The spookiest month of the year signals the return of the Huntington Arts Council’s annual student exhibit, Nightmare on Main Street, a Halloween-inspired juried art exhibit for Nassau and Suffolk County students in grades 6 to 12. This year’s show runs from Oct. 21 to Nov. 15.
‘The Hollow’ by Bennett Vitagliano
“Our Nightmare on Main Street student exhibit is now in its 11th year! This exhibit continues to be one of our most popular, both for the students and the overall community,” said HAC’s Executive Director Kieran Johnson. “The submissions spanned across Long Island with both public and private school students from 21 districts participating in the call. Congratulations to all of the students who submitted to this show.”
Guest juror Lauren LaBella, co-owner of The Gallery @ in Huntington, invited participants to broaden their artistic interpretation of the Halloween inspired exhibition by referencing the Plague Doctor during the Bubonic Plague “which became a momento mori, a symbol for one’s last earthly moments, as this was usually the last thing a person would see before meeting their death. The long beak of the mask was filled with herbs and spices that were believed to filter out the ‘bad spirit,’ protecting the wearer from those he was visiting; the long, waxy coat and hat protecting their skin and clothes underneath. A long staff was used to make contact with the bodies without having to touch them directly. … Similarly, Halloween is a once-a-year opportunity to disguise yourself or be unknown, and to celebrate the darker parts of life. In the medium of your choice, show us how you interpret these concepts.”
“Just under 200 pieces from 145 artists were submitted this year to Nightmare on Main Street,” said Sarah J. McCann, HAC’s Gallery & Operations Director.
‘The Hidden Place’ by Gianna Purpura
“One of the highest submissions in the history of the show, the work does not disappoint. Our juror has chosen 41 pieces to be featured in the Main Street Gallery and on our website. In recognition of the dedication and enthusiasm the students have shown for this call to artists, we have decided to expand the online gallery to include a special section so that all of the artists’ work that was submitted can be shared with the community,” she said.
Exhibiting artists include Maya Almaliah, Meggie Baxter, Lilah Black, Colby Burns, JoselineCanales-lazo, Scout Chen, Elaine Ching, JazminCorrujedo, Victoria Czoch, Sophia Dolinsky, Madeline Dombrow, Gilana Etame, Sally Feliciano, DJ Fusco, Michael Gallagher, Mary Getzoni, Emma Gutierrez, KellyHalversen, Alexandra Hugel, Molly Lebolt, Sophia Lin, Isabella Mascetti, Liza McPherson, SamanthaMedley, Finn Monte, Natalie Parrott, Gianna Purpura, Sivan Pyle, Elliot Rosenblatt, Zayed Sattaur, Grace Schoonmaker, Nicole Schrock, Jasmine Sedra, Jack Semelsberger, Alexa Shafy, Juliana Silva, Peyton Silvestri, Charlotte Tsekerides, Bennett Vitagliano, Warren Wei and Kerry Yeung.
“We pride ourselves in working hard to be inclusive with our call to artists and all of our programs. Our gallery is open to all and we certainly encourage you to stop in to see the exhibit and visit our website regularly to learn more about the work that we are doing for the community,” added Johnson.
The Huntington Arts Council’s Main Street Galley, 213 Main Street, Huntington is open Tuesdays to Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 631-271-8423 or visit www.huntingtonarts.org.
Halloween treats take center stage in October. And what can be better this time of year than a fresh autumn apple coated in a sweet candy shell?
Candied Apples
INGREDIENTS:
15 apples
2 cups white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup 1 1/2 cups water
8 drops red food coloring
DIRECTIONS:
Lightly grease cookie sheets and insert craft sticks into whole, stemmed apples. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Heat to 300 to 310 F, or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms hard, brittle threads. Remove from heat and stir in food coloring. Holding the apple by its stick, dip in the syrup and turn to coat evenly. Place on prepared sheets to harden.
Old-Fashioned Caramel Apples
INGREDIENTS:
12 medium apples
2 cups granulates sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2⁄3 cup light corn syrup
1⁄2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup half-and-half (10%) cream or evaporated milk
Wash and dry the apples. Remove the stems. Insert a popsicle stick into the stem end of each apple, using a twist-like motion so that the apple will not split. Cover a large countertop area or a large baking sheet with waxed paper. In a large heavy kettle over medium-low heat, bring the granulated and brown sugars, corn syrup, butter, half-and-half and salt to a boil, stirring until the sugars dissolve and the mixture begins to boil. Cook, gently stirring to prevent scorching, to the firm ball stage (246 F). Stir in the vanilla. Remove from the heat. Cool until the mixture thickens slightly.
