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The Communication Arts Department of St Francis College teamed up with the Theater Production Workshop to perform The Antigone Project on Dec. 3. There were two showings of the unique theatrical offering at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m at the Maroney Forum for Arts, Culture & Education in Brooklyn Heights.
The play was commissioned by the Women’s Project as a forum to discourse on the idea of Antigone, the archetypal symbol of female protest. The idea was spun off in different settings from contemporary rural Africa to a netherworld totalitarian regime at the beach.
Director Kathryn Grant decided that the students would have the opportunity to explore different milieus and the fact that there were parts for everybody sealed the deal.
The result was a play that traverses multiple genres using comedy, pathos, satire and elements of Greek tragedy. Below is a two-minute feeler of how it felt to be there on the occasion.

Stephen Konyha looked anxious as he sat in a large room that resembled an art gallery with paintings on the walls and relaxing instrumental music wafting through it. On closer inspection, the cause of his angst became clear – the tiny needles protruding from both ears.

The elderly Konyha said he had never tried ear acupuncture before – he had heard about it but he had never seriously considered getting it done.

He was at the Brooklyn Vet Center for the ‘Healing Day’ that offered holistic stress management services to veterans. He was not alone – there were several veterans trying out body therapies like chair massage and healing hands as well as energy treatments like Reiki and chi gong exercises.

Siobhan J. Dolan, a mental health nurse and acupuncture detoxification specialist, offers the ear acupuncture wellness protocol every Wednesday at the Vet Center.

Dolan is the founder of Beyond Combat, a small organization aimed at providing holistic remedies to military personnel and their families. Post-9/11, Dolan ran a similar program at a downtown hospital and after six years, she decided to offer the services to the military community.

Konyha was a treatment first-timer and couldn’t quite describe how it felt to have needles in different parts of his earlobes. “No pain. There was a bit when she put them in,” he said.

Holistic medicine is catching on with veterans, said Konyha. He added that he knew many veterans who were taking advantage of touch and music therapy.

Konyha had been an investigation specialist in South Korea tasked with looking into the conduct of Army officers. Among other roles, he now serves as co-chairman of the VISN 3 Veterans Advisory Council for Mental Health & Behavioral Science at the Department of Veteran Affairs.

“Some guys do acupuncture,” said Konyha. “Some of them say it’s been useful. From what I’ve seen at other centers, there is a demand for it.”

“What often happens after seeing traumatic events is that a portion of the brain has a hard time verbalizing what one saw,” said Dolan. “Some people experience the stress all over again by speaking. With the nonverbal modalities like this, what we found was that it worked because it didn’t put pressure on the person to have to speak and get re-traumatized.”

Dolan’s hospital program provided around 40,000 acupuncture treatments for the downtown community. “We saw people become more relaxed – like firefighters and rescue and recovery personnel,” said Dolan. “And we saw people coming in saying that they slept better.”

The readjustment counseling services team leader at the Vet Center, Kevin O’Brien, said, “What we’re trying to do here is we’re trying to incorporate holistic things, which help people recognize that, you know, stress is something that affects everybody, not just veterans.”

O’Brien added, “It’s a way of helping to normalize veterans and to show our appreciation for everything that they do.”

And veterans seem to be responding. “I find it comforting. It puts me to sleep,” said Eric R. Fludd, 33, who joined the Army twice for two-year stints. He was in Afghanistan for two months and was discharged in 2003. Fludd has been coming to the Vet Center for close to five years. “I wish I could have a massage every day,” he said.

Dolan said providing optimal medicine meant you pulled from both traditional and holistic. “Fortunately, O’Brien thinks the same thing,” said Dolan. “We did it as a pilot project and it’s working well – so it just continued.”

Tons of Yankee fans thronged Bowling Green to catch the start of the Victory Parade. As the bands marched and drummed, people pushed forward and backward trying to squeeze into the best viewpoints. Every inch of walking space filled up as the morning wore on and ticker-tape filled the air. Kids grew impatient and parents quenched their Bronx Bomber thirst by lifting them up on their shoulders. Looks like a huge number of people thought Bowling Green was the place to be but as it turned out, the location did not provide the best views.

