APRIL 2017
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Sauntering With Mat
By Mat Robedee / Up Portland Commentator
My vehicle finally warmed up just as the sun made it’s first appearance over Munjoy Hill. The outside temperature hovered just below zero and I was on my way to pick up my friend Bill. This was our 4th annual Winter hike together — one that we do regardless of the weather. This day was exceptionally cold but we were determined to be on a mountaintop before the day’s end. In years past we have done rather large hikes. For example, year one we summited Mount Washington. That day though, we had blue bird skies and it was abnormally warm for a Winter day. So for this year’s trek, we decided to play it smart and choose a moderate mountain to hike. A beautiful one-and-a-half-hour drive from Portland takes you to the town of Conway, New Hampshire — gateway to the Whites. A very short distance from here is the trailhead for Mount Chocorua, located right off Route 16. The mountain rests at 3,490 feet (1,064 m), which may not make it famous for elevation, but still provides outstanding views of neighbouring mountains, lakes and forests. The most common (and recommended) route to take is the 8.9-mile long Mount Chocorua loop trail. Do not let the mountain fool you though. Granted, it may lack in elevation, it is still considered a difficult trek… certainly more so in the Winter.
In the summertime, this place is swamped with people. Between families, tour guides and other mountain lovers, it can be difficult just to find a parking spot. To top that off, dogs are even permitted to do this one. Regardless of how much of a circus this may sound, I have done this hike a handful of times during warmer months and will daringly say that it’s worth it. This day though, when we pulled into the parking lot at 8.30 a.m. and the outside temperature stood at a solid +3 degrees, we were the only people in sight. Winter is a perfect time to be outdoors. I find it to be truly invigorating! The trick to hiking in extremely cold environments is in taking care of your body. Food, hydration — and especially gear — are critical for success. Knowing that the wind-chill being reported for the top was nearing -40F, we had to plan accordingly. Luckily for us, we have incredible gear and have been doing these types of excursions for many years now. A little knowledge and preparation can prevent all sorts of problems. So before you go out in Winter (or even on a cold Spring day) trying to bag a major peak, do your homework first. The trail up was straightforward and luckily the snow was rather packed down. We decided to leave snowshoes in the car and brought micro spikes instead. The trail quickly allowed for views and not a soul was in sight. Silence overtook the entire range, except for the whirl of cold air that broke across the treetops. Before reaching the top of Chocorua, we took a rest at a prominent overlook on the range. The wind was peculiarly calm here and it allowed for us to remove our goggles and headgear, to take a breather and relax. Not long into our break, my eyelids started to freeze together due to my lashes previously col-
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lecting sweat. My brows had icicles, too, so we took this as a sign to keep moving and make it to the top. Once we got out of the tree line and into the Alpine zone, the wind was brutal. The two of us had to regularly make stops to be sure that we had no skin exposed to the elements. We were both in agreement that keeping key body parts, like fingers, ears and our noses covered was high up there on our priority list. With the wind knocking us in every direction, we carefully made our way to the top and howled into the sky like wolves under a full moon. Our voices were instantly silenced by the winds and carried off toward the horizon. Barely able to hear one another, we both made the gesture to descend and call it a day‌but not before getting a quick headstand in first.
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Beyond The Forecast
By Jack Sillin / Weatherman & Meterology Student Hello everyone!
After a wild ride through the month of March, it’s time to settle into a time honoured New England Spring tradition: backdoor cold fronts. Those visions of 65 and sunny you had coming out of a winter with almost 100 inches of snow?
pattern slows down as we approach the warm season, lethargic air masses will sit over the cold water and melting snow for days or even weeks, turning what was a pleasantly warm Spring airmass into a cold and raw bubble of air. Remember your physics: Cold air is denser than warm air and consequently it likes to spread out along the surface. When there aren’t enough other features around to hold the colder air in check, it does just that, rushing southwest into our area. Temps often drop from the 60’s or 70’s to the 40’s in just a few hours as northeast winds bring drizzle, fog and cold temps in from Canada. This year, the above normal snowpack across northeastern Canada (that will be added to in the next week) combined with abundant Gulf of St Lawrence ice cover and colder sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Maine compared to previous years will likely result in a season of abundant and strong backdoor cold fronts. Save your hopes for sustained 75 and sunny until July!
Consider those on a one way train to Virginia as cold waters in the Northwest Atlantic and any residual Canadian snowpack team up to offer up a springtime delight only New England can dream of: 40 and drizzle. Welcome to the land of backdoor cold fronts! Backdoor cold fronts are characterised as any cold front that moves from Northeast to Southwest as opposed to the typical northwest to southeast motion. As a reminder, a cold front is a boundary between warm and cold air masses, where cold air is replacing warm air as time goes on. Backdoor cold fronts are mainly a New England and Northeastern U.S. phenomenon though southwestward moving cold fronts do occur elsewhere (most notably in Texas, where southwestward moving cold fronts often trigger extreme temperature drops and dust storms). So how do backdoor cold fronts form and why are we so susceptible to them in them here in the Spring?
As a quick side note, Winter is now winding down so it’s time for a quick look back at the forecast which I unveiled here in November. It called for a season of dramatic pattern changes with no one pattern (warm / rainy or cold / snowy) locking into place for a sustained time. I’m happy to say that this forecast, based on an abundance of evidence, worked out very well. After a slow start to the season in November and early December, a colder and snowier pattern descended in late December, culminating in a large and powerful Nor’easter on December 28th. After that system, we had a few mixed precip events before a warmer and rainier pattern took over January. After the January thaw, Winter returned with a vengeance as a parade of storms dropped large amounts of snow on the area in early February. 40 inches of snow fell in just nine days at the Portland Jetport from the 7th to the 16th of February. After a wonderful run, the pattern was bound to shift again and the second half of February featured persistent warmth and rain that continued into the first half of March.