Hold each apple by the wooden skewer and quickly twirl into the caramel, tilting the pan to cover the apple with caramel. Remove the apple from the caramel, allow the excess caramel to drip into the pan and then twirl the apple again to spread the caramel smoothly over the apple. Use a spoon to coat any part of the apple not covered with caramel. If desired, roll the coated apples in the toppings before the caramel sets. Place on the waxed paper until the coating is firm. Store in a cool place.
Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role as Laurie Strode for the final time. Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel
After nearly forty-five years and thirteen installments, the Halloween franchise comes to a close. Halloween Ends is the third in David Gordon Green’s reboot that began with Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills (2021). John Carpenter’s 1978 Halloween remains one of the finest horror films of the modern era, while the ensuing sequels and revisions produced diminishing returns.
A scene from ‘Halloween Ends’ Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
Halloween Ends opens in 2019, three years after Halloween Kills, culminating with Michael Myers slaughtering an entire mob. Twenty-one-year-old Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) accidentally causes the death of his rambunctious babysitting charge, Jeremy Allen (Jaxon Goldenberg), witnessed by the boy’s parents (Candice Rose and Jack William Marshall) as they return from an office party. It is an effective moment, one that is truly horrifying.
The film jumps forward three years to the present. A seemingly healed Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) works on her memoir while facing the town’s anger; residents of Haddonfield hold Laurie responsible for Michael Meyer’s rampage. Laurie’s orphaned granddaughter Allyson Nelson (Andi Matichak), shares her new house. Considering the occurrences of four years prior, she also seems rather well-adjusted.
In a chance meeting, Laurie encounters Corey, who has just been terrorized by a quartet of high school band students. Corey, like Laurie, is a pariah in the community. While acquitted, he remains an outcast, replacing the seemingly absent Michael Myers. Corey is the new boogeyman. To treat his injured hand, Laurie takes Corey to the medical office where Allyson works, setting up the pair—a choice she quickly regrets. Allyson is immediately attracted to the shy, awkward Corey, and they become involved.
After Jeremy’s mother chases Corey from a Halloween party, the bullies throw him off a bridge. He awakes in a sewer, confronted by Michael Myers (played by Nick Castle and James Jude Courtney). In a new twist, the killer sees Corey’s history in the boy’s eyes and lets him go. Immediately following, while defending himself, Corey accidentally kills a homeless man. With this encounter, the film takes a new path, tracking Corey as he assumes the mantle of Michael Myers.
The disastrous Halloween Kills was a pointless movie, a meandering bloodbath created as a tensionless placeholder between the first and final chapters. Halloween Ends attempts to cover bigger and deeper territory. The film meditates on trauma and healing in individuals and the community. Discussions of evil entwine, questioning whether it is inherent or a result of circumstances—the nature versus nurture argument. Unusually, Michael functions as symbol and slasher.
While Halloween Kills focused on mob mentality and the resulting violence, Halloween Ends offers a subtler perspective. Laurie refers to Haddonfield as “a plague of grief, of blame, of paranoia.” Pervading is the sense that the town must always have scapegoats—in this case, Corey, the “psychopath babysitter,” and Laurie, “the freak show.” Laurie parses the evil without—the threat to the tribe—and the malevolence within—likened to a core sickness. Evil does not die; it changes shape. Strangely—and out of place—thoughts of forgiveness are also introduced late in the action. These heady concepts stir a more interesting mix, but while raising many theories, most remain muddled and inconclusive.
Like the previous film, the dialogue is stiff, declarative, and occasionally cringeworthy. A character states: “If I can’t have her, no one will.” Among the most puzzling pieces: Why would a devastated town continue to celebrate Halloween? Also, drawing the connection between Michael and Corey becomes tenuous. Part of Michael’s gestalt is the random and passionless kills. Corey murders predominantly for revenge, harkening to films such as Carrie or even Willard, where a bullied victim seeks retribution. Corey even has the caricature battle-axe mother (Joanne Baron), both smothering and abusive. However, clever references to the first film pepper the movie, particularly in Laurie and Michael’s final encounter.
