Pierson High School in Sag Harbor comes in for a fair amount of criticism from the Sag Hampton community, some justified. Standardized test scores aren't always what they might be, per-student costs are very high, course offerings are sometimes too limited for the brightest students, and questionable administrative decisions are known to have been made from time to time. But, often Pierson does things right. I want to tell you about one of its successes for which I am personally grateful. ...   more »

I Like

1. The Community. Sag Harbor is still largely a community of people who live here year-round and care about the town, its institutions and each other. There are lots of groups and organizations to get involved with -- school, fire department, historical society, library, theater, museums, chamber of commerce, churches, synagogue and more. And, whether you choose to get involved ...   more »

Sometimes the simplest advice is the best.

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."  ~ Dalai Lama

We all need to have a little compassion for each other when looking for solutions to complex problems.

Thanks to Jennifer, author of the great  inspirational blog Goodness Graciousness for bringing this quote to my attention.

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Currently listening to: The Christians and the Pagans by Dar Williams

Sometimes I read something and am so struck by its "rightness," that I just have to share it with everyone I know. That happened today when I read a column in the March 1, 2007 edition of The Southampton Press by Anne Surchin, a Sag Hampton-based architect and writer. Ms. Surchin used the Press' s architecture column to discourse on ...   more »

I was in Montauk yesterday, and, as always, was impressed by what a unique and lovely place it is. I wanted to write about that today -- y'know, something upbeat and charming. Unfortunately, after reading yet another ill-informed opinion piece about the John Jermain Memorial Library's expansion plans in last Thursday's Sag Harbor Express, I just can't do charming. It's not that Lorraine Dusky's viewpoint was unreasonable -- in fact, I agree with her main point, about it being our responsibility to protect the character of our community -- it's just that when talking about the library, she reiterates a few old arguments that I thought were long ago laid to rest.   more »

3/5/07 Update: You can now see the winning film at http://www.freshfilms-portland.com.

Sag Hampton native, Alec Cohen (my son), and his friends and fellow students at the Art Institute of Portland, Uli Beutter and Kurt Nishimura, won the $10,000 first prize (and a year's supply of OJ) in the Tropicana Fresh Take Film Contest for their short film Splash. The results of the on-line voting (which counted for 40%) and the judges’ decision (60%) were announced today. To add to the excitement, Kurt also won the Re-Animate The Decemberists Contest sponsored by Capitol Records. His winning video, O, Valencia, will air on MTVu on Monday morning (3/5/07). In addition, all three filmmakers will graduate from AIP on March 23rd, and, happily, my wife Bobbie and I will be able to celebrate with them in Portland. Looking ahead to more projects, the trio has formed a production company: SandyMontana. You can view some of their work at the SandyMontana website.

A big thank you to all who saw my earlier post and took the time to vote for Splash.

For background on the Tropicana contest see my original post: Local Boy Makes Good (With Your Help) from February 16th.
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Currently listening to: Shine So Bright by Teddy Thompson