Rich Monetti
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I am, I write.
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The Screen Going Black Was 'The Sopranos' Only Option
I didn’t have HBO when TheSoprano’s ended, but I certainly heard about the outcome. So I wasn’t that jarred by the screen going black and was pretty accepting of the climax. Now binge-watching the series, I’ve been contemplating a more conventional ending and realize that there might not have been one.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Geeks
Andrew Zaccagnino Wins Heart of a Giant Award
A sport like football hinges on teamwork, dedication, and sacrifice. So if a head coach cannot get this message across, the Xs and Os will never jump off the page. 22 football players will be left adrift and going through the motions. That’s why Andrew Zaccagnino is a dream for Byram Hills Head Football Coach, Scott Saunders.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Unbalanced
Jordan Peele Makes Sure We Take the Cue in 'Get Out'
Black people finally got themselves in a horror movie as the center of attention. In 2017's Get Out, they match previous wits with their whiters in this mix of social commentary, comedy and suspense by Jordan Peele. Peele also reminds us that good horror isn’t solely a function of blood, violence and excessive gore.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Geeks
Somers High School Physics Teacher Left the Challenge up to Us
By late June 1982, my immediate future was in place. I was going to Plattsburgh State and computer science would be my major. But I still had some unfinished business, and as I tentatively wondered down the hall to get my physics regents results, much was at stake. I knew I did well. But there was no way that a passing grade could compute against the quarterly grades I had received. Still, I knew passing was in play. The real question was whether "Merv" was going to give in or declare himself the winner of the game we were playing since September.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Education
Amanda Gisonni Strikes Out but Will Always Be a Hit with Me
Me and my brother-in-law got into the car in Monmouth, New Jersey last week, and it took about an hour for either of us to utter a word. My niece had just made her first start for the University of Penn. Amanda Gisonni only lasted two innings and gave up four runs. Sigh.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Unbalanced
Andrew and Matt Groll Compete and Byram Hills Wins
Long before Andrew and Matt Groll became Byram Hills’ twin towers on the basketball court, they played one on one in the driveway after school every day. The elder Groll describes the daily dates as good, competitive fun. Matt, on the other hand, had a different recollection.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Unbalanced
On the Road in Somers with Scott Urgola
As could be said for most of us, hearing the Beatles for the first time begins a journey into music that never ends. “I decided at 13,” said Scott Urgola, “that I needed an electric guitar.” This as he was transfixed to the TV during the airing of the Beatles Anthology in 1996. Urgola would progress through that phase in high school and college. But the Somers singer/songwriter’s musical arrival didn’t start until introduced to an American legend much further removed from the telegenic electricity of the Beatles.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Beat
The War on Drugs is a Crime Against Humanity
“Weldon Angelos will spend the rest of his life in prison for three marijuana sales. Angelos, a twenty four year old record producer, possessed a weapon which he did not use or threaten to use at the time of the sales. Under federal sentencing guidelines, the sentencing judge was obligated to impose a fifty five year mandatory minimum sentence. Upon doing so, the judge noted his reluctance to send the young man away for life for three marijuana sales. He said from the bench, ‘The Court believes that to sentence Mr. Angelos to prison for the rest of his life is unjust, cruel, and even irrational.’”
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in The Swamp
43 Years at the Center of Somers Slow Pitch Softball
Almost 40 years ago this summer, a Harlem Globetrotter-like six-man all-star team of windmill softball players arrived to entertain a packed park of Somers Residents. The idea was also to drub whoever the town could put up as players. Little did the California Cuties—in their comedic get up as girls—know they would run up against a 53-year-old founding member of the Somers Softball League. So while the Shenorock resident didn’t get the win, he did earn the last laugh and represents one of many moments as a player, administrator, and manager over 43 years.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Unbalanced
Somers Remembers Stephenie Crispinelli
On Sunday afternoon, Somers once again gathered for the Stephenie Crispinelli Softball Tournament and Fundraiser. Set in motion for the ninth year and remembering the passing of Stephenie in the Haiti Earthquake, the spirit was definitely in the air, according to close family friend Joe Mirabile.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Unbalanced
Han May Have Gone Solo in This 'Star Wars' Story but I Wasn’t
I said I wasn’t going to give out any more money to this bankrupt Star Wars franchise. But, I had hope for this Star Wars story, and when my friend suggested Solo to escape the obtrusive July 4th heat, I jumped at the chance.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Futurism
Revolutionary War Monument to Remember the Diversity of All Who Sacrificed in Crucial Local Battle
Picture a monument of a White American officer flanked in battle by an African American enlistee and a Native American sharpshooter, and the commemoration must come no earlier than the Korean War. Therefore, only revisionist history driven by the demands of excessive political correctness could place the scene before that time. So for someone to actually put up the statue would have to be seen as taking the rewrite to a whole other level. That said, Michael Kahn of Yorktown Heights has set such an initiative in motion and hopes to have that very Revolutionary War Monument in place at Downing Park in the near future. Nonetheless, he feels very secure in the historical accuracy and its intent to remember all who served—especially in this area.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Serve
