Stonington Times

A Look Back: Revisiting some of our favorite feature photos from 2008

Interactive Desk — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:37:15 GMT

In compiling our top five photos of the year, we considered several criteria in the process. Overall punch, great angles, drama, and irony, among others.

Using those criteria, we soon discovered several Times photos were contenders for the top five spread. As such, we had to expand our concept a bit and placed our second string of favorite photos in smaller form on the front page of the paper.

We hope you enjoy these photos as much as we enjoyed capturing them.

To view the corresponding Top 5 photo album featured in the Jan. 1 Stonington Times inside spread, click on the photo at right.

The Dolphin Perspective: Aquarium scientist pens guide to dolphin communication

Interactive Desk — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:36:01 GMT

They are questions that intrigue many humans: how do dolphins communicate with each other? What do their actions mean and to what extent can they communicate with humans?

A recently published book written by Mystic Aquarium scientist Kathleen Dudzinski and fellow researcher Toni Frohoff of Puget Sound, Wash., draws on their 40 years of studying dolphins in the wild to answer those questions.

Titled Dolphin Mysteries, Unlocking the Secrets of Dolphin Communication, the 272-page book is written in easy to understand language despite its references to numerous scientific studies. It includes several photos and drawings and even features a guide on how to properly interact with dolphins in various contexts.

Dudzinski, who studies wild dolphins in Japan, the Bahamas, and Honduras, has developed an underwater audio/video recorder that allows her to tape dolphin vocalizations and movements for later study.

On page 87 of the book, the two women ask the question: “So why study communicative behavior in dolphins?”

Dudzinski and Frohoff continue, “Obviously it’s a fascinating subject with many implications. But is there a greater purpose? Absolutely. Increased public education about dolphin communication and behavior may contribute to greater public
protection of dolphins and their habitats...Knowledge of their behavior allows us to glimpse into their psychological and physiological condition. And this information in turn enables people to better manage and care for individuals as well as populations.”

They write that by “eavesdropping” on dolphins, we discover the ways dolphins communicate—with each other and with humans—“are incredibly sophisticated and complex, even by human standards.”

They also write that while animals of the same species direct behaviors to one another that are understood, effective communication between members of different species, is more challenging.

“Over time, individuals, whether dolphins or other animals, may learn the meanings of signals exhibited by members of another species and the two species may even develop mutually understood signs” such as those that exists between gorillas, dolphins, and dogs and their trainers.

Dolphins who frequently interact with humans also may have learned on some level how to communicate with them, perhaps to solicit certain behavioral responses from swimmers. Researchers point to the dolphins’ mimicry of human positions and vocalizations. Dolphins in swim programs are known to circle or somersault around swimmers and copy human actions while they play.

Dolphin Mysteries, Unlocking the Secrets of Dolphin Communication, which costs $30, is available from Yale University Press at www.yalebooks.com.

By JOE WOJTAS
Staff Writer

Oh Peanuts! Make your 2009 resolutions green

Interactive Desk — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:33:00 GMT

Even in these austere times, when there may have been fewer gifts under your Christmas tree, or perhaps gifting this year took on a more rudimentary approach: groceries, cash for heating oil, or re-gifted items, and fewer of those perplexing things someone gave you that you never really knew what to do with, there’s always the post-holiday hang-over question: What to do with the mountains of packaging peanuts?

Convenient to a fault, plastic polystyrene peanuts have had a population explosion in recent years, mostly thanks to the growth of Internet shopping. With the advent of Cyber Monday, no doubt you have a spare box or bag of them lying around the house.

Admit it, you’re tempted to set packing peanuts out with the trash, right? Or maybe on recycling day—towns must accept these things, right? After all, many municipalities pick up Christmas trees soon after the holidays.

Most of our packing peanuts are chemical based, which means they will be around forever. While they aren’t recyclable, they can be reused many times, according to Janice Ehle/Meyer, recycling coordinator for the Connecticut River Estuary Regional Planning Agency (CRERPA) in Old Saybrook, which serves the nine communities on either bank of the river or next door along the Sound.

Ehle/Meyer suggests checking with local packaging services, antique shops, and Ebay auctioneers who may be in constant need of packing materials. Back in October, in the middle of my fall cleaning attack, Office Express in the Old Lyme Marketplace gladly accepted my peanuts.

The peanuts must be clean and dry, whether you’re storing them yourself for next year, or handing them off to someone else.

No, although I have many home remedies drilled into my brain, thanks to my Depression-scarred parents, peanut washing isn’t one of them. Those things became ubiquitous much later than the 1930s.

As packers and shippers also look for more green products, you might find that some packing peanuts are made from a vegetable derivative and will break down in our environment. It’s hard to tell the difference, unless you get a few wet. If they disintegrate, they are made from vegetable matter. If not, they simply float.

If you’re still at a loss for what to do with your allotment, Ehle/Meyer suggests contacting the Plastic Loosefill Council at 800-828-2214 for a list of drop-off centers. Or, if you have massive quantities, contact the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers at 410-451-8340.

Whether we re-purpose our peanuts or not, Americans at least entered the holidays with the intention of being greener gifters, according to Plow and Hearth (www.plowandhearth.com), a national catalogue and Internet retailer that specializes in home and lifestyle products.

