As Westporters try to figure out hot trends for this summer, we should look back too.
Eighty years ago — on June 1, 1936 — Westport’s “Miss Anne Peacock” strutted this look.
The photo caption describes her “suit with red and white halter neck, water proof woven beach bag, red and white practical and comfortable sock-beach shoes, and a natural straw coolie hat.”
The shot was taken at “the fashionable Longshore Club in Westport, Conn.”
(Hat tip: Seth Schachter)
Staples High School is justly famous for the number of alums who have gone on to great careers in music. (Here’s lookin’ at you, Alisan Porter!)
Ditto the legendary media lab. (You too, Daryl Wein!)
Now — in an era defined by jobs that did not exist 2 years ago, do-it-yourself technology and crowd-sourced funding — it’s natural that Staples grads make their marks melding the arts and apps.
Kevin Clark was inspired by 2 mentors: choir director Alice Lipson and audio production teacher Jim Honeycutt. They encouraged him to pursue his passions. The bullying he endured while younger spurred him to prove he could do whatever he set his mind to.
The 2009 graduate applied to 5 music colleges. He was rejected by all.
Kevin Clark
Moments before joining the military, his father convinced him to try Western Connecticut State University. He was selected as 1 of only 2 piano students — though he had only begun to play.
A year later, he applied to Berklee College of Music. Again, he was turned down.
The 3rd time was the charm. Determined more than ever to prove he belonged there, Kevin roared through the prestigious school. He was signed to Berklee’s Jazz Revelations Records his 1st semester, and last year wrote the music for his class’ graduation ceremony.
“Music has changed my life,” he thought. “Being able to create it has made me happier. What if everyone could experience this job, this sense of self-expression that often eludes us?”
Kevin likes to move. Suddenly, he realized: People need a way to create music by merely moving their bodies. He knew of experiments using handheld or wearable devices.
But what about hands-free? That could open musical expression to everyone in the world.
With 3 friends, Kevin figured out how to connect his Kinect camera to his computer and audio production software. Then he plugged away, eventually creating entire songs using body motion, a Kinect and a computer.
Point Motion
The camera tracks body movements. Data is sent to the computer, where Kevin’s app translates each motion into a specific sound or musical phrase.
There are over 1500 pre-programmed sounds and instruments. Users can also upload their own.
Kevin applied for patents, and established a company: Point Motion. An Israeli firm, Extreme Reality, liked his platform.
Together, they moved from Kinect to using common 2D cameras found on cellphones and computers. This opened up a wide range of opportunities.
Kevin is proud of the result. “For the first time in history,” he says, “people can access musical expression using motion control technology for just a $40 download.”
The first 2 apps focus on health and wellness practices (enabling expression for users with limited mobility and special needs), and creative tools for musicians (extending the creative capabilities of artists).
The 2nd app — “Puppet Master” — allows users to do things like lean forward to add distortion to an electric guitar, or raise an arm to add reverb to vocals. The system is compatible with existing music production programs.
Point Motion is now in the fundraising phase. His Indiegogo campaign has a $50,000 target.
For every donation, Kevin will donate Point Motion to a hospital or clinic in the US.
Clearly, Kevin Clark learned a lot more than music and technology at Staples and Berklee.
(For more information on Point Motion, click here. For the Indiegogo fundraising campaign, click here.)
Posted in Arts, Education, Entertainment, People, Staples HS, technology
Tagged Berklee College of Music, Golden Wish LLC, Kevin Clark, Point Motion
No, this is not an April Fool’s story. Donald Trump was seen at the Spotted Horse last night.
At least, a cardboard cutout of him was.
He — or it — arrived in Avi Kaner’s car trunk. The second selectman’s wife Liz was lobbying in Washington a few weeks ago. Waiting for her train home, she went into a souvenir store and purchased the cardboard fold-up “Donald.”
Since then, he’s made appearances at various town events — including graduation parties.
Whether you like the presumptive Republican nominee’s politics or loathe them, you gotta admit: He’s a stand-up guy.
(Hat tip: Francis Fiolek)
Posted in People, Politics, Restaurants, Totally random
Tagged Avi Kaner, Donald Trump, Liz Kaner, Spotted Horse restaurant
Thirty-five years ago, the Susan Fund awarded its first grants.
The recipients were special: young men and women battling cancer who — besides facing staggering medical bills — needed help paying for college.