After a long Northeast North American Winter (including northeastern / Maritime Canada as well as New England), we’re left with an abundance of cold water and some residual snowpack by the time we reach April and May. When the
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A one storm wonder of a pattern developed for mid March with a strong blizzard dropping well over a foot on the 14th, and then there was our April Fool’s Day ten inch storm, too. That brings us to now with a few more chances for light snow before Spring takes over. We’ve had 95.3” of snow as of 3 April, and it looks like only a couple more inches can reasonably be expected before we’re done for the season, though this year it’s literally anyone’s guess. More weather next month! -Jack
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Jack’s Weather Terms Gravity wave— a gravity wave is a feature produced by air rapidly rising through the troposphere due to either convective dynamics (thunderstorms) or due to mountains. When this air hits the stable stratosphere, it has inertia so even though there’s nothing propelling that air parcel upward, it continues in that direction due to inertia. Eventually, the parcel runs out of inertia in the same way a ball does when you throw it up in the air. It then begins to descend back into the unstable troposphere where other forces begin working to propel it back upward. Its downward momentum eventually runs out at which point it rises again and the cycle repeats with slightly less magnitude. You can see gravity waves in cloud formations that are organized as parallel lines of alternating cloud/no cloud areas. Where air is rising, it creates clouds and where air is sinking, cloud development is prevented.
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Model— for all the talk about weather models, I realised many folks may not be familiar with the concept of a weather model. A weather model (model for short) is a computer programme that takes current observations of our atmosphere and runs a simulation out through time of what future conditions of the atmosphere may be. To do this, many equations are utilised that attempt to explain various processes. Some of these equations are shown above and represent only the most primitive of weather forecasting equations. This stuff is hard! Thankfully, computers can do most of the heavy lifting in terms of actually solving the equations but a conceptual knowledge of them is super helpful when forecasting as a human. If you find a weather term you don’t know and want an explanation, send me an e-mail at jack.sillin@gmail.com and I’ll work it in next month’s column.
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People & Places & Things! Welcome to Up Portland’s third crossword, and this time is a good time to go searching for the nouns in your list, because we are almost totally people, places and things around Southwest Maine. As always, comments are welcome at ted@upportland.com and the solution is on Page 22. Oh, and the photos are some “hints” to a few answers... Good luck!
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Friends Of Eastern Prom Work For Jacob Cousins Memorial Restoration... But Who Was He? By Jack Gentempo For Up Portland If you take a walk along the Eastern Promenade this time of year, you’ll see it’s nothing short of beautiful. The deep snow that once obscured the earth and covered the plaques of Fort Allen Park has started to give way to larger and larger patches of lawn which stretch like tree branches towards a magnificent view of the Casco Bay and its islands. A lovely gazebo sits squarely in the centre and Spanish-American War and other artillery stands strong and sturdy, commemorating days on the prom long past. However, there is one feature of the park which is far less noticeable. A few feet from the road, partly obscured by shrubbery, lies a large monument displaying a plaque. It’s often passed without notice, but it’s important. This is the Jacob Cousins memorial. If you aren’t looking for it, you’re likely to stroll right by the old stone without a glance, and according to Friends of Eastern Promenade Board Member Brandon Mazer, it’s time for that to change. The memorial was originally erected in September of 1935 by the Jewish War Veterans of the United States as a way to honour Jacob Cousins. Who, you ask was he? The first Jewish Portland resident to be killed in World War I. Today, the memorial is intended to honour all Jewish veterans, but its current condition is making the message a bit tricky to convey, so Mazer is spearheading a Friends of Eastern Prom restoration project for the Jacob Cousins Memorial in an attempt to remedy this predicament. If you’ve ever hastily moved furniture into a small apartment, you can sym-
pathise with the current condition of the memorial, seen at right in a photo taken last Summer. Just as your grandmother’s antique vanity awkwardly kittycornered by a doorway can end up being a rather poor design choice in retrospect, so can the positioning of a memorial that has spent over 80 years in a changing environment. According to Mazer, “As the stone stands right now, you almost have to stand in the middle of the street to see it.” For someone like myself, who spent most of his childhood mastering the ways of the sprightly animated amphibian known as Frogger, this risky roadway viewpoint is not much trouble. But for the average passerby, a more approachable display could make all the difference. Being of Jewish heritage himself, Mazer has developed a rather personal connection to the pending historic renovation. The Jacob Cousins memorial is not Please Continue On Page 20
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Processed Media By Randy Dankievitch — TV Critic / TVOvermind The last 20 years has seen a marked shift in video game development. Gone are the days when dozens of studios pumped out multiple titles a year. As the video game industry becomes a financial juggernaut on the scale of the film industry, publishers have developed a similar adversity to taking huge risks, relying instead on sequels, remakes and reboots even more than previous generations of gaming have. Despite the unparalleled technical power behind the Sony Playstation 4 Pro and the Microsoft Xbox One S (and to a lesser degree, the Nintendo Switch), publishers haven't really embraced the tools at their disposal. Look at what are generally considered the biggest (aka highest profile) games to release on the consoles in the past few years: Grand Theft Auto 5, Uncharted 4, Gears of War 4, Halo 5, Assassin's Creed (whatever they called the last few)... the list goes on and on. All sequels, all from the safest possible properties AAA publishers could justify spending $80+ million on developing. There have been occasional attempts at developing new, shiny IP's, but even the most significant of those — Tom Clancy's The Division, Overwatch, Destiny — haven't really brought much new to the table, instead simply dressing up familiar genres in new, gorgeously-rendered new settings. The ingenuity that brought so many great new franchises in the previous generation of Xbox 360
