In Wesley v. Smith-Lasofsky, No. 105819/10 (N.Y. Supreme Ct., July 18, 2011) (published by the NY Law Journal on July 29: NYLJ 1202508854947), Justice Laura E. Drager reasoned her way through a legal puzzle concerning parental status of a civil union partner in ruling favorably on a motion for summary judgment to dissolve a Vermont civil union.
The parties contracted their Vermont civil union on July 5, 2002, when they were New York residents. … <Read More>
On July 29, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance announced a "website landing page" on the NY Marriage Equality Act, providing initial guidance on personal income tax, estate tax, withholding tax and sales tax information for same-sex couples who are marrying in New York or who have married or are marrying elsewhere but reside in New York. The page will be supplemented and updated as they continue to figure things out. Its … <Read More>
When I was first exploring classical music as a youngster, my universe was circumscribed by the pieces assigned by my piano teacher and the small collection of 78 rpm and monaural LP albums owned by my father. Prime in this small universe was an LP by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra of the tone poems "Four Tales of the Kalevala" by Jean Sibelius, titled on the album cover "Lemminkainen Suite" because the four tales … <Read More>
Pristine Audio, the French-based historical recordings label operated by British audio engineer Andrew Rose, has undertaken a project to digitize and restore the important mid-20th century American musical legacy of Howard Hanson and the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra, originally issued from the early 1950s through the mid-1960s on the Mercury LP label. Hanson, himself an important composer and competent conductor, was the director of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he constructed a … <Read More>
Just back from taking Mom to see this at the Regal 12 in Ormond Beach. This 118-minute movie seemed awfully long to me, but I wouldn't say that the movie itself is awful. It is a modestly entertaining film. I suppose it is intended to be a comedy, but actually it struck me as more sad than funny.
Steve Carell and Julianne Moore play husband and wife, Cal and Emily. In the first scene, they … <Read More>
I attended the Royal Danish Orchestra's New York debut concert at Lincoln Center on Thursday night, eager to hear a group whose recordings I've enjoyed playing music by Carl Nielsen. We don't hear much Nielsen played live in New York, although the NY Philharmonic recently launched a project to perform and record all of the symphonies over a period of several years, and gave a fine performance of the 2nd Symphony led by Alan Gilbert last … <Read More>
Finding that learning that one is HIV-positive is "a changed circumstance materially affecting his asylum eligibility," the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals, an administrative tribunal within the U.S. Department of Justice, has reversed a decision by an Immigration Judge to deny asylum to a gay, HIV-positive man who had not filed his asylum petition within one year of arriving in the U.S., as normally required by the relevant statute.
The July 14, 2011, decision by the Board … <Read More>
Despite frequent warnings in the press about the decline and fall of the classical recording industry, I think we are in a real "golden age." Technological developments have made it possible for independent labels to sprout up, providing an important outlet for stunning young talented musicians, and quite a few orchestras, chamber groups and individuals have been able to take advantage of accessible recording technology and on-line self-distribution, either on their own websites or through … <Read More>
On Saturday I was scheduled to go with a friend to Staten Island to attend a minor league baseball game. Once or twice a summer we make this expedition to see the Staten Island Yankees, having decided that the expense and schlep of an expedition to the Bronx to see the major league club is not worth the bother. But on Saturday the temperature was over 100, the humidity was high, and neither of us … <Read More>
On June 24, the New York State Legislature passed and Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the Marriage Equality Act of 2011 (MEA), which authorized marriages by same-sex couples while providing broad protections for religious dissenters. The Act took effect 30 days later, on July 24 (a Sunday), when city and county clerk offices in many parts of the state specially opened to make it possible for same-sex couples — many of whom had been … <Read More>