Monthly archives: August 2008

 

 

Project On Hold

  • By: Cindy

I had to include this Howard Stern “Prank” because it really is funny. I love pranks and Howard Stern is the BEST!!

Here is a prank call with Sal trying to order pizza at a ‘Train Station’.


powered by ODEO

Ok, now its time for me to get over my temper tamtrum that I have been throwing for the past few days over this “Then and Now” photo project  I was trying to do.

I thought the problem was SOLVED when I went down to the Historical Society house a few days ago and put in my request for certain photos I wanted. I guess not!

The issue started when I requested the old photo, taken BEFORE  1923 of the old Ball and Socket Factory and then I was going to take it as it looks now. Have you seen the photo of the Old Ball and Socket Building? It was BEAUTIFUL. I believe it is in Ron Gagliardi’s book “Cheshire” It looked like a park. Nice trees,  and the Farmington Canal meandering by the building. Maybe that is why I received a photo of the DOOR!! How can I do a “then and now” with THAT photo.

Then I wanted to change from taking the old Peasley House photo, which is now where Highland Health Care Center is,  to the then and now photo of the Y Not Rest which was located on the corner of Harrison, Cook Hill and South Brooksvale Road. We found the EXACT spot. But when I contacted the Historical Society they said the Old Landmarks of Cheshire book is copyrighted.

So I got the flavor I could not use the photo from the book.

I also wanted the old photo showing Wallingford Road and South Main Street circa 1900. Well forget that!! The Historical Society “suggested” I not use that photo. Why??  Don”t use this photo, don;t do this, don’t crop it, only show it on your website once. What is going on!!

I am tired of this town’s censorship in plain English!! They want YOU to see what THEY WANT YOU TO SEE!! They WANT YOU TO READ WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO READ.

You saw how far this town will go to “protect” their image didn’t you!! And you know what I am talking about.

I called Dwight Johnson to ask him about the copyright situation.  Now I know I cannot use his services as a private citizen. But he is going to ask the Town if he can make a ruling on this because it probably will impact other people trying to do other projects.

I contend this is nothing more that pure censorship. Who would CARE what photos someone wanted to use? It is over a span of a hundred years, of course things changed!! I thought it would be cool to see what changed and what didn;t There is no “underlying” motive. GET OVER IT!! It is an artistic endeavor. That is all.

Mind you, many of the photos are dated “circa 1890″ and I believed after doing hours of research that any photo taken from 1923 or earlier is public domain.

See that is the problem. This town is SO protective of its image. Don’t even let me get started. But I wonder how a few sleep at night!!! Nothing is more important than that!!

“Don’t use this photo, take this one, don’t do that” I am sick of it. And I am sick and tired of this town’s attitude.  Even if I do the project, who feels like hearing them whining and calling and sending letters. The Historical Society has no ownership right to any of these photos from 1923 and earlier I believe. I could be wrong, but I don’t think they can put a copyright on something that is already in the public domain!!

The Bridgeport “Then and Now” used a lot of postcard drawings, and those are NOT copyrighted because that is an altered image. That is why I had to sign that I would not “alter or crop” any photos. Jeez, it would be easier for me to fly to North Korea and take photos there for God’s sake!!

The copyright law is convoluted to say the least. I found some articles on this issue. Decide for yourselves.

First article

Second article

Third article

 

New Developments

  • By: Cindy

This past Saturday, I ran a post about my son and I wanting to do that “then and now” project where we take old photos of certain places in Cheshire and then re-take the photo standing in or near the same spot as it looks today.

Well, to recap, my son and I went to the Hitchcock Phillips House in Cheshire two Sundays ago and asked if we could get some specific photos so as to complete our project, which would be made into a slide show and shown on this blog.

I was told to call “the nice lady” to inquire about the photos we wanted, and as I stated, when I contacted her, she seemed cautious stating she would have to “ask the Board of Directors of the Historical Society.”

A discussion of public domain came up which I also researched. I put a link on my blog and figured I would have to wait until this Historical Society Board of Directors meeting, whenever that would be, to find out whether or not I could get the photos.

The gist of public domain basically is that any work prior to 1923 is considered public domain, which means anyone can use it. Now there may be some sticking points–whatever. The bottom line is that on Sunday, I received a call from “the nice lady” at the Historical Society.  We spoke on the phone for a few minutes, and I explained in detail, not like there was a lot of detail to this project, of what we were going to do, I ran a video of what a gentleman did in Bridgeport, which is what we will do here in Cheshire, and to make a long story longer, I met with “the nice lady” down at the Historical Society and went over the regulations they have regarding a person using their photos.

