The Rogovoy Report 1.30.23
From around the corner to around the globe...
REQUIRED READING
The People Who Don’t Read Books
(The Atlantic) - It is one thing in practice not to read books, or not to read them as much as one might wish. But it is something else entirely to despise the act in principle. Identifying as someone who categorically rejects books suggests a much larger deficiency of character.
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But what about the books? (The Atlantic)
Has academia ruined literary criticism? (New Yorker)
On the eve of a new translation of the author’s diaries, the question arises, is the Kafkaesque now just completely normal? (Will Self/The New European)
CIVIL WAR WATCH
‘There Is a Real Sense That the Apocalypse Is Coming’
(Politico) - Premised on the belief that America is a white Christian nation whose laws and culture should reflect its biblical heritage, Christian nationalism has attracted fresh scrutiny in recent months thanks to endorsements from prominent Republicans like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and failed Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano. “There is a real sense [among white Christian nationalists] that the apocalypse is coming for this country if [they] don’t do something radical,” Bradley Onishi--a faculty member at the University of San Francisco and the co-host of the popular podcast Straight White American Jesus--says. “The idea that they would continue in ways that are standard — campaigns, voting drives, national renewal through ecumenical movements — that went by the wayside.”
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Can anything be done to assuage rural rage? (NYT)
Trump says he is ‘more angry’ than ever as he tries to revive White House bid (The Guardian)
Trump’s record-setting executions were even more appalling than previously thought (Vanity Fair)
Trump delivers bitter speech filled with lies in New Hampshire (Time)
Marjorie Taylor Greene keeps rising in Republican ranks despite ‘loony lies’ (The Guardian)
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Murray Hidary's Immersive Sound Installation ‘Distanced Together’ at MASS MoCA Reflects on Time and Pandemic-Imposed Isolation
(Berkshire Eagle) by Jennifer Huberdeau, NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - Typically, when pianist, composer and mindfulness teacher Murray Hidary presents a concert through his experiential music company, MindTravel, participants listen through wireless headphones. But not so when it comes to “Distanced Together,” a circular sound installation in the Hunter Center at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, inspired by and written during pandemic-imposed isolation. Instead, Hidary has crafted an immersive sound space, allowing individuals to listen to his latest composition as they sit, stand or walk through a set of 60 speakers, each representing a single artist playing a single instrument.
TSL Hudson Celebrates 50th Anniversary
(Chronogram) by Peter Aaron, HUDSON, N.Y. - Long before the larger renaissance that saw Hudson blow up as a cultural destination, there was innovative arts center TSL (Time and Space Limited), which pioneered so much of what the Columbia County town is now known for. This year the institution celebrates its fifth decade with “Spaces in Places,” a new exhibit of designs by TSL cofounder Linda Mussman that opens on January 29.
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Old friends team up to bring opera — and hopefully new audiences — back to the Berkshires (Berkshire Eagle)
Jaime Lozano and Florencia Cuenca bring mariachi/Broadway fusion to MASS MoCA (B Eagle)
Foundry celebrates reopening with free concert featuring Aimee Van Dyne, Sample the Cat, the Fremonts, Gypsy Layne (Berkshire Edge)
Williamstown's Matt Cusson nominated for Grammy (iBerkshires)
Karen Allen’s film adaptation of Carson McCullers’ ‘A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud,’ filmed in Berkshires, now streaming (B Eagle)
Shakes & Co offering special Valentine's presentation of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ (B Eagle)
WAM Theatre announces new strategic plan (WAM)
BSO taps musician with deep local ties to run Tanglewood Music Center as interim director (Boston Globe)
Why Hudson Valley was the perfect place for filming Natasha Lyonne's ‘Poker Face’ (ATU)
Jon Spencer and the HITmakers play Albany on Tuesday (Chronogram)
NEWS FROM THE BERKSHIRES
Williamstown Planning Board Talks 'Cottage Court' Bylaw
(iBerkshires) WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Though its work is not completed for the proposals it hopes to bring to this spring's annual town meeting, the Planning Board recently started talking about an idea it wants to work on for the 2023-24 cycle. Ken Kuttner and Roger Lawrence at the board's January meeting gave their colleagues a presentation on the innovative concept of cottage courts and suggested a bylaw could be crafted to allow that style of housing in town. Cottage courts are relatively small clusters of homes, typically 500 to 800 square feet, grouped together on a single residential lot.
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Elevated levels of dangerous contaminant continue to plague Housatonic Water Works water supply (Berkshire Edge)
Great Barrington Housing Subcommittee suggests tax exemption for owners of affordable year-round rental housing (B Edge)
North Adams Movieplex closing 'indefinitely' (iBerkshires)
Where will Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum be built in North Adams? (B Eagle)
Gilders' Gilded Age art collection, Tyringham estate, up for auction (Barrons)
New Marlborough Town Hall may relocate to winery (Berkshire Eagle)
Pittsfield’s Imperial Bowling Center reopening with major makeover and new name: K&M Bowling (B Eagle)
Wayfair call center closure should prompt deeper debate about economic development strategy (B Eagle)
No real snow in sight (B Eagle)
Berkshire Bank claims Pioneer Bank enabled MyPayrollHR $101 million bank fraud (ATU)
NEWS FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY
Everyone (Still) Wants to Visit the Hudson Valley
(ATU) - “It is going to be a strong tourism year,” said Amanda Dana, president of Hudson Valley Tourism, a marketing organization that represents 10 counties from Westchester to Albany. Across the state, more and more people are learning what locals have long known: there’s always something cool to do in the Hudson Valley. According to the 2021 report of visitor spending by region and county, the most recent on record, travelers spent $3.8 billion in the Hudson Valley.
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Spurts of colder air will be mixed with milder air during early February, but moisture for storms will be lacking. Mid-to-late February looks to turn warmer —maybe even spring-like at times— with lower-than-normal chances for snow. (BenNollWeather)
Hudson approves scattered site affordable housing project (Columbia Paper)
Hudson establishes sidewalk improvement district (GoR)
Local newspaper caught plagiarizing popular news-blog site (GoR)
Molinaro: ‘Migrant crisis’ hitting upstate New York (HV360)
Work on Hudson City Hall begins in February (HV360)
Panel eyes wellness hub for Hudson (HV360)
Cooking oil thieves strike two more area businesses (HV360)
Assemblywoman Barrett lists challenges for 2023 (HV360)
Columbia County task force, housing coordinator appointed (HV360)
GOP chief promises greater scrutiny after candidate's racist, antisemitic posts surface in Schenectady (ATU)
Roll Call: Founding Members
Anonymous
Erik Bruun
Benno Friedman
Richard Koplin
Rhonda Rosenheck