Board of Education Welcomes Visiting Korean Students

The Board of Education welcomed middle school exchange students visiting from South Korea.  Some of the students are attending classes at Keigwin, Woodrow Wilson Middle Schools.  Still others attend private parochial schools in Southington and Waterbury.

Transparent Irony at Play, City Hall

Cat Tales ~ Cat of the Week! ~ HEIDI

Cat Tales ~ Cat of the Week!

Heidi

Gender:  Female

Breed:  Domestic Short Hair

Color:  Black & White

Age:  12 years

​Hello! Are you looking for a new companion? I am a very friendly girl who loves to be held and would purr on your lap for hours. I want all your attention so am looking for a home where I can be the only pet. When my friends at Cat Tales rescued me, I was in such bad shape they did not think I would pull through. But I surprised them with my resilience. Now I am strong and healthy and ready for a new home. To stay healthy, I need to take thyroid medicine twice a day, but I make it easy. You can just mix it in my food. I also just had a full dental, so I am ready to go! Please come meet me to see just how sweet I am!  I really want my fur-ever home soon!!

No Cats / No Dogs / No Children

Web:  http://www.cattalesct.org/cats/heidi/

Phone:  (860) 344-9043

Email:  ​​Info@CatTalesCT.org​

​

MxCC Holds Public Hearing Feb. 4 for Hazard Mitigation Plan

Officials at Middlesex Community College (MxCC) are holding a public forum on February 4, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. to present the draft Multi-Campus Hazard Mitigation Plan. As part of this meeting, which will take place in Room 803, Chapman Hall on the MxCC campus, a brief presentation will be given.  Members of the Hazard Mitigation Planning Team will be available to answer questions and listen to community and stakeholder comments. This meeting is designed as an open house where students, faculty, staff and members of neighboring communities are invited to attend the forum to gather information and provide feedback.  A draft of the Multi-Campus Hazard Mitigation Plan can be downloaded from the CCSU System Office web site at http://www.ct.edu/hmdr.

 In an effort to proactively identify hazards and vulnerabilities and the steps that can be taken to reduce these risks, the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) has been in the process of developing a Multi-Campus Hazard Mitigation Plan for the last 18 months. This Plan includes CSCU’s four state Universities, 12 Community Colleges, Charter Oak State College and the System Office. The purpose of the Multi-Campus Hazard Mitigation Plan is to (1) assist the campuses in identifying and reducing risks from natural hazards; (2) identify actions that can be taken to prevent damage to property and loss of life, (3) and prioritize funding for mitigation efforts. The Multi-Campus Hazard Mitigation Plan describes each campus’ vulnerability to the various natural hazards that are typically present, along with an array of actions and projects that can be undertaken to reduce key risks. While natural disasters cannot be prevented from occurring, the continued implementation of mitigation strategies identified in the plan will make CSCU campuses more sustainable and disaster-resilient.

This project is being funded by a grant allocated by the Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Spring Events Include New England Premiere and Connecticut Debuts

Kota Yamazaki/Fluid hug-hug performs the New England premiere of
“OQ” on February 12, 2016 as part of the Performing Arts Series.

The Center for the Arts is one of the rare places in the state where you can consistently experience arts from around the world. This semester is no exception. In January and February, the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery hosts the work of ten contemporary Chinese artists born after the Cultural Revolution who are challenging traditional notions of Chinese identity and inventing new ways to shout out in the global arena. In February, Syrian singer Gaida brings her band to Crowell Concert Hall. At a time when her country is under siege, her soulful voice will remind us of the beauty and power of Syrian music and culture. And playwright Guillermo Calderón will discuss his award-winning works about Chile in the aftermath of the dictatorship.

The CFA is also the home of countless premieres. In April, you'll be the first to hear Harlem Heiroglyphs, a new album by composer, vibraphonist, and Adjunct Professor of Music Jay Hoggard, both in concert and as the music for Storied Places, directed and choreographed by Dance Department Chair Nicole Stanton with text by Center for African American Studies Professor Lois Brown.

Finally, the Music Department will host a March symposium on the work of the legendary experimental music composer David Tudor and, in April, the Theater Department offers Wes Out-Loud, a site-specific work created by Assistant Professor Marcela Oteíza and her students.