Curtis, who was sidelined in the second film, spending much of the action in a hospital bed, takes center. Making her seventh appearance in the franchise, she presents both a grand and intimate farewell performance. Curtis owns her scenes with a strength not seen since the original. Matichak matches her as the self-actualized Allyson. Campbell’s burgeoning monster hits most of the right notes, but the predictability stymies surprise.
Thinly drawn characters driving the action populate the rest of the film. Will Patton’s Deputy Frank Hawkins is a bit too “aw-shucks” in his enamorment of Laurie. Jesse C. Boyd, who plays Allyson’s cop ex-boyfriend, is introduced to be easily dispatched. Keraun Harris, as disc jockey Willy the Kid, wandered in from a different film of a different era.
Halloween Ends delivers the promised finish. The trilogy concludes with a communal action that leaves little doubt, with no cheat teased in the credits suggesting a return. But horror movies have a way of reinventing their mythologies as needed. Is Michael Myers truly gone? That remains to be seen. To cite the misquoted Mark Twain, “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”
Rated R, the film is now playing in local theaters and streaming on Peacock.
The Theatres at Suffolk County Community College presents I Love You You’re Perfect Now Change at the Shea Theater, Islip Arts Building, 533 College Road, Selden on Oct. 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. With book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts, I Love You You’re Perfect Now Change is a musical revue celebrating the mating game. Directed by Marie Danvers, his crowd-pleasing comedy takes on the truths and myths behind that contemporary conundrum known as “the relationship.”
*Mature Content*
Theatre 119
Islip Arts Building
Suffolk County Community College
Ammerman Campus, Selden
General admission: $14
Veterans and students 16 years of age or younger: $10.00.
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY: Fall on campus
Stony Brook University has welcomed a trio of new leaders to its campus over the last several months. Provost Carl Lejuez, Vice President for Marketing and Communications William Warren, and Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Jed Shivers recently shared their goals for Stony Brook and their excitement at joining a flagship university for the State University of New York educational system.
Carl Lejuez. Photo from Stony Brook University
Provost Lejuez
As provost, Carl Lejuez is responsible for the faculty, staff and students at Stony Brook University.
Lejuez, who has asked that people call him by his first name instead of trying to pronounce his last name — which, by the way, is Lejh way— makes a concerted effort to forge connections on campus.
“Whenever I introduce myself, I don’t say, ‘Provost,’” he said. “I say, ‘Professor in the Department of Psychology.’ I don’t believe I can be a credible leader of the faculty if there’s not a sense of sitting in their shoes and understanding the implications of the strategic and practical decisions we make.”
Lejuez, who grew up in Secaucus, New Jersey, earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Emory University and his Master of Arts and PhD in clinical psychology from the University of West Virginia.
As a first-generation college student, Lejuez feels inspired by the opportunity for students to come through a place with world-class research in an environment that cares about student success.
For first-generation students, in particular, he recognizes the need to forge connections with professors.
These close bonds help “take what’s happening in the classroom, which may be esoteric knowledge, and turn it into a passion and understanding,” providing students with the opportunity to see how what they’re learning in a textbook applies to the world.
He wants to expand the scope and reach of these hands-on experiences for students, while recognizing “how much goes into it from faculty and staff,” he said.
Lejuez believes the ability of professors to conduct extraordinary and groundbreaking research should dovetail with their commitment to being accomplished educators.
“We are setting the expectation from the start,” he said. “When you are tenured here, when you are progressing and doing well, you are excellent in both research and teaching.”
Stony Brook has a Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching that provides support for professors who may need polishing or improvement in inspiring and educating students.
Stony Brook looks closely at student evaluations, while also examining other data in assessing its teachers.
Lejuez, who recently served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Connecticut, supports strong and growing areas for the university, including clinical psychology, quantum information systems, and climate science, among others.
“These are areas that Stony Brook has a real opportunity to develop and part of my role has been thinking about how do we identify incredibly strong areas and areas that are able to emerge that way and fuse it with growing fields,” he said.
Lejuez believes in academic excellence and in diversity and equity.
He hopes to broaden the range of countries and regions from which the university is recruiting students and faculty.
Lejuez describes Stony Brook as “one of the best kept secrets of public universities,” ranking first in the state in public schools, according to the 2022-2023 US News and World Report ranking.
“Our goal is now to remove the best kept secret part,” Lejuez said.
