The Rogovoy Report 10.22.24

From around the corner to around the globe...

Oct 22, 2024

The Dream of a 3,000-Pound Pumpkin

(The Atlantic) - There are two Michael Jordans, both widely regarded as the Greatest of All Time. One is an NBA legend. The other is a pumpkin. In 2023, the eponymous 2,749-pound goliath set the world record for heaviest pumpkin. Michael Jordan weighed as much as a small car and was even more massive — so broad that it would just barely fit in a parking space. Like all giant pumpkins, its flesh was warped by all that mass — sort of like Jabba the Hutt with a spray tan. It is hard to imagine how a pumpkin could get any bigger. But each year around this time, giant pumpkins across the globe are forklifted into pickup trucks and transported to competitions where they break new records.

READ MORE:

Malcolm Gladwell Holds His Ideas Loosely. He Thinks You Should, Too. (NYT)

The Decline of the Working Musician: You used to be able to make a living playing in a band. A new book, “Band People,” charts how that changed. (New Yorker)

Why are hospital gowns so ugly? (NYT)

FASCIST TAKEOVER WATCH:

Trump Is Speaking Like Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini: The former president has brought dehumanizing language into American presidential politics, by Anne Applebaum (The Atlantic)

A week before the election, Trump will hold his most unsettling spectacle yet: Trump’s planned rally at Madison Square Garden will be the ultimate act of ego and the climax of his Hitlerian rhetoric (The Guardian)

Trump escalates threats to political opponents he deems the ‘enemy’ (NYT)

The very real scenario where Trump loses and takes power anyway (Politico)

Elon Musk is trying to buy the US election for Donald Trump. What does he want in return? (The Guardian)

Share The Rogovoy Report

‘WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU’

Seth Rogovoy to Read and Sign Copies of New George Harrison Book at The Bookstore in Lenox, Mass.

(LENOX, Mass.) - Seth Rogovoy will read from and sign copies of his new book, Within You Without You: Listening to George Harrison, at The Bookstore in Lenox on Sunday, October 27, at 4pm. The Wall Street Journal writes: “In WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU Seth Rogovoy guides us through [George] Harrison’s career. ... Mr. Rogovoy is a keen listener with a knack for rendering musical details in plain language. Here he sheds new light on old favorites and brings forgotten gems out of the shadows.” In Salon.com, Beatles expert Kenneth Womack writes: “When it comes to the so-called Quiet Beatle, author Seth Rogovoy’s WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU accomplishes a rare feat. In a sea of ineffectual biographies devoted to the Beatles’ guitarist, Rogovoy makes a case for Harrison’s most important contribution: the music itself . . . Rogovoy’s eye towards soberly capturing the history of the Beatles with a welcome dose of critical objectivity makes WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU required reading when it comes to the guitarist. It’s that good.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World at Norman Rockwell Museum

(WAMC) by Ralph Gardner Jr., STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. - The Mad magazine show at the Norman Rockwell Museum “WHAT, ME WORRY? The Art and Humor of Mad Magazine ends October 27th. That’s just over a week from now. I felt a moral and spiritual obligation to see it before it closed and rushed over last week knowing I’d hate myself forever if I missed it. You should too! I wasn’t disappointed. If I have any criticism it’s that one could argue it’s too much of a good thing. Sprawled across a half dozen rooms — I was too enthralled with the material to count but it felt like six or more — it’s so stimulating and rich in text and art that one could easily devote an entire day to the exhibition.

