>Rockland County, NY-based composer, pianist and percussionist John McDowell teams up with Canadian violinist Emmanuel Vukovich and cellist Julia MacLaine to create the musical ensemble Music For Farms which will perform a concert entitled “An Agricultural Rite of Spring” at the Threefold Auditorium at 260 Hungry Hollow Road, Chestnut Ridge, NY on Friday, May 7, 2010 at 8pm. Tickets may be purchased at the door and are $20 ($15 for students, $10 for children). For more information, call 845-362-0207 or email [email protected].
John McDowell and Emmanuel Vukovich, who practice music and farming side by side (McDowell at Camp Hill Farm in Pomona, NY; and Vukovich in Quebec, Canada), have formed an international initiative, Music for Farms (www.johnmcdowell.net/musicforfarms), which works to revive and sustain local organic agriculture and farming communities through the arts. Julia MacLaine joins them for this special concert. The program, described below, includes the music of Bach and several original works in contemporary and classical idioms, such as their own composition based on the Parcifal legend. The trio’s creative arrangements reflect a weaving of eastern and western traditions, incorporating African drum rhythms. This concert will be a benefit for the Rockland Farm Alliance (RFA). The mission of the RFA (www.rocklandfarm.org) is to facilitate local sustainable agriculture in Rockland County, New York.
Juilliard and McGill trained Emmanuel Vukovich is the recipient of Canada’s first Golden Violin Award, as well as the Canada Council for the Arts Orford String Quartet scholarship. His twin passions of farming and music are brought to expression in this artistic Rite of Spring. John McDowell is best known as composer of the score to Oscar winning Born into Brothels. He has toured with platinum selling rock/world band Rusted Root as a pianist and percussionist and founded/led the internationally acclaimed band Mamma Tongue. Cellist Julia MacLaine has been consistently singled out by critics for her rich tone, sweet vibrato and superb musicianship. Her performances at Carnegie Hall, in Europe, North and South America and Iceland have established her as one of today’s prominent cellists.
The program for “An Agricultural Rite of Spring” will be drawn from the following selections:
Parcifal and Zazamanc, by John McDowell and Emmanuel Vukovich F major, by John McDowell Pachamama’s Catharsis, by Pedro Malpica Swara Kakali (transcription of a work by Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar) Solo violin works by Bach Popular Tango and Brazilian selections
>Rockland County, NY — Turn off your computer and television screens and come to Suffern, NY where Rivertown Film launches its new Sunday at the Movies series at the historic Lafayette Theatre. The series will begin with Sebastián Silva’s award winning film, THE MAID on Sunday, March 14th at 11:30 AM. This Chilean film won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
Rockland County-based Rivertown Film Society is devoted to celebrating, exploring and promoting the art of the motion picture through film screenings and educational programs. “We are excited to have this rare opportunity to show the best in recent foreign and art films in beautiful 35 millimeter film prints at the gorgeous, comfortable and historic Lafayette Theatre,” says Matthew Seig, Executive Director of Rivertown Film. “These critically acclaimed and award winning films really come to life on the big screen. It’s a treat to bring a friend or family member and to luxuriate in great filmmaking and rich imagery on a big screen in contrast to your computer or television screen.”
In addition, on March 21 and 28, the Meet the Filmmaker program will feature live pre and post screening appearances by individuals involved with each film. Jill Footlick, producer of the PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE will speak at the March 21 screening and novelist Robert Kaplow (ME AND ORSON WELLES) will speak at the March 28 screening. Meet the Filmmaker has been funded in part by the Experimental Television Center’s Presentation Funds program, which is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts.
All films in the Sunday series will be presented on 35mm film and shown at the Lafayette Theatre, 97 Lafayette Avenue, Suffern, NY. Tickets are available only at the door and cost $9 for general admission, $7 for students, seniors and general members, and $6 for student and senior members. More information is available by calling 845-353-2568 or by visiting www.rivertownfilm.org
The Lafayette Theatre (www.bigscreenclassics.com) is the area’s only historic single screen movie palace showing the best in first run films, classics from the golden age of cinema, and specialty programs.