William Warren. Photo from Stony Brook University Marketing
Raising SBU’s profile
This is where William Warren, vice president for Marketing and Communications, comes in.
Warren has worked in numerous corporate and academic jobs, including most recently as the chief marketing and communications officer at the University of Utah.
Warren hopes to raise “the profile of Stony Brook and really claim the sort of credit and attention this institution deserves,” he said.
Previously at Coca Cola, among others, Warren welcomes the opportunity to support Stony Brook.
“You want a challenge that’s exciting and doable,” he said. “That means having a fabulous thing to market that is possibly undervalued.”
Warren divides marketing into earned and paid media. For the former, he hopes to do the hard work of building relationships with national reporters, who can spread the word about the achievements and experts available at Stony Brook.
Warren plans to continue to work with regional and local reporters, while engaging in an ongoing effort to share the Stony Brook story, including publicizing initiatives such as the Simons Stem Scholars Program that supports minority students entering the scientific fields.
As for the paid piece, Warren sees opportunities in several dimensions.
“The great thing about the paid marketing campaign is that it’s adaptable to all kinds of purposes,” he said. “Student recruitment can use the campaign to get the right students. We can use the campaign to help us recruit great faculty.” It can also be adapted to “attract more donor support.”
Any marketing effort, however, needs to remain grounded in truth.
“You want to go out there with a message that resonates and that faculty will see and say, ‘That’s what we offer,’” Warren said. “We are not blowing smoke.”
A marketing campaign includes a host of elements, such as the best execution and photography that supports the message.
An evolved campaign could include a new slogan for the school.
The “Coke is it” campaign reinforces the idea of authenticity, as consumers can be sure it is “exactly what you think it is,” Warren said. “It never disappoints. It’s always consistent and is part of the American culture.”
In developing a slogan for Stony Brook, which Warren said is less important than the message behind it, he wants to hone in on the handful of characteristics that capture the personality of the university.
In reflecting on the differences between commercial and academic marketing, Warren noticed that academics tend to be more skeptical.
“You have to work to make them allies,” he said.
Outside of his marketing role, Warren, who had initially pursued a PhD in history at Rice University, shared an interest in teaching. At the University of Utah, he taught an American economic history class and, at some point, would also consider teaching at Stony Brook.
Since arriving on Long Island, Warren has enjoyed kayaking. He is also a former violinist and enjoys the opportunity to relax with music.
A return to the Northeast
After over four years as vice president for finance and operations/ chief operating officer at the University of North Dakota, Jed Shivers is returning to the Northeast, which is similar to the cultural and environmental feel of his childhood home in Storrs, Connecticut.
Shivers, who is senior vice president for finance and administration at Stony Brook, enjoys walking through the quad and in wooded areas around campus.
After living in the plains, which has “its own beauty,” Shivers appreciates the SB campus, which has “more trees,” and includes a view of the fall foliage outside his office window in the Administration Building.
Ready to embrace the opportunities and challenges of his job, Shivers said the university community is preparing a strategic plan for the next five years or so, which he will follow with a campus master plan.
In preparing for that plan, he is working with a firm that will survey all research space on campus and determine its current functional use, occupants and intensity of use.
He is also focusing on facilities that assist with the delivery of education and is hoping to conduct a similar survey of educational spaces.
To provide managers and executives with actionable financial information, the university is also engaged in a process to improve its business systems in human resources, budgeting, accounting and financial management.
With a “ high rate of system failures around campus” creating a “significant problem” for the university, the building and infrastructure at Stony Brook are all aging at the same time, Shivers said.
Campus Planning, Design and Construction and Campus Operations and Maintenance work constantly to deal with these issues and fix problems as quickly as they can, Shivers added.
The immediate need for deferred maintenance issues is over $1.5 billion, which dwarfs any campus close to comparable size in the SUNY system.
The SUNY Construction Fund and SUNY leadership has provided funds to alleviate a small but substantial part of those critical issues, he said. The university is also engaged in conversations with the Construction Fund and the Division of Budget on ways to use funds for optimal results.
Shivers was delighted for the chance to “get into a place where president [Maurie Mcinnis] was forming her team,” he said. He saw this opportunity as a chance to be a part of leadership “on a ground floor-ish kind of a way.”
He embraces the challenge of working through the SUNY system.
Consistent with mandates from McInnis since her arrival, Shivers would like to create a consolidated financial statement for Stony Brook and all its affiliated entities.
