 he had sold the rock classic to Honda. In the resulting ad campaign, Reed sits astride a scooter, wearing leather, shades, and a snarl, agreeably play-acting as the Godfather of Punk (the persona that edged out his phase as a bleached-hair, nail-painted mid-’70s faggot). Reed’s erratic brilliance was fueled—or perhaps undimmed—by the electroshock therapy his Long Island parents ordered to cure his homosexuality—and a later heroin addiction.

“If he was not an artist, he would simply be seen as a voyeur,” said Jim Fouratt, a veteran New York rock agent and manager of Danceteria. But Reed craved artist status, not the dispensable fame of the guitar hero; after all, he was mentored by the mad poet Delmore Schwartz at Syracuse University. “He put into sound the kinds of emotions that only poets are able to do,” Fouratt added.

In a five-decade career, there are several versions of Lou Reed to adore and revile. Those with a taste for the perverse can champion “Metal Machine Music” or his so-goodyou-want-to-give-up-and-slash-your-wrists The Bells. Later efforts, from the disingenuous 1990 Warhol tribute Songs for Drella (with John Cale) to Reed’s Edgar Allan Poe cycle alternately mystify and bore. But one listen to 1972’s “Perfect Day” will reveal everything you need to know about love.

Lou Reed will perform at the Bardavon on Saturday, February 11, at 8pm. Tickets are $70. (845) 473-2072; www.bardavon.org.

—Jay Blotcher

Tees, Long Sleeve Tees, Baby Tees, Long Sleeve Baby Tees, Hoodies.

Buy Online. www.chronogram.com/tshirts 100

FORECAST CHRONOGRAM 2/06

calendar WED 1 DANCE Candlemas Sacred Circle Dance 7pm. Ancient and modern dances from around the world. Butterfly House, Kingston. 658-8105. $10.

EVENTS Pre-K Open House 4-5:30pm/6-7pm. Young Naturalist Pre-K Program. Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall-on-Hudson. 5345506 ext. 204.

Sundown

SPOKEN WORD Dr. Margaret Wade Lewis 12:30pm. What Happens When Gullah Comes North. Dutchess Hall Theater, Dutchess Comm. Coll., Pok. 431-8017.

7:30pm. Painter‘s Tavern, Cornwall-onHudson. 534-5506 ext. 204.

THEATER Into the Woods 8pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $22/$20 children and seniors.

WORKSHOPS Extreme Life Make Over

FILM Match Point

7:30-9pm. 10 week program. Arlington Yoga, Lagrangeville. 227-3190. $175.

Call for times. Woody Allen film. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck. 876-2515.

5pm. Easy listening, light jazz. Bodles Opera House, Chester. 469-4595.

Jay and Molly’s Old Time Jam 7-10pm. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Open Mike and Jam Session

8pm. Comedy about an acting couple.

Elmwood Playhouse, Nyack. 353-1313.

SAT 4

Lost Roads and Forgotten Lives

Call for times. Silent twilight opening.

Varga Gallery, Woodstock. 679-4005.

MUSIC Patricia Mazo and Dave Myers

Moon Over Buffalo

FRI 3 ART 33rd Annual All-County Student Art Show 6-8pm. Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac.

628-3664.

EVENTS Winter Weekend

ART Second Nature 2-4pm. Faculty works. SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz. 257-3858.

Visual Offerings 2-4pm. American Scenery: Different Views in Hudson River School Painting.

SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz. 257-3844.

Culture & Identity 5-7pm. Work by artists representing the heritage of Africa, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

Gallery at Deep Listening Space, Kingston. 338-5984.

Landscape Paintings of Lynne Friedman 5-7pm. Coffey Gallery, Kingston.

339-6105.

Reflections of Nature 5-8pm. Oil and pastel renderings by Milo.

Soul Oasis Gallery, Kingston. 338-4119.

The Effigy Show

Robert Kopec Trio

Call for times. Activities and workshops.

Ashokan Field Campus, Olivebridge.

657-8333.

9pm. Jazz jam. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

Celebrity Chefs „A Taste of Cornwall“

The ‘F’ Word

SPOKEN WORD Classics in Religion

7-9pm. Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall-on-Hudson. 5345506 ext. 204. $45/$40.

7-11pm. Featuring Just James. B & B Lounge, Catskill. (518) 678-9643.

FILM Nine Lives

Protecting Biodiversity in a Changing Landscape

7:30pm. Time and Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448. $7/$5.

7pm. SUNY New Paltz Lecture Center, New Paltz. 255-2011.

MUSIC American Symphony Orchestra, Leon Botstein, Music Director

The Hidden Lives of New York’s Timber Rattlesnakes 7pm. SUNY New Paltz Lecture Center, New Paltz. 255-2011.

WORKSHOPS Tarot-on-the-Hudson 7-9:30pm. Rhinebeck. 876-5797. $20.

THUR 2 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT Candlemas 6pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock. 679-4005.

FILM Match Point Call for times. Woody Allen film. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck. 876-2515.

MUSIC GaiaWolf 6:30-8:30pm. Acoustic, alternative, contemporary, folk, original, R&B. High Falls Café, High Falls. 687-2699.

Little Scotty and the Knockouts 8:30pm. Blues, R&B, soul. Spanky‘s Restaurant, Poughkeepsie. 485-2294.

Albert Cummings and Debbie Davies 9pm. Blues. Bodles Opera House, Chester. 469-4595.

Mike Quick Band 9pm. Blues jam. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

THE OUTDOORS Adult Nature Hike 10am. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682 ext. 132.

8pm. Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 758-7512.

LIVE MUSIC 8-11pm. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

The Kurt Henry Band 8-11pm. Alternative, Kurt stuff/danceable originals. Peekskill Coffee House, Peekskill. (914) 739-1287.

Rick Derringer and Flying Jalapenos

5-10pm. Featuring infamous erotic artist, Meadow. Farfetched Gallery, Kingston.

339-2501.

Endangered Species 6-8pm. Sculpture by Valerie Palermo.

John Davis Gallery, Hudson. (518) 828-5907.

Juice and Wet 6-8pm. Works by three contemporary painters. Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson. (518) 828-1915.

DANCE DanceFest 7pm. Mid-Hudson Valley dance schools and choreographers. New Paltz High School, New Paltz. 256-9300.

Contra Dance 8pm. Old Songs Community Arts Center, Vorheesville. (518) 765-2815. $10.

Paco Pena Flamenco Dance Company

9pm. Bodles Opera House, Chester.

469-4595.

8pm. Bardavon, Poughkeepsie. 4525924. $34.50/$31.50 students and seniors/$28.50 members.

Dean Scala Band

English Country Dance

9pm. Funk, pop, rock. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

Rockslyde 10pm. Alternative, heavy metal, rock.

Hyde Park Brewing Company, Hyde Park.

229-8277.

SPOKEN WORD First Open Meeting 7pm. Planning of New Paltz Pride March and Festival. New Paltz Town Hall, New Paltz. 255-2465.

Simi Linton

FORECAST

10:30am. Selections from the Writings of St. Teresa of Avila. Kingston Library, Kingston. 334-8404.

5-8pm. Art Society of Kingston, Kingston. 338-0331.

8-11pm. Hurley Reformed Church, Hurley. 679-8587. $10.

EVENTS Poughkeepsie Area Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Gala Call for time. In honor of County Legislator James Hammond.

Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel, Poughkeepsie. 454-1700 ext. 1011.

George Cole Estate Auction Call for time. George Cole Auctioneers, Red Hook. 758-9114.

7:30pm. From his book My Body Politic.

Oblong Books and Music, Rhinebeck.

876-0500.

Environmental Expo

Blaine Pardoe Lecture: Count Felix VonLuckner

Quilting Demos

8am-6pm. Woodstock Community Center, Woodstock. 679-0381.

8pm. Bulldog Studio, Fishkill. 401-0278.

11am-2pm. Water Street Market, New Paltz. 255-1403.

THEATER Into the Woods

“The Erotic Frolic” Masquerade Party & Fundraiser

8pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $22/$20 children and seniors.

7-9pm. Masks, festive attire & cross dressing invited. Tivoli Artists Co-op, Tivoli. (518) 537-5888.

2/06 CHRONOGRAM FORECAST

101

FILM The Beautiful Washing Machine

THEATER The Deciding Vote

Call for times. Set in the neon-lit world of consumer zombies. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck. 876-2515.

1pm/4:30pm. Re-enactment of 1776 political happenings. Court House, Poughkeepsie. 451-4088.

KIDS Wonders of Woodchucks

Into the Woods

10am. Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall-on-Hudson.

534-5506 ext. 204.

Captain Jack’s Magic and Juggling Show 11am. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080.

8pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $22/$20 children and seniors.

Moon Over Buffalo 8pm. Comedy about an acting couple. Elmwood Playhouse, Nyack. 353-1313.

Project Mercury 2-5pm. Acoustic rock & modern folk.

Warwick Valley Winery, Warwick. 258-4858.

Flames of Discontent

Inaugural Show 3-6pm. Many artists in multiple genres.

Wallkill River Art Gallery, New Windsor. 689-0613.

American Symphony Orchestra, Leon Botstein, Music Director 8pm. Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 758-7512.

DANCE Swing Dance Jam

Paul MacMahon

6:30-9pm. Arlington Reformed Church, Poughkeepsie. 339-3032.

Mariachi Los Camperos 8-9:30pm. Latin, solo, vocals.

Eisenhower Hall, West Point. 938-4159.

Mark Raisch

FORECAST

2-4pm. Rosendale Café, Rosendale.

