COVERT OPS

Larry Beinhart offers a history lesson on the CIA’s secret wars.

While You Were Sleeping

Poppy’s in Afghanistan, missing weapons in Iraq, bogus tax breaks, and more.

A Hotbed of Hope

Lorna Tychostup reports on the efforts of Nature Iraq, an environmental organization working to restore depleted marshlands and catalog indigenous flora and fauna.

Letter to the Editor: 'A Peculiar Article'

I am writing to express the revulsion I feel toward Lorna Tychostup’s peculiar article “Stories of the Displaced” [9/07]. In fairness, until the part titled “Stories from the Displaced Front,” the article is informative. Then, in my view, it becomes shoddy and manipulative.

Chronogram Seen in September

The events we sponsor, the people who make a difference,
the Chronogram community.

Featured Contributors: October

Two photographers, an author, and an intern contribute to this month’s Chronogram.

Esteemed Reader

Publisher Jason Stern takes on the unknown.

Editor's Note: Fall

1,000 words.

Local Luminary: Joel Tyner

Dutchess County legislator and radio host Joel Tyner, tells us where he’s dining, what he’s singing while stopped at a red light, and his first order of business if elected president.

Solar Attraction

Ann Braybrooks visits the Chatham campus of SunDog Solar and Solaqua Power and Art.

In the Realm of Ashes

Andrea Walker and her mother, co-owners of a pet crematorium, carry out their grim business with the utmost dignity and respect for their furry clients.

CD Review: Pamela Sue Mann

Pamela Sue Mann’s sophomore album perfects pop.

CD Review: Venture Lift

Woodstock’s Stanton Warren takes listeners tripping on the debut album of his Venture Warren project.

Nightlife Highlights: October

Whether it’s Uncle Monk at the Muddy Cup or Celtic rock from The Battlefield Band, if DJ Wavy Davy recommends it, you’re in for a good time.

Talent with Taste

A family run coffee shop where you can get a side of blues, hip hop, or hard rock with your apple crisp.

CD Review: Manhattan New Music Project

The first of two CDs recorded to document the 30-year career of Paul Nash, before his death in 2005.

Burning Down the Year

There are few who aren’t entranced by the magic and mystery of Halloween, but there are also few who understand the holiday’s origins, symbology, and traditions.

Discursive Lens

Hopewell Junction-based photographer Michael Sibilia will exhibit urban landscapes this month at GAS Gallery in Poughkeepsie.

Serendipitous Encounters

Chrissy Glenn gathered five talented artists for an exhibit at the Pearl Arts Gallery in Stone Ridge and still had time to curate the Joni Mitchell show in Manhattan.

Queen of Controversy

The uncompromising Sinead O’Connor has done it again, but this time it’s not quite as shocking as some of her past stunts.

Still Rolling

The Woodstock Film Festival rolls out the celluloid in its eighth year.

Portfolio: Cave Dogs

Cave Dogs discuss their collaborative creative process.

Freewheeling Freakout

Indie rock royalty Yo La Tengo will play two shows at Colony Cafe on October 20.

Vintage Violence

Cathy Wilkerson joined Weatherman, the leftist revolutionary group, when it was founded in 1969, and was soon chanting slogans like “Kick the Ass of the Ruling Class” and “Bring the War Home!”

Book Reviews: King’s Gambit

Exploring the dark side of chess is just one thread in King’s Gambit, a neat piece of participant/observer journalism with an overarching narrative of self-awareness.

October's Short Takes

Bring out yer dead! Hudson Valley authors and illustrators have brewed up some weird and wondrous books to pack for your next haunted hayride.

Book Reviews: Trespass

Trespass employs a broad canvas, but it isn’t just a political story. Valerie Martin peels back big issues to reveal the bigger ones beneath.

Book Reviews: Kill All Your Darlings: Pieces, 1990-2005

Take a crash course in pop culture with Luc Sante. S&M, Allen Ginsberg, the blues— what are you waiting for? Take notes. It’s all on the test.

Big Man On Campus

Nina Shengold gets Charley Rosen to talk candidly about his upbringing, coaching meltdowns, and how he handles enraged bloggers.

The Breath of Home

We are bombarded each day. The stream is constant: noise, obligation, unsettling strife far away and close by. The wish for retreat and respite, for escape from this everyday chaos, is an understandable given. We need not flee our homes to find refuge. We may create it every moment and in our own space.

The Great Indoors

Consider the addition of natural elements, whether a complete room revamping or a couple of small touches, to perk up your spirit and the ambiance of your home.

On the Cover: Pangea Ultima

Ken Vallario paints a metaphor for unity for his new show.

Art Where the Cows Come Home

Beth E. Wilson previews “Outdoor Sculpture Installations at Saunders Farm.”

Connecting with Angels

Angelic channel Margaret Doner makes a case for angels.

Feeding Your Inner Hibernator

Does the change of season mandate a downward spiral in our healthy eating habits?

A Thank-You Note To Emily Dickinson, For Poem #1760;

An ode of gratitude to Emily Dickinson.

The History of Man

“Three Achaean raiders sit
in the plaza on top
of a heaping plate of
bureaucracy.”

Bombed in Las Vegas

“We had seen bombs explode before, Al and I
all up and down the length of Europe
but Artie, testing A-bombs down the road
told us, ‘You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, my friends!’”

Slam Bam Afghanistan

“Taliban in Pakistan
Poppy in Afghanistan
Soldiers dyin in that span
Dyin for Poppystan.”

My One Girl

“She’s too pretty for
the debris of bodies
of car wrecks or dry overdoses,
the patterns of veins in thin arms.”

Beans

“soy beans, baked beans,
kidney beans, jelly beans,
Mr. Bean, L.L. Bean,”

The Great Big City Flood

“Behind doors,
favors are done, favors

not proper for God
or newspaper to see."

Hey

Hey.
Hey.

A Poem by Yana Kane

“Absorbed in the first mosquito bite of the season.
Scratch, tear, let it become a frenzy, a fury.”

Parting Shot: Candy Curls

SUNY Ulster visiting artist, Will Cotton, paints fantasies so sweet you’ll be licking the canvas clean.

Down by the River

Bywater Bistro has joined the growing number of Hudson Valley restaurants. Does it have what it takes to keep patrons salivating?

Horoscopes: October

Eric Francis Coppolino’s astrological outlook on October.

Unveiling the Soul Inside the Form

Eric Francis Coppolino’s on Saturn’s entrance into Virgo.

Act Your Age

The basic formula to financial health is amazingly simple, but Americans are getting lost somewhere along the way.

The Subprime Squeeze

Anne Pyburn reports how the collapse of high-risk leans is affecting consumer lending.