More than half of Americans said they were likely to purchase environmentally friendly gifts, according to P&H. Although money was listed as the single largest obstacle, up to two thirds said respondents were willing to spend 10 to 25 percent more to “go green,” and women were more likely than men to do so. Those were September or October sentiments, so it would be interesting to see if actions followed intentions.

By Suzanne Thompson
Special to the Times

When she’s not writing or talking, Suzanne can be found puttering around her gardens in Old Lyme. Contact Suzanne at sthompson@wliswmrd.net.

If you’re ready to start the New Year with a green thumb, tune into my weekly radio show, “CT Outdoors,” on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Matt Kunze, New England Wild Flower Society’s chief propagator, will talk about the secrets of native wildflower seed propagation. Catch the show at 12:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Sundays at 7 a.m. on WLIS 1420 AM, Old Saybrook or WMRD 1150 AM, Middletown.

The Cancer Project Comes to Stonington

Interactive Desk — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:29:17 GMT

Dr. Jacqueline Campisi of Visions Sight and Learning Center hosted the Cancer Project Dec 12 at her home along with Gregorie Culver and guest speakers Christopher Lachowski, DC, MS, CCN of East Lyme, Dr. Tom Kollars of Westerly, and Karl Goldkamp, Nd.L.Ac, Dipl. C.H. of Old Lyme. Their goal was to raise money to help further the research, reach, and awareness of The Cancer Project.

The message they brought to the table was that cancer prevention begins with what we put into our bodies. Participants enjoyed a food prep demonstration preceded by a short success video of a cancer survivor living on a plant-based diet along with a 30-minute call-in by best selling author, Dr. Neal Barnard of the Cancer Project. Dr. Barnard is the author of many books, including The Survivor’s Handbook: Eating Right for Cancer Survival.

Dr. Campisi’s recent encounter with another national best seller, The China Study, and Dr. Barnard’s work has encouraged her to spread the news that “You are what you eat.” Focusing on a plant-based diet, she has encouraged others to embrace this change.

Campisi said, “Each year over 1.3 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer...it’s time we start looking at how food choices can improve survival and prevent disease.”

Hitting the Trail: Organizers continue work to create multi-town trail

Interactive Desk — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:27:58 GMT

With municipal support in place, the committee trying to build a recreational trail from Groton to Preston is on the verge of starting its fundraising campaign.

The Bluff Point to Preston Trail Committee, comprised of representatives from Groton, Groton Utilities, Ledyard, and Preston, has been together roughly a year. In that time, they’ve acquired broad support for the proposal to build a trail from Bluff Point State Park to the Preston Community Park in the Poquetanuck section of that town.

Now it needs the money to complete engineering studies to determine the exact route of the trail and even if it’s feasible. David Holdridge, chairman of the committee, said once the studies are done, the group could capitalize on the information by applying for various state and federal grants.

“We’re certainly encouraged by the fact that so many people feel positively about it,” Holdridge said recently. “This is possibly the most positive reaction I’ve ever experienced to an idea.”

The fundraising effort will be a local initiative. The group is considering asking for small donations from various civic organizations and businesses. It might even leave a few cans on countertops to collect loose change.

“The sooner we get the money, the sooner we can get underway,” Holdridge said.

Preston First Selectman Robert Congdon, a member of the committee and trail advocate, said even if the committee raises the roughly $15,000 needed for the study, as well as the money to build it, the group still has a lot of work to do before it can begin constructing the trail.

For now, the route is theoretical. Nothing will be permanently put to paper until a preliminary engineering study is done and property owners—public and private—agree to allow the route to cut through their land.

Despite much of the proposed trail incorporating the right of way, committee member Peter Borch said the ways make up two-thirds of the potential route. Obtaining easements and other legal documents could take years.

Along the way, the possible route will try to take advantage of several rights of way owned by the state, Northeast Utilities, and Groton Utilities. Obtaining permission, and rights, to use those paths may not be easy. One idea is for the trail, which would begin at Bluff Point, to head north and skirt around the Groton Utilities reservoir property near the Mystic Marriot before continuing north along Route 117. It will cross the Copp property, owned by the town of Groton, and then possibly take advantage of rights of way owned by Northeast Utilities before linking with the former Clark Farm property owned by the town of Ledyard before ending at the Preston community park.

When pitching the idea to Groton Utilities, Borch said the group provided information about Lake Saltonstall, owned by the Regional Water Authority in Branford, and the Airline Trail property in East Hampton.

Admittedly, a lot of work has been completed on the project over the past year. The committee has municipal support, and the state and utility companies are at least considering the proposal.

Those involved fully expect to feel like they’re occasionally “spinning their wheels” while trying to make the proposal real.

“Is it worthwhile to spin our wheels to make it come to fruition? Absolutely,” Congdon said. “If we can make a safe environment for families and people to travel from here to Bluff Point it would be very, very good.”

Al Dion, deputy director of the water division for Groton Utilities, said he’s aware of several successful trails and recreational programs taking place on utility properties throughout the state and Rhode Island. Currently, Groton Utilities offers supervised visits to its property, including hiking and birding activities. The company’s first mission, however, remains to protect the community water supply.

He said the plan, if implemented, must balance the reservoir’s safety and the opportunities for hikers and bikers to enjoy the vistas.

Regarding the proposal, Dion said, “We’re very fortunate here and have some great opportunities to work together.”

Some of those opportunities could include creating spurs off the trail that lead to different parks and commercial areas just off the route, he said.