658-9048.

1-3pm. W/Teresa Ryan. Yarn Swift, Poughkeepsie. 454-7444.

8pm. New Paltz Cultural Collective, New Paltz. 257-0611.

8-11pm. Jazz, swing, vocals, American Standards. The Sky Top Steak House, Kingston. 340-42.

Acid Jazz Dance Party

EVENTS Winter Festival 10am-4pm. Winter fun in a 19th century setting. Ashokan Field Campus, Olivebridge. 657-8333. $8 per car load.

FILM The Beautiful Washing Machine Call for times. Set in the neon-lit world of consumer zombies. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck. 876-2515.

When We Were Kings 3pm. A boxing trip to Zaire. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

9pm. Featuring The Foundation and Wavy Davy. Forum Lounge, Kingston.

331-1116. $5.

Nine Lives

Exit Six

MUSIC Dog on Fleas

9pm. Rock and roll, dance cover band.

Golden Rail Ale House, Newburgh.

565-2337.

The Kurt Henry Band 9pm. Alternative, Kurt stuff/danceable originals. Hickory BBQ Smokehouse, Kingston. 338-2424.

Bill Perry Blues Band 9pm. Corner Stage, Middletown.

342-4804.

Project Mercury 9-10pm. Acoustic rock & modern folk.

Chthonic Clash Coffee House, Beacon.

831-0359.

THE OUTDOORS YMG Intro to Snowshoeing Call for times. Hunter Mountain.

(516) 883-3203.

Cross-country ski at Minnewaska State Park 9:15am. Minnewaska State Park, New Paltz. 462-0142.

Guided Snowshoe Tours 10am. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682 ext. 132.

Singles Ski or Hike – Spring Farm 10am-3pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz. 255-0919.

Creature Feature 12:30pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston. 331-1682 ext. 132.

SPOKEN WORD Ian Williams 7:30pm. From his book Rum: A Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776. Oblong Books and Music, Rhinebeck. 876-0500.

FORECAST CHRONOGRAM 2/06

ART Jon‘s Paintings

CLASSES Introduction to Spinning

Peace Project: Ambient Music and Performance

102

SUN 5

6pm. Protest songs. Alternative Books, Kingston. 331-5439.

8pm. Eclectic. Colony Café, Woodstock.

679-5342. $5.

2-4pm. Mirabai, Woodstock.

679-2100. $15/$20.

MON 6 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT Moonlodge 6pm. Talking stick ceremony. Varga Gallery, Woodstock. 679-4005.

EVENTS Creating Quilt Squares

MUSIC Elly Wininger 9am-6pm. Alternative, blues, contemporary, folk, oldies, neo-folk.

Woodstock Community Center, Woodstock. 679-2015.

Finding Our Soul Purpose in Astrological Charts

5pm. Time and Space Limited, Hudson.

(518) 822-8448. $7/$5.

2pm. Music for kids and families.

Time and Space Limited, Hudson.

518) 822-8448.

The Saints of Swing

11am-4pm. Open to the public. Water Street Market, New Paltz. 255-1403.

MUSIC Open Mike with Singer/Guitarist Dick Vincent 7-9pm. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

Seth Ray 8:30-11:30pm. Open Mike & Hootenanny. Rhinebeck Grille, Rhinebeck. 876-6816.

SPOKEN WORD Lecture Series: Revolution and the Limits of Reason 4:30pm. Discussion: „Violence and Social Change: Do Revolutions Work?“Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 758-7512.

THEATER Into the Woods 3pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $22/$20 children and seniors.

TUES 7 ART A Women‘s Right to Choose 8pm. New Paltz Cultural Collective, New Paltz. 257-0611.

BODY / MIND / SPIRIT Wicahpi Oyate: Star Nation Symbols 7-9pm. Mirabai, Woodstock.

679-2100. $15/$20.

EVENTS African Market & Cooking Demo 11am-3pm. Drumlin Hall, Dutchess Comm. Coll., Pok. 431-8017.

2-6pm. Blues, cabaret, Dixieland, gospel, jazz, R&B, soul, swing. The Big Easy Bistro, Newburgh. 565-3939.

FILM The Goddess Remembered and The Burning Times

Pianist Boris Berman

7-9pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock.

679-4005.

3pm. Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 758-7425.

Santa Fe Guitar Quartet 3pm. Holy Cross Church, Kingston.

340-9434.

Mid-Winter Mosh 5pm. Forum Lounge, Kingston.

331-1116. $5.

Acoustic Open Mike 8pm. Featuring Sarah Morr. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

THE OUTDOORS Winter Survival 11am. Upper Parking Area, New Paltz.

255-2011.

Skijoring, Anyone?

11am-1pm. Cross country skiing with your dog. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz.

255-0919.

THEATER Into the Woods 3pm. The Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $22/$20 children and seniors.

WORKSHOPS Knitting 1-5pm. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-1559. 30 for members / $35 for non-members.

MUSIC Hollywood‘s Stepchild 8pm. Chamber music by film composers. McKenna Theater, New Paltz. 257-3880.

Blues Jam with Geoff Hartwell 9:30pm. Jackson and Wheeler, Pleasantville. (914) 741-2000.

THE OUTDOORS YMG Indoor Rock Climbing 6:30pm. Poughkeepsie YMCA, Poughkeepsie. (518) 851-9089. $8.

SPOKEN WORD Sustainability in a Generation 7pm. Sustainable Living Resource Center, Cottekill. 331-2670.

WORKSHOPS Wicahpi Oyate: Star Nation Symbols 7-9pm. Mirabai, Woodstock.

679-2100. $15/$20.

Maps of the Clitoris 7-9:30pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock. 679-4005.

Men Writing Into Women, Women Writing Into Men 7-9:30pm. 4 Tuesdays. Colony Café, Woodstock. 679-9441.

LA ESCALERA DE JACOBO (JACOB’S LADDER), CORSO DE PALENZUELA, OIL ON WOOD,

1989

OF CORSO Gato Feral is a portrait of a cat wearing a sly, abashed expression that almost fills the painting. This is one very feral cat—a representative of the large felines that roam Cuba, feasting on rats. Corso de

FORECAST

Palenzuela, the artist, had no formal training, but somehow he captures the way we tend to see cats—not as small mammals, but as half-human, ominous companions. Gato Feral is part of “Dreams of Cuba,” a show of de Palenzuela’s paintings being held this month at the Kiesendahl+Calhoun Contemporary Art Gallery, in Beacon.

Another painting by Corso de Palenzuela currently appears in the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore’s exhibit “Race, Class, Gender = Character.” Corso’s El Sangre Azul depicts a young aristocratic boy, whose literally blue blood is visible in his veins. The tag on his wrist announces his birth at Quinta Covadonga, a Cuban hospital reserved only for upper-class families. De Palenzuela himself was born in this hospital. His father was a Spanish baron, and a Sephardic Jew. De Palenzuela grew up on an 18,000-acre estate in Pinar del Rio, surrounded by mangoes, papayas, ivory-billed woodpeckers, and 12 dogs. He left Cuba at the age of eight in 1961—having first received a “lucky bullet souvenir” from Che Guevara himself!

De Palenzuela’s work was noticed by the Cuban artist Ana Mendiata, who died tragically in 1985.

Mendiata encouraged him to exhibit, and in 1983 de Palenzuela had his first show, at the Cayman Gallery in SoHo. His paintings were instantly successful, winning a glowing review in the New York Times.

De Palenzuela now lives in Rhinebeck, with his wife and a dog called “Cuba.” The artist paints in oils on scavenged wood and cardboard—although he has painted two or three canvases simply because they were given to him—and makes his own frames. However, if someone presents him with a frame, he’ll make a painting to fit it.

De Palenzuela returns every year to Cuba, where his paintings are exhibited, including at the Municipal Museum in Havana. He is the only artist represented at the Cuban Mission to the UN. Speaking of de Palenzuela’s work, Camilla Calhoun, co-owner of Kiesendahl+Calhoun, describes de Palenzuela’s work as “ totally fanciful; also, the colors are beautiful.” De Palenzuela’s works depict a Cuba of memory, she explains. “There’s a serenity about them, on the one hand, then in some there’s violence—there are hunters, and dead birds.”

Ironically, it is today’s so-called “outsider artists”—artists who have not formally been trained—rather than educated artists who fulfill the role mainstream art played for centuries by telling stories, uplifting the spirit, and connecting the viewer to tradition. It may sound foolish to say of a contemporary artist that he “paints out of love,” but this is certainly true of de Palenzuela. He loves Cuba, his dog, and the Bible.

In fact, in the disembodied eye hovering over the dreaming Jacob in La Escalera de Jacobo (Jacob’s Ladder), Corso de Palenzuela unabashedly expresses his awe of God. “Dreams of Cuba” will be on display at Kiesendahl+Calhoun Contemporary Art Gallery, 192 Main Street, Beacon, through February 26. De Palenzuela will speak on outsider art at Kiesendahl+Calhoun on Saturday, February 11, at 3pm. (845) 838-1177; www.kandcgallery.com.

—Sparrow

2/06 CHRONOGRAM FORECAST

103

BODY / MIND / SPIRIT LGBT Guided Relaxation & Meditation Group

WORKSHOPS Get Ready for Spring 7-9pm. Plants and gardening. Business Resource Center, Kingston. 340-3990.

Call for times. Acorn Hill Healing Arts, Olivebridge. 657-2516. $10.

Dynamic Meditation 7pm. Dynamic movement and sound into stillness. Butterfly House, Kingston.

