News, events, children’s activities in Newton, MA.
The Boston Globe is hosting a bookclub with Maryanne O’Hara, author of Cascade, on Sunday, Sept 14 at 2pm at Newtonville Books.
Maryanne will be in attendance and will discuss Cascade.
An artist is hired to paint images of her doomed town before it is wiped off the map.
It’s 1935, and Desdemona Hart Spaulding has sacrificed her plans to work as an artist in New York to care for her bankrupt, ailing father in Cascade, Massachusetts. When he dies, Dez finds herself caught in a marriage of convenience, bound to the promise she made to save her father’s Shakespeare Theater, even as her town may be flooded to create a reservoir for Boston. When she falls for artist Jacob Solomon, she sees a chance to escape and realize her New York ambitions, but is it morally possible to set herself free?
Fans of Richard Russo, Amor Towles, Sebastian Barry, and Paula McLain will savor this transporting novel about the eternal tug between our duties and our desires, set in New York City and New England during the uncertain, tumultuous 1930s.
The GLOBE would like interested parties to register for this free event via this link.
I drove by Washington Blvd a few weeks ago and leaned out of my car to catch these artists in action. They are painting a pretty incredible BoxART work of art off Adams Street.
I can’t wait to see it when it’s done!
Does anyone know who the artists are?
Arts and Fitness Classes this Fall at JCC
Registration is underway for fall classes at the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center (333 Nahanton Street) in Newton.
Classes begin during the week of September 14 and are open to the entire community. Classes for children include swim lessons, basketball, soccer, Taekwondo, dance, gymnastics, handwriting, LEGO League and musical theatre.
Classes for adults include Pilates, dance, Tai Chi, tennis, painting, drawing and Mah Jongg.
View entire listing of classes and register online here or call 617-558-6419.
The Cultural Connector is a first-of-its-kind water transportation service that provides a water shuttle linking Boston’s waterfront cultural destinations.
The Fallon Company and Boston Harbor Cruises linked up to create a fun way to experience these six cultural destinations on Boston’s historic waterfront:
Cultural Connector all-day passes are $15, but I am giving away 4 passes! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter.
“Finn and Renato [his father] participated on the Rachael Ray vs Guy Fieri Kids Cook Off this summer.
Finn Skerlj was one of eight contestants who was chosen out of 1000’s of applicants. The show premieres on the Food Network August 17th at 8 PM.
I hope you can watch. Here is a commercial for the show.”
Finn is the handsome boy on the far right! He’s also the show’s youngest contestant! Go Finn!
Here’s Finn’s audition tape:
The first day of school has long been a Kodak moment, but with the advancement in phone cameras and the rise of amateur photographers, Junior’s picture has gone from a last-minute, front-porch snap to a fully thought-out production, complete with chalkboard lists, professional signs and staged poses.
The photo experts at SmugMug – the largest independent photo-sharing site in the world – have compiled a list of tips to make sure all the effort you put into the first-day-of-school photo shoot results in the perfect snapshots to share with your friends and family. Or, as perfect as it can be when you’re working with children. 🙂
Choose the right light:
Aim for natural light. Taking snapshots in the living room can turn out dark and cast shadows across your child’s face. If you’re using a flash, avoid getting too close or your child will look more like Casper the Friendly Ghost than a fresh-faced kindergartner.
Keep it neutral:
To keep the spotlight on the star of the photo shoot, choose a neutral the background. Avoid positioning your child in front of wild patterns or cluttered furniture, especially if you’re using props.
Zoom in:
In addition to a full head-to-toe shot, get a close-up of your child’s face, so you can remember what he or she looked like during that time of life.
Don’t cry over spilled milk:
Don’t stress if Junior spills his milk on his just-pressed slacks or if Suzie rips the bow out of her hair. Sometimes the unplanned messes make for the most fun pictures and memories.
Have fun:
It might seem like a no-brainer, but have fun. Talk to your child during the photo shoot to capture natural reactions, like laughter, smiles and, yes, even, a frown that you’ll laugh about later.