“SUNDAY AT THE MOVIES” COMPLETE SCHEDULE AND FILM DESCRIPTIONS:
Sunday, March 14 – 11:30 AM THE MAID Directed by Sebastián Silva With Catalina Saavedra Chile, 2009, 95 minutes, not rated World Cinema Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival
Raquel, maid to a large family, moves through the house, performing her chores day in, day out. She seem almost part of the furniture-but there’s more to her than meets the eye. Her position in the household is rocked when two new maids are brought in to help her. Raquel’s blanks are filled in, and the story veers into unexpected, rich terrain.
Sunday, March 21 – 11:30 AM PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE Directed by Rebecca Miller With Robin Wright Penn, Alan Arkin, Winona Ryder, Julianne Moore, Keanu Reeves USA, 2009, 98 minutes, rated R for sexual content, drugs
Pippa, closing in on fifty, is facing the proverbial midlife crisis. Ghosts of the wild child she’d been are at odds with the domesticated suburban wife she has become. Moving somewhat detachedly through her days, she hasn’t truly reconciled her two selves—and it’s backing up on her. Settling down in order to save oneself can be undone, because people change, and happy endings are never guaranteed.
**Meet the Filmmaker: Producer Jill Footlick**
The Meet the Filmmaker has been funded in part by the Experimental Television Center’s Presentation Funds program, which is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts.
Monday, March 28 – 11:30 AM ME AND ORSON WELLES Directed by Richard Linklater With Christian McKay, Zac Efron, Claire Danes USA, 2008, 114 minutes, rated PG-13 for sexual references
A tribute to youthful creative ambition, and a teenager’s brush with greatness, the film centers around one hectic week in 1937. Orson Welles’s Mercury Theatre production of Julius Caesar is in rehearsal, and aspiring thespian Richard stumbles into a minor role. Onstage and off, he learns lessons about show folk, who aren’t always as glorious as the art they’re making. But … disenchantment is part of the magic.
**Meet the Filmmaker: Novelist Robert Kaplow**
Sunday, April 4 – EASTER SUNDAY No film
Sunday, April 11 – 11:30 AM THE MESSENGER Directed by Oren Moverman With Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone USA, 2009, 105 minutes, rated R for language and some sexual content
Sergeant Will Montgomery is home from Iraq with a medal and a new job in “bereavement notification.” Accompanied by an older officer, he shows up at the doors of the next of kin to deliver the worst imaginable news. A camraderie develops between these men, who handle their tasks and live their lives in contrasting ways. The psychological complexities of war and its consequences are honestly conveyed.
Academy Award nominations for Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay
Sunday, April -18 – 11:30 AM SÉRAPHINE Directed by Martin Provost With Yolande Moreau France, 2008, 125 minutes, French with English subtitles, unrated
Based on a true story, Séraphine is the story of a housekeeper living in 1930s France. She’s eccentric, mocked by the locals. She is also a self-taught primitive artist. Séraphine works for Wilhelm, a German art collector and critic, a gay man, also an outsider. They become partners, and though Séraphine’s career is interrupted by war and the Depression, her work is today exhibited in some of the world’s leading museums.
7 French Academy Awards (Césars) including Best Picture and Best Actress
Sunday, April 25 – 11:30 AM A SINGLE MAN Directed by Tom Ford With Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode USA, 2009, 101 minutes, rated R for nudity/sexual content and disturbing images
The year is 1962, and George has just lost his long-time lover, Jim. Over the course of one day he confronts his grief but also engages in political discourse (about the ongoing Cuban Missile Crisis) with his students, is flirted with several times, shares the company of an old friend, and finds himself able to appreciate the beauty and sensuality the world still offers. Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
Sunday, May 2 – 11:30 AM BROKEN EMBRACES Directed by Robert Kaplow With Penélope Cruz Spain, 2009, 127 minutes, Spanish with English subtitles, rated R for sexual content
Harry Caine is a writer and former film director, rendered blind from a car accident. His past is a secret, but circumstances conspire to pry it open, and he’s compelled to tell the story of the man he used to be. Then, he was directing a film and embroiled in a perilous affair with his leading lady. A narrative full of twists and reversals is revealed, and it’s no mere potboiler.
