This New England

A University of Connecticut law professor, Richard Pomp, calls his student John Belanger very "energetic.'' Indeed, it would take a lot of energy to do what Mr Belanger is accused of: Helping to mastermind a $250-million-a-year marijuana-smuggling ring.

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Too bad the National Weather Service did not give a cute name to the little subtropical storm we had in these parts last night. It brought the breath of the Bahamas.

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The backing and filling on the flap over TV star and celebrity Prof. Henry Louis Gates has been a sight to behold. President Obama felt that he had been so damaged by speaking too quickly that Friday he had to spring to the defense, on TV, of the same Cambridge police officer, James Crowley, he had condemned for arresting an enraged Mr. Gates after the professor and a driver were seen forcing their way into the Harvard-owned house Mr. Gates was living in.

That a black police officer who was at the house when the confrontation happened said the arrest was quite proper may have been the political coup de grace.

The president (and Governor Patrick) forgot that the best thing for a public official to do when he hears about a controversial legal case is to refuse to say anything for a while until he really know what he's talking about -- especially if it also involves someone with as big an ego as Professor Gates.

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-- Photo by ARTHUR EVANS

Williams College, in Williamstown, Mass., is watching very closely who enters its Museum of Art. The little town is quite something, with not one, but two major art collections, the other being the Clark Institute of Art.

The museum tells us that:

Current shows at Williams include, In partnership with the Terra Foundation for American Art, " "Prendergast in Italy, ''the first exhibition devoted entirely to the Italian watercolors, monotypes and oil paintings of American artist Maurice Prendergast.

Featuring over 60 views of Venice, Rome, Siena, and Capri, ''Prendergast in Italy'' also includes the artist's personal sketchbooks, letters, photographs, and guidebooks from his two trips to Italy, in 1898 and 1911.

Then there are two exhibitions highlighting different periods from the photographic career of Edward Steichen. In ''High Fashion, the Condé Nast Years, 1923-1937'' is the first comprehensive presentation of Steichen work made for the fashion and glamour industry. ''Episodes from a Life in Photography'' surveys Steichen's photography throughout his career.

The Berkshires have attracted many glittery types of the 20th Century drawn to the green hills not so far from Manhattan. Perhaps most notable was Cole Porter, Cafe Society's poet laureate, who had an estate in Williamstown.

As for Conde Nast -- some great publications (The New Yorker!), but the personnel approach of Stalin -- okay, but without the torture and mass murder.

It's famous for firing large numbers of people utterly without warning (or feeling). Oh, well, these firings do end up producing some novels and magazine pieces about the trauma.

See:

http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/bios/nina_munk/search?contributorName=Nina%20Munk

 Tags  Conde Nast Henry Louis Gates John Belanger Richard Pomp Williams College Museum of Art

Comments

Warrington Faust said:

Re: Prof. Gates. It is time he got a life and realize that it is a "life in the big city". Recently I decided to clear a few house lots which had been in my family over 100 years. During the course of that I was "visited" by the police 21 times. Each time ID was demanded along with proof of ownership. I was beginning to feel harrassed. Several of the officers were black, I never suspected racial motivation. Being police, they would not reveal the cause for their concern. I later found out from another source that the police were deluged with calls from women reporting that I was stealing wood off city property.

In relating this, unlike Prof. Gates, I do not seek to "speak for the least amongst us".

Link | July 25, 2009 9:36 AM
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Terrence McCarthy said:

Is it true Obama invited Gates and Crowley to the White House to talk about this " over a beer? " Maybe pale ale for Gates and Stout for Crowley would be appropriate. Harp and Guinness. Black and tan. And Obama? Have a Gansett, neighbor.

Link | July 27, 2009 11:33 AM
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T.C.P.02906 said:

It seems sad enough that Obama has made himself
such common currency with his almost-weekly TV
appearances and so-called press conferences, but
this ill-advised "come have a beer with me"
nonsense is ridiculously unpresidential.

An American president sits down with heads of
state and/or foreign ambassadors--NOT village
police officers and uppity, indignant university
professors with unknown motives. WHO is
advising him on matters such as this??

Eventually, a grave national issue will
require that Obama address a national audience and
command serious and undivided attention. Lets
hope he can still do that when it becomes a dire
necessity. As of now, he probably ought to just
"cool it"--or risk squandering his unique
stature as our country's leader.

Link | July 28, 2009 3:41 AM
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