Shoreline Out and About » Odds and Ends

New Media Haven At The Black Bear Saloon.

Edwin Bartlett — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:17:32 +0000

Prolific Interactive is proud to present the first ever New Media Haven at Black Bear Saloon! The event is the first of its kind in the New Haven area and will bring all techies, creative’s, entrepreneurs and anyone who is interested in the digital space together, someplace other than Twitter!

New Media Haven is the perfect event to meet, greet and have a good time with people while talking digital. We encourage you to relax and take in a couple of demos from local Connecticut companies. Featured presenters are Ben Berkowitz, CEO of SeeClickFix, and Odin Liam Wright, Founder of Beeing.com, who will both showcase their kick ass companies. Don’t forget to enjoy Black Bear’s complimentary dishes of food and also a few cocktail specials which include $2 “You Call Ems” from 6-7pm and 2 for 1 drinks from 7-8pm.

Interested in what’s the latest in the tech world? How about just finding out more about the cool projects people have been working on in the area? New Media Haven is the event for you!

Ben Berkowitz – local t-shirt king, graphic designer and free-lance web designer, he can also manage your construction project while
spinning records. As a fourth generation New Havenite, Ben knows almost everyone and quotes the comments on New Haven Independent for fun.

Odin Liam Wright – Industrial Designer, Artist, Entrepreneur & Founder of Beeing.com (a social media platform that adds a social layer to the

web). Liam has always had a strong desire to create new products and to develop them with like-minded individuals. After leaving the NYC adverting scene to take time to travel and finish grad school, he started part time a design service to maintain an income. Subsequently it grew into a design company – the V3 Group – a service oriented company, which out of that experience in the interactive 3D virtual world created a LLC, Beeing – that is now a product oriented company.

If you are interested in presenting at, or sponsoring a New Media Haven event, please email info@prolificinteractive.com. Also feel free to email us with all other questions, comments and creative ideas. Keep up with the latest by following us on Twitter@newmediahaven and facebook.com/newmediahaven.

Clinton Launches Biofuel Initiative

Edwin Bartlett — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:02:45 +0000

On Sunday, November 22nd, the Town of Clinton becomes the first in the state to launch a biofuel initiative. To kick it off, they will showing the Sundance award winning movie “Fuel” It will be shown at The Morgan School, and admission is free, however, donations to the “Clinton Families Helping Families” initiative to raise money for fuel assistance.

Clinton will be using Biofuels to heat Town Hall, The Morgan School, and Henry Carter Hull Library. Additionally, half of the towns school bus fleet will be running on it.

The initiative was started by local resident Patsy Kumekawa, , and also consists of Clinton First Selectman William Fritz,School Superintendent Jack Cross, Morgan School Principal Keri Hagness, Henry Carter Hull Library Director Maribeth Breen,DPW Director Peter Neff, Finance Director Rosemary Hanson, Hale Hill Biofuels business manager Donna Worst, and Greenleaf Biofuels Distribution Manager Charlie Beebe.

For more information about biofuels, and how you can best use it, visit www.greenleafbiofuels.com

Ten Digit Dialing Is Here

Steve Spurrell — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:01:01 +0000

Beginning this Saturday 11/14/09, everyone in Connecticut must dial the area code, and a seven digit phone number from any location to any location, no matter what! Dialing your neighbor across the street? Yup, ten digits! All those pre-programmed numbers in your cell or fax machine should be checked to make sure the area code is included or it’s a no go! Toll calls including out of state calls will still need the 1 plus the area code and number.

We were told in March that this was coming but my dog must have eaten my homework that day or else I something better to worry about! This is all in preparation for the addition of additional area codes for our State. There are no public plans to do this so far but the increased need for phone numbers is not likely to stop any time soon.

This has been a public service announcement from Shoreline Out and About. We will now return you to your regular broadcasting….

Tell your friends to get Out And About!

The Homefront: Helping Homeless Veterans

Tracey Scheer — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:00:48 +0000

Columbus House has long provided housing for the homeless in our area. Now they have launched an ambitious initiative to open a house in January for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who have nowhere to go and need support and reconnection.

The Homefront, as they call the program, will not only house the vets, but will also provide support and encourage the residents to pursue higher levels of education and vocational training, and reintegrate them back into the community.

The house will be funded with over $300,000 from the Department of Veterans Affairs and an additional $50,000 from the Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund. Columbus House is desperately trying to raise an additional $110,000 to open the house in January.