The semester ends on May 7 with Feet to the Fire: Riverfront Encounter, the second annual eco-arts festival featuring world music bands, educational exhibits, and site-specific performance works by area organizations at Middletown's Harbor Park, located on the bank of the Connecticut River.

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Pamela Tatge
Director, Center for the Arts

History of Russell Library, Part II

Part 1 of this history covered the period from the establishment of Russell Library in 1876 to the resignation of its second Director, Willis K. Stetson, in 1887.  Part II covers the Library from 1887 to 1926, under the leadership of its third and fourth Directors.

Laura F. Philbrook, 1887-1917

Laura Philbrook

Laura F. Philbrook was appointed Director in 1887 and led the Library through an extended period of expansion and growth.  Her tenure began inauspiciously; the Russell Library Company’s endowment income had never been adequate to support library operations.  Until her death in 1883 Frances Russell had regularly contributed funds to make up the shortfall.  

In 1895 the City of Middletown began providing financial support to the Library in the amount of $1,000 to help provide books for elementary school children.  Perhaps connected to this was the decision in 1896 to reduce from 14 to 10 the minimum age to use the Library.  Russell began to send rotating collections to the schools in 1911.  To serve Middletown’s many ethnic communities, books in Italian, Polish, and Swedish were added to the collection.  By the end of 1917, the collection had grown to 20,000 volumes.

South Farms branch

For the first 20 years of the Library’s existence, the Library staff consisted solely of the Director and the Custodian; in 1898 the first Library Assistant was hired. Two new branches were established--the South Farms branch in 1908 and the Westfield branch in 1911.  From 1908-1909 the Library underwent its first major renovation, and the grand lecture hall was converted into working space to service the branches.  The Library installed its first telephone in 1912.

During World War I, Russell Library did its bit for the war effort, helping in campaigns to support food aid, the Red Cross, United War Work and Liberty Bonds. The Library collected and donated 3,000 books to Camp Meade in Maryland, which opened in 1917 to train troops before deployment in Europe.  

In 1917 Miss Philbrook resigned, and Edna Wilder was appointed Director of Russell Library.

Edna H. Wilder, 1917-1926

Edna Wilder

Shortly before Edna Wilder became Director, the Connecticut Public Library Commission conducted a survey of Russell Library and recommended major changes, including a new classification system for adult and children’s books and the withdrawal of books that were out-of-date or in poor condition.

Miss Wilder implemented these changes and many more.  In 1917 a separate Children’s Department was established.  A new, streamlined checkout system was established and Library hours increased from 45 hours to 60 hours per week.  In 1918 a circulating framed print collection was begun, followed by a musical score collection in 1921.  

The City of Middletown had continued to provide some financial support since 1895, but in 1921 the ties between the Library and the City were strengthened with an amendment to the Charter that provided for City participation in the administration of the Library. 

In the summer of 1925 Wilder's health began to fail.  She suffered a nervous breakdown in December and was admitted to the Connecticut State Hospital.  Sadly, on March 8, 1926, Edna Wilder took her own life. 

Later that year, Nathaly E. Newton became Director of the Russell Library.

--End of Part II--

Bridal Show at The Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estate

From the Wadsworth Mansion.
----------------
The Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estate is hosting their annual Wedding Show on Sunday, February 28,2016.  The Show will be open to the public from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The fee for guests will be $5.00 a person.
 
The Wedding Show has been designed to help brides plan their special day.  There will be vendors representing different services, each of whom have worked at the Wadsworth Mansion and are familiar with designing unique weddings.  There will be caterers, florists, photographers, videographers, rental companies, wedding cake bakers, as well as vendors who provide transportation and hotel accommodations in the area.  A complete listing of participants can be found at http://www.wadsworthmansion.com.  Please RSVP to events@wadsworthmansion.com or 860 347 1064.

Executive Director, Deborah Moore, stated that she is extremely optimistic about the 2016 and 2017 wedding season.  Moore stated that brides are planning further in advance then in the past. Half of the Saturdays in the 2017 wedding season are already booked and there is only limited availability in 2016.

For planning unique and beautiful weddings the Wadsworth Mansion Wedding Show is the show to visit.  The vendors represent the best in the industry and it is an enjoyable experience for brides as the event is intimate, not intended to overwhelm newly engaged bride.

For more information call 860 347 1064.

Discovering Scavenger Hunts with Russell Library and Shakespeare

A library patron discovers a clue of the scavenger hunt.