I received a call this Monday morning again from “the nice lady” and I met her down at the Historical House, signed the “agreement.”  And mid-Monday afternoon, I received the scanned photos of what I requested, alibeit a few changes. So everything ended up working out to my delight. I think sometimes, Cheshire gets a little leery of things people want to do, especially when it is asked by someone they might not be sure of.

The bottom bottom line of this project is simple: I thought it would be “fun” to do this “Now and Then” project. There is no motive and no, I am not going to photoshop the photos and make into something they are not, although I thought about it. No, only kidding. I think it will be interesting to see how some things have changed, and how some things have remained the same in this town as is in most towns or cities over the past 100 years, THAT IS IT!!

So again thanks to the Historical Society for their photos.

Now, onto another development that had a good ending, but almost didn’t.

Also this past Sunday, one of my children who has recently moved to Hamden, went out to purchase some items for his apartment. Now the parking situation at this apartment building is bizarre to say the least. There are not enough spaces for all the tenants, plain and simple, so whomever laid out the parking spaces made it a tough fit for a few of the renters. My son’s “space” if you can call it that, is literally in a corner up against a bunch of overgrown bushes and to make it worse, the space is at a 90 degree angle. So when someone parks next to you, unless you or they have the new smart car, you or the other person is going to get bashed.

So my spouse thought he had come up with a solution to that problem. He got permission from the landlord who owns the building and parking lot  (which is a PRIVATE LOT ) that he works in, which is only a block away from my son’s apartment building, to allow my son to park in that lot overnight or whenever.

We thought this was a good idea in a pinch because unfortunately, some people are RUDE and park in my son’s space when the lot is full. That is really the only drawback to this apartment building. There are NO visitor spaces whatsoever.

Well, I guess my spouse should have gotten a letter from the owner of that other parking lot because on Sunday, my son came home a little after 11 p.m. from running errands and no sooner shut off the engine to his car when out of the blue, a black and white appeared behind him.

Then my son said the cop started asking him what was he doing there, was he drunk, etc. My son explained that he had permission to park in that lot and told the officer he resided literally across the street and parked where he was parking because of a tight situation in the apartment complex parking lot.

Well, apparently, it didn’t end there. I guess the officer asked why he was sitting in the car, and my son said he was talking on his cell phone. The officer wanted to know who he was talking to and wanted a detailed description of what he had been doing that night!!

Hold up!! What town is this-Cheshire?? But seriously, am I going to have to straighten these people out too? It looks like it. I understand the time of night and the fact that my son was parked near some buildings, but look, that is no reason to get out of the patrol car and question, and then call backup to boot!!

A person does not have to answer police questions unless the police believe the person is acting in a suspicious manner. Just pulling into a parking lot a little after 11 p.m. on a Sunday night or any night, does not mean something is going on or will happen. Maybe the person was sick or lost. (This is why I always carry a “map” with me.) If the officer had been “observing” my son for several minutes and did not see him get out of the vehicle, maybe it would arouse suspicion. Or if the officer had seen him get out and stagger or get out of his vehicle and walk around the outside of the commercial building across the street, I could have seen the reason for the suspicion.

Take this into consideration, what if he or even I, parked in that lot over the weekend when the businesses are closed,  but it was 11 a.m. instead of 11 p.m.? Would a patrol car have pulled up?

Asking my son a few questions, given the time of night, was tolerable, but then calling for backup and then having the two patrol cars pull up along side his car and box him in is another issue totally!!

This is not the first time my family has had an incident in Hamden. Several months ago, my husband, who does Revenue Examining for the Labor Department was driving 9 a.m. in Hamden on Dixwell Avenue, a block from his office, where he has been going every day for the past 30 years, when all of a sudden he saw flashing lights and was promptly pulled over. Now if you know my spouse, he drives like a SNAIL!!

When the officer approached his driver side window, the officer looked at my husband, who was dressed in a suit and tie, and said to the effect, “oh I am sorry sir.” WHAT??? What do you mean, “oh I am sorry sir”

Sorry that you pulled him over because he drives a 91 Camry with rims. YEP!! OOPS!!