and PS3 has been direly missed, replaced by a series of soulless blockbusters that are well-crafted and entertaining in their own right, but fall victim to the classic symptoms of franchise fatigue. That's not to say this generation has been completely without fun, fresh ideas. Thanks to the proliferation of independent developers, games like Rocket League and Overcooked have found new and exciting ways to engage gamers in a digital sorbet of creativity that's really provided a palette cleanser from the fatty, empty big-budget games of late. However, those experiences are, by nature, delivered on smaller budgets and scales, aimed at niche audiences willing to seek out unique, fresh experiences. What I'm focused on are the larger budget games: specifically, how 2017 may be the first promising sign the industry's had for a long time in finding new worlds to explore. Sure, there are still dozens upon dozens of unnecessary sequels and “HD remasters” planned for the next two years, but thanks to games like Horizon: Zero Dawn — and to a smaller degree, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — there's an sense of optimism in the industry that's hard to ignore. Guerrilla Games took a major, major risk with Horizon: Zero Dawn, an open-world game (the most expensive type of game to produce, typically) with so many fresh ideas, both philosophically expressed in its narrative construction, and game play mechanics. For the first time in ages, I felt a sense of mystery exploring a world — arguably the most beautiful, hyper-realistic visual experience I've had on a console, I might add. This game is legitimately breathtaking in 4K. By the game's end, I was emotionally invested in the journey of Aloy, my protagonist, in ways I had forgotten were possible in a video game of this scale and marketing budget. The dozens and dozens of reviews and think pieces written about the mastery of Breath of the Wild, the Nintendo Switch's lone launch title of note, are also a promising sign. Like Horizon, Link's latest adventure in Hyrule is a direct by-
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product of a developer going back to the table and rethinking how to approach a specific type of game. Unlike 40 years ago, when Nintendo was inventing and setting the standard for genres, Nintendo shifted into a more post-modern style of development, so rather than focus on creation itself, they expressed themselves through innovation and optimisation of popular ideas. Horizon does this by entrapping familiar mechanics and stories in one of the most unique, fascinating virtual worlds ever designed; Zelda does it by taking one of their most beloved series of all-time and boiling it down to its absolute essence, then reassembling it into something completely foreign to its own legacy, but welcoming and exciting to a whole new generation of gamers. In 2017, it's unrealistic to think there are still completely new game genres to be invented wholesale, especially on the level of a publisher like Activision or Blizzard, who have hundreds of millions of dollars invested in game development and post-release support on any given day of the week. That kind of investment demands some sort of financial guarantee in return; but that doesn't excuse a lack of innovation in terms of mechanics, narrative diversity or the endless stream of gawd awful DLC or underwhelming “remaster� many games try to pass off as features in the modern day. But thanks to games like Horizon and Zelda, big budget games feel like they are starting to take risks again, opening the door for more and more ambitious, new characters, ideas and universes to enrapture us in the coming years. Maybe there's still room for games like Horizon: Zero Dawn next to upcoming titles like God of War 4, The Last of Us Part II and Destiny 2. If the early trends of 2017 are any sign, there's certainly still hope.
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Food For Thought... Usually, I sit down to do these reviews and I know what folks will think: agreement or argument. But this is a case where I am unsure who will be around with the bricks to throw and who will be around with the kisses, because we recently went to Solo Italiano at 100 Commercial Street during Maine Restaurant Week and had some of the best service and food we have enjoyed in ages. But... and there’s always a but isn’t there? The portions — either because it was Restaurant Week and thus “samplers” or just because — were way, way too small for this reviewer’s taste. In fact, they were so small that one of the quartet at our table reported next day they needed a snack before bed rather than go to sleep hungry. And a friend, whom we told about this a few days after said she, too, was impressed by the miniscule portions — and not during Restaurant Week. In our way of thinking that should just not happen... even for the “sampler price” of $35 for five courses. Maybe Solo should have opted for the next sampler level ($45) and offered more on the plates. Or maybe they have just taken the “small plates” craze to too high a level. I honestly do not know and two at our table praised the portions as perfect, so either they eat like birds or this reviewer (and his pals) like way to much food on his plate or both. What was that we said a few lines back about agreement or argument? Finally, on portion size (and before I move on to food and service) to quote my old Louisville pal, Keith Runyon (who borrowed the Spencer Tracy quote about Katharine Hepburn from Pat and Mike) back when we used to go to a French spot in Cincinnati we liked, but was pricy, “the piece they give ya is small, but it is cherce.” And what we had at Solo was indeed cherce... make that choice. We do plan to go back for a “regular menu” dinner to see for ourselves what’s up with the portions on a normal night, and if you have been considering this spot, which took over the huge, but very comfy room which previously was Ebb & Flow, we’d recommend that. Not only was the food good, but the atmosphere was very cozy and quiet for such a large space (are you listening Scales?) plus the addition of a New York style piano player really added to the feel of a big city experience. So what can or will I say about what we did get? Well, the menu for Restaurant Week is above, but to be more specific, we’d say delicious and equally wellpresented by staff who provided not only lovely plates, but efficient service in an unobtrusive manner, which is another mark of a quality restaurant. Our personal favourites among the five courses were the Marinato Di Macca-
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rello we began with (at right), and the butterscotch budino which concluded the meal (shown below). The Mackerel first course was little short of wonderful and we did ask our waiter what a “regular” portion would be to which he replied five, not three pieces, which would have added to our joy. But even with the sampler size, this Mackerel was delightful, and the flavours were subtle, yet came out in every bite, which is what should happen when quality ingredients meet first-rate staff behind the kitchen door. In between the starter and dessert, we enjoyed the presentation of the beet carpaccio more than the flavour. Though the gorgonzola and dressing were delightful, we felt it needed salt and, as is the case (we feel) in too many Portland restaurants, those shakers are MIA because — we have been told many times, so did not even ask at Solo — the chef wants his seasoning to be what one experiences so nothing need be added. In this case, it did need adding. Salt would have really helped, so maybe I shudda asked for some. The half young chicken (poussin, at upper right) entree lived up to flavour expectations fully, with what was advertised as a “spicy Italian marianade”. We only wish the chicken would have been boneless or larger (thus, not a young chicken which poussin is) as sadly once one got past the bones, there was precious little meat to enjoy. What did come across was some wonderful taste, and the yellow polenta it was served on was a great touch, as were the mustard greens which accompanied it on the plate. Again, presentation was first class. Same cannot be said for the Gnocchi, which were served with a Genovese basil pesto. The portion (above right) in this case was so pathetically small, and the plate (even with cheese grated) so large that the poor green potato gnocchi looked lonely, almost destitute. Flavour, again, good, portion, again, needed work badly. And finally to the dessert (right): As excellent as the starter. The presentation was first-rate, the butterscotch really came thru and the cookie which came along was wonderful. This was a case where I cudda and shudda ordered a 2nd dessert. Probably the biggest question at our table during the relaxed, but well-timed dinner was “where are the