By MEGAN BARD
Staff Writer

Nature Notes: Raptors at our Feeders

Interactive Desk — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:18:25 GMT

The increase in bird feeding throughout the year across the United States and Canada has resulted in larger numbers of normally migratory birds remaining in the north during the winter and a northward range expansion of several one-time southern birds such as the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) and the northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottis).

Many of these birds are able to switch between an insectivorous diet during the summer months and a seed-eating diet during the winter. Black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus), tufted titmouse (Parus bicolor), American goldfinches (Carduelis tristis), red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), red-bellied woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus), and many others benefit from the warmheartedness of their human neighbors. In return, these birds give us many observational pleasures and provide the careful watcher insight as to their social behaviors.

A Not-so-beneficial Effect of Bird Feeders

Looking out my window one afternoon, I saw the back and tail of a crow-sized bird hunched over on a tree branch in the yard. As I watched, the bird resumed pulling at a lump it was holding down and feathers were scattered to the wind. By its size and the barring on the tail, I knew I was watching a juvenile Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter cooperii) having lunch. Only rarely was the hawk’s head visible, but when I attempted to get closer, the hawk grasped its prey in the talons of one foot and flew into a nearby evergreen where I could no longer see it.

What was the Prey?

I retrieved some of the feathers and identified the prey as a mourning dove (Zenaida macroura). I surmise the hawk had captured the dove as it flew to a neighborhood feeder and carried it to my yard. As a mourning dove is about one quarter the hawk’s size, the dove would make a substantial contribution to a Cooper hawk’s daily energy needs.

Hawks at Bird Feeders

In conversations with several neighbors who feed birds, I find they have mixed feelings about these small hawks: Some people despise them for killing “their” birds, others realize that hawks have to make a living like other animals do. What intrigues me is that some people who have a “thing” against hawks find nothing wrong with letting their pet kitty out of doors to wreak mayhem, or to feed feral cats which in sum kill millions of birds each year. At least the hawks eat what they kill. Maybe their habit of eating in broad daylight is what riles those who feed the birds.

Birders note that when there is a hawk in the neighborhood, many smaller birds disappear and nearby feeders are avoided for a while. On first arriving at a feeding station, a Cooper or the smaller sharp-shinned hawk, A. striatus, may take three or four birds in quick succession. The smaller birds rapidly become wary and the hawk locates a nearby hiding place from which to dart from ambush to capture more prey. Usually the hawks only visit a feeding station for a short period of time each day and take a bird or two. If a feeding station is especially busy or there is an exceptionally good hiding place nearby, the hawk may continue to visit for one or two weeks, but eventually the prey birds stay away, and the hawk has to find another location or starve.

Coopers Hunt Late in the Day

Both hawk species burst out of dense foliage during the day, scattering and sometimes capturing smaller birds at feeders. They take advantage of the need for birds to find food regularly on short winter days. In the northeast, it gets dark soon after 4 p.m. and diurnal (day active) birds become less cautious as the day ends because they have only a short time left to find food and consume it.

In addition to hunting at feeders, hawks focus on intercepting unwary birds making their way to their overnight accommodations. Cooper hawks often capture prey just as evening falls. When successful, one will continue to feed well after dark.

Defensive Behavior of Prey

Some birds mob (harass) and scold these hawks. This behavior seems to bring other birds’ attention to the predator, helping them locate it, and reducing the hawk’s ability to capture prey unaware. Blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata) and American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) mob hawks and owls all year long; while mockingbirds, red-winged blackbirds, and common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula) primarily mob these birds during the breeding season. During these short winter days, however, most birds merely leave the area when a hawk moves in.

Albert Burchsted is a field biologist recently retired from the College of Staten Island, part of the City University of New York. He lives in Niantic and can be reached via e-mail at al.burchsted@gmail.com.

A Tale of Two Towns: Stonnington, Australia: A Link to Stonington, Connecticut

Interactive Desk — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:40:46 GMT

Some Background

No, that’s not a typo. A few weeks ago, the Times received a query from Ainsleigh Sheridan, editor of the Australian newspaper The Stonnington Leader. She had run an Internet search and found The Stonington Times online. After she was directed to our Web site, Zip06.com and found our contact information, she e-mailed the paper and suggested that our respective papers do a Christmas story swap.

It’s summer Down Under while the snow falls here, but it seems our respective towns engage in an equal amount of holiday fun every year. However, as you’ll read below, the struggling economy is a worldwide problem. Stonnington’s local charity has been forced to turn away needy families due to short supplies—a common complaint lately among charities in southeastern Connecticut.

Despite twin hardships down the street and 16 time zones away in the opposite hemisphere, it is evident that residents of both towns can find characteristics of their area to love, things in their lives to be thankful for, and reasons to celebrate the holidays.

—Melissa Babcock

Some History

By Kate Bruce-Rosser
Special to the Times

Stonington or Stonnington? A romantic gesture means you can travel to a city of either name.

In 1890 John Wagner, a partner in Cobb & Co coaches, built a stately mansion with 40 rooms in Malvern, Victoria, Australia.

He was a Canadian who had migrated via California in 1952 as a “Yankee merchant” caught up in the gold rush.

Wagner’s wife was Mary Esther Hewitt, and he named their new home for her birthplace: Stonington, Connecticut.

