I have only watched the first installment of the ‘John Adams’ HBO mini series but it was very powerful.

I am not sure how historically accurate it is but Paul Giamatti from Cinderella Man and A Lady in the Water is the lead and I think he is a fabulous actor. He has this ‘everyman’ feeling that he then applies to these passionate, strong yet vulnerable characters that really brings them to life on the silver screen.

It seems like it could be a good fit for the younger generation to see as well. To understand our country today, its important to know something of history to understand our place in the world as a country.

I also found it interesting how certain details that are in the series such as pulling the drape across the front door to keep out the draft. Most of those details are usually skipped. I am really looking forward to seeing the rest of the series.

- Matt O’Grady, Associate Publisher, canvas Magazine

Wow. Before I write anything else I must give a big shout out to my parents first of all, cause I know I was alot to handle, and to all the other parents out there who have ever existed! Yesterday, I spent the better part of 9 hours babysitting with my wife for our 22 month old niece and nephew, Kimberly and Kyle and let me tell you its an experience I will never forget! The constant attention, help, support, love, nurturing, that they need and downright demand is pretty startling for a reluctant future Dad! All in all it was a wonderful day, it actually included a nap which was glorious. My favorite experiences are when they just stop for a moment and looked deep into my eyes with a knowing that I have for forgotten. That experience always reminds me that children seem to know something about life that is so important that cannot expressed through words that adults forget. I am looking forward to spending more ’sitting’ time again for those 2 beautiful ‘new’ little beings, but I will do so with my eyes much more wide open.

Yesterday I watched Rendition , a movie about an Egyptian man who had lived in America for 20 years who was abducted by the CIA, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon. The writer Kelly Sane gives a pretty interesting interview here on why he wrote this script.

In my opinion this movie really brings up some important questions for Americans as to how much as changed since 9/11. I have heard it said that this movie is very Un-American, although some of those people it turns out haven’t even watched the film! On the contrary, for me I think this movie is very American. It raises important questions about what our government, which is supposed to work for us, is doing in the name of national security.

As a child growing up in a somewhat sheltered life in Oyster Bay, Long Island I believed deeply and strongly in my Catholic upbringing and the country I was born into. As I matured through middle school and high school learning about other religions and in college being introduced to the fact that most Christian holidays were based on age old pagan holidays certainly changed my view of what I was indoctrinated into as a child! Joining the military in my early 20’s sure took care of my trust and faith in our military.

This movie reminded me what it felt like to think about honor, truth and holding ourselves to higher standards regardless of the sacrifices and how that seems to have slipped from our collective consciousness as Americans. Most people in our country seem more concerned with the next American Idol, rather than with the next innocent person tortured by Americans.

It prompted me to do some research and I found some interesting articles on the subject, one that ran in the New Yorker, and another that ran in the Guardian almost 4 years ago, and some other interesting info here on the ACLU site. Sadly it seems that torture is alive and well, and the CIA doesn’t have to answer for it, politicians don’t have to answer for it, and the courts can invoke something called the ’state secrets’ privilege which means that law suits just get ignored. How would you feel if it was you being interrogated, or one of your family members? God knows I sure would like to be able to have a lawyer present during my questioning, tough to do when you are ripped from your plane or home as fast as your civil liberties are ripped from your life. I guess the Bill of Rights doesn’t mean what it used too. One last link is a very interesting you tube clip on the subject.

As an American and someone who is very proud of all the wonderful things we have given to society, culture and the world, I pray that we can be courageous enough to become a country that leads by faith in Truth and not by committing atrocities against innocent people that prove us to be cowards.

I have to admit I am a bit ignorant of the South shore of LI, but since I have moved back to LI a little over 3 years ago, I have made a point of spending more time there. In my younger days the the south shore of LI meant one thing: Long Beach/Island Park. I worked at places like Paddy Mcgees, Sprats on the water and the Coyote Grill, so that was really what I was familiar with.