658-8105. $10.

EVENTS Hudson Valley Nursery and Greenhouse Growers School 9am-4pm. Ulster County Fairgrounds, New Paltz. 340-3990. $40/$50.

Creating Quilt Squares 11am-4pm. Open to the public. Water Street Market, New Paltz. 255-1403.

MUSIC Patricia Mazo and Dave Myers 5pm. Easy listening, light jazz. Bodles Opera House, Chester. 469-4595.

Celtic Jam Seisun 7-10pm. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

Robert Kopec Trio 9pm. Jazz jam. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

FORECAST

SPOKEN WORD Classics in Religion

Call for times. Anatomy of the American War machine. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck.

876-2515.

Taking Back the Hudson: the Fight for Our Stolen Future 7pm. Part of the Think Globally, Act Locally series. Kerhonkson. 626-4507.

President‘s Last Bang 7:30pm. Assassination of the South Korean president in 1979. Time and Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448.

MUSIC Greg Englesson aka Mr. E 7-10pm. Oasis Café, New Paltz. 2552400.

Live Music 8-11pm. Featuring Ethan Campbell and Robin Leah. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

Benefit Show for V-day 8pm. New Paltz Cultural Collective, New Paltz. 257-0611.

The McKrells

Ecoservices: The Effects of Changing Plant Communities on the Environment

Guthrie Lord

7pm. SUNY New Paltz Lecture Center, New Paltz. 255-2011.

Popa Chubby Band

7pm. SUNY New Paltz Lecture Center, New Paltz. 255-2011.

THEATER Moon Over Buffalo 8pm. Comedy about an acting couple.

Elmwood Playhouse, Nyack. 353-1313.

WORKSHOPS 7 Secrets to a Slimmer New Year 6:30-7:30pm. Howland Library, Beacon. 227-3190.

THUR 9 MUSIC Soprano Dawn Upshaw and Pianist Richard Goode 8pm. Proceeds benefit the Conservatory.

Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson.

758-7900. $20/$45/$45.

Owen Roberts Live at Bard

9pm. Bodles Opera House, Chester.

469-4595.

9pm. Backstage Studio Productions, Kingston. 338-8700.

9pm. Blues, rock. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

Oshe

Witmer asks the musical question: Are you a dreamer? The prolific Witmer released his 11th album, Are

10pm. Alternative, rock. Eastside Bar and Grill, Walden. 778-2039.

THEATER Manolouges

12:30pm. Dutchess Hall Theater, Dutchess Comm. Coll., Pok. 431-8017.

The Great Hudson River Brick Industry 7:30pm. Painter‘s Tavern, Cornwall-onHudson. 534-5506 ext. 204.

THEATER Noises Off By Michael Frayn 8pm. Marist College, Poughkeepsie.

575-3133. $6/$3 Marist ID.

To Kill a Mockingbird 8pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $20/$18 students and seniors.

FORECAST CHRONOGRAM 2/06

You a Dreamer? last July, and after opening for Sufjan Stevens last year on tour (Stevens played banjo, recorder, and organ on Dreamer), he is getting some deserved attention. Witmer will be headlining a folk-rock bill at the First Presbyterian Church in Hudson on February 11.

8pm. Life issues from a man‘s perspective. Elmwood Playhouse, Nyack. 353-1313. $25.

from West,” is soft without being sad. “California Brown and Blue” introduces interesting instrumentals

Noises Off By Michael Frayn

in the tradition of ’60s surf music mixed with East Coast folk. There’s a strong beat and the dripping

8pm. Marist College, Poughkeepsie.

575-3133. $6/$3 Marist ID.

vibrations of electric guitar. Witmer’s romantic lyrics can be a bit sappy, but Witmer’s personal narratives

The Skin of Our Teeth 8pm. By Thorton Wilder. Cocoon Theater, Rhinebeck. 876-6470.

To Kill a Mockingbird 8pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $20/$18 students and seniors.

Mike Quick Band

SPOKEN WORD Political Commentary in Black Popular Music

WALK ON THE MILD SIDE Live from the acoustic guitar lounge just outside heaven’s pearly gates, the fragile voice of Denison

12-2pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock.

679-4005.

10am. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston. 331-1682 ext. 132.

11

This Side Down

WORKSHOPS Rod Power

THE OUTDOORS Adult Nature Hike

DENISON WITMER PERFORMS IN HUDSON ON FEBRUARY

10pm. Improvisational. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

9pm. Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 758-7425.

9pm. Blues jam. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

104

FRI 10 FILM Why We Fight

10:30am. Selections from the Writings of St. Teresa of Avila. Kingston Library, Kingston. 334-8404.

Protecting Biodiversity in a Changing Landscape

photo provided

WED 8

Susan WeedWomb Speak ceremony 5-7pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock. 679-4005.

With stripped-down guitar and vocals reminiscent of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” Witmer’s “East

are vulnerable and sincere without being saccharine.

PG Six is the other band to share top billing. Swimming in the same musical stream as The Incredible String Band, John Fahey and Jethro Tull, PG Six presents the magical sounds usually associated with ’70s UK folk-rock.

Micah Blue Smaldore performed in hardcore and rockabilly bands, but now plays with the temperament of an authentic blues picker. Smaldore’s proficient guitar work reminds me of Mississippi John Hurt. And no wonder, he plays a Regal steel-bodied guitar. His music has the jaunty, old-fashioned, ragtime stride of the early 1900s. And his newest release, “Hither and Tither,” is even more of a time machine, recalling silent-movie soundtracks.

Alex Lukashevsky’s alt-noise outfit Deep Dark United certainly lives up to its name. The creepy toy piano tones in the song “Mental Case Blues” are as disturbing as a clown parade in John Wayne Gacy’s hometown. Full of angst and tension, Lukashevsky’s music is at once scary, oddly funny, and innovative. DDU’s performances are legendary in their hometown of Toronto. Says Owne Pallett of the

SAT 11 ART Color & Pattern

Hidden Cameras, “They always play the same songs, they always play them wildly differently. It’s like watching the greatest actors in the world on a Handicam.”

The Luxury Flats are the last act in the line-up. Echoes of electronica meld with a folk sensibility for

4-6pm. Fabric collage art of Susan Minier. Woodstock Artists Association Museum, Woodstock. 679-2940.

a vibe that’s edgy but not too creepy.

Ain’t Love Grand!

Sean McNamara put the show together by reaching out to players from Canada, Maine, Philadelphia,

5-7pm. Valentine’s tribute. M Gallery, Catskill. (518) 943-0380.

Love 5-8pm. Images of Gail Nadeau. Exposed Gallery of Art Photography, Delmar.

(518) 475-1853.

Remnants, After the Storm 6-9pm. Photographs in the wake of Katrina. Bau, Beacon. 440-7584.

These bands are a perfect match and the evening promises a walk on the mild side of indie-folk music.

Chicago, and the Hudson Valley, bringing home music the local audience hasn’t heard, but should have. McNamara explains, “There’s plenty of loud, fast music available in clubs and bars, but there is an audience out there ready for something different.”

Denison Witmer, PG Six, Micah Blue Smaldore, Deep Dark United, and The Luxury Flats will perform at the First Presbyterian Church, 369 Warren Street, in Hudson on February 11 at 6pm. (518) 821-4825.

—J. Spica

BODY/MIND/SPIRIT Reiki I Certification 8am. Gnosis, Woodstock. 679-2626.

Reiki I & II Certification 10am-5pm. Become a certified Reiki practitioner. Woodstock. 336-4609.

Levon Helm‘s Midnight Ramble Session 8pm. Acoustic, bluegrass, blues, dance, original. Levon Helm Studios, Woodstock.

679-2744.

Live Music

CLASSES Learn to Knit

8-11pm. Jazz with Peter Einhorn.

Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston.

339-6925.

10am-12:30pm. The basics (with supplies). Yarn Swift, Poughkeepsie.

454-7444.

Commander Cody and Professor Louie and the Crowmatix

DANCE Fakoli Dance& Drum 11am. African dance. Dutchess Hall Theater, Dutchess Comm. Coll., Pok. 431-8017.

Country Dinner Dance 7-11pm. Featuring Stolen Heart.

Wappingers Knights of Columbus, Wappingers Falls. 298-7093.

Valentine Swing Dance Party 7:30-11pm. Lesson at 7pm. Reformed Church of the Comforter, Kingston. 2363939. $8.

Contradance 8pm. Pat Rust calling, with music by Aldo Lavaggi. Woodstock Community Center, Woodstock. 246-2121. $8.$7 members/kids 1/2 price.

EVENTS Return of the Sylvia Plath Bakeoff: Call for times. AIR Studio Gallery, Kingston. 331-2662.

Science Olympiad Competition 8am-4pm. High school teams. SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge. 687-5000.

Creating Quilt Squares 11am-4pm. Open to the public. Water Street Market, New Paltz. 255-1403.

Rosendale Love Fest

Chinese New Year and Folk Arts Festival 1pm. Food, music, performances, parade. Uptown Kingston. 339-9935.

Friday Night Supper Club 8pm. Music by Too Human.

North Pointe Cultural Center, Kinderhook. (518) 758-9234. $10.

FILM Why We Fight Call for times. Anatomy of the American War machine. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck.

876-2515.

President‘s Last Bang 5:30pm. Assassination of the South Korean president in 1979. Time and Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448.

Nine Lives 7:30pm. Time and Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448. $7/$5.