Designed in the Italian Renaissance style, Stonington Mansion housed the family until Wagner’s death in 1901.

It was then rented as a residence for the governor of Victoria, and would be home to seven governors over 30 years.

The spelling changed to Stonnington, and it’s not known whether this was because of local pronunciation or a spelling error in correspondence.

In 1928 the Victorian Government bought the house for £35,000 to use as a school (1931 to 1938); a centre for polio patients; a convalescent hospital in World War II; a teacher’s college (1957 to 1973); and a university campus.

When the municipalities of Malvern and Prahran merged in 1994, the Victorian Government named the city for this significant building.

The mansion was bought privately in 2006 and is being restored.

Kate Bruce-Rosser is a reporter for the Stonnington Leader. Ainsleigh Sheridan is the Leader’s editor.

Report from Stonnington, Australia
Life on the other side of the world

by Ainsleigh Sheridan
Special to the Times

Arts, parks, shopping, sports, employment, and education: this is a snapshot of life in Stonnington, Australia.

Like its United States namesake, the city’s 16 square miles in Melbourne’s inner southeast is for many “a hospitable environment in which to prosper.”

A typical resident is one of a childless “Gen X” or “Boomer” couple, whose white-collar jobs bring in $885 weekly, amply above Australia’s $675 national average.

Resident surveys confidently report “contentment” and “well-being,” and Mayor Claude Ullin says the city’s comforts and conveniences attract many to live here.

But goodwill alone cannot sandbag the community’s vulnerability against a rising tide of need.

“Christmas can actually be a time of great isolation,” says Prahran Mission Chief Executive Quinn Pawson.

The charity gives meals and gifts to the poor, but has had to turn away “dozens of families” because of short supplies.

Pastor Phil Shand of Faith Christian Church says even though Stonnington appears to be “quite wealthy, there are many families and pensioners who are not coping financially.”

“Many are doing it tough this Christmas
because of rising fuel prices, interest rates, and inflation,” he says.

Opportunity shop manager Trish Williams says, with the economic downturn, “it’s going to be tougher next year as jobs go.”

Until then, Stonnington is enjoying summer and the savings to be had with the city’s low-cost to no-cost fun.

The Royal Botanic Gardens entices not only visitors with its native and exotic plants, but also locals to its lush lawns for cut-rate cinema under the night sky.

Star-spotting extends to the retail strips, where the famous and the fabulous gather in hip bars and cafes dotted among more than 50 eclectic galleries.

Weekends are bracketed by the crack of leather on willow as cricketers take to sporting fields, and cooling swims at the local pool where mums and dads slather zinc on kids’ pink noses.

And every Christmas, the Malvern Town Hall, home to the council chamber, is decked with festive lights.

On balmy evenings, neighbors come out to mingle and marvel at this yearly display, and feel rich in ways no currency could buy.

Ainsleigh Sheridan is the Leader’s editor.

The Cat Who Lost—and Found—Its Meow: A tale of hope by local authors/illustrators

Interactive Desk — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:38:29 GMT

Antoinette Ledzian of Stonington describes arriving at the recent publication of her first book, The Cat Who Lost its Meow, as a serendipitous journey—a journey almost as interesting as the one “Cat” takes in this delightful new children’s book.

The story, described as “a three-fold tale of loss, search, and rescue,” is told through the eyes of a child visiting grandma at the beach, where, to process the loss of a loved one, she paints and the youngster writes in a journal.

The child discovers a cat stuck in a lobster trap that has lost its meow and is too weak to escape. The child begs grandma to keep the cat, but the bottom of the lobster pot gives way and the frightened cat runs off. Following a series of wild adventures including an unlikely friendship with a bird, Cat comes back safe and sound—and so does Cat’s meow.

Cleverly, it turns out that the child, who has been keeping a journal, is actually the author of the book.

Ledzian wrote, illustrated, and designed The Cat… with her husband Richard—both are artists—along with Susan Paulson Epstein of New London, a licensed social worker, parent coach, and author of several parenting books.

The Ledzians are owners of A Writer’s Garden, in its 15th year in Stonington, where they combine art, writing, calligraphy, photography, letterpress, and graphic design to illustrate the written word. They specialize in creating beautiful memory books for people for weddings, anniversaries, births, and other special occasions. Located in their appointment-only studio, A Writer’s Garden also sells one-of-a-kind journals, framed art works, and miscellaneous artist’s tools, and of course, their new book.

A certified expressive arts facilitator, Antoinette also runs Art Bound, a summer camp that encourages young people to express themselves through the creative process.

The Cat Who Lost its Meow officially launches the Ledzians’ new venture into the book publishing world as Chase-En-Point Press, which will publish small high quality runs of hard and softcover children’s, poetry, and photography books.

The Journey

Four years ago the Ledzians attended a job fair at the Mystic Marriott where Susan Epstein was giving a coaching seminar.

“I told her my life was happy and fine but the last piece at my age, over 60, was that I wanted to write and illustrate a children’s book,” Antoinette recalls. “Susan said, ‘I’ll help you,’ and we became instant friends.”

The Cat… was a team effort encouraged by Susan’s coaching. The two women met weekly for four months to compose the story, sometimes in New London at Ocean Beach and Alewife Cove where various elements of the story began to unfold.

