Fundraiser for Hartford Int'l Film Festival: Recession Edition!
Can't make it? Feel free to donate at the website; every little bit helps. Read more...
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Can't make it? Feel free to donate at the website; every little bit helps. Read more...
A Hartford Place
Unfortunately, due to my divided attention, I wasn't sure how the subject came up, but Mr. McEnroe and the callers turned the theme into “how New Haven is totally a cool city and place, and sadly Hartford isn't, and that's just the way it goes” (or that was my interpretation). For the record, this really wasn't a case of bashing one town, but just praising the other. Which, I think, is fine. We here in the Hartbeat are all used to that by this point. And thanks to Connecticut's lack of a true regional system, every neighboring town seems to bash its neighbor instead of working together to improve the region. But that's a topic for a different post. New Haven is a great city, with some wonderful offerings. Yes, it has a few more things at times than Hartford (I'm extremely envious of IKEA, but perhaps that's a good thing or I'd be spending too much money there). Do I think it's a better city with better offerings than Hartford, though, the way Mr. McEnroe was making it sound? There was a quote from a New Haven area resident that suggested that by having some of the cultural institutions that it has, there were consolations that New Haven gave to the community over the perceived urban blight that is as tangible there as it is in Hartford. The difference as suggested by Mr. McEnroe was that Hartford just doesn't have the consolatory offerings that New Haven has. Again, another matter of opinion. And perhaps the thing to do is what I try to do, let's see what we as individuals and a community can do to make our city and region better.
Real Art Ways is indeed one of those great places within Hartford that make the city a destination. Which is why that poorly termed description struck such a chord with both Heather Brandon and myself as we conveyed via our twitter feeds. Real Art Ways is truly unique, everyone knows that. But does that make it a 'very New Haven place'? If anything, Real Art Ways has always had a very Hartford feel. It was one of the places that made me proud to be back in Hartford when I moved back in the '90's. Just knowing RAW exists in Hartford, makes it all that much cooler. Saying it's a 'very New Haven place' just takes away some of the specialness of Real Art Ways (or any of Hartford's many cultural institutions). As if, such a place is only unique to a city like New Haven, and therefore what a shock that it exists in our little cowpoke city.
On her blog, Urban Compass, Heather Brandon posted a really fine examination of the thought process 10 years ago of attempting to place a stadium in Hartford to improve it's standing and make it “something to say Hartford is No. 1”. Ever since I could remember, attending community meetings with my parents when I was younger, to participating in them now, there has been some great plan to revive Hartford or to make it 'New England's Rising Star'. Can we all not take a lesson from the two most obvious urban renewal projects that helped bring Hartford to it's current state; the scarring highways slicing up Hartford and community displacing Constitution Plaza? It seems that there's always someone trying to find a way to make money pretending to fix Hartford and make it comparable to other cities and places. Just recently, I listened to a lecture that both taught me a new appreciation for Bushnell Park, while offering the disillusioning promise to make it better. While it was an amazing gem at one point, Bushnell Park did lose some of its splendor (thank you ignorant Army Corp of Engineers and to the city leaders who tore down buildings along the park). Yet, why don't we just do small things to embrace Bushnell Park? Like spend time with our friends there? Listen to the live jazz concerts? Have a picnic? Create events to just gather people there. Perhaps then, the powers that be will remember to take some time to celebrate it.
In closing, no, Hartford is not nor should it strive to be New Haven or any other city. As residents, we need to stop allowing people to dictate how to identify our city. Hey, I'm always saying, it'd be great to have this or that in Hartford (another blog post, another time). I have the places I go that make me remember why I do love this city: La Paloma Sabanera for coffee & conversation, Red Rock Tavern for beer and bar food and trivia, Asylum Café for damn good pizza, Tangiers for the best falafel and lentil soup, O'Camelo for Portuguese food (don't tell my mama), Ragin Cajun for a taste of New Orleans, Modern Pastry for Italian espresso; live theater offerings from 3 stages downtown. Let's not be blind to the fact that there is a whole lot of things that do not need to be fixed, just like any municipality, and that the only way to do that is to work at it. We can't just wait for some outsiders to come in with a plan to tell us what needs to be fixed and how to pay them to fix our city; we need to step up to the plate and work at fixing things like our education system, our tax base, our political parties. Hartford residents need to work as a community, support our community, and build our community. Mr. McEnroe, thank you for once again causing me to pause and think about what needs to be done. I'll pardon the comparison to New Haven... this time! Read more...
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
PHH: And the winner is...
This is to notify you that you have been selected as the 2009 recipent of the most Progressive Happiest Hours victor of the Noblest Wrath Prix! Congratulations! Only in your greatest country of United States could such a blessing be bestowed upon, for only in this great grating country could honoring someone with a Nobel Peace Prize,to illustrate that the world has high hopes for their abilities, could that be twisted into something so positively negative! Yes You Can!
It was a difficult selections process as little Al'Queda recruits still to be chosen were also in the running, and boy o'biy do they have lots of venom and pissed off they are. But when we saw how peeples of your country reacted, along with the daily show of Minister of Information Glenn Becks and his faithful followers, well... It was really no contest.
To release the prize moneys which will help your recessions, please bring cash or money orders of 2,000 of your American dollars to the award ceremony of The Progressing Happier HourGlass, this evening at Red Rock Embassy Tavern, 365 Capitol Ave., Hartford. Ceremony will begin at 9ish to 9:30ish. Once the cash is deposited with our committee's bank in Nigeria, we can then release your awards money to you, oh great person receiving the Noblest Wrath Award.
