On Feb. 4, 20 students from Harbor Country Day School’s Mandarin program in St. James performed for a full house at the Charles Wang Center during Stony Brook University’s renowned Confucius Institute’s 2017 Chinese New Year Celebration. First- and second-graders sang songs during the ceremony, and fourth-, sixth- and seventh-graders performed Chinese tongue twisters. Dozens of other performers from New York City, Flushing and other parts of Long Island participated in the institute’s annual show.
The school has developed a close relationship with the Confucius Institute, which enables Harbor Country Day’s students to participate in cultural events at the university. This year marks the third year Harbor Country Day has participated in the show, and Mandarin teacher Hong Snyder is grateful for such unique opportunities. “I believe it’s important for the children to have an intimate understanding of the culture of the language they are studying,” said Snyder. “Otherwise, they are learning the language in a vacuum, which makes it very difficult for them to fully understand and absorb what they’ve learned. Here at Harbor, we try very hard to give them many different opportunities to experience the Chinese culture, from dance and music, to cuisine, to performances like those at the Confucius Institute.”
Harbor Country Day also hosted a Chinese Lantern Festival on its campus on Feb. 11, to mark the end of the Chinese New Year with traditional Chinese music, performances and food and drink.
Attention job seekers! Middle Country Public Library, 101 Eastwood Blvd., Centereach will host a Job Fair on March 7 from 1 to 4 p.m.
Presented by the Suffolk County One-Stop Employment Center, representatives from over 40 businesses are scheduled to attend, including ACLD, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, BJG Electronics, Castella Imports, Catapult Staffing, Comfort Keepers, Developmental Disabilities Institute, DiCarlo Distributors, Dollar Tree, East End Bus Lines, East End Disabilities, Eastern Suffolk BOCES, EOC of Suffolk, Express Employment Pros, FREE, FJC Security, Goodwill, Home Depot, Home Instead Senior Care, HW Staffing, Ideal Home Care, Interim Healthcare, LI Cares, LIRR, Lowes, New Vitality, NRL Strategies, NY Life Insurance Co., NYS Civil Service, Options for Community Living, Precious Lambs Childcare, Prudential, Right at Home, SCO Family of Services, South Shore Home Health, Suffolk County Water Authority, UCP of Suffolk, Urban League Mature Workers Program, US Postal Service, Utopia Home Care and Windowrama.
All are welcome and no registration is required. Bring copies of your resume and dress to impress. For more information, call 631-585-9393.
Do your kids love to cook? The Chai Center, 501 Vanderbilt Parkway, Dix Hills will hold a cooking class, Kids in the Kitchen, for children ages 8 to 12 on Tuesdays, March 7, 14 and 21 from 5 to 6 p.m. Learn how to make some great kid-approved dishes such as personal pizzas, waffles and cookies in a large state-of-the-art kitchen. Fee is $20 per class, $55 for all three classes. Advance registration is required. Register online at www.thechaicenter.com or call 631-351-8672.
Ideally, window boxes should be filled with plants that bloom continuously throughout the growing season. Photo by Ellen Barcel
By Ellen Barcel
Depending on your home and gardening style, you may want to add window boxes to at least the first floor’s front windows. I also have window boxes on windows that look out on my back patio. I like sitting in the back yard, reading my newspaper and being surrounded by these colorful plants.
In general, since window boxes are not very deep, think in terms of smaller plants, ones where the tops can be seen through the windows from inside the house, but not so tall that they totally obscure the view.
Most people use annuals since perennials will usually grow too large. I have seen window boxes filled with hydrangeas, which presented a beautiful scene all growing season long, but there are a number of problems associated with keeping perennials growing in a window box such as overwintering them. The small pots needed to fit into a window box may not provide enough protection from the cold. For another, the plants really want to get much bigger and will eventually block the view. They will easily become root bound — all roots and no soil.
Geraniums are ideal, easy care plants for window boxes. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Ideal window box plants are those that bloom more or less continuously throughout the growing season. I particularly like geraniums (Pelargonium) because they are drought tolerant and are, for the most part, disease and insect pest free. In other words, once planted you can pretty much ignore them except during periods of drought when they do need supplemental water. Use a good-quality potting soil and add fertilizer, following package directions. If a little is good, a lot is not necessarily better.
