Rich Monetti
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I am, I write.
Stories (1031)
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Snippets of Plattsburgh Professors
Dr. Carol Leonard I was always fascinated by Russia. So when I finally had a chance to take an elective in my sophomore year, Russian History until 1863 was a no brainer. Dr. Leonard was a young professor who was passionate about her discipline. She also had a very special place in her heart for Catherine the Great but not in a good way. I still remember the ire she brought over the deadly coup Catherine engineered to unseat her husband Peter. Nonetheless, this was no easy course, and the reading material followed suit. In fact, one afternoon she couldn’t resist levying a criticism on us. “I have a real problem with the class,” she implored. “Too many of you are listening to my lectures and reading the text and just accepting it. I need students to disagree and question.”
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Education
Uncut Gems Sends You Over the Edge
Studio : A24, Netflix Poster An online search of the word fuck yields 57 hits on Ronald Bronstein's screenplay of Uncut Gems. The number actually seems low. Nonetheless, I’m no Puritan and a targetted search on my daily dialogue would go well beyond that tally. But the four letter onslaught does a pretty good number on your sensibilities and helps makes this 2019 film painful to watch. Of course, the profanity that follows the tenuous life a gambling addict is far from the only excess that makes this boisterous cut hard to endure.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Geeks
Part II : The Inspiration for Spock and Other Star Trek Staples
Photo by Charles Kremenak Vulcans and Spock Spock and Vulcans have a very unlikely origin indeed. The impetus dates to Roddenberry’s time in the LAPD and his close friendship with Police Chief William Parker. Suprisingly, the top law enforcement officer in Los Angeles is best remembered for his explanation for the Watts Riots. “One person threw a rock,” Parker explained, “and then like monkeys in a zoo, others started throwing rocks.”
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Futurism
Who was the First MLB Player with an Agent and other Yankee Tidbits
Photo by Rubenstein A 56 game hitting streak, 714 homers and 27 World Championships - we all know the larger details of Yankee history. But I think it’s also telling to know the little things. Here’s a few good ones.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Unbalanced
Mt. Vernon Native Compiles Sports Heroes and Legends from his Hometown
Mark Twain obviously went to some pretty exotic places as a writer, but the American legend never forgot how his humble beginnings shaped his entire life. “All the me in me is from that tiny little town in Missouri," once said the sage. For his part, Bruce Fabricant knows the feeling. The unleashing just took longer for Fabricant to commit to paper. So now on his fourth Mount Vernon based book, he hopes his hometown feels as good about reading the latest offering as he did writing it.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Unbalanced
Black Lives Matter : Why is it So Hard to Infer the Meaning Behind This Simple Phrase
Photo by Chris Henry Inference : Deduce or conclude from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements. Seizing on the latter part, I’m amazed by how much vitriol has exploded over a simple inference : Black Lives Matter. Oh my, this Blue Lives Matter rally really captures the rage. I wonder what William Shakespeare himself would think of our inabiltiy to grasp a basic linguistic vehicle and have the ugly residue spread like Murder Hornets. On the other hand, in the interest of calm, let me give the dispossessed, angry hordes the tools that they need to get by.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in The Swamp
John Jay's Samantha Gisonni Opens a Hole in the Roof at Pace Basketball Tournament
There's nothing like it in sports. The defense collapses around the ball, the court opens up, a pass or two puts the perimeter players on the run, and someone is left open at the top of the three-point arc. Then - oblivious to the laws of motion, gravity and planetary physics - you wait until the centripetal force in consideration nestles in the nylon and blows the roof off Madison Square Garden.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Unbalanced
Katonah's Katherine Vockins Brings Incarcerated People Back with her Rehabilitation Through Arts Program
25 years ago, Katherine Vockins and her husband Hans Hallundbaek had successful business careers. But when Hans had what she called, “a midlife correction,” everything changed. He began seminary studies, and the curriculum brought him inside Sing Sing. The future Director of the Interfaith Prison Partnership became a prison reform activist, and his interest soon had her following. However, Vockins didn’t do so to found the Rehabilitation Through Arts Program, which has her participants shattering the nation’s 50% recidivism rate. Instead, Vockins' entrance into this amazing life of service hit much closer to home.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Criminal
Part V : Snippets of Somers Teachers
Hello Somers, here’s another round of snippet Miss Eichler - Miss Fisher At SIS, 1974 began an experiment where they combined fifth and sixth graders into a single class and covered with two teachers. Miss Eichler and Miss Fisher were our two teachers and an unintentional experiment emerged. This especially in regard to the time in question. You see our two middle aged teachers lived together, and we jumped to a conclusion that probably was accurate. They were lesbians. The fact that Mrs. Fisher was a former drill sergeant only added to our conclusion. But many years later I wonder how Somers arrived at a scenario that was pretty far ahead of its time. I mean, it had only been a year since the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders declared that homosexuality wasn’t a psychological illness. Either way, I have no idea if there were any discussions or concerns raised in the community or on school board. The fact that none of us kids were aware of such conversations is a credit to the town too. Of course, that could be for a really good reason. We were wrong. Still, the consensus was pretty unanimous among the kids, and the perception lends itself to the real story. As you might imagine, there was a fair amount of student snickering - especially among a bunch of ten and 11 year old boys. Even so, we always came back to what really mattered. They were great teachers and their skills, caring and tough love approach to the profession always took precedence. I guess as kids, we were ahead of our time too.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Education
Enterprise Traces the Evolution of the Prime Directive
Photo by GabboT For people who’ve never seen Star Trek, the prime directive in action must completely blow their minds. I mean, what do we do as humans when we see injustice. Whether it’s real life or the movies, we want to go in and save the day. Gene Roddenberry obviously understood the flawed thinking, and all the problems caused by well intentioned humans or cultures. Still, the Federation had to get there and three particular episodes of Enterprise really trace the evolution of Star Trek’s most important human lesson.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Futurism
How not to do the Plattsburgh Walk of Shame
The ease of high school over, college was going to take some doing. So I had great angst entering Plattsburgh State as a Computer Science student and feared that I wouldn’t have the goods. Things did work out, but the pivotal unraveling actually played out memorably on the famed Plattsburgh Walk of Shame. I think…
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Education
Instead of Tearing Down History and Monuments, Why not Build It Up
So the statue issue has come home to a nearby community in Mt. Kisco, New York. Facebook allowed the opposing sides to fire the first salvos. On Father’s Day, a town group exploded over a petition to tear down a statue of Christopher Columbus, and let me tell you, it was on. I offered one brief comment. But I decided to take cover and engage here. In the interest of full disclosure, though, let me first reveal the long standing bias that begins my point of view
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in The Swamp