The New York Yankees’ Victory Parade to mark their 27th World Series championship will be one to remember. It has been nine years since New Yorkers felt that rush of pride that only the Yanks can bring. Thousands gathered to salute the team that brought joy after a long wait. And among them were quite a few outspoken women, some of them teachers. Here are some choice words heard at the parade.

Mrs Sullivan, a schoolteacher in the Bronx, talks about a connection between the Yankees and her school.

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Kiera Fox, 25, dishes about her school field trip to the parade.

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Inez Sacasa, 18, chats about a Yankee-lovin family.

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Music, marching and more heard during the parade.

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Here is my neighborhood story published in The Local.

When Picnic, the homey coffee-sandwich-and-smoothie spot at 185 DeKalb Avenue, opened its doors this morning, it was for the last time. The co-owner, Marlon Aitcheson, said Wednesday things had been going really slow for a while, and he, along with his wife, Camella, had been mulling the decision for about a month.
Read the full story here.

One of the photos I took at the rehearsal of the Radio CIty Rockettes was published on ISnapNY.
See that pic here.

What is art? Artists should be the ones able to best answer that question. A number of artists around the fashion district weigh in on what art means to them. Get their honest and thoughtful responses in this Blip episode.

The renowned Radio City Rockettes were working their way up to full throttle on Thursday as they rehearsed for the 2009 Radio Christmas Spectacular. The show will run from Nov. 13 to Dec. 30. If you want to catch some of their high kicks and super-coordinated dancing, it might be a good idea to mark it down on your calendar.

One of the America’s favourite holiday shows, the Christmas Spectacular has stood the test of time and continues to be a unique offering. Radio City brings together the holiday traditions of Rockette performances, dazzling costumes, attractive performances and special effects to create a Yule Log of satisfaction. If the rehearsal was anything to go by, this will be another memorable show.

Everyone knows about the AIDS ribbon and the pink breast cancer ribbon. But how many people are aware of a ribbon that resembles two white twisted socks? Designed by students of Parsons the New School for Design, it’s the symbol for Deep Vein Thrombosis or DVT. This singular image stood out at the 27th Annual Women’s Health Symposium to benefit the Iris Cantor Women’s Health Center of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Dr. Herbert Pardes, Dr. Andrew Schafer, Melanie Bloom, Dr. Orli Etingin, Joan Weill and Myra Mahon at the symposium. Photo by Joe Vericker, PhotoBureau, Inc.

But what is DVT? This serious medical condition occurs when a blood clot forms in one of the large veins, usually in the lower limbs, leading to either partially or completely blocked circulation. It affects an estimated two million Americans annually. Approximately 600,000 of them will develop pulmonary embolism, a complication that can damage the lungs and even result in death.

The symposium was one of the early programs in the city dedicated to educating women about significant health issues. Marilyn Meadow, who is turning 87 on Thursday, said she has attended the Women’s Health Symposium each of the last five years. So what keeps bringing her back? “They break down the issue for you to understand,” she said. “We are not well versed in it, so I find it very informative.”

Ironically, DVT is not a women-only condition. Melaine Bloom is the National Patient Spokesperson for the Coalition to Prevent DVT. Bloom became a champion for DVT awareness after her husband, NBC News Correspondent David Bloom, died from DVT complications while covering the war in Iraq. “By putting a personal face on DVT, the coalition has reached millions of Americans,” said Bloom. “DVT has been the dubbed the silent killer because 50 per cent of the time, there are no warning signs,” she added.

President and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Herbert Pardes said: “Our number one, two and three priority are patients and their families. We’re trying figure out ways to have the best treatment available and to give people the tools to help them help their families.”

The other speakers were Andrew I. Schafer, Physician-in-Chief of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Orli Etingin, the founder and Medical Director of the Iris Cantor Women’s Health Center. They explained in detail about the symptoms of DVT and those who are at increased risk for developing the condition. The risk factors include a family history of DVT, immobility, such as bed rest or sitting for long periods of time, pregnancy, recent surgery, previous or current cancer, and use of oral contraceptives.