Other annuals that look great in a window box include marigolds and petunias. Consider adding some Dusty Miller for its contrasting light blue-gray leaves. If your window boxes don’t get a lot of sunlight, use coleus, impatiens or fuchsia.
Adding some vinelike plants creates a charming effect, as they cascade down between the flowering plants. Consider orange nasturtium scattered between white geraniums, for example, or green potato vines between hot pink geraniums in a black window box.
Herbs are great in window boxes, especially boxes that are outside kitchen windows. Usually there is enough sun and it makes harvesting the herbs for use with a meal really easy — just open your window and pick what you need. There are many herbs that are suited to window boxes such as mints, thyme and parsley. But those that get very tall, like pineapple sage, may block out your view.
These early spring flowering plants may be replaced later in the season with ones that do well in summer and fall. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Unless you have very sturdy window boxes, it may be easier for you to transfer your small seedlings into larger pots and settle those pots into the window box, rather than filling the window box itself with soil. This is especially important if your window boxes are made of wood, which may soon rot away with the damp soil. To deal with this problem, I have liners of a man-made material in several of my window boxes.
For those more exuberant gardeners, you can change the plants in the widow boxes seasonally. Maybe you want mums in the fall or small bulbs in the spring. Deadheading is one chore that annoys me but really should be done with window boxes, since the plants in them are so visible, especially those on the front of your house. So, whether you go for a very formal look, a riot of colors or a way to grow your herbs, consider widow boxes this coming gardening season.
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
I like to think of muffins as healthful cupcakes. Basically individual-sized quick breads, they seem to be synonymous with comfort and warmth and coziness and goodness. According to Wikipedia, the word “muffin” first appeared in 1703 as “moofen,” possibly a derivative of the low German “muffen,” the plural of small cake. That sounds viable. Whatever their derivation, they’ve become a staple of the roster of edibles that Americans have come to think of as the companions for their coffee or tea, the takeout breakfast goodies that make getting up in the morning a worthwhile exercise.
Like many good-for-you foods that I write about, muffins can be adaptable to what you have on hand and what your tastes dictate. Below is a basic recipe for sweet muffins to get you started. I’ve also included a couple of my favorite muffin recipes that are a little different from the basic one. I can pretty much guarantee that when you slip these into the oven on a cold winter morning, the aroma will elicit smiles and maybe even a little conversation from the usual grumps and grouches.
Basic Sweet Muffin Recipe
YIELD: Makes 12 muffins
INGREDIENTS:
¾ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
½ cup honey
One egg, well beaten
1/3 cup oil
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 400 F. Stir together both flours, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix milk, honey, egg and oil. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and add liquid mixture. Stir until just moistened. Let rest for one minute. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin pans two-thirds full. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve with butter, jam, honey or cream cheese.
Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Banana Oatmeal Muffins with Chocolate Chips
I don’t remember where this recipe came from — I just know I’ve been making it for years and it’s always a hit. Sometimes I add a cup of chopped nuts or chocolate chips; sometimes I don’t.
YIELD: Makes about 14 muffins
INGREDIENTS:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
One egg, well beaten
½ cup milk
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup mashed ripe banana
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 400 F. Stir together the flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, milk, oil and banana and add to dry mixture. Stir until just moistened. Let sit for one minute. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin pans two-thirds full. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve with butter, honey, jam, peanut butter or cream cheese.
Pineapple Ginger Almond Muffins
Pineapple Ginger Almond Muffins
With the tang of the pineapple, the zing of the ginger and the crunch of the almonds, these muffins are especially good with tea, but great with coffee too.
YIELD: Makes 16 to 18 muffins
INGREDIENTS:
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon powdered ginger
One egg, well beaten
1 cup buttermilk
¼ cup oil
½ cup dark molasses
1 cup finely chopped canned pineapple, well drained and patted dry
1 cup toasted crushed sliced almonds
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 400 F. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Mix egg, buttermilk, oil and molasses and add to dry ingredients. Stir until just moistened. Gently fold in pineapple and almonds. Let sit one minute. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin pans two-thirds full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve with butter, cream cheese, jam, honey or yogurt.
