Our community-oriented gallery created by local artists continues to be a light in our lives. Our main Firefly Artists gallery at 162 Main St, Northport is open Tuesday through Thursday 11am-6pm (closed for Thanksgiving), Fri and Sat 11am-8pm and Sunday 11-5pm. Send Katie an email if you’d like to meet up down there!
Continue readingOur community-oriented gallery created by local artists continues to be a light in our lives. Our main Firefly Artists gallery at 162 Main St, Northport is open Tuesday through Thursday 11am-6pm (closed for Thanksgiving), Fri and Sat 11am-8pm and Sunday 11-5pm. Send Katie an email if you’d like to meet up down there!
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Photo of Jack O’ Lanterns by Katheryn Laible |
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Katie’s mom always felt a main point of All Hallow’s Eve was to scare bad spirits away before winter gave them too many opportunities to wreak havoc. Given 2020, we’re all for doing anything we can! We are thankful for all who care to take the threat this virus poses seriously while also forging creative ways forward. Halloween is a huge examples of this. Much is going on! Some great local events are featured in this recent Main Street News (as well as other important items) including endeavors by the Greenport BID, “Nightmare on Main St.” in Huntington, and a “Trunk or Treat” in Kings Park. Their verymost recent edition also has NYS Guidelines for safe Halloweening, more great events and, we can NEVER say it enough, LOTS of other valuable information! Mommy Poppins offers a family guide to Halloween 2020 Places perhaps a bit spookier are on LIHauntedHouses.com We are intrigued by the History of Halloweenon History.com Here is a brief exploration of the connection (or maybe not) between All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, and Samhain. from the BBC. Here’s a History of the Celtic holiday Samhain from Time Magazine. Which, due to it’s being an Irish word is, in fact, pronounced SAW-in. However you choose to celebrate (or not!), we wish you all the best! Be safe, be smart, and enjoy!!! |
Photo of Dr. Spencer Thomas atop the Uffizi in Florence, Italy. Photo by Katheryn Laible
As usual, when he’s not scrying into the mysteries of metals at the atomic level, or pondering puzzles of more efficient means of tapping energy, Dr. Thomas is bringing some light into our life. Here are a few of the things he’s brought to our attention:
Now that we’re about a month into the college semester with social distancing and remote learning, a lot of people I know are feeling a bit of a drag. You are not alone: Lonliness at Pandemic U: 14 tips for college students and their parents
Along similar themes, but more for everyone:: Your Surge Capacity is Depleted. This is Why You Feel Awful (and a couple good things you can do about it)
One thing that’s helpful is — to help! Here is a heartwarming and inspiring story from one of my very favorite professors from back in my undergrad time at Stony Brook. Bente Videbaek is an amazing person who has been working hard to make sure people have masks Facebook Page: “Humans of Mather Hospital”
When you feel a bit grounded and ready to stare some of the bigger challenges facing humanity in the face: Countdown is a global initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. One of the speakers, Dr. Rose Mutiso, is a friend of mine – we were graduate students together. She’s the incredible CEO of the Mawazo Institute, which supports women scientists and leaders throughout East Africa. She has also spoken at TED and written in Scientific American about the challenges that people in Africa face building digital and clean-energy infrastructure.
One for the Coltrane fans out there: The most feared song in jazz, explained. It’s not too hard for a layman to follow this breakdown of “Giant Steps,” even as it’s still among the most challenging things a musician may face
Finally, no big point here, but a bit of joy for you since we could all use it: The happiness of this dog after they put prostheses on
Spencer Thomas received his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. After some time at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, we are DELIGHTED to welcome him back to Long Island as a researcher at Stony Brook University. He also happens to be Katie’s brother. For a time, Spencer studied metals at the atomic level; the way atoms are arranged in a material can change its properties; one can take ordinary metals make them stronger, more flexible, corrosion resistant, even radiation resistant. We’re still endeavoring to understand what he’s doing now well enough to explain it so simply.