Best Foreign Film, Broadcast Film Critics
##
Peter McDowell [email protected] +1 773 484 8811 www.petermcdowell.com
>None of this is going to be fun but the time has come to pay the bills. We’ve all lived on atificially low interest rates, easy credit and the tidal wave of Real Estate appreciation that was created. Those days are over. Real Estate (the basis for our taxes) has depreciated 20% to 30% in our area, public sector salaries and benefits have not, and that has to change.
We need to totally change the mind set of the BOE and the employees. 3.5+% annual raises, and full retirement and health care packages are things of a bygone era. For years the BOE has managed the budget to the 4% annual increase allowed by law. We need to change that mentality. Lay-offs have already started and with the Governor proposing a 2.5% cap on annual budget increases going forward and the BOE and Union already locked in to annual increases greater than that the problem is going to get worse not better as “the negative spread” between revenues and expenses widens. It is simple economics, you can’t run a business for very long if your expenses are more than your revenues.
The BOE needs to begin laying the ground work to roll back salary tiers 10% in the next contract negotiation. If our State aid is being reduced, the natural result should be a reduction in costs. (i.e. salaries) It is very simple, in my business if my revenues are down for the year my employees make less, period. If a teacher (As well as Administrator) is making $90,000 per year, the new contract should roll that back to $81,000. The only way we can afford to keep our schools at the level they are at is to cut salaries and benefits. Towns like Ridgewood, Chatham, Mendham, Wyckoff, etc… are going to end up with zero state dollars. It is bad enough when salaries and benefits are 80% to 85% of our budget, what do you think it is going to be like when they are 90% to 95% of our budget?
It will be a disaster. The combination of 90% of the budget going to salaries and benefits combined with facilities maintenance and repairs will take up the entire budget. There will be no bands, no plays, no athletics, nothing, as the BOE simply will not have the money for any activities, but the employees will be well paid, fully covered for health care, and set for life in retirement.
The natural reaction will be that a 10% roll back is too extreme, “the backlash will be too great,” “there has to be another way,” “the teachers will strike.” Real unemployement is running around 15%, there are very talented people looking for jobs, I don’t think we’d have any problem finding people to teach in the Ridgewood School System however, the BOE needs to get that thought process in their heads now and express to the Union that they are serious so that every one is prepared for it when it comes to fruition in the next year or two.
By the way, the Village Council should be thinking the same way in regards to Police, Fire, and DPW workers.
>Daylight Saving Time always begins on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November.
This means that, on March 14, 2010, at 2:00 a.m. – you set the clocks ahead one hour.
History of Daylight Savings Time
Although not punctual in the modern sense, ancient civilizations adjusted daily schedules to the sun more flexibly than modern DST does, often dividing daylight into twelve equal hours regardless of day length, so that each daylight hour was longer during summer.[12] For example, Roman water clocks had different scales for different months of the year: at Rome’s latitude the third hour from sunrise, hora tertia, started by modern standards at 09:02 solar time and lasted 44 minutes at the winter solstice, but at the summer solstice it started at 06:58 and lasted 75 minutes.[13] After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season. Unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some Mount Athos monasteries[14] and some Jewish ceremonies.[15]
Benjamin Franklin suggested firing cannons at sunrise to waken Parisians.During his time as an American envoy to France, Benjamin Franklin, author of the proverb, “Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”, anonymously published a letter suggesting that Parisians economize on candles by rising earlier to use morning sunlight.[16] This 1784 satire proposed taxing shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells and firing cannons at sunrise.[17] Franklin did not propose DST; like ancient Rome, 18th-century Europe did not keep precise schedules. However, this soon changed as rail and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklin’s day.[18]
>Real estate developer Bob McNerney’s plan to build 240 units of new housing on the former Brogan Cadillac property is just plain insane!
The suggestion by McNerney, made to members of the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce earlier this week, that residents of the proposed housing complex would generate a significant revenue stream for Central Business District merchants, was just simple propaganda without any factual basis.
What is crystal clear: 240 new housing units on South Broad would mean an building addition for Orchard School, or a full school redistricting plan. Upgrades to Ridgewood’s waste water treatment plan might also be required, or at least improvements to sewer piping in the area. Traffic in the South Broad Street area, bad enough now to warrant a speed table, would get even worse as would parking (let’s not forget, 240 units of housing would generate a large number of visitors who require parking for their vehicles).