Antoinette found a colorful painter’s cloth in a trash can on the boardwalk at the beach, which provided the richly textured cover design—and theme that runs throughout the book, and Susan’s cat, Quatro, who had lost his meow, was the inspiration for the title.

Richard drew pen-and-ink sketches and Antoinette painted the illustrations, created additional graphics and drawings, and designed and typeset the book, which was printed by Finlay Printing, an FSC (Forest Stewardship Certified) printer that has been in business in Bloomfield for 132 years.

“Quality was very important to us and we didn’t want to go overseas,” Antoinette says, “We wanted to invest money in a first-class printer here in Connecticut.”

Antoinette stresses that the book, which is filled with metaphors, can be read by any age child—or adult—on many levels and interpreted in a variety of ways. The concept of the book is to demonstrate the power of
healing and processing emotions through art, writing, journaling, storytelling, friendship and trust.

Hope is an essential theme, she says, and is illustrated in all the opposites that come to play in the book, such as danger-help, enemy-friend, darkness-light.

“It’s the balance that is necessary in art and in life,” she says. “The [book’s] final message is [about] unconditional love.”

Partial proceeds from the sale of The Cat..., which is $16.95, softcover, are being donated to PROTECT, a national pro-child, anti-crime membership association. One hundred percent of purchases of The Cat… bookmarks ($3.95 a pair) are being donated to PROTECT.

“I’m on the advisory board of PROTECT and I’m passionate about working with children,” Antoinette explains, “and especially with a national organization committed to protecting children from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.”

The Cat Who Lost Its Meow and bookmarks can be purchased online at www.TheCatWhoLostItsMeow.com, at The Hollow art & antique gallery in Mystic, and at The Other Tiger bookstore in Westerly, Rhode Island.

By Amy J. Barry
Special to the Times

Top Books and Beats: Local business owners recommend book and music titles

Interactive Desk — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:12:39 GMT

Eons ago, in the Paleozoic Era, people went to bookstores to get books and to record stores to get records.

There they met professional bookworms and record store geeks behind the counter, people that the writer Nick Hornby called “professional appreciators.”

Despite the twin meteors of the Internet and big box stores, these places still exist in southeastern Connecticut.

And the people that work and own book shops and record stores are still experts in their fields and have opinions about what was good reading and good listening in 2008.

Dan Curland, owner of Mystic Disc in downtown Mystic, counted Rockferry by Duffy, the 24-year-old blue-eyed soul singer from Wales, as one of the best albums he heard this year.

And Curland was tipped off about Duffy from an unlikely source.

“My 9-year-old daughter, Lena, turned me on to her,” he said. “[Lena] has good taste.”

Curland said Duffy reminded him of the late Dusty Springfield, whose Dusty In Memphis, from 1969 was produced by the late Jerry Wexler.

Rockferry features former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler as a producer, whose string-laden arrangements are both baroque and restrained.

“Listen to that,” Curland said, while cueing up the title track. “Not bad for a blond-haired girl from the UK.”

The other albums on Curland’s turntable—vinyl is king at Mystic Disc—include the latest archival releases from Bob Dylan (Tell Tale Signs), Neil Young (Sugar Mountain –Live at Canterbury House), and Stephen Stills (Just Roll Tape from 2007).

For jazz fans, Curland recommended the box set commemorating the 50th anniversary of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, that includes a double CD, a vinyl edition, and a DVD about the making of the record.

Blues fans should check out the latest by Lurrie Bell, whose Let’s Talk About Love, from 2007 was the strongest seller at Tumbleweeds in downtown Niantic in 2008.

“That sold every time we put it on in the store,” owner Tara Wyatt said.

Wyatt also said Jukebox by Cat Power, the nom de rock of singer-songwriter Chan Marshall, was another popular release that sold plenty at Tumbleweeds.

As for what she found interesting this year, Wyatt has been feasting on a steady diet of soul and funk.

“I don’t listen to a lot of mainstream stuff,” Wyatt said.

Foremost has been Pebble To A Pearl by Nikka Costa.

Wyatt noted the most mainstream thing she’s been smitten by is the latest by Brett Dennen, the folky from California, who has recorded with the Afro-beat singer Femi Kuti.

Down Main Street at the Book Barn, owner Randi White said the most notable book he’s read this year has been The Knack, not to be confused with the band of “My Sharona” fame.

Appropriately enough, The Knack, by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham, is an economics book aimed at small business owners.

White said that most financial advice titles are written either by or for people who work at Fortune 500 companies.

“I’m not one of those companies,” he noted.

And business has been relatively brisk this Christmas season at the Book Barn.

“We’ve seen a definite increase in the number of used books sold this year,” White said. “The collectable book market has bottomed out, but people are buying used ones as stocking stuffers.”

As for reading material on his nightstand, White said that most of his favorites this year have been mysteries.

Patience Banister, co-owner of Bank Square Books in Mystic, was most impressed with Mudbound, by novelist Hillary Jordan.

She said that President-elect Barack Obama’s books, The Audacity of Hope and Dreams From My Father, continue to be hot sellers.

Also Banister has been selling plenty of copies of Wally Lamb’s latest, The Hour I First Believed, and Toni Morrison’s new novel, A Mercy.

And young readers have been scooping up copies of Stephanie Meyers’ “Twilight” series and The Tale of Beedle the Bard, the latest by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.

“It’s not selling as much as the Harry Potter books,” Banister added.