Now we never said anything about that. We let it go. But with my son, I called Mayor Henrici’s office. And around 45 minutes later, I got a callback from Mayor Henrici HIMSELF!! So, we spoke about the issue, I told him I understood the police officers “suspicion” to an extent, but that I was concerned that the officer may have gone a little too far. And I told him my husband had made arrangements with the parking lot  landlord ( which again is a PRIVATE LOT) to let my son park there.

The conversation was very cordial. I like Mayor Henrici and I like Hamden. So that was that.

I know people in Hamden town hall read my blog. In fact, you know what, I’m internationally known!!

Mayor Henrici told me to call anytime. I told him I will. I just wanted him to know about the incident so there are no more understandings, that is all. I am glad the Hamden Police Department is on the ball, but that is no excuse to go overboard. I mean, just because something “looks” suspicious, doesn’t mean it is,

Ask and do the background check, and LET IT GO!!

Your rights when stopped by the Police

 

Public Domain

  • By: Cindy

Several weeks ago, I ran a video from some people who decided to go around Bridgeport and do a “then and now” project. They took old photos of Bridgeport and actually stood in the same spot as the original photographers did, and shot the scene as it looks today.

These people put music to their project and it came out quite well I thought. Well, my son and I decided this would be a great project to do in Cheshire.

My son and I are quite interested in history, especially historical places, so much so that my son actually went out and purchased Ron Gagliardi’s book on historical Cheshire which is excellent. We also have the “Old Landmarks of Cheshire” book which we read from time to time. It is quite interesting to go to the places in the photos and see how much has or has not changed.

I’ll tell you one thing, I LIKED the old Cheshire of 100 years ago. It looked really nice.

Cheshire even had a Casino. Boy, this town was living on the edge people!! Now when I say a “Casino” they did not have slot machines, but they had pool tables and card games. See what I mean!! The streets were nice and wide and tree lined. Even the West Main Street where the old Ball and Socket Factory still is looked nice. This MIGHT be the problem. I think some people might be afraid the “then” looked better than the “now.”

So, last Sunday, my son and I went to the Hitchcock Phillips Historical Society House which is open every Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.  We asked if we could scan some of the photos of old Cheshire, in a sense, we asked for “permission” to do this project. We were told by the curator to call a certain person whose name I will not mention.

Now mind you, we do have a copy of “Old Landmarks of Cheshire” and probably can copy from the book, or even copy off the photos from Mr. Gagliardi’s book, but the quality will be poor to say the least, and many of the photos are across the fold of the book so really there would be no way to properly get the entire photo without a crease.

I can do this project without the Historical Society’s permission, but I really don’t want to. I don’t know why the person who called me back said that they had to pass it by the Historical Society Board of DIrectors, I really don’t. We were not going to make any comments, we were just going to do the “then and now.”

The person whom I originally was told to contact told me they didn’t see what the problem was. The person said that they never had a request from a website or blog for the photos. I don’t understand that logic. What would it matter. I guess it is WHAT website or blog the photos might be seen on. I know the Historical Society had no problem allowing Everybody’s Market to hang some of the old photos in their store. And I also know the Dunkin Donuts in the Everybody’s Plaza, has some Historical Society photos in their establishment. Maybe THAT is the problem. I don’t know.  The photos are public domain. Anyone can use them. Does the Historical Society realize this? I really should have known better than to try to ask any Town entity for permission to do something on my site. A few years ago, when I was doing Undergroundtownhall TV on Cable 15, I wanted to do a show on seniors talking about the “old days.” NEVER HAPPENED. Somebody shuts everything down. They release info only to “certain” people. And I guess I am not it.  Too bad!!

Case in point, when I tried to get my tv shows aired on Cox public access, you’d think I was trying to get a private audience with the Pope. That isn’t even a fair comparison, because THAT probably would have been easier. My husband and I were constantly calling Cox, running down to Cox Public Access, skitting around here and there because for SOME reason, the schedule was never up to date and we literally had to pull teeth to get Cox Public Access to update the schedule to include the listing for my show. It’s funny, now that I don’t use Public Access, the schedule is completely up to date, weeks and months in advance. Go figure. This reminds me of the “no mall” sign situation last year. Remember??

Here is the gist of the public domain issue:

I am going to re-run the “Then and Now” video project done in Bridgeport so you all can see what we wanted to do.  I am sure I will see this done by someone else and it will be OK for them to do it. Let’s wait and see.