President‘s Last Bang

Popa Chubby Band 9pm. Blues, rock. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

Stadium Size Rock 9pm. Featuring Plan A. JJ‘s Lounge, Kerhonkson. 661-3700.

THE OUTDOORS Cross Country Ski Fahnestock State Park Call for time and meeting place. 452-9086.

Cross Country Ski at Frost Valley YMCA 8:30am. Moderate. Park and ride 299 in Highland. 454-4428.

Singles Ski or Hike – Duck Pond 9:30am-2:30pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz. 255-0919.

Guided Snowshoe Tours 10am. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682 ext. 132.

Winter Wings: Birding for Children 10-11:30am. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz. 255-0919.

Creature Feature 12:30pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston. 331-1682 ext. 132.

Calling All Owls 7-9pm. Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall-on-Hudson.

534-5506 ext. 204.

SPOKEN WORD Geshe Kelsang Gyatso 2pm. On her book Mahamudra Tantra.

Borders, Middletown. 856-5102.

Melissa Holbrook 7:30pm. From her book The Place You Love Is Gone. Oblong Books and Music, Rhinebeck. 876-0500.

THEATER Auditions for Chicago 1-5pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-5348.

A Number 8pm. Mohonk Reader‘s Theater. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 2551559. $11 members/$15 non-members.

Manolouges 8pm. Life issues from a man‘s perspective. Elmwood Playhouse, Nyack.

353-1313. $25.

7:30pm. Assassination of the South Korean president in 1979. Time and Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448.

Noises Off By Michael Frayn

KIDS Wildman Jack

The Skin of Our Teeth

11am. Snakes and reptiles. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080.

Darwin Day for Kids 2pm. Birds of prey. New Paltz Town Hall, New Paltz. 247-0098.

MUSIC Matt Beadle & The Regulators 5-11pm. Country, rock. St. Mary‘s Hall, Kingston. 338-3972.

Denison Witmer and PG Six 6pm. Folk and rock. First Presbyterian Church, Hudson. (518) 821-4825. $8.

8pm. Marist College, Poughkeepsie. 5753133. $6/$3 Marist ID. 8pm. By Thorton Wilder. Cocoon Theater, Rhinebeck. 876-6470.

To Kill a Mockingbird 8pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $20/$18 students and seniors.

WORKSHOPS Perizad Bellydance

Lou & Peter Berryman 8pm. Old Songs Community Arts Center, Vorheesville. (518) 765-2815. $15/$5.

EVENTS Keep it Real, Practice Imago 3-5pm. Learn techniques to improve your relationships. Inquiring Mind Gallery, Saugerties. 679-2282.

FILM Why We Fight Call for times. Anatomy of the American War machine. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck.

876-2515.

Nine Lives 2:30pm. Time and Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448. $7/$5.

President‘s Last Bang 5pm. Assassination of the South Korean president in 1979. Time and Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448.

MUSIC Katy Taylor with Amy Fradon 3pm. A cappella, Celtic, folk, traditional, medieval. Vargas Gallery and Studio, Woodstock. 679-4005. $10.

Gospel Concert 3pm. Dutchess Hall Theater, Dutchess Comm. Coll., Pok. 431-8017.

Rhinebeck Chamber Music Society Concert 4pm. Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 758-7425. $20/$5 students.

Traditional Irish Music 4pm. American Legion Hall, Rhinebeck.

876-4429. $8.

Lewis Greeney, Contrabasss 6-7:30pm. Bau, Beacon. 440-7584.

Acoustic Open Mike 8pm. Featuring Sarah Morr. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

THE OUTDOORS Hoot of the Owl 10am. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682 ext. 132.

Singles Ski or Hike – Minnewaska Loop 10am-3pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz. 255-0919.

Ski Clinic 11am. Upper Parking Area, New Paltz.

255-2011.

Full Moon Snowshoe Hike 7pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682 ext. 132.

SPOKEN WORD Saving Mother Nature in Warwick: 1700 to Present 2pm. The Baby Grand Café, Warwick.

986-1989.

THEATER Noises Off By Michael Frayn 2pm. Marist College, Poughkeepsie. 5753133. $6/$3 Marist ID.

The Skin of Our Teeth 3pm. By Thorton Wilder. Cocoon Theater, Rhinebeck. 876-6470.

To Kill a Mockingbird 3pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $20/$18 students and seniors.

Auditions for Death of a Salesman 7pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080 ext. 14.

MON 13

12-2pm/5-7pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock. 679-4005.

EVENTS Creating Quilt Squares

Sharing Our Sacred Story

11am-4pm. Open to the public. Water Street Market, New Paltz. 255-1403.

2-4pm. Finding the Mythic Thread in Our Own Lives. Mirabai, Woodstock. 6792100. $15/$20.

Elly Wininger 7:30-10pm. Alternative, blues, contemporary, folk, neo-folk. Dutch Arms Chapel, Saugerties. 943-6720. $3.

6pm. Gnosis, Woodstock. 679-2626.

SUN12 CLASSES Reiki I & II Certification 10am-5pm. Become a certified Reiki practitioner. Woodstock. 336-4609.

FORECAST

12-4pm. Activities throughout the village.

Rosendale. 658-7569.

9pm. Bodles Opera House, Chester.

469-4595.

Magick for Beginners

FILM Why We Fight Call for times. Anatomy of the American War machine. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck.

876-2515.

MUSIC Open Mike with Singer/Guitarist Dick Vincent 7-11pm. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

2/06 CHRONOGRAM FORECAST

105

Jez Lowe & the Bad Pennies 7:30pm. Old Songs Community Arts Center, Vorheesville. (518) 765-2815. $17/$5.

Seth Ray 8:30-11:30pm. Open Mike & Hootenanny.

Rhinebeck Grille, Rhinebeck. 876-6816.

David Kraai 11pm. Acoustic, country, folk, original, solo, traditional. Oasis, New Paltz. 255-2400.

8pm. Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 758-7425.

SPOKEN WORD Classics in Religion 10:30am. Selections from the Writings of St. Teresa of Avila. Kingston Library, Kingston. 334-8404.

Protecting Biodiversity in a Changing Landscape

THE OUTDOORS Full Moon Snowshoe Hike

7pm. SUNY New Paltz Lecture Center, New Paltz. 255-2011.

7pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682 ext. 132.

Teeming with Life

SPOKEN WORD Lecture Series: Revolution and the Limits of Reason 4:30pm. Lecture on William Blake and reading. Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 758-7512.

THEATER Auditions for Death of a Salesman 7pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080 ext. 14.

WORKSHOPS Moonlodge Talking Stick Ceremony 6pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock.

679-4005.

De-Clutter De-Stress Your Life

7pm. SUNY New Paltz Lecture Center, New Paltz. 255-2011.

THURS 16 ART Third Annual Minisink Valley High School Art Exhibit 4-8pm. The Country House Arts Center, Inc, Bloomingburg. 733-4309.

FILM Why We Fight Call for times. Anatomy of the American War machine. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck. 876-2515.

6:30-7:30pm. Grinnell Library, Tivoli. 227-3190.

MUSIC Mike Quick Band

TUE 14

THE OUTDOORS Adult Nature Hike

EVENTS Career Fair 10am-5pm. Spons. By Poughkeepsie Journal & CareerBuilder. Best Western, Poughkeepsie. 437-4741. Free.

FORECAST

Duo Flute Performance: Patricia Spencer and Tara O’Connor

Latin Lovers Night Latin cuisine buffet, Latin entertainment, short Latin dance lesson. Catskill Cultural Center, Kiskatom. (518) 678 0700. $25.

FILM Why We Fight Call for times. Anatomy of the American War machine. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck.

876-2515.

MUSIC A Valentine Romance 8pm. McKenna Theater. 257-3880.

Robert Kopec Trio 9pm. Jazz jam. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

Blues Jam with Geoff Hartwell

9pm. Blues jam. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

10am. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston. 331-1682 ext. 132.

SPOKEN WORD The River as Divine Inspiration 7:30pm. Garrison Institute, Garrison.

424-4800.

7:30pm. Painter‘s Tavern, Cornwall-onHudson. 534-5506 ext. 204.

THEATER To Kill a Mockingbird 8pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $20/$18 students and seniors.

WORKSHOPS Healing the Pelvic Temple 1-4pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock.

679-4005.

Intro to Holistic Sexuality 7-9pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock.

9:30pm. Jackson and Wheeler, Pleasantville. (914) 741-2000.

679-4005.

THE OUTDOORS Full Moon Snowshoe Hike

7-9pm. Mirabai, Woodstock.

679-2100. $15/$20.

Time Travel & Past Lives

7pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682 ext. 132.

THEATER The Vagina Monolouges 7pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock.

679-4005.

WED 15 BODY/MIND/SPIRIT A Course in Miracles 7:30-9:30pm. Study group w/Alice Broner. Unitarian Fellowship, Poughkeepsie. 229-8391.

FILM Why We Fight Call for times. Anatomy of the American War machine. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck. 876-2515.

MUSIC Trail Mix Concert Series 2:30pm. Pianist Venessa Perez. West Shokan. 657-6864. $15.

Celtic Jam Seisun 7-10pm. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

106

FORECAST CHRONOGRAM 2/06

LINDA BURKHARDT AND SYLVIA MAE GORELICK STAR IN THE “THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK”

The “Sage of Slabsides”

THAT AMSTERDAM ATTIC When deciding to bring Anne Frank’s story to the Shandaken Theatre Society stage, director Violet Snow wondered whether people would be receptive to something so heavy. “I saw the play in Orlando last spring, and fell in love with Anne,” she says. “She was a deep thinker and a passionate person, and the play itself was so beautifully constructed. I wanted to bring her back to life on stage, live with her for three months.”