Suggestions and tips: Add half a cup to one cup of any of the following. (If adding more than one ingredient, adjust amount of each accordingly.)
Chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans
Raisins or other dried fruit(chopped)
Pared, cored and grated apple or pear
Berries
Chocolate chips
For a nice surprise, fill muffin cups with half a cup of batter, add a heaping teaspoon of jam or brown sugar, then top with remaining batter.
THE FACTS: My mother’s will provides that her house will be sold and the proceeds divided equally between me and my brother. However, because she was concerned about needing long-term care, a few years ago she signed a deed transferring the house to my brother and retaining a life estate in her favor.
THE QUESTION: Am I likely to see any of the proceeds when the house is sold?
THE ANSWER: Unfortunately, if your mother has already passed away, it is unlikely that you will get anything when the house is sold unless your brother is willing to essentially gift you one-half of the proceeds. That is because a will only controls the distribution of assets that are owned by the decedent at the time of her death.
Here, your mother does not have an ownership interest in the house but simply a right to live in the house until her death. When she dies, that right dies with her. As such, the provision in the will pertaining to the division of the proceeds from the sale of the house will be ignored.
If you mother is still alive, competent and sorry that she transferred the house to your brother, she can remedy the situation in a number of ways. She can, of course, revise her will so that you receive a larger portion than your brother of other assets that may be passing under her will. She can also change the beneficiary on her nonprobate assets like IRAs, 401(k)s and/or life insurance. Neither of these strategies require your brother’s cooperation, but they will only work if your mother has assets worth about one-half of the value of the house.
If your brother is cooperative, your mother’ assets are limited and she is not already receiving needs-based government benefits, your mother and brother can sign a new deed either adding you as a co-owner or transferring the house back to your mother. The will would then control. This solution will require the preparation of a new deed and transfer of documents and the filing/recording of the deed but will not require your mother to change her beneficiary forms or her will.
If transferring the house again will put your mother’s benefits at risk, she and your brother can sign a written agreement in which (1) your mother states that it was not her intent in transferring the house to “gift” it to your brother and (2) your brother states that when he sells the house, he will split the net proceeds 50/50 with you.
If the agreement provides that you are an intended beneficiary of the agreement between your mother and your brother, and specifically states that it is binding upon the heirs, successors, assigns and executors of the parties signing the agreement, you will have an enforceable legal right to one-half of the proceeds.
It is important that any agreement that may be signed by your mother and brother pertaining to the house include the “heirs, successors, assigns and executors” language since, without that language, the agreement, like your mother’s life estate, will die with your mother.
Because there are so many issues to consider when deciding if and how to insure that you receive a share of the proceeds from the sale of her house, your mother should discuss this matter with an experienced estate planning attorney. The attorney can explain the pros and cons of each option that may be available to your mother so that she can make an informed decision. Only then can she be sure that her actions will not adversely impact her down the road and that her wishes will be honored.
Linda M. Toga, Esq. provides legal services in the areas of estate planning, probate, estate administration, litigation, wills, trusts, small business services and real estate from her East Setauket office.
When Center Moriches resident Lauren Coffey was recovering from surgery eight years ago, she used that time to write her first children’s book “The Adventures of Lola Larissa Lily a little lady bug.” On March 9, she will release a sequel to that book, “The Adventures of Lola Larissa Lily a little lady bug finds a fantastic friend.” Recommended for ages 2 to 9, the 27-page picture book, with adorable illustrations by Charles Berton, uses a fun, whimsical writing style that children can relate to in order to teach an important life lesson. Coffey recently took time out from preparing for a book launch at the Book Revue in Huntington to answer a few questions about her latest venture.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am originally from Center Moriches on the eastern end of Long Island and have always loved working with children. I went to college for early childhood education but then switched to business and psychology. I moved around a lot for work in my 20s and then ultimately moved back to Long Island as I just missed it too much.
For most of the last decade I have been working in the benefits field, primarily with Aflac. My partner and I have a full-service insurance firm called the Coffatello Group. I made that switch after I had a pretty major accident myself. I love what I do because of how I am helping people and currently expanded my passion for helping others into the business community as well. In addition, for the past two years I have been acting in the capacity of business development and events planning for a regional networking organization.
What were your favorite books growing up?