You can help Columbus House reach its goal by making a donation online at https://co.clickandpledge.com/advanced/default.aspx?wid=27630, by organizing a fundraiser, or by spreading the word to friends. For more information, go to the Columbus House website at www.columbushouse.org.

The Leatherman….

Mark Grabowski — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:00:41 +0000

Not the fierce blizzard of 1888, the score of sub-zero nights, or the days blaze of a melting summer sun would break the routine of the Old Leather Man. His clothes were tied patches of leather – 60 pounds of dark, tough hide. Hands bloated, face weathered and wrinkled, eyes white, and the slow pace of his heap would petrify the townspeople as he crept through the night.

The Leather Man was a legendary nomad who lived in caves and walked in a circuit from Westchester County along the Connecticut shoreline, up the Connecticut River, across Litchfield County, down the Hudson River and back around. Every 34 days he would sloth through coastal villages and river towns, foraging for food, and living with the wild.

In Guilford he made himself a cave of railroad ties, in Clinton he lived in a cave on Morgan’s Landing, and along the river he would squat in abandoned mills. Many people offered him food and shelter hoping their goodwill would save them from his curse, but he would never accept the generous offerings from the towns people. On a dare, some of the older children would try to talk to him, but he would never speak. Like an animal he would only gurgle and grunt. To a child he was enormous and terrifying, and once you were locked into the stare of his white eyes you were surely fighting the pain of your tingling skin – your spine numb, mesmerized and frozen in fear. You could almost hear the collective pounding hearts of Guilford’s children as they screamed, “The Leather Man is coming, the Leather Man is coming!”

The Old Leather Man continued his cycle like clockwork along the shore, through the Valley and towns. In December 1888 the Connecticut shoreline never saw the Leather Man again. Campers to this day that have dared to spend the night along Leather Man’s trail have said on quiet, cold fall nights you can sometimes still hear the short drag of the leaves, and the crack of the woods as he moves through the night. His gurgles and grunts still burning through the crisp, October air. Don’t turn around, the Leather Man is coming!

Midnight Mary

Mark Grabowski — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:15:14 +0000

“The People Shall Be Troubled at Midnight and Pass Away”. Buried in New Haven’s Evergreen Cemetery is the late Mary Hart.

There isn’t any mystery of this seamstress’s death – she fell into a coma at noon and finally passed on at midnight on October 15^th, 1872. There’s nothing menacing about her life that would give meaning to her eerie headstone. She lived a relatively anonymous life as a corset maker until her death at age 47. Reports in the years following her death suggest rumors of her being one of the many witches of New Haven. However, the only fact remains – what happened after she was layed to rest galvanizes the fear in all that read those words. Mary Hart was buried alive.

In the 1800’s medical technology could not diagnose certain illnesses, the exact cause of death, or even if someone was actually dead. In Mary’s case, she was stricken with an apparent stroke. In rare cases, when the cause of death was unknown people were buried alive. Sometimes at the request of the family, the caretaker of the cemetery would install a bell tied to the toes of the dead in the event the recently buried would ring the attention of the caretaker so he could unearth them before succumbing to certain death! The phrase “dead ringer” was thought to be born by this safety coffin.

The night of Mary’s burial, an aunt had a nightmare that Mary was struggling and suffocating in the coffin. She immediately sprang from her bed in fear that they hastily buried Mary without truly knowing her affliction. She ordered the caretaker of the Evergreen Cemetery to dig up her coffin. When they went out to her plot, Mary’s bell was nearly torn off it’s hinges and the rope tied to the dead ringer was stripped off as if she was so frantic in her struggle that she ripped the rope clear off the bell. When the coffin was opened Mary was certainly dead. Her face wrought in fear, her hands bloody from clawing at the casket, the casket itself shredded and scarred, and the bell rope lying in the coffin, the end frayed.

None of the caretakers in history know who inscribed the haunting warning on Mary’s headstone. There are stories of those who have tried to sit by her gravesite with the hopes of seeing Mary’s ghost, only to find their own death coming at midnight on October 15th the very next year. There are accounts of people picking up a middle aged woman hitchhiking on Davenport Avenue, and all she wants is to be “brought home”. Without an address, she just asks to be dropped off at the cemetary. But all legends pale in comparison to the tale of those that have been at the grave at exactly midnight on October 15^th that could still hear the silent screaming of a soul forgotten.

A Letter from the President

Mike Moretti — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:00:51 +0000

I know, I know…so formal. Well, not really…..

It’s been officially 2 weeks since the launch of Shoreline Out and About, or www.shorelineoutandabout.com. A week and two days running, but months in the making. This is truly an amazing effort and I want to take a minute to thank all of our supporters. Without you, there would be nothing for us to work for.

