The Rogovoy Report 10.23.23

From around the corner to around the globe...

Oct 23, 2023

You are receiving this ad-free, reader-supported email newsletter because you are subscribed to The Rogovoy Report, a twice-weekly digest of news and cultural happenings, mostly in the greater Berkshires and Hudson Valley region. You may also receive Everything Is Broken, a once-weekly, sibling e-newsletter featuring original writing by yours truly. Thank you so very much for your interest and support.

REQUIRED READING

The Sociopaths Among Us—And How to Avoid Them

(The Atlantic) - We all have stories of meeting people who appeared wonderful at first but turned out to be just awful. Perhaps it was a charming suitor, or a charismatic colleague, or a fascinating new friend. They attracted you on initial impression, but before long, you started to notice behaviors that gave you pause. Maybe it was a little shading of the truth here and there, or a bit too much vanity and selfishness. Perhaps they constantly played the victim, or took credit for other people’s work.... Very likely, this person was a “Dark Triad” personality. The term was coined for people with three salient personality characteristics: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and a measurable level of psychopathy. These people confuse and hurt you, because they act in a way that doesn’t seem to make sense.

READ MORE:

What was literary fiction? (The Nation)

Hamas executed every living man, woman, and child they came upon. This included Israeli Arabs and the mass murder of Muslim bedouins who lived traditional lives in the Negev desert. This wasn’t armed Palestinian nationalism … it was the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria (the Levant), a.k.a. ISIS/ISIL reborn with a Palestinian flag wrapped around it. (Special Intelligence, by Malcolm Nance)

What Hamas wants (The Atlantic)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

At Amherst’s Yiddish Book Center, a New Exhibition Speaks Volumes about Yiddish as ‘A Global Culture’

(Boston Globe) AMHERST, Mass. - What do a leather medicine ball, a steamer trunk, a children’s book with a chicken on the cover, and a case of typewriters have in common? They’re all prominently on view in “Yiddish: A Global Culture,” the new permanent exhibition at Amherst’s Yiddish Book Center, which celebrates 150 years of modern Jewish history through vibrant displays featuring all things related to the language and the lives of those who spoke it. Yiddish was the primary medium and vehicle for the expression of Jewish intellectual life and folkways until the second half of the 20th century.

A scene from Handel’s Handel’s “Rodelinda” at Hudson Hall

A ‘Rodelinda’ Brings Promise of Handel on the Hudson

(NYT) HUDSON, N.Y. - Huge if true, as they say: The new production of Handel’s “Rodelinda” that opened on Friday at Hudson Hall is just the first in a series of annual Handel stagings there to come. For the next several years, Hudson, N.Y., has the potential to become a Baroque opera destination, even for those accustomed to the rich offerings of New York City. Hudson Hall is far from a traditional opera house; with no pit and seemingly indifferent acoustics, it was used in the 19th century for speeches by the likes of Emerson and Susan B. Anthony. But, outfitted with 281 folding chairs arranged around its boxy room’s tight proscenium on Friday, it was surprisingly ideal for the intimacy of Handel. With smart direction by R.B. Schlather and excellent performances from the early-music group Ruckus, this is a “Rodelinda” worth of a multiyear commitment to Handel.

READ MORE:

Berkshire Museum chief curator: new renovation plan will bring institution closer to its roots (WAMC)

Berkshire musician Otha Day seeks to unite the world via the heartbeat of drumming (Berkshire Eagle)

BSC artistic director Alan Paul learned ‘a great deal’ during his first season at the helm (B Eagle)

Channing Gibson, Berkshires-based Hollywood screen- and TV writer, weighs in on the recent Writers Guild of America contract settlement (Berkshire Eagle)

The great Emerson String Quartet takes its final bow (NYT)

Actor Walton Goggins, who lives in the Hudson Valley and whose new film, “Dreamin’ Wild,” will be screened at FilmColumbia, explains how ex-Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson taught him how to play drums for the film (WAMC)

How Gentle Giant -- a cult Scottish-Jewish prog-rock band from the 1970s -- finally hit the Top 10 more than four decades after they broke up, thanks to rapper Travis Scott (by Seth Rogovoy for The Forward)

Great Barrington Lives Up to Its Name

(ATU) GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. - As its name suggests, Great Barrington is pretty great. With its rainbow crosswalks and walkable downtown packed with boutique shops, restaurants and entertainment, it's easy to spend a day exploring the gems of Main and Railroad Streets. Even if it’s mid-morning on a random Tuesday, you won’t be the only one wandering downtown, and there is plenty to do (and eat) while you’re there.

READ MORE:

With Egremont already out, seven Southern Berkshire towns to vote on school district merger in special meetings across the region tonight (WAMC)

Berkshire leaders celebrate Mass. Governor Maura Healey’s new $4 billion housing bill (WAMC)

Architect Tom Kundig designed this $10M glass cabin in the Berkshires (Mansion Global)

Paul Rich & Sons has been a fixture on Pittsfield’s North Street for nearly 40 years ... and it intends to stay that way (B Eagle)

Berkshire Mall cannabis plans scrapped for senior living facility (iBerkshires)

Two of Bascom Lodge’s operators are retiring at the end of the season, leaving the future of the lodge up in the air (B Eagle)

NEWS FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY

Hudson-Athens Lighthouse (photo Ralph Gardner Jr)

A Visit to the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse

(WAMC) by Ralph Gardner Jr. - Lighthouses serve various purposes. They warn ships away from dangerous shores. They’re romantic and evocative and double as tourist attractions. And the one in the Hudson River, just south of the city of Hudson, cautions me that the train will soon be arriving at the station and it’s time to head for the exit.... However, my affection for the Hudson-Athens lighthouse isn’t simply because it serves as a personal navigation aid. It’s also a very pretty and uncharacteristic looking lighthouse if your concept of lighthouses is those towering cylindrical structures along rocky coastlines with the waves crashing below them.

READ MORE:

Most Amtrak service from Albany to NYC, Metro-North trains will be back Monday (ATU)

$3M in state grants supporting affordable housing in Columbia, Dutchess counties (WAMC)

Proposal for waterfront warehouse in Hudson includes retail, education, event space, dining, swimming pool (GoR)

Galvan Foundation buying up Savannah real estate (GoR)

Gillibrand seeks record security funding for synagogues, mosques (HV360)

Soho House announces long-rumored location in Rhinebeck (ATU)

No charges in fatal Catskill police Taser incident (WAMC)

The Esopus Wars: The Hudson Valley’s sad chapter in the ‘Indian Wars’ (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