Stop the insanity before it starts – write you favorite Ridgewood Village Council member today and ask them to vote no on any plans to expand housing density on South Broad Street.
Actress from the television show Ghost Whisperer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, will sign her new book: The Day I Shot Cupid.
Books available March 23rd
Raquel Welch
New Date***Friday, April 2nd @ 7:00pm
World famous Actress, Raquel Welch, will sign her new book: Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage.
Books available March 15th.
Kathie Lee Gifford
Wednesday, April 14th @ 7:00pm Television personality on the TODAY SHOW, Kathie Lee Gifford, will sign her new book: Party Animals (Ages 4 to 8). Books available April 13th
Molly Ringwald
Wednesday, April 28th @ 7:00 pm Actress from the movies: Sixteen Candles & The Breakfast Club, Molly Ringwald, will sign her new book: Getting the Pretty Back. Books available April 27th
Bookends, 232 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
Breakfast with the Easter Bunny at Winberie’s Restaurant 10AM – Reservations required: 201/444-3700. – Festivities will be in Memorial Park, Van Neste Square. At llAM the Easter Bunny will lead an Easter Bonnet Parade in the Park – all children are invited to participate. After the parade, parents can take pictures of their children with the Easter Bunny. The Ridgewood News will provide a TROLLEY which will travel throughout the business district, taking families to member business where there will be fun projects and in-store events going on. All activities are free. Further information 201/445-2600 or www.experienceridgewood.com
In “The March of Folly,” Barbara Tuchman asked, “Why do holders of high office so often act contrary to the way reason points and enlightened self-interest suggests?” Her assessment of self-deception — “acting according to wish while not allowing oneself to be deflected by the facts” — captures the conditions that are gripping President Obama and the Democratic Party leadership as they renew their efforts to enact health-care reform.
Their blind persistence in the face of reality threatens to turn this political march of folly into an electoral rout in November. In the wake of the stinging loss in Massachusetts, there was a moment when the president and the Democratic leadership seemed to realize the reality of the health-care situation. Yet like some seductive siren of Greek mythology, the lure of health-care reform has arisen again.
As pollsters to the past two Democratic presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, respectively, we feel compelled to challenge the myths that seem to be prevailing in the political discourse and to once again urge a change in course before it is too late. At stake is the kind of mainstream, common-sense Democratic Party that we believe is crucial to the success of the American enterprise.
Bluntly put, this is the political reality:
First, the battle for public opinion has been lost. Comprehensive health care has been lost. If it fails, as appears possible, Democrats will face the brunt of the electorate’s reaction. If it passes, however, Democrats will face a far greater calamitous reaction at the polls. Wishing, praying or pretending will not change these outcomes.
Nothing has been more disconcerting than to watch Democratic politicians and their media supporters deceive themselves into believing that the public favors the Democrats’ current health-care plan. Yes, most Americans believe, as we do, that real health-care reform is needed. And yes, certain proposals in the plan are supported by the public.
However, a solid majority of Americans opposes the massive health-reform plan. Four-fifths of those who oppose the plan strongly oppose it, according to Rasmussen polling this week, while only half of those who support the plan do so strongly. Many more Americans believe the legislation will worsen their health care, cost them more personally and add significantly to the national deficit. Never in our experience as pollsters can we recall such self-deluding misconstruction of survey data.
Perfect Pita began as just as a kosher food take-out restaurant and expanded into a counter style sit in food eatery after their reputation for serving very good kosher food at reasonable prices. Perfect Pita is very popular kosher food restaurant for people who enjoy Middle Eastern dishes such as Moroccan pot roast and falafel as well as the Cholent which the traditional Sabbath stew of meat, beans, vegetables and potatoes.About little over a year ago, the store front next door became available and Perfect Pita expanded into a sit down restaurant featuring a party room which can seat more people.
Perfect Pita’s kosher counter staff is extremely friendly and our service dependable as well as fast to please our customers “on-the-go” lifestyles.Today people of all backgrounds are enjoying the middle eastern taste that Perfect Pita has to offer. From Hummus with falafel, to Beef shish kebab, Perfect Pita Restaurant will satisfy your middle eastern taste bud as well as your wallet!