This is the last week of the "Discover Russell Library with Shakespeare: A Scavenger Hunt". For those of you unfamiliar with this type of activity, it is essentially a game in which the players must find things according to clues given to them. For example, in our hunt, we ask folks to find the “seven unbending elephants”.*

The scavenger hunt is part of the Shakespeare 400 Passport series of events throughout Connecticut this year that ARTFARM has been sponsoring. We have several library events listed within the Passport. Last fall’s ARTFARM’s Shakespeare Acting Workshop was exceptionally well-attended and received high praise.  

Many scavenger hunts that use the topic of Shakespeare direct the hunters to scavenge through his plays or poetry. I had come up with many puzzling questions, but they all seemed too difficult. Also, we needed something that people could not google! 

I began thinking differently about the hunt. What was it we wanted to achieve? Part of our Strategic Plan — under “Russell Library as a Place”, states: 

“To achieve its goals, Russell Library will become an even more welcoming, hospitable and

comfortable cultural center of the community.”

In order to achieve this goal, the community needs to know something about our library. Why not use the scavenger hunt to fulfill part of the strategic plan? Patrons who come into the lobby to look for new books or DVDs hardly ever explore the rest of the library. I started looking at different places within the library that most people hardly ever visited. How could we use Shakespeare to help them discover their library? 

While I had been researching Shakespeare, I had been using the Shakespeare Lexicons as well as various online resources.** Instead of looking at Shakespeare for the answers, I started looking at our library. I thought about the places that the library had in common with Shakespeare’s plays. For example, our library has a balcony that overlooks the information area…where the famous ‘balcony scene’ from Romeo and Juliet could be staged…

Once I began to hunt for places in the library that people could discover using clues in Shakespeare’s plays, my job became clear. Of course, there is a limit to these spaces! And the clue that led people to the “unbending elephants” was quite a stretch. We ended up adding things to our collection: a Shakespearean Insult poster and a Shakespeare jigsaw puzzle helped to lead patrons to areas of the library otherwise overlooked. 

Besides getting a stamp in the Shakespeare 400 Passport, people can receive a voucher for a free book at one of the Friends of Russell Library book sales. 

What does the library receive? On the back of each scavenger hunt is a survey about their experience. Each patron that accomplishes the hunt fills out the survey — giving us precious knowledge about the library community. 

Remember that you can always tell us what you think of our library -- there is a form always available at the circulation desk, and you can email infodept(at)russell.lioninc.org, or call (860) 347-2528.

*  Daniel Riccio's sculpture is part of our library art collection. If you haven't seen it, please come visit!

**a great online resource for Shakespeare is http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/

Isn’t It Ironic That When the Sun Burns Out, It’ll Blow Up? The Colonel Carries On #15

by Page Layout

Epigraph: “Are you talking to me or to your food?” --Zippy

From the Carolinas to New England, enough snow will fall in total to give every man, woman, and child in America 7,000 snowballs. --Slate

The Marines say: “Pain is weakness leaving the body.” Muy macho, si?

Ever the romantic, he plighted her his trough.

Latin Declines "Lolita." Singular: Lolita, Lolitae, Lolitae, Lolitam, Lolita. Plural: Lolitae, Lolitarum, Lolitis, Lolitas, Lolitis.

“The tree of life is a lovely metaphor but the bush of life is more accurate.”

“Nothing wastes more time than preoccupation with method. No universal method applies to all sciences. The method of mathematics is not the method of botany; the special character of botany dictates the way to study botany.”  --after Diderot

“[The] long-term importance [of the materialist current of thought] lies in its aspect as a programme for studying the connections between physiological and psychological phenomena rather than in its dogmatic reduction of the latter to the former.” --Frederick Copleston, historian of philosophy

“Pssst! Never give in to paranoia. It helps no one.”

Chesterton once said that people who make history don’t know any, and we can tell by the kind of history they make.

A former competitive bridge player writes:

“Finally found something you might find amusing.  At least I did, after acknowledging the egregious nature of it all. Several top winning pairs were caught cheating at bridge.  There are several videos showing these pairs at ‘work.’ The best one and easiest to follow is what I call the 'coughing concert.'" Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xVj1EQ_vSI

“It's not tedious as you are not sitting through hand after hand.  I believe these two (Elinescu and Wladow) are German medical doctors.  Very humiliating for them.  The video speeds up and isolates the bidding where you see the illegal exchange of information. There are other pairs with different signals.  This one is the least subtle.”