The photos are by Meghan MacAskill Photography.
Cubiq Launches On-Demand Concierge Storage Service to Enable Bostonians to Make Room for Better Living
Cubiq’s smartphone-enabled service digitally catalogues, secures and delivers personal belongings at your convenience
Cubiq is launching its smartphone-enabled personal storage service to the Boston market. By giving consumers personal, on-demand access to their storage, Cubiq is helping to make room for better living. The private-equity backed company, founded by two seasoned Boston tech and marketing entrepreneurs, Michael Cappelletti and Scott Nelson, will offer its Uber-inspired storage concierge service to Boston and neighboring communities.
Cubiq digitally catalogues clients’ belongings, then securely seals personal items and valuables in clean, RFID (radio frequency identification) tagged, secure storage cubes. When clients wish to retrieve their belongings, Cubiq provides an on-demand, mobile-optimized delivery service that returns cubes within 24-hours.
The market for self-storage continues to grow as Americans are purchasing more goods and running out of space to personally store them at their apartments, homes and condos. According to the Self Storage Association, the U.S. self-storage market is a $24 billion industry with one in 10 American households renting a self-storage unit.
“As more people flock to urban centers in living spaces with limited storage options, storage has emerged as one of the top concerns for Boston apartment and condo dwellers,” said Michael Cappelletti, CEO of Cubiq. “We are providing urban residents with the ability to easily and conveniently extend their closets, enabling them to live in their living spaces and free up valuable time.”
Cubiq offers three initial packages starting at $29 a month for four cubes and one free return. Unlike other storage services, Cubiq does not charge for every incidental, providing return credits for each service package. As part of its launch, Cubiq is offering an additional month of service for customers that sign up before Sept. 15. To order cubes, sign up here and enter “launchBOS.”
“I paid $60 a month for a storage place I never visited and never even knew what was in my unit, so I began to store my merchandise at home,” said Lucy Cobos, co-founder of Pee Happy, an animal welfare group that sells dog-related apparel and gives 100 percent of the proceeds to local animal shelters. “As our merchandise grew from hats to t-shirts, boxes began piling up in my bedroom and blocked our courtyard view. Cubiq gave me back my living space and view, and provided me with a smartphone inventory catalogue of my apparel.”
July 30, 2014
Dear Families,
By now, many of you have read or heard media reports regarding the controversy surrounding my graduation speeches this past spring. The students, families, community and faculty deserved far better from me and it is hard to put into words my deep regret and sorrow over my actions.
First, it was inexcusable that my graduation speech included several phrases and thoughts that were similar to the radio excerpts I heard from Governor Patrick’s speech. It was essential that Governor Patrick be credited and cited for his words, and while it was not my intent to be so careless and intellectually dishonest, this was a very serious omission on my part. I am terribly sorry for what I have done and for letting the community down.
Second, I apologize for not putting greater thought and time into my speeches. As one who typically devotes considerable energy to both my written pieces and speeches, I learned a tough lesson about doing things in a sloppy and hasty manner.
Perhaps the most painful aspect of this episode is my failure to lead by example, something that I take very seriously. I fully recognize that trust and confidence is an essential aspect of successful leadership and I am very sorry for what has been lost. I am fully aware that it is up to me to restore such trust and confidence in the community and I will do everything possible to make that happen.
In the field of education, we often talk about learning from failures. I can assure you that I have learned from mine. As I have said many times, I consider it a great privilege to lead such an excellent school system and look forward to continuing to address the important opportunities and challenges ahead.
Best,
David Fleishman
The speech discrepencies were first noted on Newton South High School’s student newspaper here. This was the second time a Massachusetts superintendent was caught plagiaring. The penalty for plagiaring in Newton is a week’s pay.
I think Dr. Fleishman is doing a great job as superintendent and that this is a blip in an otherwise spotless record. He made a mistake, paid a price and it’s time to move on. What do you think? Agree, disagree or don’t really care? Please share!