Since moving back I have had several great dining experiences in places like Sayville and Babylon, but last night was a first for me in Patchogue. I was out with 2 friends, Lenn and Dan and we started off at Blue Point Brewery, which was definitely not what I expected. Its quite a small room and bar, although the energy in the room is high and in good spirits. Anne Marie the bartender took care of us and walked us through the complimentary tasting, starting with the Golden Ale in these little 4 ounce cups, and took us through the whole process tasting such fun brews as the ‘No Apologies’ Imperial IPA, ‘Old Howling Bastard’ barley wine and my favorite ‘Hoptical Illusion’ American style IPA. The room had a nice mix of people, some wearing frat sweatshirts and others that looked liked they just came back from some pre-spring fishing. We spent about an hour and half sipping and sampling (we had to pour alot out because we were driving) the different ‘hoppy’ concoctions and then we decided to stop by one of the newest craft beer locations on LI, ‘Once and For All’ about a 1/2 mile away on Main St in downtown Patchogue.

This location has a real homey feel and you can tell they are still getting there feet wet but a very nice beer list including one of my absolute favorites: Chimay Triple. Chimay is made by trappist monks in Belgium since 1850, they are famous for their brewing expertise as well as their delicious cheeses. It is an interesting mixed decor with a nice looking bar and metal bar stools. I saw something really cool for the first time it was a ‘Beer Message Board’, it is a chalk board where you can buy your friend a specific beer and leave them a message, how neat! Lenn and Dan both had a version of Sly Fox that slips my memory. About half way through my Chimay I was starting to get real hungry and we had Bobbigue on the schedule which I had heard quite a bit about so I was excited. Sadly, I had to leave half my Chimay because I was driving, but it was still worth ordering, it is so darn good.

Bobbique was great! Atmosphere is fun and lively, there was a live band playing some old blues covers that was decent. You walk in and order right at the front desk, I went with the St. Louis ribs and sides were beans and mac n cheese with corn bread. The ribs were fabulous, moist, juicy and delicious. We had some good service from Sadi, she brought me a small taste of Bulleit bourbon, which was a very nice, smoky choice. Lenn and Dan opted for the Stone IPA and we had good conversations about food, beer, the wonders of fatherhood and life. The sides were ok and the corn bread wasn’t good enough or the birds. Also, I like it in bbq joints when there are 3 or 4 different bbq sauces to try, at our table there was only one and it was pretty good but not great. I will definitely go back to try some other dishes, the menu is stocked with different choices that I would like to explore.

I am really glad that we ended up in Patchogue, it certainly seems like a growing cultural area here on LI where we will have some great choices in food, beer and art in the future. The Patchogue Theater which frames out some other quite interesting architecture in Patchogue, is just across the street from Bobbique, which has some really nice events every month. I think Patchogue is going to become a regular point of destination for me after this most recent experience. Would you like to join me?

- Matt O’Grady, Associate Publisher, canvas Magazine

Last night many canvas pieces and people came together to create a delicious evening of fun, friends and fund raising. We had our second Wine & Food event at our offices in Huntington, NY. The ever faithful Chris and Karen from Whole Foods Market came together to serve up some spectacular delicacies such as Mediterranean lamb, Portobello mushroom stew over polenta, Oriecchette and shrimp with white beans, tomato and basil, as well as their usual spectacular cheese table including Danish blue and delicious dates! All this deliciousness was paired with great wines from Lieb, Macari and Raphael, some of the best North Fork wineries which we were introduced to by Lenn from Lenndevours.com who also helped host the evening, and keep the education about the wine flowing.

We also had divine tunes on guitar being played by the ‘soon to be famous’ Electra Jacobs. The real center piece for me this night was the fund raiser that we worked with for the night, Coalition for Child abuse and Neglect for Nassau and Suffolk counties. Laura, one of our volunteers did a great job getting the raffle tickets selling and thank you to all who bought tickets. To help raise money for this much needed organization on LI, we raffled off some amazing gift baskets from Whole Foods Market, Dodds and Eder, and canvas, as well as great gift certificates from Red, Osteria De Nino, Cirella’s and Moss Spa and Yoga.

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