“A mouse who sleeps with an elephant must be very careful.” (Said of small countries neighbornig large ones.)

I can’t find the quote, but I seem to remember reading of Stalin’s instruction to his negotiators with the Western Allies concerning the allocation of cabinet posts in the post-WWII “coalition” governments in Soviet-occupied Eastern Europe: “Promise them anything, but get me the Ministry of the Interior” (i.e., the national police, not like the U.S. Department of the Interior).

Contract drafting: I no longer use “including” for lists, as in “fruit, including lemons, limes, and oranges.” It has two problems, “exhaustion” and “ejusdem generis.” Exhaustion means “is the list complete?” (“Are grapefruits included, or just lemons, limes, and oranges?”) “Ejusdem generis” means (literally) “of the same kind” and freely “are the unlisted included items similar to the listed included items?” (“Are apples and tomatoes included, or just citrus fruits?”)

The obvious “fix” of saying “including without limitation” (or one of its many wordy variants) has two problems: first, courts sometimes treat the following list as exhaustive anyway, on the theory that “IWL” is “boilerplate” to be ignored if it doesn’t correspond to the parties’ “intent” found from other sources.

Second, even if “IWL” is effective to clarify that the list is not exhaustive, it may be read to address only the exhaustion issue and not to solve whether unlisted items must be like the listed ones.

My solution is to say “lemons, limes, oranges, and all similar and dissimilar fruit.” I ban “including” as a breeding ground of trouble. Nothing, however, is guaranteed judge-proof, so it’s a matter of reducing judicial risk.

Donald Trump on putting his assets in a blind trust if he becomes president: “I’m very proud of my company. I know I built a very great company. But if I become president, I couldn’t care less about my company. It’s peanuts.” Or in this case, “Trump change”?

Three new expressions in the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) are phablet (a cross between a phone and a tablet), locavore (one who eats only food produced locally), and bank of mom and dad (no explanation necessary).

A recent OED word of the day is oniomania, which is not a madness for onions, but “a compulsive urge to buy things; an uncontrollable desire for acquisition.” It’s from ancient Greek ὤνιος [ōnios] for sale, related to the (Latin-derived) English word “venal,” meaning “for sale” in the sense of bribable.

“So Donny, what’s with the hair?”

Literary interview with The Colonel:

Q: What will you do if your biographer is not a kind person?

A: Nothing. I’ll be dead. If I’m not dead, someone will be, if you catch my drift.

Q: Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?

A: The Shadow knows.

Q: Who knows that too often books that grapple with history are leaden and self-serious -- sociology tricked out as literature? Who is light-handed and gloriously silly? Who gives us the full measure of life’s weirdness and banality and terror? Who knows how brave we are, how ridiculous, how endlessly deserving of compassion and mockery?

A: I’m thinking The Shadow again. No, wait, lemme think more. Got it! The Czech author Bohumil Hrabal. If not he I know not who. By the way, thanks for giving me a chance to say “if not he I know not who.”

Q: What are the limits of human rationality?

A: When it’s my kid.

Q: Thanks for your time.

A: Pleasure.

Ray Davies of The Kinks pronounces his surname “Davis,” but his brother Dave Davies also pronounces it “Davis.” Their late father, the Canadian novelist Robertson Davies, pronounced it “McYone.”

For most people, what they read is dictated by research requirements. Fortunately, most people are deeply involved in researching escapist literature.

“Take us to your leader, and it had better be a dog or we’ll be pissed.”

Are you looking for a sober, nonpolemic book about how we are ruining Earth’s oceans through overfishing and poor management? I didn’t think so. You like your mahi-mahi too much, you little devil, you.

In what universe does it make a dime’s worth of difference whether a movie is faithful to the book on which it is based? On the other hand, in how many universes do they have dimes and other hands?

“Scholars bore me; I lack the spine to withstand colorless writing, which to me indicates colorless thought.” --after Luc Sante. That could really harsh a scholar’s mellow.

The late Iain Banks wrote both mainstream novels and science fiction novels. The former subsidized the latter, he said.

“The sky above, yes, but also the mud below.” --a balanced view of life

Okay, if Donald Trump can play to the gallery, so can I: