Tag Archives: Westport Public Library

Will Shortz Gets Booked

Will Shortz is sharp.

When asked what the title of his autobiography might be, he replied:  Times Square.

If that pun falls a bit flat, you’re 1 of the 3 Westporters who haven’t at least tried the New York Times crossword puzzle.

Will Shortz at the Westport Public Library tonight.

The rest of the town flocked to the Westport Public Library last night to honor Will Shortz at the 12th annual Booked for the Evening celebration.

They were not disappointed.

After music by the Doughboys; a Shortz-themed crossword puzzle by Times constructor Patrick Merrell; introductions by Phil Donohue and library director Maxine Bleiweis (battling pneumonia), and praise from Bill Clinton (via letter), the Times crossword editor/NPR puzzlemeister/Indiana University enigmatology major took the stage.

He led an audience participation word game whose rules are too complex to repeat here.  The key point is that — after some solid brain-twisting — the answer emerged:  “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

If I was half as clever as Will Shortz, I’d be a very happy man.

Don’t Tread On Them

The Westport Tea meeting Monday night at the Westport Public Library received plenty of attention — before the event, and after.

Flying much lower under the radar was an event last month — also at the library — sponsored by the Fairfield County Committee of Safety.

According to their website, it is

a non-partisan, grass-roots advocacy organization active throughout the 50 United States.  Its purpose is to exercise the freedoms of speech, association, and petition guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, in order to educate Americans about, and mobilize them for political action around, the fundamental principles of liberty and self-government set out in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

So far so good.  Now read on:

All too many rogue public officials in the General Government in Washington, D.C., have usurped powers never delegated to them by the Constitution, thereby violating their oaths or affirmations to support the Constitution, undermining the federal system, and depriving the States and the people of powers and rights reserved to them by the Constitution.

Recognizing the danger this situation poses, a majority of the States have reasserted their sovereignty through resolutions under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution.  Although this a good first step, further action is necessary to enforce these declarations.

In particular, the States and the people must take firm control of the two most important powers of sovereignty: the Power of the Purse—through establishment in each State of an economically sound and constitutionally proper alternative currency based on silver and gold; and the Power of the Sword—through revitalization of the Militia of the several States along strict constitutional lines.

Committees of Safety intends, by means of peaceful mass grass-roots political activism, to restore the Power of the Purse and the Power of the Sword to the American people through their State governments.

Central to this plan is an Economic Security Bill through which each State can adopt an alternative State currency of silver and gold, managed and protected through a revitalized State Militia, in order to protect the State’s governmental finances, and eventually the State’s entire private economy, against a collapse of the Federal Reserve System.  The establishment of economic security is the necessary first step in a comprehensive strategy that aims at returning the provision of all “national security” to local control by the people themselves.

There are 32 members — or, as they call themselves, “Constitutional Activists” — in the Fairfield County group.  Their next meeting is Saturday June 26 (2:30 p.m.):  a showing of the film “Don’t Tread On Me:  Rise of the  Republic.”

The website says of the movie:

From the Tea Party Movement to State Legislators, the American people are drawing a line in the sand.  On what side of it will you stand?  Has the government our Founders created been forgotten by Washington DC?  Is a Patriot Uprising ready to capture the spirit of 1776?

“Don’t Tread On Me: Rise of the Republic” gives the viewer a look into the movements, mindset, and legislation that will catapult the “Great Restoration” into households across America.

The Committee of Safety will screen “Don’t Tread On Me” at the Westport Public Library.  No word from them yet on whether that’s an institution they’d also like to overthrow.

Word

Tom Brokaw, E.L. Doctorow, Calvin Trillin, Wendy Wasserstein, Pete Hamill, Martin Scorsese, Doris Kearns Goodwin, David Halberstam and Will Shortz.

If that was a clue — a long one — in a New York Times crossword puzzle, the answer would be:

Westport Library honorees.

The list is broad and diverse:  authors, historians, a TV newsman, a playwright, a film director.

On Thursday, May 27, the Library adds “crossword puzzle editor” to the list.

Will Shortz

Like previous “Booked for the Evening” honorees, Shortz loves words and language.  His forte is unique — games — but he is adored by millions of Americans for the joy he takes in puns, puzzles and wordplay.

He is sui generis — the only person in the world with a degree in enigmatology (“the study of puzzles”).  He also earned a law degree from the University of Virginia, a factoid that must delight hard-core fans (and puzzle his parents).

Shortz — who in his spare time is puzzlemaster for NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” — has a long relationship with libraries in general, and Westport’s in particular.

Though he amassed many reference works in his Pleasantville, NY home — from the OED to specialized works covering opera, poetry, art, baseball, whatever — and he now uses the internet for most research, Shortz still frequents his local library.  He considers it “a friend, a place I can use whenever I want.”

In 2001 he agreed to provide puzzles for the Westport Library’s 1st crossword championship.  Ten years later, he’s still at it.  The “great time and great people” keep drawing him back.

On May 27, Shortz will talk a bit, then play interactive word games with the Westporters honoring him.  “We’ll test people,” he says.  “We’ll have fun.”

And if he were to clue “Westport” into a puzzle?

On a Monday, he says, it might be basic:  “Connecticut town on Long Island Sound.”

For a Saturday, though, he’d “find a fact that would be interesting to many people, but not well known. You’d need a lot of crossing letters to solve it.”

Sort of like:  Town whose library honored a puzzlemaster in 2010.

(Click here for tickets to the Westport Public Library’s “Booked for the Evening” benefit event.)

Afghanistan Comes To Westport

With few exceptions, Westporters are far removed from the war in Afghanistan.  We don’t know anyone serving there, and because the news involves bombs and indecipherable local feuds — not the more familiar finance and entertainment — we easily ignore it.

LTC Tania Chacho

With few exceptions, Tania Chacho’s working life revolves around Afghanistan. A lieutenant colonel who served in peacekeeping and stabilization efforts all over the world, she now directs the comparative politics program at West Point.  Soon after graduating, many of her students end up in Afghanistan.

Westporters who have not thought much about Afghanistan can do so tonight (May 11) — from the comfort of the Westport Public Library.  At 7:30 p.m. LTC Chacho will speak about coalition and American strategies, and the factors that may help or hinder success.

As familiar as Chacho is with military affairs and defense policy, she is equally at home in Westport.  Her husband, LTC Jonathan Liba, is a Staples grad.  His parents still live here.

He has been in Kabul since July — giving Chacho a particularly keen interest in the country.

As a professor, she examines every issue through many angles.  As a military officer, though, she realizes “you see things through your perspective — your mission.  It’s not easy getting a sense of the larger picture.”

The result, she says, is “lots of different information, varying senses of what we’re trying to accomplish.  It’s not easy to assess.”

But there is one thing she’s certain of:  her students.

“My cadets are amazing,” she says.  “They have an awesome, incredible responsibility.  It’s inspiring to see their dedication.  Their eyes are wide open.

“I’m biased, but I invite anyone into my classes to see what we’re talking about, and how my cadets are responding.  You’ll be impressed.”

And if you can’t get to West Point to see Chacho — lieutenant colonel and professor — in action, do the next best thing.  Get to the library tonight.

Don’t Drive Like David Pogue

At the risk of turning “06880” into an all-David-Pogue-all-the-time blog — though there’s nothing wrong with that — I couldn’t let his latest CNBC/New York Times video go unmentioned.

As everyone knows — or at least should — the techmeister with his finger in a thousand pies often shoots his weekly videos here in Westport, where he lives.  The Saugatuck River, library and Y have made great sets.

Last week though, David outdid himself.

When David Pogue is behind the wheel, look out!

His subject was apps that prevent drivers from texting or calling while in motion.  David needed someplace where he could be filmed texting and calling while driving — as well as eating, drinking and clipping his nose hairs.

The Post Road wouldn’t do (even though hundreds of drivers do all that — and worse — every day).

Where in Westport could David drive without looking — and without hitting anyone or anything — on a rainy Tuesday morning?

Compo Beach.

Westporters use the beach for everything.  We go there to swim, walk, picnic, fish, bike, play softball, sail, use the playground, play soccer, tan, play volleyball, be seen, watch fireworks, play with our dogs, grill, preen, girl- or guy-watch, run, watch the sun rise and set, and make out.

Only David Pogue would go there to drive recklessly, then share the hilarious results all over the interwebs.

(Click here for David’s video, and here for a behind-the-scenes look on how he made it.)

Losing The Library

Theo Sullivan is a Staples water polo coach — and Westport Public Library lover.

Recently, he urged the Board of Finance to restore cuts proposed in next year’s budget.  If not, he noted, the library might have to close on many Sundays.

When he told his team what he’d said, one responded:  “I didn’t know they were allowed to close a library.”

“They” can do whatever “they” want.

So Westporters have barraged RTM members with phone calls and emails, pleading for restoration.  The RTM Finance Committee recommended restoring $45,000 cut by the Board of Finance.  The full RTM now must agree, by at least a 70 percent vote.

The Westport Library is busy all the time -- but always welcoming.

The proposed cuts have touched citizens in ways that others — aimed at public safety, recreation, even education — have not.

The reason, director Maxine Bleiweis thinks, is because the library is integrally tied in with the way the town identifies itself.

“The library embodies how nearly everyone learns, grows, and becomes creative,” Maxine says.  “It’s like part of the Westport air — and now the air supply may be cut off.”

“We don’t have time to be closed,” she says.  “We have to be open, to feed and nurture all that goes on in this community.”

Our discussion was interrupted — it seemed almost like a setup, but it wasn’t — by a call to Maxine from Keith Richards’ publicist.  If the Rolling Stones’ PR guy needs the Westport library, there can’t be anyone in the area who doesn’t.

If the library can’t get no satisfaction through the restoration of funds, Sunday closings are a real possibility.  That’s a better option, Bleiweis says, than cutting staff and services whenever the doors are open.

“You can’t have a restaurant that functions at less than full capacity,” the library director notes.  And — as has been proven over and over — the Westport library is as much a part of town life as food and wine.

Or the air that we breathe.

(The RTM begins voting Monday to accept or restore Board of Finance budget cut recommendations for all town departments.  The library is one of the last agenda items — meaning a vote may not come until Tuesday, or even Wednesday.  In the meantime, Westporters are contacting RTM members, and/or making plans to attend the meeting — whenever it is held.)

David Pogue’s Pool

David Pogue doesn’t need the world as his stage.

He’s got Westport.

A fairly standard stand-up shot.

The nationally renowned tech guru has used previous local sites like the library and Saugatuck River for his CNBC and New York Times videos.

Yesterday was the Y’s turn.

To demonstrate 2 new underwater (and drop-proof, kick-proof and hurl-through-a-slide-proof) cameras, the Westporter, his son Kelly, a cameraman and producer used the YMCA pool.

They put the cameras to the test, in takes that got progressively sillier — and tougher.  The cameras lived to tell the tale — as did David, who took one for the team when he got dunked by Kelly.  (He got revenge in the final shot.)

You can put the cameras in your mouth, if you want to.

Despite Pogue’s familiarity with — and about — Westport, he was surprised at the ease with which he and his crew could use the Y.

“I expected a lot of bureaucracy,” he said.  Instead they got quick approval, sauntered in, and began shooting.

Hey — they don’t call it a community resource for nothing.

(Click here to see the video on the New York Times site.)

David Pogue and his cameraman plan to send the cameras through a slide.

A Taxpayer’s Lament

Here’s an open letter to the Board of Finance and RTM from a Westport taxpayer.  The writer does not wish to be identified, due to the personal information revealed.

To the Board of Finance and RTM:

I have followed with interest and dismay the decisions made by the Board of Finance on the town and Board of Education budgets.  As an employee of the Board of Education, as well as a Westport property owner, I am directly affected by their decisions.

I had planned on paying my property taxes this year (and next).  I know that times are tough and money is tight.  Now I will lose my full-time job with the Board of Ed, at worst, or have my take-home income reduced, at best.

But that’s okay; I’m industrious.  I am lucky enough to have a part-time job, in addition to my full-time job.  As long as I don’t actually lose my job, I may be able to make up my reduced take-home by taking extra hours at my part-time job.

Uh-oh.  The Board of Finance cut the Library budget.  My boss said that if the library is closed on Sundays, he will close because he will lose so much business.  So not only can I not get additional hours, I will make less money at my part-time job this year as well.

Gee.  I had planned on paying my taxes, I really had.  And if the Board of Finance hadn’t done such a good job of protecting me, I still might be able to.

Comments, as always, are welcome encouraged.

Morris Jesup might be lonelier on Sundays, if the Westport Public Library is forced to reduce hours due to budget cuts.


Why Women Love The Library

I’m not real clear why this is a women-only issue, but the American Library Association and Woman’s Day magazine are teaming up on a national essay contest.

The topic, according to the Westport Public Library:  “Why is the Westport Library important to you?”

(I assume women can insert the name of their own library — I don’t think all women in America will write about Westport.)

From now through May 9, women ages 18 and up are invited to send in stories of 700 words or less.  (Why the age limit?  Beats me.)

Winners will be published in the March 2011 edition of Woman’s Day. Seems far in the future, but who am I to judge?

The fact that Westport Public Library director Maxine Bleiweis is a woman is probably not a winning topic.

This seems like a great topic.  Not that Westport women need help figuring out what to write, but the Westport library offers an incredible array of services: job seekers’ forums, Kindles to check out, intriguing events (examples:  a mother-daughter self-defense workshop, and a presentation on packing healthy school lunches), a superb children’s library, an enticing cafe and a well-stocked DVD section, to name just a few.

Still stumped?  How about the library’s yeowoman’s work during last month’s storm?  Entire families camped there for days.  It was the place to go to read, socialize, use the internet, charge cell phones, and of course dry your hair.

If you’ve got severe writer’s’ block, check out last year’s winners here.  Then get cranking, ladies.  Tell the rest of the country how wonderful our library is for all Westporters, regardless of age, race or economic status.

And gender.

(Send submissions to womansday@ala.orgClick here for more information, including official rulesTo share your entry with the Westport library staff, email mbleiweis@westportlibrary.org.)


Longshore Web Page Goes Live

There’s a new page on the town website.

The go-to place for information about the 50th anniverary of Westport’s purchase of Longshore, it takes some drilling to get to — or just click here.

The site includes information on the 169-acre park, and the year-long celebration that begins soon.  There is a donation form to help defray expenses.

Contact info is also available for anyone wishing to contribute memories, photos, movies or other memorabilia.

The calendar of events includes upcoming Westport Historical Society and Westport Public Library Longshore exhibitions; the Rotary Club’s golf and tennis outing honoring Herb Baldwin, the former first selectman and key mover in the 1960 purchase; and Longshore Sailing School’s own 50-year reunion. 

If that doesn’t wet whet your appetite, the 50th anniversary committee meets tomorrow (Thursday, April 8, 7 p.m., Town Hall Room 201).  The public is invited to attend.

Longshore, back in the day