Somewhat to her surprise, Snow found that interest was strong. “A lot of people wanted to help, people who wouldn’t get involved in light entertainment,” she says. “With the world situation right now, some might say, why talk of more sad things? But it’s happening again, and this time we’re doing it.

People feel helpless; they try to just get on with life carrying the feelings inside of them. But Anne’s story gives a voice to that inner struggle of witnessing evil.”

FRI 17 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT The Serpentress Full Moon Meditation 10am-2pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock.

679-4005.

FILM Strange Fruit 12pm. Discussion with filmmaker Joel Katz. Dutchess Hall Theater, Dutchess Comm. Coll., Pok. 431-8017.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada Call for times. Directed by Tommy Lee Jones. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck. 8762515.

Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price 7:30pm. Marbletown Community Center, Stone Ridge. 687-7116.

MUSIC Baird Hersey and Prana 8pm. Overtone Singing Choir. Shakti Yoga, Woodstock. 679-0706.

The play was originally written by Francis Goodrich and Albert Hackett, scriptwriters of such classics as The Thin Man and It’s a Wonderful Life. “It was a total departure for them—they went through about six drafts before they felt they got it right,” says Snow. “Then Wendy Kesselman reworked it and sharpened it for modern audiences—in the '50s and '60s, you didn’t talk about menstruation or young passion.”

To play the young heroine whose recounting of life in the Secret Annex would awaken the world to what being a total innocent targeted for extinction was really like, Snow chose her own 14-year-old daughter, Sylvia. “She’s been into acting for a while and she’s very professional. She’s super-alert and takes direction well. I told her, while we’re working I’m not ‘mom,’ I’m the director—and she said, ‘Of course.’ George Tsontakis, who’s playing Mr. Frank, didn’t even realize she was my daughter for a while.” Sylvia began keeping a diary herself while working on the play, the better to live in Anne’s head.

“The Diary of Anne Frank” will be performed Friday and Saturday, February 17 and 18, at 8pm; Sunday, February 19, at 2pm; and Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, February 23-25, at 8pm, at the Shandaken Theatre Society Playhouse at 10 Church Street in Phoenicia. Tickets are $12 for adults; $10 for seniors, children under 12, and STS members. Call (845) 688-2279 for reservations.

—Anne Pyburn

Live Music

Deuce

Unplugged Acoustic Open Mike

8-11pm. Featuring Ethan Campbell and Robin Leah. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

9pm. Acoustic, oldies, original, rock, rockabilly. Rondoutbay Café & Marina, Kingston. 339-3917.

4-6pm. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-1559. $5 for members / $6 for non-members.

Sarah Morr Band

Murali Coryell

A Life Once Lost

9pm. Alternative, rock. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

9pm. Blues, R&B, soul. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

6pm. Metalcore. The Loft, Poughkeepsie.

471-1966. $12/$14.

Peach Jam

THE OUTDOORS Hubbard-Perkins: Jordan Pond Hike

Larry Chance & The Earls

10pm. Blues. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

SPOKEN WORD Nature‘s Spotlight: Birds of the Big Screen

9am. Easy 6.6 miles. Meet at McDonalds, Wappingers Falls. 876-4534.

Singles Snowshoe or Hike – Peters Kill

7pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston. 331-1682 ext. 132.

9:30am-2:30pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz. 255-0919.

Hudson Poetry Circle

Guided Snowshoe Tours

8pm. Share poems with the group.

Hudson Opera House, Hudson. (518) 822-1438.

10am. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682 ext. 132.

THEATER The Diary of Anne Frank

11:30am-3pm. Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall-on-Hudson. 5345506 ext. 204.

8pm. Shandaken Theater, Phoenicia.

688-2279.

The Skin of Our Teeth 8pm. By Thorton Wilder. Cocoon Theater, Rhinebeck. 876-6470.

To Kill a Mockingbird 8pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $20/$18 students and seniors.

SAT 18

Maple Sugar Tours

Creature Feature 12:30pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston. 331-1682 ext. 132.

SPOKEN WORD Midnight Sun 2pm. Lawrence Osgood. Hudson Opera House, Hudson. (518) 822-1438.

The Geothermal Story 2-3:30pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz. 255-0919.

Anne Waldman

BODY/MIND/SPIRIT Reiki 2

7:30pm. Poetry reading. Zen Mountain Monastery, Mt. Tremper. 688-2228. $5.

9am. Gnosis, Woodstock. 679-2626.

Book Signing and Reading With Carol Goodman

CLASSES Tapestry Weaving

EVENTS Mardi Gras 2006 Shift Key Productions & Friends bring you another spectacular party. Two floors of party madness with bands & DJs. Proceeds will benefit New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity.10pm Backstage Studio Productions, Kingston. 338-8700.

21 & Up. $10.

FILM The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada Call for times. Directed by Tommy Lee Jones. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck.

876-2515.

President‘s Last Bang 5pm. Assassination of the South Korean president in 1979. Time and Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448.

8pm. Shandaken Theater, Phoenicia.

688-2279.

The Skin of Our Teeth 8pm. By Thorton Wilder. Cocoon Theater, Rhinebeck. 876-6470.

To Kill a Mockingbird 8pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $20/$18 students and seniors.

WORKSHOPS Sex Craft/Frie Breath Orgasm 10am-5pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock. 679-4005.

Delicious Nutrition Wellness Workshop 12-2pm. Polli Talu Arts Center, Beacon.

(646) 241-8478.

7:30pm. Time & Space Limited, Hudson.

(518) 822-8448.

11am. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080.

MUSIC Piano Works of Chopin, Liszt, and Brahms

SUN 19 BODY/MIND/SPIRIT Psychic Faire 12-5pm. Dreaming Goddess, Poughkeepsie. 473-2206.

DANCE Swing Dance Jam

6pm. St. James Church, Great Barrington, MA. (413) 528-0100.

6:30-9pm. White Eagle Hall, Kingston. 339-3032. $5.

The Broken Reed Saxophone Quartet

FILM Favela Rising

8pm. North Pointe Cultural Center, Kinderhook. (518) 758-9234. $20/$16 members.

Xoch 8pm. Rock. The Chance, Poughkeepsie. 471-1966.

Meryl Joan Lammers 8-10pm. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

8pm. Featuring Sarah Morr. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

THE OUTDOORS Singles Hike – Mine Hole 9am-4pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz.

255-0919.

Overlook Mountain Snowshoe Hike 10am. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682 ext. 132.

Reading the Tracks 11am. Peter’s Kill, New Paltz. 255-2011.

THEATER The Skin of Our Teeth 3pm. By Thorton Wilder. Cocoon Theater, Rhinebeck. 876-6470.

To Kill a Mockingbird 3pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $20/$18 students and seniors.

The Diary of Anne Frank 4pm. Shandaken Theater, Phoenicia.

688-2279.

WORKSHOPS Enzymes: The Missing Link to a Healthy Immune System 2-4pm. Mirabai, Woodstock. 679-2100. $15/$20.

THEATER The Diary of Anne Frank

Favela Rising

KIDS Jack and the Beanstalk

Acoustic Open Mike

3pm/5pm. A man, a movement, a city divided and a favela united. Time and Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada Call for times. Directed by Tommy Lee Jones. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck.

876-2515.

Sarah Perrotta

MUSIC Sundad

8pm. Formerly of Outloud Dreamer.

Backstage Studio Productions, Kingston. 338-8700. $8.

1-3pm. Acoustic, new age, world fusion.

Peekskill Coffeehouse, Peekskill. (914) 739-1287.

FORECAST

2/18-2/19. 12-3pm. Most basic form of loom weaving. Yarn Swift, Poughkeepsie.

454-7444. $225.

7:30pm. Author of The Ghost Orchid.

Oblong Books and Music, Rhinebeck.

876-0500.

7pm. Oldies, doo-wop. Bodles Opera House, Chester. 469-4595.

MON 20 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT Moonlodge Talking Stick Ceremony 6pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock. 679-4005.

FILM The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada Call for times. Directed by Tommy Lee Jones. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck.

876-2515.

MUSIC Seth Ray 8:30-11:30pm. Open Mike & Hootenanny.

Rhinebeck Grille, Rhinebeck. 876-6816.

SPOKEN WORD Lecture Series: Revolution and the Limits of Reason 4:30pm. „On Mary Shelley and Frankenstein“. Bard College, Annandaleon-Hudson. 758-7512.

TUE 21 FILM The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada Call for times. Directed by Tommy Lee Jones. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck.

876-2515.

The Goddess Remembered and The Burning Times 7-9pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock.

679-4005.

MUSIC Recital by Tenor Kent Smith 8pm. McKenna Theater. 257-3880.

Robert Kopec Trio 9pm. Jazz jam. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

Blues Jam with Geoff Hartwell 9:30pm. Jackson and Wheeler, Pleasantville. (914) 741-2000.

2/06 CHRONOGRAM FORECAST

107

7pm. Sustainable Living Resource Center, Cottekill. 331-2670.

WED 22 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT LGBT Guided Relaxation & Meditation Group Call for times. Acorn Hill Healing Arts, Olivebridge. 657-2516. $10.

FILM The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada Call for times. Directed by Tommy Lee Jones. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck.

876-2515.

KIDS After School Program for 2nd – 5th Grade Students 3:30-5pm. Explorers Session 1: Life of the Lenape. Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall-on-Hudson. 5345506 ext. 204. $70/$80.

After School Program for K & 1St Grade Students 3:45-5pm. Pathfinders Session 1: Sweet Success of Trees. Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall-on-Hudson.

534-5506 ext. 204. $70/$80.

MUSIC Celtic Jam Seisun 7-10pm. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

SPOKEN WORD Classics in Religion

FORECAST

10:30am. Selections from the Writings of St. Teresa of Avila. Kingston Library, Kingston. 334-8404.

Protecting Biodiversity in a Changing Landscape 7pm. SUNY New Paltz Lecture Center, New Paltz. 255-2011.

Wildlife of the Shawangunk Mountains 7pm. SUNY New Paltz Lecture Center, New Paltz. 255-2011.

Lecture by Joseph Horowitz 8pm. Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 758-7425.

WORKSHOPS De-Clutter De-Stress Your Life 6:30-7:30pm. LaGrange Library, LaGrange. 227-3190.

THUR 23 FILM The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada Call for times. Directed by Tommy Lee Jones. Upstate Films, Rhinebeck.

876-2515.

MUSIC Concert of Spirituals 12:30pm. DCC Choral Ensembles.

Dutchess Lounge, Dutchess Comm.

Coll., Pok. 431-8017.

Tools and Techniques: Early American Crafts in the Hudson Highlands 7:30pm. Painter‘s Tavern, Cornwall-onHudson. 534-5506 ext. 204.

THEATER Back to Kansas 7:30pm. Part of the Civil War Chronicles.

Time and Space Limited, Hudson. (518) 822-8448.

The Diary of Anne Frank 8pm. Shandaken Theater, Phoenicia. 688-2279.

WORKSHOPS Get Ready for Spring 7-9pm. Plants and gardening. Business Resource Center, Kingston. 340-3990.

FRI 24 BODY / MIND / SPIRIT The Serpentress Ceremony for Women 3-7pm. Varga Gallery, Woodstock.

679-4005.

DANCE Swing Dance 8:30-10:30pm. Featuring Abbie Gardiner Five. Poughkeepsie Tennis Club, Poughkeepsie. 454-2571.

FILM The New Patriots 7pm. Part of the Think Globally, Act Locally series. Kerhonkson. 626-4507.

MUSIC Howe Gelb (Giant Sand) 8-11pm. Acoustic, alternative, folk, rock.

John Doe Books, Hudson. (518) 632-4273.

Finn & The Sharks

SPOKEN WORD Global Commodity, Local Desire: Creating a Need for Lux Soap in 1930s China 4:30pm. Bard College, Annandale-onHudson. 758-7388.

Lecture and Book Signing by Marc B. Fried 7:30pm. Author of Shawangunk Name Places. Reformed Church Of Hurley, Hurley. 331-0593.

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FORECAST CHRONOGRAM 2/06

RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED Fire, flood, disease, war, and an impending ice age may not sound like the stuff of comedy, but such is

Life Before This

seminal tragi-comic play, portrays the Antrobus family saga of survival through some of history’s epic

9pm. Rock. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

Captain Squeeze and the Zydeco Moshers 9:30pm. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

THEATER Back to Kansas

the absurdist kaleidoscope of author and playwright Thornton Wilder. “The Skin of Our Teeth,” Wilder’s disasters. After a slight postponement due to chickenpox, the play will hit the stage at Rhinebeck’s Cocoon Theatre in February.

Wilder produced the play for which he is best known, Our Town, in 1938. It was one of the first major Broadway plays to use little stage scenery, which forced the audience to imagine the world in which the characters lived. “The Skin of Our Teeth” expanded this style by also employing a muselike character called the “Stage Manager” who knows everything about the characters and addresses the audience

7:30pm. Part of the Civil War Chronicles.

Time and Space Limited, Hudson.

(518) 822-8448.

directly. When the play premiered in 1942 at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, it received a notoriously

Starmites

The play received a warmer reception in New York, and in 1943 it won Wilder his third Pulitzer Prize.

8pm. Rock musical. New York Conservatory for the Arts Cabaret Theater, Hurley. 339-4340.

you do your due-diligence, talk about the script, and eventually you realize that the characters are on the

The Diary of Anne Frank

one hand biblical, but also everyday people.”

8pm. Shandaken Theater, Phoenicia.

688-2279.

The Skin of Our Teeth 8pm. By Thorton Wilder. Cocoon Theater, Rhinebeck. 876-6470.

WORKSHOPS Leela Therapy: Being Happiness 7-9pm. Mirabai, Woodstock. 679-2100. $15/$20.

mixed reaction from audiences (legend tells of patrons racing from the theater at the first intermission).

“During the first read through I don’t think anybody understood it,” explains director Ellen Honig. “But,

The Antrobuses are a typical American family living in present-day New Jersey. Wilder, however, compresses and expands time thus enabling them to experience such events as the Flood (Book of Genesis), the War (World War II), and the Ice Age—which marks the demise of the family’s pet dinosaur.

From time to time characters also represent Adam, Eve, Cain, and even Homer. Through his zany juxtaposition of time and space, Wilder makes it possible for an audience to contemplate more painful and difficult ideas by placing them in an absurd frame.

“A play like this is always relevant,” says Honig. “He talks about wars, global warming, floods. It’s extremely universal, thoughtful yet still very funny.” She also admits that it was a bit of a challenge to

9pm. Blues jam. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

10am. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston. 331-1682 ext. 132.

THE CAST OF THE COCOON THEATER PRODUCTION OF THORNTON WILDER’S “THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH”

9pm. Rockabilly. Bodles Opera House, Chester. 469-4595.

Mike Quick Band

THE OUTDOORS Adult Nature Hike

photo provided

SPOKEN WORD State of the Biodiesel Movement

SAT 25 CLASSES Reiki 3 9am. Gnosis, Woodstock. 679-2626.

EVENTS Creating Quilt Squares 11am-4pm. Open to the public. Water Street Market, New Paltz. 255-1403.

9th Annual Chili Bowl Fiesta 3-8pm. Rosendale Recreation Center, Rosendale. 658-9133.

2nd Annual Losar Party 4-8pm. Tibetan New Year celebration and benefit. Palden Sakya Center, Woodstock. 579-4024. $12.

incorporate the 11 actors, 36 characters, and multiple scene changes required by the script into the intimate “black box” set of the Cocoon. “Sometimes there is so much going on onstage it’s like a circus!”

For better or worse, Wilder was never afraid to drive the lane and take a theatrical slam-dunk. Here we are, centuries and millennia later, with the same old famine, war, and pestilence. In “The Skin of Our Teeth,” Wilder presents alternately serious and comical testament that mankind has always stood on the edge of catastrophe and, unfortunately, probably always will, because of natural disasters and our inability to learn from past mistakes. Thus human history is not linear—a steady advance of progress, but cyclical, with development, catastrophe, and the necessity to rebuild.

Performances will run at The Cocoon Theatre in Rhinebeck Friday and Saturday, February 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, at 8pm, with Sunday matinees February 12, 19, 26, at 3pm. Tickets are $15. Call (845) 876-6470 or visit www.cocoontheatre.org.

–Adam Allington

KIDS Snow White 11am. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080.

MUSIC The Saints of Swing 7pm. The Big Easy Bistro, Newburgh. 565-3939.

Denise Jordan Finley

Back to Kansas

Hamlet

7:30pm. Part of the Civil War Chronicles.

Time and Space Limited, Hudson.

(518) 822-8448.

3pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080.

Brilliant Traces

3pm. By Thorton Wilder. Cocoon Theater, Rhinebeck. 876-6470.

8pm. By Cindy Lou Johnson.

Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson.

758-7900.

Hamlet

8pm. Irving Farm Coffeehouse, Millerton.

(518) 789-6540.

8pm. Center for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck. 876-3080. $20/$18 students and seniors.

Henry Grimes Trio

Starmites

8pm. Jazz. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson. 758-7425.

Mardi Gras Ball Benefit 8pm. Featuring Human Beinz and Chris Sullivan‘s Jazz Express. Bodles Opera House, Chester. 469-4595.

Little Sammy Davis 9pm. Blues, R&B, soul. Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

Crawdaddy 9:30pm. Cajun. New World Home Cooking, Saugerties. 246-0900.

THE OUTDOORS Guided Snowshoe Tours 10am. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston.

331-1682 ext. 132.

Singles Ski or Hike – Rhododendron Bridge

8pm. Rock musical. New York Conservatory for the Arts Cabaret Theater, Hurley. 339-4340.

8pm. Mohonk Mountain Stage Reader‘s Theater. Unison Arts and Learning Center, New Paltz. 255-1559. $11 members/$15 non-members.

The Skin of Our Teeth 8pm. By Thorton Wilder. Cocoon Theater, Rhinebeck. 876-6470.

WORKSHOPS Delicious Nutrition Wellness Workshop

12:30pm. Forsyth Nature Center, Kingston. 331-1682 ext. 132.

1pm. Dia, Beacon. 440-0100.

Antique Tools: Lionel Heyman 2pm. Part of the history of Rondout. D&H Canal Museum, High Falls. 687-9311.

Illegal Tender: Gold, Greed, and the Mystery of the Lost 1933 Double Eagle 2pm. David Tripp. Hudson Opera House, Hudson. (518) 822-1438.

Book Signing and Reading With Verlyn Klinkenborg

WORKSHOPS Create the Life of Your Dreams Dream Building 3-6pm. Synchonicity, Pawling. 227-3190.

