The Rogovoy Report 3.18.24

From around the corner to around the globe...

Mar 18, 2024

Anxiety Is Part of the Human Condition

(WSJ) - Given a choice, most of us would prefer not to be anxious. But if Samir Chopra is correct, that yearning is misplaced. “To be anxious is to be human” and “to be human is to be anxious,” he writes. “Anxiety is not always a pathology to be eradicated but often an ineluctable and indispensable part of ourselves.” If we treat anxiety as an interloper, rather than a companion, we only make it worse. “We will always be anxious, but we do not have to be anxious about being anxious.”.... In “Anxiety: A Philosophical Guide,” Chopra is right to want to normalize the anxiety that people really do feel, saying that it is wrong to think that mental health consists in being anxiety-free. His basic therapeutic advice — not to push anxiety away but “to see what it ‘points to’” — is also spot-on. And his book is a good primer on the major philosophers of anxiety, or at least its close relations. Anxiety may not be as fundamental to the human experience as Chopra believes, but it is undoubtedly a component of modern life and deserves careful attention.

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Cats aren’t jerks. They’re just misunderstood. (WaPo)

Six ways to get more joy with your dog (WaPo)

FASCIST TAKEOVER WATCH:

The terrifying Christian Nationalist crusade to conquer America (The Nation)

Trump allies prepare to infuse ‘Christian nationalism’ in second administration (Politico)

Potential 2024 ‘Chaos’: Election deniers refusing to certify results (Rolling Stone)

The strongman fantasy and dictatorship in real life (Timothy Snyder)

How Trump spun a political career out of conspiratorial hatred (LitHub)

Trump says some migrants are ‘not people’ and warns of ‘bloodbath’ if he loses (NPR)

Trump can’t secure bond for $454 million civil-fraud judgment (WSJ)

Luau Hale in Lenox Closing After 50 Years in Business

(Daily Voice) LENOX, Mass. - Luau Hale Restaurant will serve its last customer on Saturday, March 30. Luau Hale has kept customers coming back all these years with its menu of Chinese and Polynesian cuisine – including lo mein, made with sautéed beef, chicken, and pork, with vegetables on a bed of lo mein noodles – and szechuan duck, sliced roast duck and vegetables simmered with red peppers and seasoned with a spicy sauce. News of the impending closure sparked hundreds of comments and shares on Facebook, with many long timers reminiscing about their visits over the decades.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The Rise of the Do-Nothing Vacation

(WSJ) - The pendulum is swinging away from jam-packed trips and Instagram-worthy adventures and toward vacations with little to write home about beyond a pretty sunset and a cold drink. More vacationers say they want a true break to rest and recharge during their time off. Their do-nothing vacations have no schedule. These aren’t beach trips that involve surfing or kayaking, or foodie tours requiring hours of research—and decision fatigue. “Rest and relaxation” jumped ahead of having “a fun time” and spending “time with immediate family” as the main motivator for leisure travel, according to a nationally representative February survey of 1,000 U.S. travelers from Longwoods International, a market-research firm. Rest and relaxation rose to 21% from 17% between the September and February surveys.

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NEWS FROM THE BERKSHIRES

A portion of new sidewalk on West Avenue in Great Barrington this month. (photo Bill Shein/Berkshire Argus)

In Great Barrington, A Tale of Two Sidewalks

(Berkshire Argus) by Bill Shein, GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. - Without the Select Board’s knowledge, Great Barrington officials secured a million-dollar state grant to aid a developer’s struggling luxury housing project and pay for a landscaped “pedestrian walkway.” Meanwhile, across town, safe sidewalks and walkability for low-income residents remain elusive and unfunded.

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MASS MoCA strike continues by Christopher Marcisz (The Shoestring)

With contract negotiations again collapsing, North Adams city councilors speak out on MASS MoCA union strike (WAMC)

Area restaurants taking a hit as MASS MoCA strike enters its third week (NEPM)

Jewish mural found in North Adams attic offers rare insight into 19th-century immigrants (CBS News)

A major cyberattack has caused a Pittsfield medical practice to run out of money (B Eagle)

’Canyon Ranch was nothing like I expected and everything I wanted (and needed) it to be’ (Boston Globe)

School district looking at policy revisions concerning complaints about books, educational materials (Berkshire Edge)

Third weed dispensary joins in lawsuit against Great Barrington (B Edge)

Discussions begin on long-term plans to renovate or replace Williamstown public library (iBerkshires)

Flying Cloud Institute celebrates 40 years in the Berkshires (RI)

NEWS FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY

Basilica Hudson Founders Honored by Preservation League of NYS

(HVM) HUDSON, N.Y. - Basilica Hudson is an organization housed in a riverfront venue that welcomes over 20,000 visitors each season for music festivals, large-scale marketplace events, regular film screenings, an artist-in-residence program, and other community gatherings. Founded in 2010 by musician Melissa Auf der Maur and filmmaker Tony Stone, the organization resides within a reclaimed, solar-powered 1880s industrial factory in Hudson. Because of the extraordinary action that Auf der Maur and Stone have taken to protect, preserve, and promote New York’s artistic and architectural heritage through Basilica Hudson, they are being honored with the Pillar of New York Award by the Preservation League of NYS.

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Kinderhook gets new bookstore (WAMC)

Catskill High theater director is back in class after suspension (ATU)

Hudson school district unveils preliminary $56M budget (HV360)

Hudson police look to get a therapy dog (HV360)

Stewart Airport in Newburgh offers alternative for international flights (Chronogram)

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