By Stephen Chupaska
Staff Writer

Pop Culture: The Babe Wrapped in Swaddling Clothes

Interactive Desk — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:07:58 GMT

Here's a paradox I’ve been going 12 rounds with: Ever since I stopped believing in God, I miss religion.

And my longing has nothing to do with spiritual yearning or a desire to fill some absence in my life.

In fact, ever since I left the Catholic Church and God behind, I’ve been a happier person, able to concentrate on my relationships with people without some Supreme Being looking over my shoulder.

I’ve never accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior; to me he’s a non-union carpenter who does good work and to whom I wouldn’t mind paying a prevailing wage.

No, when I think about it, what I miss is reading in church, especially at Christmas.

Unlike other churches, such as black Baptist ones, where people actually look like they are having fun singing and praising God, the Catholic Church of my youth was where Jesus wanted you to be quiet and would write your name on heaven’s chalkboard if you dared to speak.

In the entryway to St. Mary’s in Torrington, the “away church” I went to when staying with my grandparents, there was a picture of Pope John Paul II with his arms in the extended “I’m blessing all of you now” position, with the word “Silence” written below it.

Talk about intimidating.

But the upside to the Catholic mass is that it provides a great atmosphere to get some reading done, like the quiet study room in university libraries.

And they even provide you with something to read, a missalette.

In case you don’t know, a missalette—from the root word missal, meaning “prayer book”—is a small periodical with various readings from the Old and New Testaments used during the mass. It’s sort of like the Bible set on “shuffle.”

I loved, and still love, the gravitas with which the priests and readers announce the day’s readings:

“A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians,” or “A reading from the second letter of Paul to the Toronto Blue Jays...”

Like I said, it’s been a while since I’ve been to church.

My favorite readings were from the Christmas Vigil Mass my family would attend every year.

They were always from the beginning of the Gospels, the chapters and verses that describe the birth of Jesus.

The fun one is from Matthew that traces the genealogy: Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah, etc.

I think my favorite, however, is the Gospel according to Luke, set in the fields outside Bethlehem shortly after the birth.

In particular, I love Luke 2: 8-14, in the gorgeous King James Version, and best read by Linus in “A Charlie Brown Christmas”:

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

“And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

“And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’”

It’s wondrous, luminescent English.

Look at the rhythm of the sentences: “the angel of the Lord came upon them,” followed by “the glory of the Lord shone round about them.”

Plus the passage is chock full of great words, for instance, “sore.” Here it’s the archaic definition of the word, meaning “very” or “extremely.”

And “swaddling clothes” are two words that sound lovely together.

Of course, I don’t believe this scene, as magnificent as it sounds, actually happened.

In fact there has been too much misery inflicted upon the world by people who claim this and other scenes in religious texts actually happened. And it’s part of the reason God and I stopped seeing each other.

But what did I get out of that relationship? A love of words and language that brings me good tidings of great joy.

Merry Christmas.

This is the opinion of Stephen Chupaska.

...With Boughs of Holly: LHS agri-science students host holiday decor workshop

Interactive Desk — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:47:10 GMT

The afternoon before Thanksgiving this year, a friend’s mother sent her on a hunt for seasonal accessories to spruce up the dinner table, leading to a frantic quest for miniature pumpkins. When area stores failed her, she made fall-colored candy bundles and resolved to plan further ahead come Christmas.

A brief afternoon at Ledyard High School last week would have solved her seasonal decorating angst. Horticulture teacher Shelly Roy and four students made Christmas decorating look simple, during a recent gift box centerpiece workshop.

This is the second year Roy has offered seasonal decoration lessons. Those in the know—mostly faculty and parents of agri-science program students—are repeat attendees who made floral cornucopias to adorn Thanksgiving tables last month. The workshops are so popular, Roy offers two sessions.

The featured Christmas centerpiece was a hollow red glass cube criss-crossed by festive ribbon to suggest a gift-wrapped parcel, with three types of white flowers and a bow arranged on top.

“It’s simple, it’s easy, very quick, and it goes together,” Roy said. She found the idea in an issue of Florists’ Review magazine but spruced up its institutional color palette when she interpreted it for the workshop.

Participants began by sticking greens around the base of the wet block of flower foam sitting in the empty cube. They cleaned all of the leaves off the bottom tip of each piece so it stuck cleanly into the foam. They added the large spider mums and then the smaller flowers.

Student helpers, thrilled at the opportunity to teach their teachers, ensured the different plants were spaced with aesthetic symmetry at slightly different heights, keeping the whole visually interesting but also pleasing to the eye.

“What do you think is wrong with it?” senior Jessica Senphansiry asked Susan Rhorer, gesturing to her
flowers. As the substitute teacher watched, Senphansiry deftly thinned out one section of the arrangement and tightened another.

“What’s really neat is seeing how the kids can teach,” Roy said, echoing several of the teachers there.

Everyone finished the craft by fashioning a four-loop bow from the ribbon and attaching it to a small wooden pick with wire. The pick landed in the center of each arrangement with the loops and end of the bow folded among the flowers. Then, in a brief hour, 10 happy teachers paraded off with homemade decorations that, Roy assured them, would remain vibrant through the holidays if watered and kept in a cool location.

And if their houses were too steamy, she said, everything needed to make the centerpiece can be purchased at a craft store and filled with flowers from the supermarket.