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Italian tomato sauces?” and our waiter, when asked, reminded us that the chef at Solo is from Genoa so the style is northern Italian and not the heavy tomato-laden sauces which one is too often served as “Italian food” and is Southern Italian. In any case, the difference was refreshing and as Keith would say, the piece we got was, indeed, cherce. So what have we learned? That Solo will be getting another visit soon, not only to see what ends up on “full menu plates” but because the whole goal of Restaurant Week was achieved at our table. All four of us got to sample some things we’d never had and at a restaurant we’d never visited. While we did not leave as full as we’d liked, I’d say the
evening was a success for both we customers, and for Solo. If you plan to go, now that Restaurant Week is done for 2017, do reserve online from www.soloitalianorestaurant.com or give them a bell at 207/780.0227 and keep in mind that like so many places they only do dinners, so do not plan a lunch at Solo. Opening is at 4.30 p.m. seven days a week, as apparently their weekend brunch I seem to recall when they first opened has vanished, at least until season rolls around, though don’t quote me. Please Continue On The Next Page
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More Food For Thought... Continued From The Previous Page Bits & Bites, more downtown restaurant news... Looks like the meatballs have rolled on to that spaghetti dinner in the sky over at Portland Meatball Company at 104 Exchange Street (below) as we heard from neighbours and walked by to find for ourselves that the space and business is for rent or sale and is locked up tighter than a drum. We are in some ways sad and other ways happy to see the back of this spot because while it repurposed the space which was Pierre’s Camera, and our review a few months ago found little to complain about, the more and more we and friends were down that way as time wore on, the less and less appealing it was. Probably our biggest grumbles were the atmosphere in the cavernous space was not at all friendly (though manager Curtis and the staff were great) and the hours changed a couple times in the barely six months they had the doors open. The last time I tried to visit in early March for lunch about 1.30, I found the doors locked and a sign saying they opened at 4.30 so no longer served mid-day meals. Not ten days later I went by to find the windows papered over and all but one of the signs the place ever existed gone.
mushy, poor quality and in general (to use a term one friend, who is Italian by origin did) “nasty.” Since this is a city of food, sadly the handwriting was on the wall and Portland Meatball’s owners (who also own the excellent Timber Steakhouse next door) apparently read it. The saddest part is they opened right at the end of season last Fall and closed before it could begin this year, leaving at least this reviewer to wonder would they have done better in July with the visiting hordes? Guess we shall never know... On a much happier note... — April is the month when the food scene starts to awaken from its Winter slumber. Monday hours have returned over at Two Fat Cats Bakery, meaning you can get some great cookies, cakes and pies seven days a week once again. — April is also the month when the shutters come down and the decks get swabbed so Portland Lobster Company can reopen for another year. — We also see that the ever-popular Red’s Eats plans to open for the season on the 17th of April (weather permitting), so get set for some wonderful lobster rolls at this usually packed spot along the water in downtown Wiscasset. This columnist is 100% sure he’s missed a ton of other openings in April and more to come in early May, but our point is, Winter’s ending and that means so is foodie hibernation. Look for the lines to be back soon over at Duckfat and Eventide and we will be complete and ready to face another wild and wonderful Summer. Happy eating!
Speaking of windows, another thing which put me off from day one was that the owners of Portland Meatball left the originals in from when it was Pierre’s — windows which had metal wires embedded in them to prevent theft. That was all well and good for a place selling photo gear, but reminded me when going in to eat of a prison movie or at least my old grade school cafeteria in Louisville, which had similar smashproof windows since the room doubled as a gym after lunch. Meanwhile, in a city where good Italian food like Micucci’s slabs and Italians from Amato’s get raves, friends and neighbours were predicting the demise of Portland Meatball well before the curtain suddenly came down right at the end of Maine Restaurant Week. The reason: most said the balls were
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The Buck Stops Here By Luke Reinhard / Advisor — Ameriprise Financial As you think ahead to retirement, do you ever worry that your savings nest egg may come up short? If so, you aren’t alone. Many Americans are finding that they are not as prepared for retirement as they should be. The good news is that if you’re employed, it means that you may still have time to get your retirement fund in order. Take advantage of your sense of urgency, favourable tax rules and your current paycheque to devote more toward retirement savings. Whatever you can afford to save today has the potential to make a difference once you retire. Current tax laws tend to work to your benefit as you grow older, most notably “catch-up” contributions, which are designed for those 50+. At this age, you can contribute an additional $1,000 annually, or a total of $6,500 per year (or 100% of your earned income, whichever is less) in either a traditional or Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The maximum for those under 50 is $5,500 per year. Older workers can save significantly more through their workplace retirement plan as well. While the standard limit for annual contributions through salary deferral for 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans is $18,000 per year, those 50 and older are allowed to set aside as much as $24,000 annually in these plans. If you’re able to allocate more money to retirement starting at age 50, the impact on the total amount you have saved can be significant. If you “max out” your contributions to workplace savings plans and IRAs, that would amount to an extra $7,000 per year, or $14,000 annually for a couple. A couple that continued to save the extra $14,000 each year of work until retiring after reaching age 66, could put an additional $238,000 into their retirement plan. That does not factor in any market swings, including potential growth that may occur from investing those dollars. As the clock ticks down toward retirement, there are other steps you can take: • Calculate the amount you need to live the life you want in retirement and compare it to what you have saved. Be sure to include costs for living expenses, healthcare and pursuing your retirement dreams, such as travelling. This reality-check exercise allows you to create a plan for how to fill the gap between your savings and dreams. • Many Americans reach their peak earnings years in their 50s and 60s. At the same time, you may be finished or almost finished with paying for your children’s college or your mortgage. With lower living expenses, you may have the ability to devote a larger percentage of your income to retirement saving. • If you have contributed the maximum amounts to IRAs and workplace savings plans, you may consider investing additional money to your retirement. Ask your financial professional what other investment vehicles may make sense for your financial situation. • You can put money away in a health savings account (HSA) if you have the option in the health insurance plan you choose from your employer. Money in an HSA can accumulate tax-free if it is used to pay qualifying medical expenses either in the current year or later in life, including in retirement. In 2017, you can set aside up to $3,400 or $6,750 per couple. Those 55 and older can contribute an additional $1,000. • If you spent time out of the workforce (such as a stay-at-home spouse), consider going back to work to generate income in the years before retirement begins. Along with increasing your current household income, it could boost your earnings record, which is the basis for Social Security benefits in retirement.