READ MORE:

Gary Lucas’s live soundtrack to accompany 1932 horror movie ‘Vampyr’ at Race Brook Lodge (Berkshire Edge)

Wassaic Project cofounder Eve Biddle makes time for rebirth, community (ATU)

NEWS FROM THE BERKSHIRES

Cheeky Lingerie: A Boutique With No Limits on Size or Style

(RI) NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - Far too many of us know the acute disappointment of finding the exact item of clothing we’ve been searching for (the cut! the color! the material!) only to realize it doesn’t come in our size. Not only does the store not carry it in our size, but the company doesn’t even make it in our size. That experience is so common, says Karlie Cappuccilli, co-owner of the new Cheeky lingerie boutique on Main Street in North Adams, that it’s often the first thing shoppers say when entering her store. “They’ll say ‘I know you probably don’t have my size, but…,’ and to see the shock on their faces when I say that I do is amazing,” she says. On the contrary, at Cheeky, intimate apparel is available in sizes XXS-6XL. Cappuccilli and her husband, Mike — who is the store’s manager, merchandiser, and scheduler — opened Cheeky this past June. It was an obvious next step in Cappuccilli’s career as a luxury boudoir photographer.

READ MORE:

Berkshire DA finds no criminal conduct following investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at Miss Hall’s School due to age of consent laws (WAMC)

Lawsuit seeks damages from Pittsfield boarding school, alleges years of sexual abuse by former teacher (WAMC)

BHS to shutter Williamstown Apothecary (iBerkshires)

As he prepares to become the next Lenox town manager, Jay Green addresses select board concerns (WAMC)

Housatonic Water Works Treasurer James Mercer insists critics ‘drank the Kool-Aid,’ cuts off residents from speaking at public meeting (Berkshire Edge)

Wonder who has brown water in Housatonic? A resident has created an interactive ‘discoloration map’ to log it (Berkshire Eagle)

Housatonic Water Works’ depreciating utility (B Edge)

Get to know the father-son duo who built Jiminy Peak into a green destination (B Eagle)

The Endless Downfall of a Crypto Power Couple: Berkshire native Ryan Salame, an FTX executive, and Michelle Bond, a crypto policy advocate, were once a Washington power couple. Now they both face prison time (NYT)

NEWS FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY

Tannersville Board Rebukes Claims of Antisemitism

(HV360) TANNERSVILLE, N.Y. - The Board of Trustees discussed at its meeting Tuesday recent antisemitic complaints issued at the Village Clerk’s Office concerning claims that Orthodox Jewish residents are unfairly benefiting from tax exemptions on their properties. “I’m going to address the elephant in the room,” Trustee George Kelly said at the meeting. “We’ve had accusations and people walking into our office. Here’s the elephant: People are asking why Jewish people being are receiving tax exemptions when no one else is?” There is a persistent rumor in the village that Jewish people are moving to the area and not paying taxes, but he said it is not true. As a Catholic, it is his responsibility to defend all individuals, regardless of their faith, from the harm caused by religious bigotry said Kelly, whose wife is Jewish. “I'm absolutely sick and tired of hearing people complain about what they consider the ‘right type’ of Jew is," Kelly said. “If you think I'm going to stand by while you point out that my wife and others can be accepted, but the man in a black coat is a ‘bad Jew,’ I don't know what to tell you. Bigotry we all know exists, and I’ll keep fighting it.”

READ MORE:

Amtrak service changes draw concerns from Capital Region, Hudson Valley pols (ATU)

Boutique hotel The Wick in Hudson sold for $11 million, upgrades planned (Albany Business Review)

Blue Plate restaurant building in Chatham sold to New York City chef (Albany Business Review)

Albany Airport shows off latest upgrades after leadership turmoil (WAMC)

Curious: Kingston's new magazine shop is an altar to print media and vintage (Chronogram)

Climate Prediction Center releases winter weather outlook, Albany region expected to be warmer than normal (ATU)

Super PACs are flooding NY House races with unprecedented cash (ATU)

In heated house race, Marc Molinaro - a ‘moderate’ Republican - goes full Trump (NYT)

New York City to stop most land purchases in Catskills (ATU)

Hey, did you like this edition of The Rogovoy Report? If so, please consider clicking on the “LIKE” button at the very end of this message. It matters to the gods of Substack.

The Rogovoy Report