Rich Monetti
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I am, I write.
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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
The Irishman is a Little Light in Comparison to Past Scorsese Triumphs
Studio : Netflix, Poster My first go at The Irishman had me walking out after 90 minutes. The big screen presentation came across as just a bunch of people talking out from the screen. It was unwatchable, but after an relatively enjoyable viewing on Netflix, I have a theory. The film was made for the small screen and did not translate on the larger medium. Still, Martin Scorsese’s latest does not rise to the level of his other great works, and I have some theories about that too.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Geeks
Part I : Childhood Tidbits from Brooklyn Raised Celebrities
Photo by Jessie Pearl Pat Benatar Pat Benatar was born on Jan. 10, 1953 in Brooklyn as Patricia Mae Andrzejewski. Her father worked with sheet metal, and her mom was a beautician who was trained as an opera vocalist. Her parents never pushed their daughter in a musical direction, but when teachers at Daniel Street Elementary School heard her voice, they had Benatar take voice lessons during gym class, according to Sari Rosenberg of Lifetime. She did her first solo at the age of eight, and of course, there was plenty of time to be a cheerleader, enjoy the beach and got to the movies. Benatar eventually went to Lindenhurst High School, and stood out enough in the musical and theater department, that she gained acceptance to the Juilliard School of Music. Remarkably, the 80s icon declined and pursued a degree in health education at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She lasted a year and married her high school sweetheart, Dennis T. Benatar. He was a soldier, and they moved to Virginia where he was stationed.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Geeks