Susan Lloyd
This year, the Susan Fund — named in honor of Susan Lloyd, a popular, multi-talented Staples student who succumbed to bone cancer while at Colgate University — reaches a milestone. It has distributed $1.5 million, providing hope (and education) to hundreds of Fairfield County residents.
Every awardee’s story is unique. But Kendall Mather illustrates just how powerful an impact the Susan Fund can have.
Kendall grew up in Westport. She attended Greens Farms Elementary and Bedford Middle Schools. At Staples she was on the tennis team, and active in the St. Luke Church youth group.
Two years ago, near the end of junior year, the back, hip and leg pain she’d experienced for a while grew intolerable. The morning of her Advanced Placement Economics test, she could not walk.
Several doctors thought it was a sports injury. But at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital, Kendall was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Kendall’s cancer has a very high cure rate. Still, she underwent several rounds of chemo, and a few surgeries due to complications. She’ll finish her treatment in October — soon after entering the University of Miami. (She took this year off, to focus on her health.)
Friends and family have provided tremendous support. “When I was in my worst shape, they treated me normally,” Kendall says.
The Susan Fund offers a different kind of support: financial.
“Medical bills are a huge burden to many families,” Kendall notes. “Even the scans to see if treatment is working are enormous. It’s amazing what this fund can do for families.”
Kendall is gratified to be one of the recipients. At Miami, she plans to major in business, with a focus on real estate.
Then — when she embarks on her own career, with her degree (and a cancer-free diagnosis), Kendall looks forward to giving back to the Susan Fund.
“They’ve helped so many people,” she notes. “It’s the least I can do.”
(On June 26, the Susan Fund holds its 35th annual reception. They’ll distribute more than $75,000 in college scholarships to 29 Fairfield County students — including 4 Staples grads — diagnosed with cancer. For more information, or to contribute, click on www.TheSusanFund.org)
The Susan Fund 2015 scholarship recipients.
Posted in Education, Organizations, People, Staples HS
Tagged Kendall Mather, Susan Lloyd, The Susan Fund
Today is Margaret Barnett’s birthday. She’s 100 years young.
Margaret and her husband Roy — a pathologist — arrived in Westport in 1954. They wanted a bigger house than the one in Norwalk, for their growing family.
The couple raised 3 children — John, Edith and Teddy — here. Margaret was very active in the Norwalk Symphony, Earthplace and the Democratic Women of Westport.
She played tennis — quite well — through her 70s.
Happy birthday, to a woman who has given this town so much, for so many years!
Margaret Barnett, at her 95th birthday.
Posted in Organizations, People
Tagged Democratic Women of Westport, Earthplace, Margaret Barnett, Norwalk Symphony
It’s tough being pregnant. (I am told.)
It can even be tougher once your baby is born — particularly if your partner works long hours, and you’re home alone. (That makes sense too.)
Every new mother has questions and concerns. Every new mother needs a support network.
The Brits have an answer. Their National Childbirth Trust offers pre-natal classes — organized by neighborhood and due date. Mothers-to-be receive important information — and new mums have a ready-made, nearby group of friends.
Melissa Griffin is a native of London. When her daughter was born 5 years ago, the NCT was a godsend.
Jessica Hill is American. She spent 10 years in the UK. When her son was born there 7 years ago, she was an ocean away from family. She too found education and friends at the Trust.
Melissa Griffin and Jessica Hill.
Melissa and Jessica did not know each other in England. But a few years ago, both moved to Westport. Both had children at the same pre-school. As they became friends, both realized that nothing like the National Childbirth Trust existed here.
So they set out to create one.
“So many newcomers in Westport are pregnant,” Jessica says. “It can be an isolating experience. You have no way to meet people. And once the baby comes, you’re on your newborn’s schedule.”
Beginning last fall, the women conducted focus groups. Out of those discussions came The Parent Collective.
In some ways, it’s even better than the NCT. Melissa and Jessica reach out to women pregnant with their 2nd or 3rd children. Husbands are warmly welcomed too.
The Parent Collective launches its first classes this fall. They’ll be taught by labor delivery nurses, childbirth educators, lactation specialists and therapists, from Yale and St. Vincent’s Hospital.
Each group of 12-15 couples will attend 4 sessions (once a weekend, for a month). There’s 90 minutes of content, and 30 minutes of socializing (“tea and biscuits,” Melissa calls it).
First-time parents will talk about labor and delivery, pain management and relaxation, breast and bottle feeding, and new baby care. Second- and 3rd-timers get a refresher on delivery and newborn care, plus sleep training and scheduling tips, strategies for helping older children adjust, and — kids are encouraged to attend — how to be a good big brother or sister.
Classes are “judgment-free,” Melissa notes. “It’s not about breast feeding or bottle feeding, or natural childbirth versus Caesareans.”
The women begin with 3 locations: Intensity Fitness on the Westport/Norwalk border, Magic Beans toy store in Fairfield, and Go Figure barre studio in New Canaan. All are “peaceful, beautiful, clean spaces,” Jessica says.
(Photo/courtesy of Classic Kids Greenwich)
Sure, hospitals offer informational sessions for new parents. But, Jessica says, they don’t include the social aspects. It’s important for wives (and their husbands) to form friendships with others whose kids will be born around the same time. They can offer each other help — with newborns, and with life.
Jessica’s husband reluctantly went to the London NCT group, she says. He quickly learned how to help her in many ways.
She recalls an exercise the men went through: Donning a backpack filled with water bottles, and wearing it around their chest and stomach. “It was eye-opening,” she smiles.
The response during this roll-out phase has been uplifting. Mothers-to-be are delighted to find both support and friends. Ob/Gyns are recommending it to their patients.
Jessica couldn’t imagine being pregnant, and then a new mother, without the NCT. She recalls her last session, when the group planned a party before their due dates — and scheduled a morning coffee for after their babies arrived.
Her new British parent friends acted collectively.
Now — thanks to the Parent Collective — Fairfield County parents can do the same.
(The Parent Collective is accepting applications for its fall classes. Parents who are due then — and any others — can click here for more information.)
Posted in Children, Education, Organizations, People
Tagged Jessica Hill, Melissa Griffin, National Childbirth Trust, The Parent Collective
It’s always an honor to sing the national anthem at a professional sports event.
The honor was particularly meaningful tonight. Staples’ Orphenians performed at Yankee Stadium — immediately following a Yankee Stadium-wide memorial service for the Orlando massacre victims.
It was the 2nd year in a row for the elite a cappella group. Several recent graduates sang.
Their last gig ever as Orphenians was a night to remember.
Westport’s “jazz rabbi,” Greg Wall, happened to be at Yankee Stadium tonight when his hometown choir performed. He proudly sent this photo to “06880.”
Recent graduate Aaron Samuels poses with his good buddy, the Colorado Rockies’ Trevor Story.
Posted in Arts, Entertainment, People, Sports, Staples HS
Tagged Aaron Samuels, Staples Orphenians, Trevor Story, Yankee Stadium
Alert “06880” reader Nico Eisenberger was saddened to see another large oak tree cut down earlier this month, near the Greens Farms train station.
(Photo/Nico Eisenberger)
He understands the “tree cutting frenzy” after recent hurricanes and windstorms.
But he wishes there was “transparency in who makes these decisions, and what the guidelines and objectives are.”
In recent days — as the stump and logs remain — he’s moved from sadness to anger. Why, he wonders, does Eversource (or the town) not conduct “prompt cleanup after they fell a once-beautiful, long-living thing?”
Posted in Environment, Places, Transportation
Tracy Yost’s new business is taking Westport by storm. Her Westport Bike Rentals offers pre-planned routes around town. She’s carefully selected safe roads: wide shoulders, bikeway signage, slower speed limits.
But too often she hears: “I’d never ride my bike around here.” She thinks that’s wrong. If we want to ride bikes safely in Westport, Tracy says, we all need to get involved. “It takes a village to make our community livable, walkable and bikeable.”
Here, Tracy explains what that means:
Livable, walkable, bikeable communities have a designed plan to improve the way everyone — young, old, handicapped, etc. — connects to our town amenities. These are our main streets, our train and transit system, our schools and beaches.
Compo Beach is a great place for walking and biking. Tracy Yost would like to see more people able to walk and bike TO the beach. (Photo/Chip Stephens)
When some people hear the word “bikeable,” they think of groups of cyclists out for a 50-mile ride on weekends. I’m all for more cyclists on the road. But I’d like to connect the average person — elderly, school-aged, handicapped, without a license — by walking, biking or transit. Anything except a personal car.
There are many reasons to embrace the idea of a livable, walkable, bikeable community. It’s environmentally friendly. It builds stronger local economies. It creates stronger bonds among residents. It’s safer. It’s healthier for minds and bodies. It’s also more appealing in the real estate market.
Earlier this month I attended the Connecticut Bike Walk Summit in New Britain. Keynote speaker Mark Fenton — a public health, planning and transportation consultant — challenged us to stretch the idea of what’s possible, by presenting real-life scenarios from around the country.
I imagined: What if there was absolutely no parking or driving downtown? What if it were much more appealing to walk or ride a bike?
Imagine a downtown where it’s okay to walk in the middle of Main Street.
Picture downtown like a campus: walker- and bike-friendly, with few or no cars.
Picture parking on the outskirts, in lots behind Town Hall, on Imperial Avenue, the garage across from Bartaco. Picture a riverwalk from Main Street to the train station.
Picture an attractive, useful transit system. Picture a bikeway (protected or off-road) from the schools to Main Street and the beach.
Picture an event like the Dog Festival with a transit system drop-off, and the Playhouse parking lot filled with strollers, bikes and wagons.
I know this is an extreme scenario, one that requires a drastic shift in thinking. But the Bike Lady can dream.
Tracy Yost, with some of her 20 bikes.
The picture I see is of a bustling downtown, where people and places are connected safely and enjoyably. It’s a place to shop and dine and be outdoors. It’s a place that cares about the health of the earth, and its people. It’s a place accessible to everyone, modeling healthy living for its children.
Here’s another real-life scenario, shared by Mark. Consider how many parents drop their children off at school with their cars, rather than having them take the bus. What if we made walking and biking to school the safer, healthier and preferred mode of transportation?
What if walkers and bikers were released first from school? Volunteer parents could lead both groups.
In 2012 — once — Saugatuck Elementary School youngsters walked to school. (Photo/Gina Beranek)
Bus riders would be dismissed next, and children being picked up by parents last. Parent pick-up would be at a church or public place (like the VFW) with adequate parking, a walkable (and parent-led) distance from school.
We’d have children who are more active, cars that are not idling, buses that are more filled, and a policy that promotes walking and biking.
I know Westport has a downtown plan. As a recent addition to the Downtown Planning Committee’s biking subcommittee, I’m catching up on where we are in the process of moving from surveys and plans, to the execution of those plans.
We will need buy-in and commitment from our town officials, leaders, boards, agencies, departments, businesses,schools, Chamber of Commerce, churches and synagogues, library — and every voter.
Mark believes in a pyramid system to elicit change. At the bottom is policy. We must change rules, ordinances, practices and procedures to get outcomes that stick.
The next step up in the pyramid is projects. We need an infrastructure that improves our willingness to walk, bike and use transit. It must be safe, appealing and rewarded.
This is what a jogging and biking path might look like.
At the top, we must create and support programs that educate people and businesses in Westport about the importance of being walkable and bikeable. We must build awareness, and get buy-in.
Take a look at some the resources available to inspire towns with low-cost, effective ways of implementing safer streets: SmartGrowthAmerica, Better Block, National Association of City Transportation Officials.
I was amazed by these. Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know. Sometimes you need to see what is possible and already happening in order to be inspired.
Try to imagine Westport as livable, walkable, bikeable. What does it look and feel like to you?
For me, those words evoke a vibrant, active downtown, with everything accessible to everyone.
It’s a safe, visually appealing place — one where people feel connected to their community.
It’s a place where I can choose to be without my car for an entire day, whether I’m going downtown, to the train or the beach.
It’s a place that’s wonderful.
In the days following the Orlando massacre, Connecticut politicians have once again been in the forefront of the fight to force Congress to address gun legislation.
Chris Murphy led a 15-hour filibuster on the Senate floor. Colleague Richard Blumenthal joined in. And Congressman Jim Himes earned national notice by walking out of the House of Representatives’ moment of silence, demanding real action rather than empty gestures.
Many Westporters were moved by our legislators’ stances.
Melissa Kane was moved to act.
The chair of the Democratic Town Committee sent out an email this weekend. In it, she called the three men’s actions “a wonderful lesson for my children.”
To show her appreciation, she invited anyone and everyone — especially kids — to gather for a group photo today at Compo Beach.
The shot below — taken by Pamela Einarsen — will be sent to Senators Murphy and Blumenthal, and Congressman Himes. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.
Though they’d no doubt appreciate actual legislation more.
Click on or hover over to enlarge. (Photo/Pamela Einarsen)
PS: After the shoot, some latecomers arrived. They posed with a few stragglers, for a 2nd image:
(Photo/Pamela Einarsen)
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