Up Portland 04.17 On The Web At: www.upportland.com Page 15
Eric’s Optimal Corner Joanna Kraft / Optimal Self Community Health and Wellness Center
Community Supported Agriculture: A Win-Win Scenario Imagine receiving a box of fresh, local produce every week throughout the Summer and Fall: each box packed with a variety of interesting vegetables and herbs, maybe the occasional fruit or flower bouquet…no hectic grocery store lines or shopping lists, just healthy, reliable food picked for your family. If this vision sounds familiar, you may have participated in a CSA programme before with one of the many local vegetable farms in southern Maine. If this sounds like the wishful thinking of your inner-foodie, you should know that it is entirely possible to make this dream a reality. Hi! My name is Joanna Kraft. My husband and I co-own and manage Small Feat Farm in Gray, Maine, and are starting our second year of production. We operate on a half acre and provide CSA farm shares to about 20 households in the Portland area. We practice sustainable farming methods, meaning we do not use pesticides or chemicals at any point during production and aim to replenish nutrients back to the soil each year. “CSA” stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Many small farms across the country (and big ones, too) use a CSA model to support their business. Here’s how it works: the farmer opens registration for their CSA programme in the Winter months, allowing customers to pay for their Summer vegetables in advance. This weekly bounty is called a “farm share.” With the up-front cash, the farmer is able to finance many of the Spring costs, such as seeds or new infrastructure, like tools, vehicles, etc. Based on quantity and production costs, farms usually charge between $400 and $800 for a CSA share. A lot of farms also give customers the option to choose a full- or half-size share, or split a share between households. More specialised farms will sometimes join forces to supplement a vegetable farm share with meats, cheeses, eggs and other goodies. Depending on Spring’s weather, customers can expect to receive a weekly bounty of vegetables and herbs starting in early June and ending in late October (although, some farms are able to provide CSA shares year-round with the help of greenhouses). Early-season farm shares might include lettuce, radishes, garlic scapes, bok choi, scallions and cilantro; while later season shares might be filled with beans, onions, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, basil and beets. Each week’s selection is based on what is available in the field and the quality of the produce. Since the customer has already paid for the produce, their weekly Summer grocery bill is significantly decreased. As a customer, participating in a CSA programme can be very rewarding! The vegetables in a farm share each week are usually harvested within 12 to 36 hours of reaching your hands – you won’t find that kind of freshness in any grocery store. The variety of produce can prompt you to try new recipes or discover a new favourite vegetable you never knew existed (Hakurei salad
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turnips, anyone?). And let’s not forget about the unquestionable benefits of packing your diet with quality, fresh vegetables! When you partake in a CSA programme, your community benefits, too. Buying food directly from local producers keeps money in your community and gives you more power with every dollar you spend. There is no middleman, no processing fee, no parent company trying to squeeze more labour out of an underpaid workforce. Your community maintains its resources, and you have the opportunity to plainly see your dollars in action while nourishing your body. What an terrific experience for you and your neighbours. At a time when many Americans are far removed from the source of their daily nutrition, participating in a CSA can give you insights into the challenges and methods of growing food. Many farms, including Small Feat Farm, send out weekly newsletters detailing the items in your farm share and educating you about different aspects of farming – from irrigation to tomato pruning. Having such an intimate relationship with a farm can open your eyes to the wonders of the plant world and give you a deeper appreciation for what you feed your body. I’d be willing to bet that when your appreciation for food increases, so will your appreciation for your personal health, your community and our planet, which is a lot of what we are about at Optimal Self, too. The nature of farming can be unpredictable at times, especially with changing climate patterns and increasing droughts. This kind of uncertainty puts a large burden on farmers to continually provide enough high-quality food to consumers. Additionally, mechanical methods of mono-cropping and shockingly cheap systems for producing processed food have made organic and sustainable farming a relatively expensive endeavour. While a CSA model can benefit the customer’s wallet, it can also financially protect the farmer, to a certain degree, by guaranteeing a baseline income and a steady customer base. This takes some pressure off the farmer to succeed at farmers’ markets week after week, while ensuring farmland is used ethically and sustainably. Luckily, there is a growing awareness in our culture about the necessity of diversified farming and healthy food options, which is evident in the flourishing young-farmer movement (particularly in Maine). While the awareness is present, the costs of sustainable farming are still high; this is why many young farmers are gravitating to a CSA model to offset some of the overhead costs and unpredictability. As its title suggests, Community Supported Agriculture is a very direct and effective way to involve the community in producing healthy food, protecting farmland and supporting small farm businesses. For your personal and community benefit, consider signing up for a CSA this year. Ideal CSA members are people who like to cook at home, enjoy trying new things, and are flexible to a seasonal diet. If you are someone who likes a more predictable menu or isn’t home a lot during the Summer, there are other options to get farm fresh produce without committing to a CSA. For example, the Portland-area has multiple farmers’ markets (including Monument Square every Wednesday and Deering Oaks Park Saturdays) throughout the week with hundreds of local producers. The Co-Op on Congress Street and other small grocers often carry local, organic produce, and many farms in Maine have farm stands where you can buy directly from the farm while visiting the property. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) has a running list of farms offering CSA shares in Maine on their website: www.mofga. org Keep your eye out for flyers hanging in your favourite coffee shop or neighbourhood bulletin – or a quick Internet search could put you in touch with a farmer who has the perfect CSA option for you and your family.