I loved all of the Dr. Seuss books. I still have the originals that my brother and I read together. I also enjoyed anything that involved horses. I actually read the “Encyclopedia of the Horse” as child over and over.
Why did you decide to start writing children’s books?
I don’t think it started as a conscious decision. I always had journals of short stories and poems that I would scribble in. The first book was actually written in 2009 after I had a bad accident and a major surgery that put me out of commission for many months. I was going stir crazy and I was immobile and one can only watch so much TV. I decided to make a storyboard for my first niece. That didn’t take me as long as I had hoped so I wrote a story for all of the creatures I had just made to tell her. Everyone told me for years that I should publish this; so in 2014 I did. “The Adventures of Lola Larissa Lily a little lady bug” was born. Then people started telling me how much their children loved it and asked for a sequel.
How would you summarize the book?
The book introduces a new character and teaches an important lesson; never judge others by how they look. Similar to the first in that it involves all the characters in the series, the book shows camaraderie and the close relationship they have overlooking the types of creatures they are, i.e., frog friends with a dragonfly and lion with a zebra.
What do you hope children will learn from reading this book?
I hope that they learn in a fun way to be accepting of others by taking the time to learn about one another, diversity and treating people or any living being with respect instead of just assuming and judging someone.
Why did you decide to make the main character a lady bug?
Who doesn’t like lady bugs? Often people who hate bugs often will like lady bugs. It just sort of happened organically as I started writing the story.
What other types of creatures are found in the book?
Zebra, flamingo, frog, turtle, lion, dragonfly, lady bug, giraffe and elephant and Lola Larissa Lily’s new fantastic friend … who is revealed in the new story … but you have to read it to find out!
All of the characters have funny names like Dee Dee Delilah Danda and Fiona Florence Fatima. Why did you decide to do that?
I love laughing, having fun and being silly. I was imagining the laughter of my niece and now the children as I was thinking of the most ridiculous combinations possible but try to have them be rhythmic as well. Mainly I wanted names that are not commonly used.
How would you describe Lola Larissa Lily?
I think that she is a very open-minded, optimistic, all inclusive and an empathetic little lady bug who loves living life and having fun with all her friends. Lola Larissa Lily also has grit, determination and loyalty, which we saw in the first book.
Will there be more adventures with Lola Larissa Lily in the future?
Yes! There will definitely be more adventures and I can’t wait to share them!
Tell us more about your book launch at the Book Revue on March 9.
I will be reading an excerpt from the book and doing a signing at 7 p.m. All of my books will be available for purchase at the Book Revue that day, and there will be some fun activities for the kids. Many of my events have a pajama-optional invite and this one is no different. It will be a great time for everyone. Future book signings will all be posted on my Facebook page and at www.LaurenCoffeyBooks.com.
Why do you think reading to a young child is so important?
I feel like it creates such a bond and is a time to connect with your children or any little one in your life. I know I looked forward to it as a child and my future step-son really does too. He looks forward to picking out a book every night before bed. Today’s world is very disconnected with the introduction of more and more technology. This simple act of reading to a child is a special time to spend and share with one another and create memories and let your imagination run wild. Kindle is great and my books are also available on there, but I still think having a physical book collection is a great thing.
I’ve noticed you’ve used the same illustrator for all three books. Tell us about him.
Charles Berton (https://charlesberton.com) is a very talented man who can almost read my mind as to what I am picturing in my head. He has an ability to take the written word and capture it with his drawings. My choice was to make the characters very cartoonlike, but he can draw an image that looks like a photograph.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to write a book?
I would say just go for it. Don’t put pressure on yourself like a school or work assignment. My first book was written by just putting down my thoughts or a scene in the story fragmented and then put together. My second book, “The Boy Who Did Not Care He Would Not Share” was written in 24 hours. If you want to write, write. If you want to paint, paint. Life is short so do what makes you happy.
Check out the rest of Lauren Coffey’s children’s books, available at www.amazon.com.
A nutrient-dense, plant-based diet that intensively controls blood sugar is likely to decrease the risk of diabetic retinopathy complication. Stock photo
Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness.
By David Dunaief, M.D.