MON 27 CLASSES Magick for Beginners 6pm. Gnosis, Woodstock. 679-2626.

Reiki I Certification 6-8pm. Business Resource Center, Kingston. 339-2025. $69.

MUSIC Open Mike with Singer/Guitarist Dick Vincent

7 Secrets to a Slimmer New Year

7-11pm. Mezzanine Bookstore & Café, Kingston. 339-6925.

1-2pm. Esopus Library, Esopus. 227-3190.

Seth Ray

SUN 26 EVENTS Annual Pancake Breakfast 9am-1pm. Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall-on-Hudson.

534-5506 ext. 204. $6/$4 children.

MUSIC Bard Conservatory Chamber Orchestra 3pm. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson. 758-7425.

8:30-11:30pm. Open Mike & Hootenanny. Rhinebeck Grille, Rhinebeck. 876-6816.

SPOKEN WORD Lecture Series: Revolution and the Limits of Reason 4:30pm. “On Kant”. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson. 758-7512.

THEATER Brilliant Traces 7pm. By Cindy Lou Johnson.

Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson.

758-7900.

Traditional Irish Music 4-7pm. Banshanachie & Friends.

Rosendale Café, Rosendale. 658-9048.

Acoustic Open Mike 8pm. Featuring Sarah Morr.

Corner Stage, Middletown. 342-4804.

THE OUTDOORS Cope’s Lookout Ski or Hike

TUE 28 MUSIC Community Shape Note Sing 7pm. Songs from the Sacred Harp.

Holy Cross Church, Kingston. 658-3485.

Innisfree Piano Trio

7:30pm. Author of Timothy: Or, Notes of an Abject Reptile. Oblong Books and Music, Rhinebeck. 876-0500.

10am-3pm. 7 miles. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz. 255-0919.

8pm. McKenna Theater, New Paltz.

257-3880.

Eagle Spotting on the Hudson

THEATER The Diary of Anne Frank

2:30pm. Norrie Pt. Environmental Education Center, Staatsburgh. 452-1727.

Blues Jam with Geoff Hartwell

4pm. Shandaken Theater, Phoenicia.

688-2279.

Mystery Dinner Theater 6pm. Presented by The Killing Company.

North Pointe Cultural Center, Kinderhook. (518) 758-9234. $50.

FORECAST

SPOKEN WORD Tiffany Bell on Dan Flavin

7pm. By Cindy Lou Johnson. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson.

758-7900.

12-2pm. 6 sessions. Polli Talu Arts Center, Beacon. (646) 241-8478.

Maple Sugar Tours

Creature Feature

Brilliant Traces

Steiglitz Loves O‘Keeffe

10am-2pm. Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz. 255-0919.

11:30am-3pm. Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall-on-Hudson.

534-5506 ext. 204.

The Skin of Our Teeth

THEATER Starmites 2pm. Rock musical. New York Conservatory for the Arts Cabaret Theater, Hurley. 339-4340.

9:30pm. Jackson and Wheeler, Pleasantville. (914) 741-2000.

WORKSHOPS Empowered Birth 7-9pm. Muddy Cup, Hudson. 247-2888.

2/06 CHRONOGRAM FORECAST

109

Planet Waves

BY ERIC FRANCIS COPPOLINO

I am writing on behalf of all dogs on the occasion of the Year of the Dog, which began with the New Moon on Jan. 29. Dogs were among the 12 animals who responded when Buddha summoned the beasts of the Earth to his side, and this is why they have a place in the Chinese zodiac.

P

eople think they know their dogs, or know something about dogs in general. I think that because they’re in touch with their instincts, most dogs know more than most people. I would offer that the first thing you need to know about dogs is that they all need jobs.

Your dog already knows this. You can tell because she growls or barks when she hears a suspicious sound. Do you think she’s doing this to entertain herself? Nobody had to explain it to her or train her to do it (this is the definition of an instinct). It may sound like common sense, but humans need to be reminded: Your dog’s responding to strange sounds has the single purpose of protecting you and your family. The sound of your dog growling could be the sound that saves your life.

Plenty of dogs get yelled at for keeping an eye and ear on things, representing a threat of exclusion (which for a pack animal is a pretty severe form of punishment).

However, I suggest that this be the first job you give your dog, and when she starts barking, thank her for paying attention and hearing things that you can’t; then, if she expresses that fine enthusiasm for all things at which dogs excel, explain it’s okay, she can stop now. It’s not that the Boston Strangler is necessarily on your front doorstep; the point is that somebody is paying attention, and that’s rather helpful here on Planet Fog. Dogs want nothing more than to be part of the human experience, to be part

110 PLANET WAVES CHRONOGRAM 2/06

of the collective life they perceive around themselves. They want and need to be useful. This is a feeling that can at times be quite alien to humans, who claim to abhor being “used.” I propose that dogs offer the lesson that we all need to be used, as in useful.

Most breeds of dogs were developed for some kind of work. Whether it was catching rats or hunting foxes; retrieving quail or keeping a herd of 100 cattle in line; dogs are born with a sense of purpose, and if you’ll notice from their various job descriptions, that sense of purpose is vital to the human community. It usually involves survival. A dog whose genetic code makes him accustomed to working 12 hours a day on a ranch is going to need somewhere to invest that energy and, more important, the sense of participation in human life he would get from being responsible for all those cows.

Since life in Western civilization offers most dogs few opportunities to express anything resembling their original purpose, that leaves them searching for something to do. And as a result, many turn strange or get nervous. We need to be creative at finding them something vital to occupy themselves with, and that something should always involve the common good. Dogs tend to be excellent at cooperating with one another and with people, and they need that sense of cooperation.

The role of guard dog, even for your Chihuahua or Jack Russell, is a fine start, and

Emil Alzamora

All Dogs Need Jobs

where there are children in the house, dogs need to be in the first line of protection (or they don’t belong there). Service dogs have it easy. They are trained for a purpose and pretty much get to work full time; they are among the most well-adapted dogs we meet. And they get respect; you can even bring one into the Four Seasons.

Most dogs need to have their role as a companion recognized as a form of work and service. But you can go further. I think dog backpacks are a great idea because they so tangibly convey the idea that there’s something we need them to do. Asking your dog to help you find something you’ve lost, or a place you’re looking for, is not so unreasonable if you learn to listen to your dog and pick up on his or her messages.

It’s been said that one cannot serve two masters, and that dogs cannot have two masters. But that’s not really true. Dogs have a divided nature. They are instinctual, fairly close to their wild cousins, wolves and coyotes. And they are bred to be part of civilization, and to participate in nearly every aspect of life. In creating the breeds, humans have tried to harness and adapt certain levels of instinct to serve their own needs; and the rest of the time, dogs need to behave like good children.

It’s not easy being a dog. It’s not easy for them to manage these two sides of their nature simultaneously, and this is the reason dogs need a structured life, a sense of mission, and experiences that help ground them in both sides of their nature.

Homeopathic medicine has documented this issue in the form of the remedy Lac Caninum, the milk of the dog. The Lac Caninum state of mind is about instincts colliding with the process of civilization.

Often this involves sexuality: Powerful urges and drives meet nearly as powerful repressive forces. The need to appear prudish being met with the inner reality that one is anything but a prude is a good example. The pressure to seem moral and upstanding no matter how hot one’s hormones are raging is another. Any time creative, intuitive or instinctual power is confronted with the need

to conform, do the right thing, make a living and be a good girl at the office, the result can be the Lac Caninum state. This is all the worse when our creative or intuitive behavior is punished, which it often is.

The result is often a painfully split nature, which most humans suffer from to some extent.

Lac Caninum addresses that split. It also addresses the idea that, like dogs, many people don’t actually have a sense of purpose in life, or an actual sense that they are doing much good at all. That would make me bitchy too.

For both dogs and people, cultivating purpose and a sense of participation is a long process, but you can start right away. What do they want to do?

What’s their natural response in any given situation?

What are their special skills? As we watch dogs we can study the same things in ourselves.

Fritz Perls, one of the creators of Gestalt therapy, said that to get healthy, people need to “lose their minds and come to their senses.” One thing that dogs have going for them is their senses. Their minds work differently than ours do, partly because their sensorium is so vivid, and their impulse to tune into their senses is constant. Dogs are aware; many are aware to the point of constant vigilance (yes, there are some who sleep all day and would not notice if a truck drove in through the living room wall). Any time we allow our dog to be an extension of our own senses, or connect to a dog’s experience of her senses, we’re giving them a job to do, tuning into their instincts, and as a result, tuning into our own.

Dogs provide great examples of two things humans really struggle with: loyalty and unconditional love. From many years of carefully observing dogs, my sense is that their purpose on the planet is to ground heart energy. They are open, and they want to be that way; for them, love is easy, and love means you express your feelings and take care of your people. Your life is their life and theirs is yours.

As it turns out, a dog’s most important job is to teach us to be human.

2/06 CHRONOGRAM PLANET WAVES 111

Horoscopes Eric Francis Coppolino

ARIES

(March 20-April 19)

You may not know how you’re going to navigate (or even find) the turning point you feel approaching, but I suggest you go entirely on intuition. From where you are now, you cannot get to the wrong place. Though there is an element of chance involved, that’s the opening through which a rare kind of awareness will enter the equation of your life. Move slowly rather than quickly; look in all directions rather than straight ahead. Remember to look up and down. You are anticipating a turn to the left or the right, when really the curve develops in an entirely different direction. Likewise, if you find yourself expecting certain specific outcomes, you’ll only get in the way of the wide diversity of possibilities that are making themselves available to you now. Just because you cannot see them, or even conceive of them, does not mean they’re not there.