In addition to enjoying his strolls through the quad, Shivers has appreciated the opportunity to join other sports and school enthusiasts in supporting college teams and cultural life on campus. He and his wife Sandee have been married for almost 30 years.
Outside of work, Shivers said he does “everything badly,” but is enthusiastic about it. That includes golf, tennis, skiing and bike riding. To get in shape for the 100-mile North Fork ride, which he’s never done, he has started riding his indoor bike close to five days per week.
Students from the Port Jefferson School District. Photo courtesy PJSD
In preparation for Port Jefferson’s Homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 22, the varsity cheerleaders, along with coach Sharon Gatz, hosted a cheerleading clinic for students in grades 1-6.
More than 30 students attended the clinic on Thursday, Oct. 20, where they learned an exciting cheerleading routine. The cheer clinic attendees will show off their skills with a performance during halftime of this weekend’s Homecoming football game.
“The cheer clinic was a great idea of Coach Sharon,” athletic director Adam Sherrard said. “It helped promote the cheer program, fostered relationships between students of different ages in the school district and will add to the positive environment of Homecoming.”
Sugar control and regular eye exams are your best defense
By David Dunaief, M.D.
Dr. David Dunaief
We talk a lot in the medical community about the vascular consequences of diabetes, and rightly so. If you have diabetes, you are at high risk of vascular complications that can be life-altering. Among these are macrovascular complications, like coronary artery disease and stroke, and microvascular effects, such as diabetic nephropathy and retinopathy.
Here, we will discuss diabetic retinopathy (DR), the number one cause of blindness among U.S. adults, ages 20 to 74 years old (1). Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is when the blood vessels that feed the light-sensitive tissue at the back of your eye are damaged, and it can progress to blurred vision and blindness.
As of 2019, only about 60 percent of people with diabetes had a recommended annual screening for DR (2). Why does this matter? Because the earlier you catch it, the more likely you will be able to prevent or limit permanent vision loss.
Over time, DR can lead to diabetic macular edema (DME). Its signature is swelling caused by fluid accumulating in the macula (3). An oval spot in the central portion of the retina, the macula is sensitive to light. When fluid builds up from leaking blood vessels, it can cause vision loss.
Those with the longest duration of diabetes have the greatest risk of DME. Unfortunately, many patients are diagnosed with DME after it has already caused vision loss. If not treated early, patients can experience permanent damage (2).
In a cross-sectional study using NHANES data, among patients with DME, only 45 percent were told by a physician that diabetes had affected their eyes (4). 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.
Unfortunately, the symptoms of vision loss don’t necessarily occur until the latter stages of the disorder, often after it’s too late to reverse the damage.
Treatment options
While DME has traditionally been treated with lasers, injections of anti-VEGF medications may be more effective. These eye injections work by inhibiting overproduction of a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which contributes to DR and DME (5).
The results from a randomized controlled trial showed that eye injections with ranibizumab (Lucentis) in conjunction with laser treatments, whether laser treatments were given promptly or delayed for at least 24 weeks, were equally effective in treating DME (6). Other anti-VEGF drugs include aflibercept (Eylea) and bevacizumab (Avastin).
Risk from diabetes treatments
You would think that using medications to treat type 2 diabetes would prevent DME from occurring as well. However, in the THIN trial, a retrospective 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 (7). Those receiving these drugs had a 1.3 percent incidence of DME at year one, whereas those who did not had a 0.2 percent incidence. This incidence was persistent through the 10 years of follow-up. Note that DME is not the only side effect of these drugs. There are important FDA warnings for other significant issues.
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 sub-study, a cross-sectional analysis, which did not show an association between thiazolidinediones and DME (8). 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 studies had 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 (9). There are additional studies underway to clarify these results.
Glucose control and 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 (10). Unfortunately, medication-induced intensive blood sugar control also resulted in increased mortality and no significant change in cardiovascular events. However, 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 and further vision complications (11, 12).
If you have diabetes, the best way to avoid diabetic retinopathy and DME is to maintain good control of your sugars. Also, it is imperative that you have a yearly eye exam by an ophthalmologist so that diabetic retinopathy is detected as early as possible, before permanent vision loss occurs. If you are taking the oral diabetes class thiazolidinediones, this is especially important.
Dr. David 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.