Dr. David Dunaief
With diabetes, we tend to concentrate on stabilization of the disease as a whole. This is a good thing. However, there is not enough attention spent on microvascular (small vessel disease) complications of diabetes, specifically diabetic retinopathy (negativity affecting blood vessels in the back of the eye), which is an umbrella term.
This disease, a complication of diabetes that is related to sugar control, can lead to blurred vision and blindness. There are at least three different disorders that make up diabetic retinopathy. These are dot and blot hemorrhages, proliferative diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema. The latter two are the most likely disorders to cause vision loss. Our focus for this article will be on diabetic retinopathy as a whole and on diabetic macular edema.
Diabetic retinopathy is the No. 1 cause of vision loss in those who are of working age, 25 to 74 years old (1). Risk factors include duration of diabetes, glucose (sugars) that is not well-controlled, smoking, high blood pressure, kidney disease, pregnancy and high cholesterol (2).
What is diabetic macula edema, also referred to as DME? This disorder is edema, or swelling, due to extracellular fluid accumulating in the macula (3). The macula is a yellowish oval spot in the central portion of the retina — in the inner segment of the back of the eye — and it is sensitive to light. The macula is the region with greatest visual acuity. Hence, when fluid builds up from blood vessels leaking, there is potential loss of vision.
Whew! Did you get all that? If not, to summarize: Diabetic macula edema is fluid in the back of the eye that may cause vision loss. The highest risk factor for DME was for those with the longest duration of diabetes (4). Ironically, an oral class of drugs, thiazolidinediones, which includes rosiglitazone (Avandia) and pioglitazone (Actos), used to treat type 2 diabetes may actually increase the risk of DME. However, the results on this are conflicting.
DME is traditionally treated with lasers. But intravitreal (intraocular — within the eye) injections of a medication known as ranibizumab (Lucentis) may be as effective as laser. Studies suggest that injections alone may be as effective as injections plus laser treatments, though the studies are in no way definitive. Unfortunately, many patients are diagnosed with DME after it has already caused vision loss. If not treated after having DME for a year or more, patients can experience permanent loss of vision (5).
In a cross-sectional study (a type of observational study) using NHANES data from 2005-2008, among patients with DME, only 45 percent were told by a physician that the diabetes had affected their eyes (6). Approximately 46 percent of patients reported that they had not been to a diabetic nurse educator, nutritionist or dietician in more than a year — or never.
The problem is that the symptoms of vision loss don’t necessarily occur until the latter stages of the disorder. According to the authors, there needs to be an awareness campaign about the importance of getting your eyes examined on an annual basis if you have diabetes. Many patients are unaware of the association between vision loss and diabetes.
According to a study, there is good news in that the percentage of patients reporting visual impairment from 1997 to 2010 decreased (7). However, the absolute number of patients with vision loss has actually continued to grow, but at a lesser rate than diabetes as a disease has grown.
Treatment options: lasers and injections
There seems to be a potential paradigm shift in the making for the treatment of DME. Traditionally, patients had been treated with lasers. The results from a randomized controlled trial, the gold standard of studies, showed that intravitreal (delivery directly into the eye) injections with ranibizumab, whether given prompt laser treatments or treatments delayed for at least 24 weeks, were equally effective in treating DME (8).
In fact, some in the delayed group, 56 patients or about half, never even required laser treatments at all. Unfortunately, intravitreal injections may be used as frequently as every four weeks. Though in practice, ophthalmologists generally are able to inject patients with the drug less frequently. However, the advantage of receiving prompt laser treatments along with the injections was a reduction in the median number of injections.
Increased risk with diabetes drugs
You would think that drugs to treat type 2 diabetes would prevent DME from occurring as well. However, in the THIN trial, a retrospective (backward-looking) study, a class of diabetes drugs, thiazolidinediones, which includes Avandia and Actos, actually increased the occurrence of DME compared to those who did not use these oral medications (9). Those receiving these drugs had a 1.3 percent incidence of DME at year 1, whereas those who did not had a 0.2 percent incidence. This incidence was persistent through the 10 years of follow-up.
To make matters worse, those who received both thiazolidinediones and insulin had an even greater incidence of DME. There were 103,000 diabetes patients reviewed in this trial. It was unclear whether the drugs, because they were second-line treatments, or the severity of the diabetes itself may have caused these findings.