Up Portland 04.17 On The Web At: www.upportland.com
The Standard Reviewer
By Bill Elliott / Up Portland’s Film & Theatre Reviewer
21st May, a long-awaited new season of Twin Peaks airs on the cable channel Showtime. Unless you are a millennial, have a complete aversion to television, or have lived under a rock since the late ’80s, you will remember that Twin Peaks was the groundbreaking TV series that first appeared on ABC in April 1990. Created by Mark Frost and David Lynch, Twin Peaks seemed, at the time, to be just another in a long line of American murder mystery/detective shows. But, right from the first episode, viewers who cut their teeth on cop shows like Columbo, Streets of San Francisco, Starsky and Hutch, Hill Street Blues and Miami Vice, knew they weren’t in Kansas anymore. From the moment local logger Pete Martell (Jack Nance) discovered the naked body of Laura Palmer wrapped in plastic outside the town of Twin Peaks and announces, “She’s dead . . . ,” Twin Peaks sunk its claws into TV viewers and kept them on tenterhooks every week for 30 episodes over two seasons. The series occasionally veered off on some implausible (and even silly) tangents. But, even those diversions and distractions enhanced the surreal and seemingly unhinged world of Twin Peaks.
as apple pie (or in the show’s own in-joke reimagining, cherry pie). In Agent Dale Cooper, the show created an American Everyman, an existentialist federal agent who transcended the urban/rural divide. He was a young FBI agent who acted like someone’s grandfather. His values, like his clothes, appeared to be taken straight from a 1950s copy of Life magazine. Yet, he practiced meditation, studied Eastern philosophy, and spouted poetry. While he was steeped in traditions of law and order, he exhibited a wide-eyed wonder at the world around him and displayed empathy towards all people, regardless of origin, creed, sexual orientation, or even mental competence. He was a mixture of John Wayne and Jean Paul Sartre. Kyle McLachlan’s Cooper was just the arrowhead of a bizarre cast of characters. Twin Peaks law enforcement department included a sheriff named Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean), who possessed the same Midwestern values as the former U.S. president, a native American deputy named Hawk (Michael Horse), who was preternaturally connected to the local landscape, and a part-Keystone Cop, part-Mayberry country-bumpkin deputy named “Andy” (Harry Goaz). Andy’s quirk was that he cried whenever he came across a dead body or anything ever so slightly upsetting. What accounted for Twin Peaks popularity? Writer and co-creator Mark Frost had been involved in shows like Hill Street Blues, which itself was groundbreaking and changed the face of TV police/crime drama. David Lynch had carved out a niche as one of Hollywood’s most challenging young directors, bringing a European absurdist sensibility taken straight from the playbooks of Luis Bunuel and Frederico Fellini. Twin Peaks certainly broke new ground for television drama, though it did have its own forebears in shows like The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits.
What began as a murder investigation of a teenage girl eventually drew in secret societies, drug cartels, orgies, rogue law enforcement agents, cross-border intrigue, supernatural intervention and perhaps even aliens from another planet.
Like those television classics, Twin Peaks has itself spawned an entire genre of television, influencing series like Picket Fences, Erie, Indiana, The X-Files, Wild Palms, Lost, and most recently, Riverdale, a dark take on characters from the Archie comic book series.
Each week, millions of people around the U.S. tuned in for wacky plot twists and non sequitur-like narrative meanderings, while characters paired off, died, or appeared to be working for dark and nefarious forces. It was a modern day soap opera, which parodied the genre (even featuring an overblown fictional TV soap drama, “Invitation to Love,” within the show, which offered commentary on the action).
Re-watching the original two-season series of Twin Peaks on Amazon Instant Video, the show has more than stood the test of time. By blending a Leave It to Beaver innocence with Blackboard Jungle menace and fashions, cool 1970s cars, and a European surrealist cinema sensibility, Twin Peaks transcends time. It still feels fresh and even shocking, even in these days of graphic depictions of murder and torture.
Twin Peaks was more than just a crime drama; it crossed many literary, film and television genres, from detective fiction, film noir, soap opera, slapstick comedy, surrealism, melodrama, paranormal drama, and even science fiction. It not only adopted the narrative styles and motifs of those genres, it played with them and turned them on their heads. On top of that, it was visually stunning, narratively challenging, and often very funny (but not always intentionally).
The original series’ abrupt ending left audiences hanging and asking many questions: was Dale Cooper taken over by the spirit of the killer Bob? Would there be more murders in Twin Peaks? Would the FBI get to the bottom of all the supernatural/alien goings-on? Rather than address those issues head on, Lynch and Frost decided to make a feature film directly after the series finished. But instead of continuing the story, they made a Twin Peaks prequel, Fire Walk With Me, which really didn’t add much to our understanding of the original series. In fact, it was pretty awful.
The show became one of the top-rated TV shows of 1990. Yet, just over a year later it was cancelled following its second season due to declining ratings, leaving behind a host of questions and a devoted Trekkie-like cult following that has grown exponentially over the years. I was in graduate school when Twin Peaks began. The involvement of David Lynch and advance word in the TV weeklies about the show’s surreal weirdness was enough to enlist tribes of 20- and 30-somethings around the country to host Twin Peaks parties, where shaggy-haired, unwashed kids would get together over coffee and cherry pie to watch FBI agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), and a bizarre cast of characters try to figure out who killed homecoming queen Laura Palmer, and more importantly, why. Twin Peaks felt like a microcosm of America at the time. Set in the Pacific Northwest, it could have been set in virtually Anytown, USA. It was as American
It is to be hoped that the new Twin Peaks series, beginning in May will go some way to explaining what happened to Dale Cooper, Windom Earl, Audrey Horne, Pete Martell, Andrew Packard and a host of other characters. After all, we’ve waited more than 25 years to get some answers.