We are simply amazed at the success of our site, and I say our site because it is just that. It is a site for all people on the Shoreline to interact with and use for your pleasure, enlightenment and planning. We have received requests from so many businesses, non-profits, artists and professionals and we are giving it right back to you in a format that is very simple to navigate yet very powerful. So make it YOUR site. Make it a personal playground for things that interest you. Search out others with similar interests. Start a group or two or three. Invite people along for your ride. What I am finding out is after 20 years of living on the Shoreline, there are still many new and exciting things to do and see. Businesses, art galleries, restaurants, book stores, and the list goes on.

So join a group, get social and above all else, get Out and About!

Just So You Know What You Are Playing For

the-boogeyman — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 04:50:50 +0000

Take a look at these. When I say these are the best cookies EVER. I am not kidding. And they are not small cookies either. One of these babies will satisfy any craving that you have. Red Rooster Baking Co. Remember this name. Stop in and say hi to Kim, or order them through the website. Better yet, find The Boogeyman, and a dozen is on shorelineoutandabout.com.

Care to Join Me?

Mike Moretti — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:00:05 +0000

With the popularity of espresso shops and martini bars is it any wonder that the espresso martini has become popular as well? Sometimes called the espressotini, this drink is a perfect blend of caffeine and alcohol. If you’re looking for a buzz that picks you up while relaxing you at the same time, then it’s time that you asked your barista or your bartender for an espresso martini.

So what is an espresso martini? Well, that depends on who you ask. There are so many variations of this drink out there that there isn’t a generally accepted recipe. The only consistent ingredients are espresso and vodka and even then the espresso is sometimes substituted with coffee or even instant coffee crystals.

The best espresso martinis are usually made with real espresso. If you’re making one at home, be sure to let it cool to room temperature before adding it to your cocktail shaker. Using ice to cool down your espresso will just give you watered down espresso.

The vodka in an espresso martini is almost always of the flavored variety. The most popular option is using a vanilla vodka and adding a coffee liqueur. But now there are espresso flavored vodkas available as well. Whether you use unflavored vodka, vanilla or espresso just remember that you don’t want to use gin. It’s true that martinis are made with gin but it really doesn’t taste great when mixed with espresso.

Once the vodka and the espresso are added this is where all the variations come into play. Some people like to add a splash of Grand Marnier, while other recipes call for Tia Maria or Amaretto. Even chocolate liqueurs can be added if you prefer the taste of a mochaccino to a regular espresso. If you like the taste of one of these liqueurs and you think it will go with your espresso martini then give it a try. Whatever you choose, be sure to only use a splash because the main purpose of this additional liqueur is to add a just hint of flavor. You don’t want to overpower the primary flavors of the martini.

The one thing that almost all espresso martini recipes agree on is the garnish. Three espresso beans will top your drink off properly. The rules for garnishes say that odd amounts are lucky so go with one, three or five beans.

Espresso martinis are becoming more and more popular no matter how they are made. Whether you’re a regular at your local coffee house or that swanky martini bar in the city, why not order an espressotini the next time you’re looking for new and unusual drink.

Stressed Out And Don’t Know It?

Carolyn Phillips — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:00:57 +0000

Many people think of stress in terms of an emotional state. Another form of stress we should be considering is stressors that accelerate the aging process and our overall health and wellness. Sun exposure, lack of exercise, internal disease, lack of sleep, dehydration, sugar and fat consumption are a few of the reasons some of us look and feel better or worse than others. Many of these factors are under our complete control, yet many of us lack the understanding or desire to address what might take years off our lives. If you looking for the quick fix, there is no such thing. You may be required to adapt a new lifestyle driven by a healthier mindset. If you start today addressing areas that you have neglected, over time you will feel and see the difference.

An understanding of what happens when the body is in a state of stress is helpful. Any of the above stresses will promote free radical damage and encourage aging. Whenever there is trauma created in the body or infections, free radicals will be created in high levels though out the body. Vitamin C-E, beta carotene, and the super anti oxidant green and white teas is anti oxidants that can help defend against free radical damage.

As we age, the hormones in our bodies decrease with the exception of cortisol.

Cortisol is one hormone that increases as we get older and during periods of stressful demands on the body. Cortisol is essential for our internal system but when cortisol is present for long periods of time, it does affect the body adversely. Cortisol is associated with old age and disease. Increased levels of cortisol can decrease muscle mass, destroy the immune system, shrink brain cells and other vital organs, and cause thinning of skin, in turn we look and feel tired and run down.