Blessed be onto you,
El'tar Skel'tar,
Most Confused Noble committee Selection Person
Monday, October 12, 2009
WNPR <3ford
Hooker and Company Journeying through the Wilderness from Plymouth to Hartford in 1636 by Thomas Cole
WNPR gave some serious love to Hartford last week on two of my favorite local radio shows... First up: last Wednesday, Where We Live broadcast a live show from the theater at Real Art Ways in my old neighborhood, Parkville. The topic was "Hartford: New England's Rising Star?" (Download episode) The discussion examined the now all too old slogan that attempted to market the city at the turn of the century. It has become horribly played out; no one ever really knew what it meant nor what it was meant to inspire. At one point, truly cynical critics tweaked it to "Hartford: New England's Shooting Star" during a particularly horrible string of violence. John Dankowsky and guests held "a conversation about our capitol city – where it’s been, where it is, where it’s going."
Second: While the topic was more about evolving art in our state, Friday's Colin McEnroe Show did feature The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford. The show began with an audio tour of the newly opened Rembrandt's People exhibit. This was followed by a discussion with curator Betsy Kornhauser about the newly reinstalled Hudson River School paintings from the permanent collection. I've actually become a big fan of these paintings, particularly due to their place in American history as the first national school of art to come out of the United States, and the allegories that they convey about their time in that history. The second segment of Mr. McEnroe's show included both the Wadsworth Atheneum and the New Britain Museum of American Art.
(Download episode)
Read more...
Siamo Tutti Farabutti!
Photo by Bianca Cappellini
Last Tuesday, at the weekly meeting of Progressive Happy Hour at Red Rock Tavern, our friend Bianca asked us to get progressive and stand up for freedom of the press... in Italy. To do so, all gathered designed letters to hold up and spell the phrase "Siamo Tutti Farabutti", a new rallying cry for the censured journalists and bloggers in Italy. Bianca then submitted the photograph to the online site of the progressive Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, which has been posting photos from readers worldwide who identify with the Italian media's cause.But what does it mean?
It seems that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has become the "most persecuted man in history" that is named 'Silvio Berlusconi'. This came after losing 'immunity from prosecution that has protected him from criminal proceedings."* (FYI: 106 investigations and trials against him and 2,500 court hearings) On top of that, Mr. Berlusconi has launched a series of lawsuits against the European media, asserting that freedom of the press does not include the liberty to insult (or criticize), specifically him. According to the BBC, "Italy's Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi owns or heavily influences swathes of the country's media." So when left-leaning news media sources recently reported on his use of escorts, his possible ties to the mafia, and other political abuses and missteps, Mr. Berlusconi retaliated by calling all [opposing] journalists "farabutti", which translates from the Italian as 'crooks'.
And so, readers and supporters of La Repubblica began a battle cry:
"Siamo tutti farabutti perché vogliamo una stampa (e una tv) libera!!!!"(We are all crooks because we want a free press, in print and on television!)Frankly, that's an outcry we can stand behind.
Other Sources:
(*Perhaps Mr. Berlusconi should visit CT some time... on second thought...) Read more...
Hartford is still FREE!!! (October 12 - 17, 2009)
Hartford artist Anne Cubberly has taken time from her busy production schedule creating pieces for the upcoming DIRT, to share with us a list of FREE events happening around the capital city this week. Get and support local arts.
FREE HARTFORD!
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13
La Paloma Sabanera Coffeehouse : 405 Capitol Ave
FILM: Kino Kafe presents Invisible Girlfriend.
7:30 pm
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14
Billings Forge: 539 Broad St. jlamotta@billingsforgeworks.org
Artists Residency : Tour the studios of artists Miguel Carter Fisher,
Kimberly Gill, Robert Charles Hudson & Greg Russell
some studios may be open from 6 - 9pm
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15
Hartford Stage: 50 Church St.
65 Free tickets for Horton Foote's Orphan Home Cycle will be given away
for the 2 pm matinee. Reserve at the website.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16
Trinity College: 300 Summit St.
Trinity College organ series begins with Isabelle Demers performing works
by Bach, Mendelsson and more. Tninity College Chapel
7:30 pm
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17
Shag Frenzy: The Warehouse 45 Bartholomew Ave
Hartford's oldest indie dance night with resident deejays Johnny Strangler & Garage Flower
9-ish
For More Free Events go to www.letsgoarts.org and look under " Fill your Social Calendar". The Greater Hartford Arts council has put together this great resource to find events. You can even do a "free" search !
CALL TO ARTISTS..............................
Artists STILL wanted for DIRT: an original performance written and created by Dan Blow and Anne Cubberly. Performances are scheduled for October 30, 31 & November 1 in the Atheneum's Aetna Theater. We are looking for volunteer kuroko, Techies, back stage hands, bang-on-a-can drummers, stage manager and performers. Questions? email jknelson37@aol.com
La Paloma Sabanera Coffee House is looking for artists interested in displaying their work and /or writers interested in starting a writer's group or book club. Contact Virginia Iacobucci 956-5003, viacobucci@snet.net
VOLUNTEERING..................................
Foodshare: Volunteer for Foodshare at Hartford Regional Market on Tuesdays, Fridays or Saturdays. Contact john or Krista @ 860-286-9999
Hands On Hartford: 40 Pratt St.
Volunteer ! Check out there website and see all the ways you can connect with your community.
Hartford Stage: 50 Church St.
Ushers see the shows for free, go to the website to find out more.
Read more...
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