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Hackin’ The Net By Ted Fleischaker / Publisher My good friend Fred back in the Midwest posted a panicked note on Facebook last week that he’d been sent a message which popped up on his screen from Microsoft that unless he called a certain phone number and followed the directions his computer would be inoperable. He called and a man he said “had a foreign accent” started asking for credit card info. He hung up, but was wondering what he should do next. My pal Keith sent a pop-up (at left) he got with a question “Is this fraud?” The answer was obviously “yes!” as the faked notice was about his Windows system. Problem is (for the fraudsters) he’s Mac and doesn’t have any windows, aside from those he opens in the summertime. Still another friend got an e-mail notice supposedly from her bank that her account would be frozen unless she called a phone number they were giving her and supplying her Master Card number. And one of Fred’s pals noted, “Fred, I have an iPad and love it. But I still have to be vigilant about stuff. Yesterday I received an e-mail supposedly from Duke Energy regarding my account. Very official and asking me to update account etc.” What do all of these have in common? That they are frauds and they serve to remind me that it’s been awhile since I wrote about these seemingly endless “pitches” we all get in e-mails, on our Facebook and even in texts, pop-ups on the web and phone calls. And the thing most have in common is that they are fakes. Fraudsters trying to get access to our personal information so they can impersonate us, steal or clear out our bank or other accounts. Who reading has not had a single request for personal info or one of those obnoxious robo calls from “Julie” or “Fran” or “Maria” at “cardholder services” claiming they can save us money on our cards IF we will say which bank we now use and the card info? So what to do? First, remember that nothing can save you if you let common sense take a day, a week or even a second off. Think about it. Your bank has your info and they can call you or ask you to call them, sure. But that means you use common sense and either drop in at the local branch or that you look up their number on Google, a statement or in your address book and you call them at what you know is a real, valid number. I can promise they will not be asking for any info like your credit card or account numbers because they already have them! Also, if you call or go by your bank branch, they can talk to you right there and then so you have zero per cent chance of reaching some cheat in Russia or Asia or Africa, which is where most (not all, most) seem to hang out. Remember, your bank won’t ask you to call or give the info they already have!
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There are tons of other frauds going on these days... from fakes pretending to be everyone from the IRS (and promising an additional refund “if you supply your credit card or bank account so we can deposit it immediately!”) to your local utility threatening to cut off your gas or power if you do not hand over a bank routing number. There has also been a huge spike in faked Facebook and other social media accounts. Say you get a “friend request” from someone you went to high school with and see posting on your page already. Do a search by typing in their name on the Facebook main page at the top and chances are, they will already show as a friend. That should set off alarm bells. It’s somebody up to no good who got their page and cloned it. It looks like it’s them and their photos and more will all be there. But put your brain in action before you hit that “accept” button and ask yourself: If this person is already my friend, why would she or he be asking me to friend them now? The answer is simple: they would not and are not, but someone with a lessthan savoury purpose would love for you to click “accept”. Then they have your profile info, as well as the ability to send you and your real friends things you do not want. Even this writer got sucked in once not long ago by an old Indiana chum I knew in my heart of hearts I was still pals on Facebook with. Sadly, in my haste to answer an e-mail I “accepted” the bogus friend request. Not an hour passed before I got a pop-up notice that he was glad to see me and is now selling pills for “male enlargement.” He told me he could fix me right up for just $10 if I texted him my VISA or Master Card number. Look at that! A double fraud, looking for my credit card info while faking that he was my old pal Jason in Indiana. A simple “unfriend” and then report as spam to Facebook saw the back of this fraudster, but there was one more thing I needed to do (and you do, too, if this happens to you): I sent the real Jason a message so he’d know his account had been compromised and I got a reply almost immediately that he’d been told the same by others and was aware. I reminded him (and thus you, too, dear readers) that he needed to regain his account by changing his password immediately... and if he was unable to do so (as those frauds sometimes change it to something they know and lock you, the rightful owner, out or demand a ransom for) he needed to notify Facebook immediately and start over. Also, he needed to figure out where else he was using the same passwords, change those and anything that could be compromised. Notice I did not say this would be an easy fix. But there’s more... Even if you have not fallen victim to a fraud, watch those “friend requests” you get and pay attention. I tend, unless it’s someone I really, actually do know and after checking to see if we are already friends to send a four-word instant Facebook message to any requester: “Do I know you?” If the response comes back with something I know, like “Yeah, I’m a friend of your sister’s in (town omitted),” then I likely will accept. But if I get no response or I get one which makes no sense — like last week when I asked and someone said “No, I don’t know you...you just seem like you’d be interesting to know” and they were in Hawaii, I politely decline and block further attempts. Speaking of blocking, as we gear up for season here in Maine, now is a good time to check your routine passwords on WiFi and other devices you have to block those you might not want using them. I am thinking the guy down the street, or the tenant who rented at your B&B last season or anybody else who got into your router. I am not planning to repeat what got me in hot water with a neighbour a year or so ago, which was printing a screen shot of the WiFi names I can see from my easy chair. Instead, I went out into the street to come up with the screen shot on the next page, just to show how easy it is for folks to “find” your WiFi.
