The Rogovoy Report 5.15.23

From around the corner to around the globe...

May 14, 2023

I Love You, Now Leave Me Alone: What Friendship Means to an Introvert

(NYT) By Catherine Pearson - As a reporter who regularly covers friendship, I am well-versed in the benefits of platonic connection. I know, for instance, that studies show that people with strong social ties live longer and are better protected against stress. And I am familiar with the evidence showing that a truly robust social circle encompasses different types of friendship, including work pals (who can help you feel more engaged and productive throughout the day) and “weak ties” (casual acquaintances who can help you learn new things and improve your daily sense of well being). But I am who I am: an introvert who delights in alone time. I admit I seldom feel motivated to make new friends, or even to see the small-but-cherished group I already have. For me, the tension between craving camaraderie, connection and all of the wonderful benefits of friendship, and wanting to be left alone is real.

READ ALSO:

The anatomy of panic (Harper’s)

You are not destined to live in quiet times (Tablet)

The right’s assault on divorce will put more women at risk by Molly Jong-Fast (Vanity Fair)

Bo Peabody and Nancy Thomas Bring Entrepreneurship and Vision to Mezze Hospitality Group

(Berkshire Eagle) WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — One partner is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist and former competitive ski racer who formed one of the internet's first companies when he was a sophomore at Williams College in the early 1990s. The other is a woman whose mother is Moroccan, grew up in Oklahoma and landed in the Berkshires following her involvement in food-related ventures in Texas and along the East Coast. Together, William "Bo" Peabody and Nancy Thomas have been the driving force behind Mezze Hospitality Group of Williamstown, which owns Mezze Bistro +Bar, and Mezze Events, opened and closed Allium Restaurant + Bar in Great Barrington. Coming up next is Bluebird, a new eatery next to Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Hancock, and branching out into the lodging business by planning to rent out guest rooms located in the building that houses Mezze.

Casa Susanna’s Modern Mexican Brings Exciting New Flavors to the Catskills

(Chronogram) by Brian Mahoney, LEEDS, N.Y. - Casa Susanna is located just north of the Catskill Thruway exit in the hamlet of Leeds, just down the road from diner fetishist catnip Gracie’s Luncheonette. The restaurant is part of Camptown, a renovated motor lodge reimagined by Ray Pirkle and Kim Bucci, owners and creators of Rivertown Lodge in Hudson. Hernandez helmed the kitchen at Rivertown Lodge’s tavern — the food was very tasty the couple of times I ate there — before opening Casa Susanna. He’s also worked in Michelin-starred kitchens like Brooklyn’s now-shuttered Faro.

READ ALSO:

Wigwam Owners reopening Miss Adams Diner, see future in Adams (iBerkshires)

413 Bistro in downtown North Adams hotel open and ready for summer (iBerkshires)

Fed up with ‘ethnic’ aisles, NYC transplants bring their childhood food to Catskill, N.Y. (ATU)

Hudson Valley restaurants opening soon (ATU)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Did an Obscure 1984 Bob Dylan Song by Way of Woody Guthrie Predict the 2023 Battle for Women’s Rights?

(Forward) by Seth Rogovoy - Two weeks ago, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul declared that an attempt by the small city of Danville to ban abortion was in “open defiance of state law.” Raoul explained that the state’s Reproductive Health Act forbids local municipalities from limiting abortion rights. While those who believe in the fundamental rights of access to reproductive health care and bodily autonomy were celebrating the attorney general’s statement, which indicated that the proposed ordinance would not take effect, fans of a specific strain of folk and rock music heard an echo in the name of the battleground in which this struggle for choice is taking place. “Danville Girl” is the title of a folk song that dates back to the late 19th century. Woody Guthrie’s adaptation of “Danville Girl,” which he first recorded in 1944, insured that the song would become part of the folk music canon. Guthrie was a huge influence on Bob Dylan, so perhaps it is not so surprising that Dylan himself would eventually get around to penning his own version of a Danville song - one with remarkable resonance for these times….

READ ALSO:

Aston Magna to play Schubert’s ‘Trout’ Quintet to celebrate Daniel Stepner’s 30-year tenure as artistic director (Berkshire Edge)

At MASS MoCA, four artists contemplate what it means to live in a post-imperial world (B Eagle)

Misty Blues to record tribute album to Odetta (B Eagle)

Ellsworth Kelly centennial begins in Austerlitz (HV360)

Andrea Kleine’s lockdown film, ‘The End Is Not What I Thought It Would Be,’ screens in Rhinebeck, N.Y. (Chronogram)

Audrey Francis’s ‘Bird Brain’ paintings on view at LABspace in Hillsdale, N.Y. (Chronogram)

New York state budget feeds $5 million into upstate theaters (ATU)

Barbra Streisand recorded the first Fagen & Becker composition before there was even a Steely Dan (Front Row & Backstage)

NEWS FROM THE BERKSHIRES

Vandalism of Billboards Targeting Second-Home Owners in Great Barrington Reveals Undercurrent of Class Resentment

(Berkshire Eagle) GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. - The vandalism of two billboards with graffiti taking aim at second-home owners sparked a storm of class warfare on social media this week in a town where housing has grown ever more scarce and expensive. Sometime overnight Tuesday someone spray-painted, “No one needs 2 homes,” on two billboards on State Road. One billboard featured an advertisement for E. Caligari & Son, which sells paint, tile and other design items just up the road at 75 Main St., while the other was Pittsfield-based Diplacon Roofing. The ideological combat that sprung up on social media in response to the billboard vandalism about housing, the economy and deservedness for hard work has “second-home owners” caught in the crossfire. “Vandalized billboards will be the least of the problems when the working class reaches a breaking point,” said one commenter.

READ ALSO:

Lenox Middle and High School officials probe recent hate incident involving swastika, anti-gay slur (B Eagle)

New Great Barrington official says Housatonic water crisis, affordable housing top his list (B Eagle)

MCLA drops plan to convert unused housing into temporary emergency shelter after backlash (WAMC)

MCLA prez should have been more transparent about 'shelter plan fiasco' (Berkshire Eagle)

Break in North Adams water main sends sewage into Hoosic River (iBerkshires)

Dog leash bylaw among issues before Williamstown town meeting (iBerkshires)

NEWS FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY

Lt. Mishanda Franklin will be sworn in as Hudson’s new chief of police May 22.

Hudson’s New Police Chief Breaks Barriers Upon Appointment

(HV360) HUDSON, N.Y. — Lt. Mishanda Franklin will be sworn in as the city’s new chief of police May 22 at the Hudson Central Fire Station. Franklin will make history as she becomes the first woman and the first woman of color to lead the Hudson Police Department. “As a lifetime resident of Hudson, I am humbled and honored to be named the new chief of police,” Franklin said. “I am mindful of the historic nature of this appointment.” Franklin, 40, has been in law enforcement for 20 years. Franklin succeeds Chief Ed Moore, who announced his retirement last week.

The Rogovoy Report