This is in contrast to a previous ACCORD eye substudy, a cross-sectional analysis, which did not show an association between thiazolidinediones and DME (10). This study involved review of 3,473 participants who had photographs taken of the fundus (the back of the eye).
What does this ultimately mean? Both of these studies were not without weaknesses. It was not clear how long the patients had been using the thiazolidinediones in either study or whether their sugars were controlled and to what degree. The researchers were also unable to control for all other possible confounding factors (11). Thus, there needs to be a prospective (forward-looking) trial done to sort out these results.
Diet
The risk of progression of diabetic retinopathy was significantly lower with intensive blood sugar controls using medications, one of the few positive highlights of the ACCORD trial (12). Medication-induced intensive blood sugar control also resulted in more increased mortality and no significant change in cardiovascular events. But an inference can be made: A nutrient-dense, plant-based diet that intensively controls blood sugar is likely to decrease the risk of diabetic retinopathy complications (13, 14).
The best way to avoid diabetic retinopathy is obviously to prevent diabetes. Barring that, it’s to have sugars well controlled. If you or someone you know has diabetes, it is imperative that they get a yearly eye exam from an ophthalmologist so that DME and diabetic retinopathy, in general, is detected as early as possible, before permanent vision loss can occur. It is especially important for those diabetes patients who are taking the oral diabetes class thiazolidinediones, which include rosiglitazone (Avandia) and pioglitazone (Actos).
Dr. Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com or consult your personal physician.
Councilwoman Susan A. Berland with Joel Grey at the Cinema Arts Centre. Photo by Alex Wolff, Concierge Photography
Joel Grey with two specialty cakes at a reception after the event. Photo by Alex Wolff, Concierge Photography
Oscar, Tony and Golden Globe winner Joel Grey made a special appearance at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington on Feb. 23 for a rare big-screen presentation of Bob Fosse’s 1973 “Cabaret,” which stars Grey as Emcee and Liza Minelli as Sally Bowles, followed by an audience Q-and-A moderated by Jud Newborn.
Grey also signed copies of his revealing memoir “Master of Ceremonies” which recounts his fascinating and complex behind-the-stage life story, acting career, family and love life. Councilwoman Susan A. Berland (D) presented a Town of Huntington Proclamation to Grey after the sold-out event. “It was an honor to present a proclamation to Joel Grey for his career as one of the most renowned American entertainers,” said the councilwoman.
It’s going to be a bumpy night! “All About Eve” will return to select cinemas nationwide on March 5 and 8, courtesy of TCM Big Screen Classics Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies and Twentieth Century Fox. The 1950 film, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Bette Davis, Anne Baxter and George Sanders won six Oscars including Best Picture.
From left, Gary Merrill, Anne Baxter and Bette Davis in a scene from ‘All About Eve.’ Photo courtesy of Fathom Events
From the moment she glimpses her idol on Broadway, Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) strives to upstage Margo Channing (Bette Davis). After cunningly stealing Margo’s role, Eve disrupts the lives of anyone close to the actress in this timeless cinematic masterpiece. The two-day event will also include exclusive commentary from Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz, who will give insight into this classic film.
Participating movie theaters in our neck of the woods include AMC Loews Stony Brook 17 (at 2 and 7 p.m. on both days), Farmingdale Multiplex Cinemas (on March 5 at 2 p.m., March 8 at 2 and 7 p.m.) and Island 16 Cinema de Lux in Holtsville (on March 5 at 2 p.m., March 8 at 2 and 7 p.m.). For more information or to purchase your ticket in advance, visit www.fathomevents.com.
The school has developed a close relationship with the Confucius Institute, which enables Harbor Country Day’s students to participate in cultural events at the university. This year marks the third year Harbor Country Day has participated in the show, and Mandarin teacher Hong Snyder is grateful for such unique opportunities. “I believe it’s important for the children to have an intimate understanding of the culture of the language they are studying,” said Snyder. “Otherwise, they are learning the language in a vacuum, which makes it very difficult for them to fully understand and absorb what they’ve learned. Here at Harbor, we try very hard to give them many different opportunities to experience the Chinese culture, from dance and music, to cuisine, to performances like those at the Confucius Institute.”
How would you summarize the book? 
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