Up Portland 04.17 On The Web At: www.upportland.com
But if you are password protected, should you care who sees that name? My answer is no, not at all. My neighbour was feeling violated that I’d do such a thing as show a list as hers was on it, but I do not understand why the upset. I mean she has a strong password and with that, the WiFi is secure, plus who can or would pick hers out from the dozen or more on the list? Plus, anyone driving or walking by on a public street or sidewalk can see her (and every other, including my) WiFi name in the area on their own iPhone, Droid, laptop or pad. Look at the lists I just posted and see all of those on just two typical Portland streets. So long as your signal is encrypted (indicated by that “lock” symbol) with a strong password (which it should be and in my case is with a 24 character password), it makes no difference if the nickname shows on a list, because no one can log in. But still my message is the same: Check your own WiFi and router box and make sure those passwords are secure. Do not use the same one the device came out of the box with, and for heaven’s sake, do not think that 1,2,3,4,5 or even 8,9,10,11 is anything even the most Neanderthal crook would not guess if he or she tried to “borrow” some signal from you while sitting on a bench at the corner. My technique, and I have found it decently good — notice I said good, not perfect — is to have difficult and unique passwords for things which really matter and if stolen would cost: my home WiFi, internet banking, stock broker, tax info, Facebook, newspaper subscription, etc. and then easy or short ones for things which do not carry much fear factor, should they get out there. Why my favourite radio station in the UK demands me to enter a password to listen for free is anyone’s guess, but I have a minimal one (because they require it) which is also the same one I use to read the 10 free articles a newspaper in Illinois gives me a month and the same one I use to shop (but not to charge) at a store in Chicago whose website I enjoy browsing. I know some folks would say I am all wrong and that ALL passwords and user names must be difficult, consist of all manner of special characters and letters and upper case nonsense, but I prefer to go by the degree to which I’d be upset if someone got access. If you want to tune into my free British-based radio station, why do I care since it’s zero risk and I do not see any reason for them to even password it. My bank or broker are different matters all together. You have to be your own judge on what is and is not important to you and what would happen if the “big IF” took place and someone found your password. So in closing what do my friends Keith, Fred or Jason or my radio station all need to be aware of? That common sense must always prevail. Just as you’d not cross a street without looking or hand your unlocked phone to a stranger on Congress Square, do not allow neglect, laziness or stupidity — even for just a
second — to get your guard down. Despite all the negative PR of late, I find the ‘net to be a pretty decent and safe place, but since I have been surfing longer than there has been an Internet (that happened in 1991 and prior in the late 80s I had CompuServe and later Prodigy) I might be lulled into a sense of fake security. Or I might be lucky. Or I really might be observant and doing what I need to without going nuts. But in any case, assess your own risk tolerance and always be alert to the bad guys who are out there. The second you aren’t, they will pounce and cause damage that might take months or years to fix — if that can ever happen. Just like you’d not walk down a street handing out your credit cards to strangers (no matter how reputable they appear) or putting personal info on a sidewalk, the same is true online. Use caution and above all think and apply common sense before you hit “send” — Not just once or twice, but each and every time, because it’s always that “one time” you forget and let your guard down that those baddies will get your data! I know I said a bit ago what I was stating was my final thought, but I sometimes research & write these columns a week or three before you see them, so something we wrote about last month needs updating with new information. You regulars might recall I said that unlimited data plans for wireless devices had gone the way of the horse and buggy, right? We they did and they HAD until, just a few days ago, one of the big cellular carriers started offering unlimited data for $45 a month. And just as when one airline offers non-stop tickets to Cincinnati for $99, the rest who fly the route usually will, it took all of a week before most every major carrier jumped onboard and now is offering that same unlimited data for $45 a month, or thereabouts. So what to do? My advice remains unchanged: shop it and see what the fine print says. Also, find out if a new deal will be something you can or cannot use. And ask how many lines you can get and how that service can be split. And THEN go back and have a long, hard look to see if this is a change which will save you some cash or one which will only leave you right where you are with little gain and often a lot of hassle if you change plans, companies or terms from your present agreement. It’s still nice to see some unlimited plans back in our data-hungry universe, but make sure you will benefit before you jump into one!
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Cousins Memorial... Continued From Page Nine the only project that the Friends of Eastern Prom are taking on this year, but as Brandon Mazer puts it: “this one sort of hit home for me...my grandfather, my uncle and my brother are all vets. To see this memorial improved and given the respect that it really does deserve, I think is a benefit for both the Jewish community, the veteran community and frankly the larger Portland community.” The final product will result in a more introspective design, featuring a semicircle of seven World’s Fair-style benches facing the stone, with the beautiful ocean backdrop behind it. In addition to making the memorial a more integral part of the park, this new view of the sunlit waves reflecting off the ocean below may help to illustrate a thoughtful reflection of the memorial’s dedication to those who have passed, but who live on through memory. Currently, in the midst of their fundraising efforts, Brandon and his team are trying to keep up with what he describes as a, “very aggressive timeline,” hoping to have all funding in place by the beginning of June and to do the actual construction in the Fall. The entire project will cost roughly $86,000. Some additional funding has already been secured as the memorial renovation is an extension of the Fort Allen one, but Mazer and his team are also soliciting other funds — one of the largest being the acquisition of sponsors for the World’s Fair benches. Dedication of a bench to a loved one, family member or other individual or group is a $5,000 donation to the renovation and results in a custom plaque on the bench. One of the benches has already received sponsorship. The most immediate step in the memorial renovation is getting word out about what’s happening and why. The 2017 Maine Jewish Film Festival has been a huge help in informing folks who attended the various events. According to Mazer, the festival organisation was gracious enough to coordinate a few meet-andgreets as well as some “speaking time” in between films. But the job is not yet done, so Mazer encourages anyone who wants to help with the restoration to contact him personally via e-mail at bmazer@shipyard.com Additional information is available online at easternpromenade.org as well. Contact and details are important when it comes to a project like this, for sure, but If you want to get a real sense of what this memorial is all about, there’s nothing quite like catching the Route 1 Metro, hopping in your car, or going for a walk up the eastern prom. There, you’ll be able to see what the memorial is and imagine what it could be — once the shrubs are trimmed, the area brought back to life and benches provide an opportunity to sit, remember and thank those who gave their all for our freedom.
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