TAURUS (April 19-May 20) You’ve had many hints and subtle clues regarding what you want to be doing with your professional life. I suspect you have some high visions and are allowing yourself a measure of authentic idealism. It is true that to exceed what were formerly your limits, you must really use your imagination. Up until this point, no idea has satisfied your main requirement for being tangible, practical, and, to a certain extent, sure to succeed. There are, at the moment, two competing sets of values operating, and in many respects they are entirely at odds. Of the two, the first set—the idealistic—is the one that you need to honor. Practicality and logistics will bend to the necessity of your most clear vision; you will find the resources once you admit your true objective. As John Lennon said, there is nothing you can do that can’t be done.

GEMINI

(May 20-June 21)

Among the wide variety of psychic and emotional signals that are available to you at the moment, anger or frustration may be coming in the strongest. It seems you know something can be a certain way, and at the same time, there is a hidden factor that is blocking your progress. I suggest you be aware of this factor and also notice that it’s standing in a blind spot. This psychic game has been going on for quite a while, yet your current feelings and responses are providing you with some evidence that something is really there. Let your experience now be a harmless provocation to make a certain decision that you’ve been holding off on for some time because the circumstances failed to align. They are in fact aligning right now, and to make use of them you need to keep your mind tuned to the more subtle levels of noticing.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) There’s no way to know for certain whether a developing financial arrangement will work out the way you anticipate, but you can take one step at a time and make your moves entirely on trust. The mystery is greater than you think, and the potential for exchange and for gain is greater than you think. There are new factors in an old equation that will focus and move energy despite the fact that little has seemed to work in the past. As for potential loss? This is always possible, but certain lessons you’ve learned in the past six months will be instructive in helping you maintain sufficient clarity to see the way things are developing, and avoid all the more obvious errors, assuming you keep the counsel of the people you have come to trust for their feedback and clarity. Remind yourself often: You’re not in this alone. www.planetwaves.net 112 PLANET WAVES CHRONOGRAM 2/06

Horoscopes Eric Francis Coppolino

LEO (July 22-Aug. 23) For once, your sense of what others are feeling and doing is more powerful than your sense of self. Remembering that what we all count on is the fact that you are so self-aware, this is a fairly large shift in your psychological climate. You have long been part of something; now it is part of you. This is a time when others may be enormously influential in your life, and at the same time, when you may not even notice the ways in which certain others are shaping you. Do you really need to be aware? It depends on your confidence level. It depends on how loving you know your environment to be. It depends on the circumstances, which may press you to trust beyond your capacity—or it may gently guide you somewhere you never could have expected to arrive.

VIRGO

(Aug. 23-Sep. 22)

It may seem like one particular idea you’re working with is meeting only obstacles and competing influences from what seem like more important responsibilities. Note, first, the existence of a belief that precisely this will happen once you start to open up to your deeper levels of creative power. It’s a common situation that creative people face, particularly those with an overdeveloped sense of responsibility. This may seem frustrating until you recognize that the delay or snag is merely testimony to the power of your mind. Though it’s not an absolute, to a great extent, what you deem to be true will apparently be that way. I suggest you put some genuine effort into determining what you believe, and deciding consciously what you want to believe. Despite the overwhelming level of activity in your life, you do have space to stop and consider these things. In fact, that’s the missing ingredient.

LIBRA

(Sep. 22-Oct. 23)

It’s true that even at the best of times, you’re often hemmed in by the influences of others. Lately, your destiny seems to be under the control of recent developments or discoveries over which you have little influence.

But history sets no limits, and you are the one who both interprets and controls the effects of the past on you today. You are the one who gets to decide what it all means to you, and you are the one who can decide to have new experiences—nobody else can, nor will they, ever. It would appear that you’re making amends with some source of pain that influenced your past or shaped you as a child. As you view these things with compassion and see the viewpoints of all the people involved, you’ll slowly free yourself from the emotional conditioning that seemed so overwhelming. And this is a much greater gift than you can imagine.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) You’re not generally afraid to feel, but I would say this is true within definite limits. Those limits are now being exceeded, and with this, you may start to experience a sense of losing control. That’s exactly the feeling to follow, because it’s not what it seems and in truth represents an opportunity to break free from an idea you possess about what is safe, and another about what is real. These two personal definitions—safe and real—are the ones to work with now, or to let yourself go past. There is nothing holding you back; the illusion of safety is not safety, and there is ultimately no rationalism that you can impose over what your emotions or your senses tell you must be so. Remember that you’re surrounded by a protective energy that will lessen the effects of any mistakes and help insulate you from the kinds of pain you’ve become accustomed to in the past. www.planetwaves.net 2/06 CHRONOGRAM PLANET WAVES 113

Horoscopes Eric Francis Coppolino

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

The world you have envisioned possible and the world you can actually see are aligning in a most peculiar way. It’s certainly not what you expected, but then you don’t necessarily have clear drawings or descriptions in your notebook—not yet, anyway. What’s developing may seem to exist in some abstract realm of your imagination.

In one sense this is true, but what’s different about now is precisely the manifestation power of your imagination. I suggest you work with words and images and continue the process of grounding these notions. You are, in actual fact, onto something. The first benefit will be creating a feedback system so you can more efficiently evolve what you are developing, while at the same time offering you evermore clear, tangible expressions that you can share with others. Sharing is essential—sooner rather than later. You are currently the recipient of ideas that can help many.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 21-Jan.20) From the small benefit will come the great; from the modest success, the impressive one; from your simple desire, your true wishes. You merely need to follow the direction that feels right and fulfilling. The subject or its “importance” does not matter—what matters is that you sense something that’s correct and true for you, then work consciously with that feeling of appropriateness, and then take action. You may not be able to put into words what is true or meaningful at this point, but unless you’re nurturing some serious denial—which I doubt, but is possible under the current astrology—you know just what it is.

I am aware that you’re not without your doubts, but don’t stuff them under the surface. They contain vital information, which will come to you the moment you acknowledge their presence.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) If you’ve ever been at a time when there are no limits, the time is now.

Rather than aspiring to the infinite, I suggest you reach for a new order of magnitude or level of effectiveness. The feeling is different than what you’re accustomed to. The ideas you’re working with will seem unfamiliar, like they’re coming through in a different language. Notice that. Notice, as well, when your level of awareness shifts to a space where there are fewer obstacles, less of the usual contention we see on Earth, and where everyone seems “on the level,” to use an old phrase. This feeling of a level shift is what you’re reaching for—or what you may just notice has happened. This calls for a different approach to everything, which you’ll need to apply consciously to the situations in your life—and, thankfully, your habitual approaches are dissolving fast.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Because you have so much experience with uncertainty, and have in truth learned to thrive on it, you’re in a position to take advantage of some truly unusual conditions that are taking shape at the moment. In actual fact, you know where you need to be, and what you need to do. At this point, all you need is to connect with the information. Trusting yourself and having the courage to make your decisions basically amount to the same thing. Spare yourself the fear that the universe is sending mixed messages; in truth, it is sending different versions of the same message. There is a reason for this, and the reason is, first, that you need the encouragement, and second, that you need to work with both versions in order to have two different points of view. Both are guiding you in the direction of what has long seemed impossible and is now genuinely accessible—perhaps even inevitable. www.planetwaves.net 114 PLANET WAVES CHRONOGRAM 2/06

2/06 CHRONOGRAM PLANET WAVES 115

Parting Shot Matthew Benson

Newburgh: Time & Again

TOP: On the Ice, Newburgh, 1907, 12” x 36”, Photographer unknown.

Newburgh was once home to the Speed Skating Hall of Fame, and her champions got their start on the river. If the history of speed skating in America were ever to be written, it was said, it would be written at Newburgh. This anonymous photograph shows the Hudson River just off the Newburgh shoreline, busy with Sunday skaters and ice boaters. A speed skating track has been cut in the foreground, while five gaff-rigged ice boats ply the river.

BELOW: Returning Soldiers of the Great War, Broadway, Newburgh, 1919, 8” x 43”, Jake Ruben.

More than 2,660 young men from Newburgh fought in the First World War, 98 of whom would not return. This dramatic 1919 welcome home is a 180-degree, west-to-east panoramic view on central Broadway, in front of City Hall (crowds on the far left and right of the frame are actually standing next to each other). Famous battles are marked by obelisks, flags fly from every building, and citizens crowd the streets, roofs, and windows. The Romanesque Academy of Music stands at the corner of Broadway and Grand streets; to its east is the Columbus Trust Bank and St. John’s Methodist Church. The Broadway trolley stands to the east.

Images of Newburgh’s rich architectural, industrial, and social past are being rescued from the dustbin of history by photographer Matthew Benson, who is in the process of restoring a cache of photographs and negatives from the 1860s to the 1920s, a period when Newburgh was the largest commercial and industrial port between New York City and Albany. Drawn from the collections of the Newburgh Historical Society, the Newburgh City Historian’s Office, and numerous private donors, many of the unique large-scale photographs have never before been printed, or have been assembled from two or more prints or negatives to form large panoramas.

The historic large-format photographs can be seen in the exhibition “Newburgh: Time & Again” at the Niven Courthouse Gallery, 1841 Grand Street, Newburgh, February 10 through March 3, and at Caffe Macchiato, 99 Liberty Street, starting on March 10. (845) 565-4466; www.matthewbenson.com.

116 PARTING SHOT CHRONOGRAM 2/06

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