The symposium also made the point that the symptoms, when noticed, can be misdiagnosed. They include discoloration of the legs, leg pain or tenderness, swelling of the leg, warm skin and leg fatigue.

Robin L. Davisson, a professor at Weill Cornell Medical College, said that though she knew about the scientific aspects of the condition, she had come to hear a more personal side of the story about DVT.

Most of the speakers stressed that DVT was still an unknown condition and that needed to change. “Raising awareness is key,” said Bloom. “For the past five years I have been telling David’s story to try and save lives, in his honor and his memory…”

The title of Queens’ Strongest Arm went to Jason Vale from Bellerose, Queens, who defeated all challegers. He won the final match with fierce determination against long-time rival Mike Selearis from Elmhurst. Vale’s dominance came after a five year hiatus. Selearis did capture the strongest left arm title. In the women’s category Mirline Berrouet from So. Ozone Park bested the ladies field that included last month’s Brooklyn’s Strongest Arm Winner Joyce Boone from Brooklyn and Open Kingsboro Champ Pascal McDonald from Hollis, Queens.

Beyonce’s voice boomed out of the Harlem Hospital Centre auditorium and you would be forgiven if you thought it belonged in a nightclub. The image of Herbert Cave Auditorium with the students of P.S. 4, P.S. 197, and Bronx High School of Medical Science dancing to the tune of ‘All the single ladies’ along with the hospital staff was not one that you would soon forget. The freshly scrubbed white hospital walls outside the room looked like any other and the counters of the Hip Hop Public Health Education Center, Touro College and Project Aspire among others were the only exceptions.

Rapper Doug E. Fresh joined Easy AD and DJ Barry B in using hip-hop to educate kids and teens about eating and living healthy. “If you are healthy, put your hands up,” screamed Fresh and every kid was on his or her feet. Barry B spun created the beat and Fresh got the kids to shake their hips onstage. “Get the message to your parents,” said Fresh. “This is how you lose calories,” he added.

There was also a clever animated presentation about how strokes occur featuring Fresh’s music and voice. The children were fascinated by many of the items on display in the gallery, which included an actual human brain. But that was not all – two sets of lungs, one pair healthy and the other blackened by smoking, were on display next to it.

Dr. Olajide Williams of Harlem Hospital, the ‘Hip Hop Doc’, is co-creator of the ‘Hip Hop Stroke’ program with Fresh. The program was developed in partnership with the hospital center to teach schoolchildren about stroke symptoms and motivate them to take urgent action if they recognize it. “When you become famous, remember this day,” said Dr. Williams. “Fresh is putting his fame and fortune back into his community,” he added.

Timothy D. Bellavia, President/CEO of The Tolerance in Multi Media Education Company Inc, talked about what he called the ‘Yes, I can’ program. The company is partnering with Project Aspire, a program to encourage the healthcare aspirations of students in Central Harlem. “We are urging kids to make healthy life choices by eating smart and replacing sweets with carrots,” said Bellavia. “We are also broadening their world view with special children’s books,” he stated.

Dr. Stuart Feldman, Dean, Touro College of Pharmacy, said they were encouraging kids to think about a career as a pharmacist. “We believe in the community of Harlem,” said Dr. Lois A. Garland-Patterson, Assistant Dean, Assessment and Student Affairs, Touro College of Pharmacy. “Our mission is to minimize the health disparity present,” she said. “We do that by educating people to become healthcare providers,” she added.

Dr. Garland-Patterson also stressed the importance of the role of pharmacists. “People go to a doctor with a mindset of ‘what’s my diagnosis’,” she said. “But they come to us indicating what they have to take and we tell them more about the side effects. She also pointed out something else. “Most pharmacists don’t take drugs,” she said. “Drugs shouldn’t be the first choice. They play a vital role but lifestyle awareness is important,” she added.