>March 12 (Bloomberg) — Republicans said they won a parliamentary victory as they try to fight Democrats’ efforts to pass legislation to overhaul the U.S. health-care system.
Republicans said President Barack Obama has to sign a Senate health-care bill into law before the House and Senate can approve changes to it under a process called reconciliation. The Senate parliamentarian told Republicans that a reconciliation bill has to “make changes in law,” said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“This would be another headwind for Democrats in the House” who oppose provisions in the Senate bill, said John Sullivan, a health-care analyst at Boston-based Leerink Swann & Co. “Their biggest fear has been that they vote for the Senate version and they never get the relief they’re looking for.”
Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, declined to comment.
The prospect of longer odds for passage sent U.S. stocks up yesterday…
> …using an email list from the Village of Ridgewood(rpp) to further one’s personal gain (getting petition signatures for public office) should be more than likely to be considered as an unethical matter.
If ethics play any part in submitting the required number of petitions in order to run for a seat on the council, those that were acquired by unethical means and submitted, justly should be thrown out (considered as null and void).
Who can forget how the rpp conducted a so called ‘survey’ on the Village of Ridgewoods website, and eventually its unethetical ways were called out by the council to redo a proper and unbiased survey. Remember, ethics go a long way.
>A controversial resolution supporting Bergen County’s plan to extend the Saddle River Area Bike Path north to Linwood Avenue was unanimously approved by Ridgewood Village Council members on Wednesday evening. Concurrent with construction of the new bike path segment, County officials have agreed to relocate a “Bark Park” away from nearby Ridgewood homes to another area within the Ridgewood Wild Duck Pond area. It is believed that the “Bark Park” would not have been relocated if Village Council members had refused to allow construction of the bike path over 100 feet of Village of Ridgewood owned property.
However, the Council’s planned introduction of two (2) ordinances associated with establishment of permit parking fees in the Graydon Pool parking lots was scrubbed. Council members had proposed charging Ridgewood High School students $425 per school year to park in either Graydon lot. Parking there is now free. Several residents spoke out against the proposed ordinances during Wednesday evening’s Village Council Public meeting, even though Mayor David T. Pfund announced in advance that Council members would not be introducing either ordinance.
> Broad business coalition opposing health care bill
Mar 9, 2:01 PM (ET)
WASHINGTON (AP) – Major business groups say President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul is a job killer, and they’re launching a multimillion-dollar ad campaign to take that message to voters.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and groups ranging from contractors to retailers said Tuesday the Democratic health care bills would raise their expenses, while failing to control health care costs.
Advertisements will start airing nationwide Wednesday on cable television and shift in a few days to 17 states, targeting moderate and conservative Democrats whose votes are critical to passing the bill in the House. The campaign is estimated to cost between $4 million and $10 million, with the insurance industry paying part of the cost.
The Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) announced that layoffs in the village’s schools will be necessary to manage the 2010/2011 budget. At its meeting last night, the BOE outlined the reduction in school administration and salaries. A district-wide meeting was called Monday afternoon to inform teachers and administrators of cuts that seem all but inevitable.
According to the current budget outline, approximately $2.1 million, listed under “proposed initial payroll cuts,” in personnel reductions are anticipated, as well as a $1.4 million cut in purchasing costs, which includes textbooks and school supplies.
School administration may see $221,736 in cuts. For grades one through five, an $81,738 reduction in salaries is listed; for grades six through eight, a $282,813 reduction in salaries may be necessary; and for grades nine through twelve, a salary reduction of $224,944 could be on the horizon.
“I just want to say,” said board member Sheila Brogan, “none of these cuts are good cuts.” School faculty spoke during the public comment portion of the BOE meeting, and expressed outrage that they weren’t informed sooner. Michael Yannone, a teacher at Ridgewood High School, wanted to know why actual numbers were not presented to teachers at the meeting earlier in the day.
“This seems really odd that this information wasn’t made available,” he said. “Here’s the information that we wanted at the meeting and couldn’t get.” Superintendent Daniel Fishbein said the board needed to be informed first of the proposed cuts.
“People should know that there’s a glaring zero for cuts here at the Education Center,” Yannone said, referring to the fact that there are currently no proposed reductions in staff at BOE headquarters.