Make Your Own
Gift Box Centerpiece

Materials:

1 6-inch glass cube

2/3 brick of floral foam

Greens (like some fir or spruce)

Three stems of white spider mums

Two stems of white cushion mums

Four stems of white carnations

1 1/2 stems of yellow or green
hypericum

2 to 3 yards of wired ribbon
(2 inches wide)

1 6-inch wooden pick with wire

The Kissing Ball

Junior Cheri White described it as “a misletoe times seven and put on steroids.” The kissing ball is a sphere of boxwood attached to a hanging hook and decorated with ribbon.

To make it, use one third of a block of flower foam covered with chicken wire or a kissing-ball-specific sphere of foam, and attach it to a wire with a hook. Then fill in the foam with sprigs of boxwood until all the interior is hidden. Make a bow out of ribbon, attach it to a wooden peg, and then plunge the peg into the foam near the top of the ball. If desired, attach a few hanging pieces of ribbon to the bottom of the bow to make it look like the bow went through the kissing ball. Then hang it up and go find someone to meet beneath it.

The Boxwood Tree

Make this miniature Christmas tree by starting with a piece of foam. Stick one sprig of boxwood in the top to create a vertical axis. Then, visualizing a triangle with the tip of that first sprig as its point, fill in the foam. Make sure there are longer pieces at the bottom and shorter pieces toward the top.

Choose tree accessories to stick, interspersed, into the foam that match with the rest of your Christmas decorations, senior Jessica Senphansiry advises. Then top it with a bow.

“You want to give it rhythm and harmony,” she said.

By KIRA GOLDENBERG
Staff Writer

The Clip File: Christmas, 1988

Interactive Desk — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:45:13 GMT

New London kicked off the 1988 Christmas season on Dec. 2 with its first annual Plaza Lights Festival.

Mayor Carmelina Como Kanzler hit a switch lighting the tree next to the Soldiers and Sailors monument.

The Downtown New London Association ran the tree lighting ceremony that has since been repackaged by New London Main Street as the Celebration of Lights and Song.

Downtown Mystic retailers were worried about the impact of the five-year-old Crystal Mall on holiday sales.

Michelle Gemma, now an accomplished photographer but then a clerk at the former A Stitch In Time boutique, told the newspaper that shoppers are loyal to Mystic.

“I think people like Mystic because it’s quaint and historical,” she said. “They go for a small-town atmosphere rather than the flashy trendy mall.”

The former Software Etc. computer store and Radio Shack, both in the Crystal Mall, were selling some of the hottest items that Christmas season.

Popular that year were computer flight and submarine simulators, with Cold War-era names such as “Red Storm Rising.”

Christopher Rich, a sailor stationed at the sub base, was a fan of a submarine simulator that apparently allowed users to attack Libya.

“I’ve killed Gaddafi several times already,” he said.

And who could argue with a game called “Earl Weaver Baseball” under the tree.

Radio Shack had a hard time keeping compact disc players in the store, at $160 a pop.

But retailers around the region were also concerned about the effect of Electric Boat on the shopping
season.

People also opened up their homes in different ways that Christmas.

JoAnn and Biddle Morris of Mystic welcomed a Russian exchange student from the still-in-existence Soviet Union. Several families in New London who lived in historical Victorian and Queen Anne homes allowed tours of their houses, which were decked with boughs and holly.

Schools around the region dealt with how to celebrate the holidays in the schools.

East Lyme Superintendent Robert O. Minor offered guidelines in the town’s public schools.

“The air we have in the community is whatever we do is non-sectarian,” he said.

In Ledyard, the First Church of Christ put on a performance of Handel’s “Messiah,” directed by the Hygienic Art’s James Stidfole, while Connecticut College’s Unity House celebrated Kwanzaa.

The Day’s editorial board added some levity to the season by offering a mock-commentary on the state of the Roman Empire around the birth of Christ.

The editorial chastised Rome for “the plodding pace” of its census. No word if it favored a “strong emperor.”

And like it should, Christmas brought out the best in people.

The Groton Motor Inn donated chicken dinners to the Salvation Army in New London allowing a Christmas dinner to anyone who wanted one.

By Stephen Chupaska
Staff Writer

Star Search Begins For Area Boys’ Basketball: ECC graduated big-time talent from last year

Interactive Desk — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:42:52 GMT

Nicholson, DeNiro, Streep, Roberts, Pacino, and Hackman can’t star in every movie.

Sometimes a Philip Seymour Hoffman emerges from obscurity to win an Oscar. The same premise can be related to the Eastern Connecticut Conference boys’ basketball 2008-2009 season. Opportunities for new stars to step forward abound after a year of superstar headliner performances.

It was a rare ECC boys’ basketball season, featuring the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in New London’s Allan Chaney. The 6-9 forward is now playing at the University of Florida. Last year also starred three other college scholarship players in NFA’s R.J. Evans (Holy Cross), Killingly’s Shane Gibson (Sacred Heart), Stonington’s Kevin Donahue (Assumption), and his teammate Tim Sartor, who also scored more than 1,000 points.

The New London-NFA ECC Final drew 1,700 people to NLHS with
another 200 fans left out in the parking lot hoping to get into the sold-out affair. It was a celebrity, star-fueled league a year ago.