Pumpkins are a quintessential Halloween ingredient, but these recipes for breakfast, dinner and dessert are so good, you may be tempted to have them year round.
Pumpkin Pancakes
YIELD: Makes 4 to 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 cups milk
3 large eggs
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, cloves, ginger and allspice together in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk the milk, eggs and pumpkin puree. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until the ingredients are just mixed. Let rest for five minutes. Heat a griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Ladle a 1⁄2 cup of batter onto the skillet and cook until the pancakes are golden on the bottom and bubbly on top, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until the second side is golden brown and the pancake is cooked through. Serve with maple syrup.
Pumpkin Chili
YIELD: Makes 6 to 8 servings
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed , drained
1 15-ounce can solid-pack pumpkin
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
3 cups chicken broth
2 1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey (optional)
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS:
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and pepper and cook until tender. Add the garlic and cook one minute longer. Transfer to a five-quart slow cooker and stir in the next 10 ingredients. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Serve hot.
Pumpkin Loaf
YIELD: Makes 1 loaf plus 12 muffins
INGREDIENTS:
Nonstick cooking spray
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, chopped
DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 350 F. Prepare loaf and muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray. In bowl, whisk eggs. Set aside. In separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together. Set aside.
In another bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add whisked eggs and mix until blended. Alternately add flour mixture and pumpkin puree to egg mixture, beating until blended. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour batter into loaf and muffin pans. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans.
'Vaslov Nijinsky with Sunflowers' by Kyle Blumenthal
'Willow Pond' by Ross Barbera
'Setauket Bridge' by Paula Pelletier
The cooler weather and falling leaves signals the return of a perennial favorite, the Setauket Artists annual exhibition at the Setauket Neighborhood House. The show opens with a festive autumn reception on Oct. 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. and runs through Nov. 16.
“The SNH is the perfect venue for our work as it is beautiful, historical and located right in the heart of the community. It gives the Setauket Artists the opportunity to abide by our motto, painting to provide ‘Art for a Lifetime!'” said Irene Ruddock, president of the organization.
Now in its 42nd year, the exhibit will feature the paintings of over 40 local artists, many of which depict the beautiful waterways, bridges, flora and fauna, and historical buildings that make this area so special.
Judging the show is Charles Wildbank, the famous photorealist, muralist, and fine art oil painter who was first known when he rendered the famed Cartier diamond work for Fifth Avenue windows. His stunning ocean scene, “Dawn at Sea,” will surely capture your heart.
As a yearly tradition, the Setauket Artists group invites work each year by beloved artist Joseph Reboli supplied by the Reboli Center of Art and History. Another guest artist is Gia Horton who recently was on the cover of Dan’s Papers. Enjoy her oils of Long Island boating and landscape scenes, especially of the east end.
This year’s honored artist is Gail L. Chase. “Gail was chosen for her beautifully charming watercolor, oil, and pastel paintings, as well for her years of dedication to the show. Whenever we need help, Gail is always willing to accommodate us. Hers is an honor truly deserved,” said Ms. Ruddock.
For the 17th year, Fred Bryant of Bryant Funeral Home, an avid art collector, is the organization’s sponsor. “Fred has been a godsend to the group providing us with funds to cover our various needs such as signs, brochures, and announcements. The artists are grateful for his loyal support, and he is much appreciated by all of us,” Ms. Ruddock said.
The beautiful exhibit offers diversity of mediums such as “Sunflower Serenade” by watercolorist Eleanor Meier, “LaGuardia” by pastel artist Julie Doczi, “Willow Pond” by acrylic artist Ross Barbera, and “North Shore Inlet,” a collage and acrylic mixed-media painting by Celeste Mauro.
The Setauket show wouldn’t be the same without the popular local artists. Much admired photographer Marlene Weinstein is displaying her sought after local scenes. Flo Kemp’s soft-ground etchings and daughter Karen Kemp’s oil on board paintings will be on exhibit. Look for Kyle Blumenthal’s interpretation of ballet dancer Nijinsky with its vibrant colors and contemporary flair that is very enlightening.
Ms. Ruddock attributes the SetauketArtists’ success to the group’s sheer talent as each is highly recognized in their field. “However, what makes our group different from other groups is that we have a great sense of camaraderie and work together as a team. We arealways putting our clients, the valued members of ourcommunity, first.”
