Rich Monetti

After 10 years in rerun wilderness, Star Trek: The Motion Picture rolled out in the winter of 1979. I saw the TV commercials, and I was ready to take the conn with old crew and newly engaged engines. But the reviews were bad, and when my brother asked me to go see it, I declined. I eventually saw TMP on TV—save a bit too much gasping at the gas cloud—I absolutely loved it. So the omission became a lifelong regret that I didn’t see it in the theaters, and when 40 years triggered a new theatrical release, I knew what I had to do. As it turns out, that decision may have been in error.

I’ve played sports my whole life. They are a teacher, a test of character and provide an outlet that helps guide us along the journey of life. But this human necessity had been disproportionally denied our sisters—until Title IX was passed. In recent years, though, the landmark legislation has come under criticism. Organizations like the College Sports Council (CSC) claim that striving for women’s equality has unfairly resulted in numerous cuts to men’s sports programs. Wrestling, men’s gymnastics, and tennis are typically among the programs that leave men out in the cold. But before I flush out the facts, let’s cherish the history first.

You don’t have to go too far to hear parents lamenting the busy sports schedules they endure with their kids. I only wish I could have grown up in such a culture because there was an awful lot of sitting around in the 70s. Still, there must be a middle ground, and I wonder what the impact is when adults are always involved.

As a kid growing up in the Bronx, Chazz Palminteri told the audience at the Bedford Playhouse that he was definitely attracted to the gangster element portrayed in A Bronx Tale. Yes, he knew they were dangerous, and theirs was a life he didn’t want to emulate. But the whole neighborhood cast was a bunch of characters that he just couldn’t ignore. On the other hand, association did seem to pay off when Sonny pulled young Chazz out of the ill fated car that killed his four friends in. The actual truth, though, firmly sides with the voice that took precedence in the two worlds Palminteri went back and forth between.

What could be more painful to a kid than hearing that the weekend will be spent at an upstate Renaissance Fair. On the other hand, recreating the middle ages becomes a lot more interesting when a trip to England can provide ample infrastructure of the era and the living history to go with it. Sort of reporting from England, I recently traveled overseas to visit my English Girlfriend, and Warwick Castle in Warwick, England was a Saturday destination.

The fact that there are now only 500 Tigers left in Far East Russia probably doesn’t get a lot of play around dinner tables in Mahopac, NY. But the distance doesn’t diminish the issue for a Mahopac native who has made a name as an Oscar winning Documentary Filmmaker, and is the subject of his latest film, Tigerland.