Satisfying Films
Since I have attended all 12 years, I can testify that the Woodstock Film Festival is always improving. Besides becoming more prominent, and therefore getting better films, its intelligent programmers constantly refine their own taste. I saw two movies this year, both radiantly satisfying: Downtown Express is a double-love story about Russian classical immigrant musicians in Brooklyn. One joins Nelly McKay’s band, and invents mighty Mozart-tinged Rock.
Paper Birds is about Spanish vaudevillians just after the Civil War. It’s one of the six best anti-Fascist films since Casablanca (which was written by a Woodstocker, Howard W. Koch). The crowd at Upstate Films in Woodstock gave it a standing ovation. For all its crystals and meditation cushions, Woodstock still hates Franco!
Sparrow
Phoenicia
Bruderhoff Forum at Bardavon
Congratulations to the Bruderhoff for successfully pulling off the forum at the Bardavon on Monday evening, September 26. The panel moderator should be commended for trying to keep the discussion on topic. The night was about strong marriages being essential to a healthy culture. A high rate of divorce leads to all of the negative factors of a failing culture. Commitment and fidelity of a husband and wife working as a team will result in happier and healthier children. This was made evident by the statistics presented. This forum was not about anti-gay anything, but the gay community attempted to seize the opportunity to turn the focus from discussing healthy heterosexual marriages to fulfilling its agenda. The panel was polite and respectful. Archbishop Dolan bravely stated our mandate — the definition of marriage was given to us by God, and we will not change it.
In closing, we acknowledge that gays have the legal right in New YOrk State to be married. We respect that right, though we don’t celebrate it, as we have much work to do on our own marriages. Congratulations to the Bruderhoff for helping us focus on the main issue.
Donald Moore
West Hurley
Too many cooks…
The fact of the matter is when you have more than one person overseeing a project, it just adds to the confusion of accomplishing a specific goal, especially if they have a different perspective of proper protocol.
Howard Harris
Bearsville
Try Lorin
I am a lifelong Democrat but I would like to congratulate the Republican caucus on its selection of a truly excellent candidate for Town Supervisor, Lorin Rose. How refreshing that Woodstock voters have the opportunity of a real choice this year! I’ve known Lorin for many years and there are a lot of reasons I think he’d make a great Town Supervisor. First of all, he’s smart and has a creative, “out of the box” approach to problem-solving. He’s not daunted by trying out new ideas, nor is he threatened by taking suggestions from others. In fact, he has a real gift for encouraging consensus from those who may disagree and, from what I’ve seen, he welcomes input from others who may bring other ideas to the table. None of these qualities has been much in evidence in town government here for a pretty long time. I have yet to disagree with a position Lorin’s taken on issues facing the town. I know that his main reason for seeking office is because he wants to help Woodstock tackle the difficult problems we face, just as he has always been there to help out his neighbors (including myself, more times than I can count) — because that’s just what good neighbors do.
Do we really need more of the “same old, same old” in our town government? We’ve been there. We’ve done that. Did it really work out so well? It seems to me that over and over, an issue will be before the town which will generate tremendous opposition from all varieties of the political spectrum but suddenly, we are presented with it as a fait accompli, signed sealed and delivered with an arrogant, “we know best” attitude from the town government.
Lorin Rose has the positive energy and good ideas to bring a creative, inclusive approach to our town. So I’d call on my fellow Democrats (and everybody else too!) to consider casting their vote for Lorin Rose for Town Supervisor, either on the Common Sense or on the Republican party line. It’s time for Woodstock to try a different way.
Augusta Ogden
Bearsville
For more letters, see print edition
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