Many unframed pieces and smaller works will also be for sale throughout the show. Ms. Ruddock suggests, “Start your holiday shopping early! Support the artists by taking a raffle on four of ourartist works — Lorraine McCormick, Eleanor Meier, Shelia Breck, and Jane McGraw Teubner.” Raffle winners will be called on Nov. 16.
Participating artists include Ross Barbera, Shain Bard, Rina Betro, Kyle Blumenthal, Sheila Breck, Joyce Bressler, Renee Caine, Al Candia, Gail L. Chase, Anthony Davis, Julie Doczi, Marge Governale, William Graf, Gia Horton, Laurence Johnston, Flo Kemp, Karen Kemp, Joanne Liff, John Mansueto, Celeste Mauro, Lorraine McCormick, Jane McGraw Teubner, Terry McManus, Eleanor Meier, Frederic Mendelsohn, Muriel Musarra, Paula Pelletier, Joseph Reboli, Joan Rockwell, Robert Roehrig, Irene Ruddock, Oscar Santiago, Carole Link Scinta, Barbara Jeanne Siegel, Angela Stratton, Susan Trawick, Marlene Weinstein, Charles Wildbank and Patricia Yantz.
The Setauket Neighborhood House, 95 Main St., Setauket presents the 42nd annual Setauket Artists exhibition from Oct. 23 to Nov. 16 daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.setauketartists.com.
Even she, however, would have had a hard time worrying about other major challenges, problems and threats during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That, it turns out, was also true for the world during COVID when it came to discussions about the threat from climate change.
In a recent study published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Oleg Smirnov, associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Stony Brook University, examined the level of concern on Twitter about climate change during 2020 and 2021 and compared those numbers to 2019, the last year before COVID.
According to the pool of finite worry, which Princeton professor of Psychology Elke Weber developed, environmental and climate concerns decline amid worries about other major threats.
Smirnov found that the total number of tweets that mention climate change dropped to 5.6 million in 2020 and 5.3 million in 2021, from 8 million in 2019. This, Smirnov points out, occurred despite an increase in Twitter users, more climate disasters and more climate news in 2021.
“The psychological foundation tell us that people may only really respond to one threat at a time,” Smirnov said in an interview. The anxiety and the reaction to that threat may be limited because it requires major energy.
“Maybe, for biological reasons, [people] put all their energy into responding to the most immediate threat,” Smirnov added.
By tracking daily tweets and various measures of COVID cases, Smirnov found on a finer scale as well that discussions of climate change diminished amid higher infections and mortality.
For every thousand new COVID-19 cases in the United States, climate change tweets decreased by about 40.5 tweets per day. Every thousand new deaths resulted in 3,308 fewer climate tweets.
While Smirnov understood the need to focus on the pandemic, he suggested a lack of concern about climate change could disrupt efforts to protect the planet
“This has profound implications,” Smirnov said. “Without a focus on climate change, without an emphasis on its importance, there is less urgency and less pressure on politicians to do something about it.”
Even in better times, climate change efforts are “fragile,” he said, which adds to the uncertainty about the ability to address the challenge adequately.
Indeed, even the sentiment analysis, in which Smirnov reviewed the emotional content of words used to describe climate change and the threat to the planet and humanity, became less negative during the worst of the pandemic.
When asked about the possibility that climate change concerns might have declined during COVID in part because the carbon footprint declined amid travel restrictions and slowdowns in industrial production, Smirnov likened such an approach to short-term fasting or extreme dieting.
While spending a few days on these extreme diets can reduce a person’s weight over the course of days, such an approach provides “no substantial improvement in your health” longer term, he said.
So, what about now, as concerns about the pandemic abate, people have stopped wearing masks and schools and stadiums are full?
Smirnov plans to continue to collect Twitter data for the remainder of this year, to see whether a return to normalcy brings the focus back to the threat from climate change.
As for his own experience, Smirnov recognized that climate change took a back burner amid the worst of the pandemic.
“My attention certainly was hijacked by COVID-19, despite the fact that climate change is part of my work,” Smirnov said. In April of 2020, Smirnov recalled worrying about where his family would find food instead of thinking about greenhouse gases and rising sea levels.
In the present, Smirnov remains concerned about the kind of tipping points and climate inertia that threatens the future.
Ever the worrier, my grandmother might be relieved enough by the less virulent form of the virus and the availability of vaccines and treatment to return to worrying about the threat climate change poses.
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