Spencer believes that no matter who you are, good communication can put scientific concepts within reach. The modern world demands scientific literacy and it is the responsibility of scientists to make that possible.
Photo of Elvis Costello and Yushiro “Fuji” Fujioka by Katheryn Laible
We were really interested in Steve Fulgoni’s story about discovering the John & Alice Coltrane Home in Dix Hills, and his journey since. We’ll tell you more about that soon. First, though, we’ve started tracing our own journey volunteering with the wonderful Friends of the Coltrane Home.
For Katie, it all started when Trudy and Tawaun Weber, normally in church on a Sunday morn, showed up at her door and said, “Get in the car. Bring your camera. Now.”
She went, soon finding herself in the Greenwich Village restaurant of one of the world’s greatest collectors of all things Coltrane, Yushiro “Fuji” Fujioka. There, musical greats, local community members and others joined in a very special event to celebrate the purchase of the home and to passionately advance an endeavor to transform it into a museum and education center worthy of its former owners’ extraordinary, multifaceted legacies.
Here is the story of that day in pictures.
Proceeds from any purchases beyond production costs benefit the Friends of the Coltrane Home. Please contact Katie to inquire about pieces.
Our community-oriented gallery created by local artists continues to be a light in our lives. Our main Firefly Artists gallery at 162 Main St, Northport is open Tuesday through Thursday 11am-6pm (closed for Thanksgiving), Fri and Sat 11am-8pm and Sunday 11-5pm. Send Katie an email if you’d like to meet up down there!
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Dudley Music at Coltrane Day 2019. Photo by Katheryn Laible
Part of that article with Roger Tilles talks about the power of dedicated teachers. This reminded us of a discussion we had with two incredible local artists, Diego Garcia and Dudley Salmon, who are among those featured in the Huntington Arts Council ” DEC the Walls Exhibition”
Check it out. It’s amazing.
We met Dudley through the local endeavor to advance the legacy of John & Alice Coltrane, and then he and Diego together when he was performing at another volunteer’s gallery opening. It was a deep and meaningful conversation. We will be following up!
One interesting note: While the musician is deeply grateful for his art teachers, the inspiration Dudley really wanted to talk about was his biology teacher…
It was his passion for the arts, his appreciation for teachers, and his firm belief grounded that the arts are fundamental to a good education that first led us to be intrigued by Roger Tilles. We got to sit down with him a million years ago last December. While so much has changed since then, we believe what he had to say remains relevant, perhaps even moreso than it was…
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Our hearts break and our minds race at what is happening in our Nation; to witness our longest simmering disease now raging in a fever that renders the viral pandemic that’s been all we could think about all but forgotten. We are mindful that this is THIS, singular in its twisted trauma. Still, we are also mindful that the plague of hate and contempt of fellow man is not limited to sanctioned targets; that this disease does not exist in isolation. In thinking about this, we are reminded of so many black leaders intent on guiding everyone to higher ground…
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We’ve mentioned our love of mask-makers before, and how grateful we are that in the face of a tremendous challenge so many have stepped up to hand-craft kind and often quite beautiful solutions. We’ve also been giving great thanks for all endeavoring to address other huge human service challenges, especially hunger.
Katie and her family got their own first masks as a gift from a fellow Scout parent, Haili Gao, the founder of “Masks and Beyond” in Syosset. Haili’s now partnered with others, including another Scout Parent, Donna Zaino who runs the food pantry out of St. Edwards Church in Syosset.
Now, they’re selling the masks for $10 a piece (2 for $15), and using the money to buy food to fill the Pantry!
“Thank you to BCW families, St Edwards Parishioners, and all others who supported our cause, we have reached $1000 sale as of today! We have delivered total of almost 400 pounds of food to the food pantry in three weeks! We now have masculine print masks!”
To purchase masks to support the St. Edwards Food Pantry, please email Haili at hailipt@gmail.com or text her at 516-668-1730.