Now, you can’t find a returning player who averaged more than 17 points a game last year and only a few who averaged more than 14. Where are the stars this year? Well, nobody heard of Carrie Underwood before American Idol. As the season unfolds, potential All-Area players will develop. But will they be worthy of Oscars or Razzies?

Who Are the Best Players?

Here are a few candidates for area basketball starring roles.

Jeremy Cumberlander –
Stonington

A 5-foot-11 talented, left-handed shooter could challenge 20 points a game and lead Stonington to a fifth straight strong season. Last year during the Bears’ 19-win campaign and run to the Class M semis, Cumberlander was the third scoring option behind Donahue and Sartor. Sometimes he was the fourth scoring option. This year, he will not have to defer to anyone, although coach Mike Reyes will stress quality shot selection to a player who topped 30 points often during middle school ball.

Nick Singleton and Shakimm Curry - New London

Fresh off a football state title, the 6-foot-2 speedsters will be two of the better all-around players in the ECC, showcasing rebounding, defense, and scoring ability.

Andre Curiel – St. Bernard

At 6-6, one of the top rebounders and low-post presences. Played with last year’s stars on New London-based AAU youth team that made the national tournament four years ago.

Jon Nazarko – East Lyme

Scored 30 in Vikings’ impressive 84-76 win over Northwest Catholic in the season opener.

Mike Gittens – Montville

Another player with size who has a big-time pedigree.

Greg Porter – Fitch

Six-four junior led Fitch in scoring as sophomore with 15 points a game.

Trevor Murallo – Waterford

Transfer from Fitch scored 31 in an opening game victory over Montville.

Jesse Sutherland – Montville

Try to find a better major three-sport athlete than Sutherland, who is already All-Area caliber as a junior in football and baseball.

Kevin Castodio – Stonington

Six-three forward can bang underneath and hit 3-pointers. Though baseball is his top sport, he could sneak into some All-Area teams in this wide-open basketball season.

Conor Gleason – Wheeler

The junior guard has started since his freshman season. With his 3-point shooting range and green light to shoot, he could produce some impressive numbers.

Who Are the Best Teams?

Pencil in NFA and New London into the ECC Final again. Neal Curland’s NFA squad lost Evans but returns a host of role players ready to step up. New London will dominate ECC Small. Stonington and Windham will battle in the Medium. NFA is the pick in the Large, although East Lyme might challenge and Fitch will improve greatly from 3-17 season.

By LARRY KELLEY
Special to the Times

Tales From the Crib: Yes, Virginia, This is a Terrible Christmas Photo

Interactive Desk — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:40:57 GMT

I hate our Christmas card photo this year.

This annual Kodachrome representation of our family has been elevated in my mind to an archival document for the ages—one that must exhibit good lighting, easy smiles, and reasonably coordinating color schemes.

This one little picture is under a lot of pressure.

It must tell long-lost friends that this family is still relatively cute, put together, happy, and blessed to live arm-in-arm in front of some hopelessly quaint New England setting.

I guess I got spoiled; we had a good run for a while. These past few Decembers, I distinctly recall the duress of the photo “shoot,” complete with hissing and death grips and naked aggression. Yet by some miracle, in the split second when that flash went off, all four of us managed to look at the camera, smile, and look downright jolly. I never knew what a Christmas miracle that was.

But this year I have doggedly pursued the perfect Christmas card photo like it was my personal white whale.

First, there was the Big E in Massachusetts. Even with a jaunty ferris wheel backdrop, the kids manage to look grumpy.

Second, there was Rocky Neck State Park, where we crouched along a sun-dappled path as if to say, “We’re so healthy and at one with nature!” Will’s got his tongue poking out.

Third, there was the day at our friends’ c.1690 farmhouse, our heads emerging from behind an ancient stone wall. My husband’s curly hair is backlit into a golden afro.

Fourth, there was the morning waiting for a sleigh ride with Santa at the Florence Griswold Museum. Not one of us looked at the camera, which, by the way, must have been a football field away.

In our fifth and final effort, there was the perfect sunny day on the rolling hills of our favorite tree farm. We were surrounded by fir and adorned in crimson woolens. And when it mattered most, everyone smiled the widest they have ever smiled. While my husband wrestled our new tree into the truck, I nearly floated on air. I had scored the money shot.

At least it looked like a winner on my tiny screen. Then I downloaded it and saw the awful truth in all its full-screen glory. There we were—happy, smiling, and…blurry.

Oh, those stupid tree limbs nobody cares about look crystal clear, but crouched among them is our blurry, fuzzy little family.

I tried to tell myself that this gauzy effect could be construed as “artsy,” as if we’d purposefully called upon some old cinematic technique like they used on Ingrid Bergman. But no, it’s just plain out of focus.

After months of pursuing perfection, I stand before you humbled. I am sending out a blurry Christmas card. I think it might just serve me right.

I have cajoled and forced smiles and art-directed my brains out, and in the end, I couldn’t hide the fact that even on our best days, we don’t live in a J. Crew catalog. We’re just your basic All-American family—all unruly hair, stuck-out tongues, and grumpiness to spare with a matriarch who’s more than a little bleary-eyed.

Next Christmas, I swear I’m just going to pull a shot of some kids from the Pottery Barn Kids catalog and send that out.

Hey, if we’re gonna fake perfection, we might as well do it up right.

DeeDee Filiatreault tries to be a freelance writer in Niantic while her two children look on adoringly. You can write to her at deedeect@sbcglobal.net.