There are many factors that can raise our cortisol levels. Coffee is one of them. Many people’s favorite morning pick me up is coffee. You should know before you reach for your second or third cup of coffee, (we can be reasonable and keep one a day), that the caffeine raises levels of cortisol and insulin, hormones that accelerate aging and store body fat. As few as two cups of coffee per day raise levels of cortical. When this hormone is released it has an adverse effect on the immune system, brain cells, sugar metabolism, and weight gain. Caffeine also acts as a diuretic, depleting the body of fluid and minerals, particularly calcium and zinc. In addition, it stimulates secretion of stress hormones which elevates heart rate and blood pressure as well as lower digestive system efficiency. If you have to have a morning beverage, try substituting a decaf green or white tea or a naturally decaffeinated red tea for all the benefits of the anti oxidants found in them.

Dehydration takes a toll on certain organs and weight loss. Here’s why. Without enough water the kidney won’t work to capacity. Now the liver has to do some of the kidneys work. One of the main functions is to metabolize fat. If the liver has to help the kidney function it won’t metabolize fat as efficiently. Weight loss slows considerably! As a general rule you should have 8-eight ounce glasses of water a day. Every excess 25 lbs. you should include an extra 8 ounces of water.

Studies are showing that less than 8 hours sleep a night can contribute to weight gain by dramatically disrupting the hormones that control your eating habits and metabolism. Deprived sleep interferes with carbohydrate metabolism which leads to weight gain. Many times sleep is disrupted because of all the others stressors we don’t address in our lives. The quantity and quality of sleep are both important. Recommendations for adults fall between 7 and 8 hours a night. Avoid stimulates in the evening, including caffeine, sodas or chocolate. Try a chamomile tea, known for its benefits of being a sleep aide. Avoid exercise and a heavy meal before bed time. Realize that the “night cap” to calm you down has a price. Alcohol may help you to get to sleep but it will cause you to wake up throughout the night. To get a better night sleep, do something for your self every day to reduce the risk of stress. Include some type of exercise, yoga, Pilates or a type of taking care of you theme to reduce the risk of depression and stress in your life.

When we walk outside in the sun we immediately begin to trigger free radical damage formation in our skin causing premature skin aging, skin cancer, and other skin changes. 90% of the symptoms of premature skin aging occur from ultraviolet rays, UVA or UVB prolonged exposure. UVB affects the outer layer of skin, the epidermis, and is the primary agent responsible for sunburns. Studies are showing that UVA is a major contributor to skin damage and penetrates deeper into the skin. UV radiation causes collagen to break down at a higher rate than with aging. Sunlight damages collagen fibers and causes the accumulation of abnormal elastin. The rebuilding process that occurs from sunlight results in disorganized collagen fibers is known as solar scars. When the skin repeats this poor rebuilding process over and over from constant over exposure to the sun, wrinkles develop. A sunscreen you choice should include Mexoryl, well-known protect skin from wrinkle-causing UVA rays. Some sunscreens only protect against UVB rays.

Simple sugars cause a burst of sugars released in your body. This burst causes many stresses to the body. Sugar will promote a sharp spike in insulin levels resulting in accelerating the aging process, increased risk of heart disease, every form of cancer, memory loss, and mental deterioration and is function in accelerating aging skin and wrinkles. If you do choose to eat your refined sugars you should combine with good fats, fiber, and protein to slow absorption. Many times I hear people state they are addicted to sugar. Realize that eating sugar causes your body to crave more sugar. That may be the addiction you think you have. Read the contents on your labels. Don’t concentrate on the carbohydrate number; look at the grams of sugar listed on the label.

According to diet surveys conducted by the USDA, the average American consumes 20 teaspoons of added sugar each day. Here is an eye opening example. The USDA conducted a survey on an average teenage boy. They consume 868 cans per year! A 12 ounce can has 9-12 teaspoons of sugar. This is how teens get 15 of their 34 teaspoons of sugar each day.

The bottom line is, in this day and age, we have to become more knowledgeable about our health and how we lead our lives. We are constantly bombarded with stressors to the body by just being alive. We are living in a time when many people are not taking caring of their emotional as well as physical stressors. We all need to invest sometime every day to take care of our selves, improve our health, and reduce stress to live longer and healthier lives.

Carolyn Phillips- Founder/CEO

Menu of Life- Carolynsmenuoflife.com

Fit Behavior- Fitbehavior.com

860-529-9867