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Your Neighbor Totoro

MFA brings anime magic to Boston

FOR THOSE WHO think of Force Five and Star Blazers when they think of Japanese anime, right on! But for those who want to see how this impressive imported art form has evolved, the Museum of Fine Arts (www.mfa.org) has put together a one-of-a-kind film festival that can show you what has happened since the Argo last docked.
Though only five of their features have been released in the U.S., the talented team at Studio Ghibli have been producing some of the most wondrous animated features the world has ever seen for decades. Among the most popular and well known of these are Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Howl’s Moving Castle. In addition to these, the MFA will offer such rare Miyazaki treasures as Only Yesterday and Ocean Waves, as well as a trio of titles by Miyazaki collaborator Isao Takahata.
“We are thrilled to be among the first venues in the US to present…[ this] 25-year retrospective look at one of the world’s most important animation studios,” says Carter Long, the Katharine Stone White Curator of Film and Video at the MFA.
When asked how the museum scored the series, Long explains, “We work regularly with GKids distribution in New York to bring premium quality animated features to Boston, and when GKIDS acquired the rights to screen newly struck 35mm prints of these incredible films here in the US, we were eager to present them at the MFA.” Nearly all of the films will be screened in new 35mm prints. While many have English subtitles, the February 4 screening of My Neighbor Totoro and the February 12 screening of The Cat Returns will be in English. As such, almost anyone will be able to enjoy the films.
“This series will appeal to filmgoers of all ages,” Long suggests, “whether they are dedicated anime fans or are new to the form.”
And whether you have a secret stash of anime graphic novels at home or do not know Totoro from Toto, Long says that you will also be able to learn something from the series. “This series provides a rare opportunity for even the most diehard Miyazaki and Takahata fans to rediscover these amazing works of ,” he says. “ If your only experience watching these films has been on a television or computer, you will be blown away by their majesty on the big screen!”

A New Age of Boston Coffee

JAIME SCHYNDEL USHers in a new age of Boston coffee, a facelift from a mass-produced liquefied upper, doused with dairy and bombarded with artificial sweetener, to a beverage enjoyed and consumed by aficionados and enthusiasts, with the time, patience and palette for something better and pedestalworthy.
“Barista” to most, means the employee behind the counter who takes the orders and pulls a lever, but Schyndel’s coffee shop and roaster company, Barismo, indicates a art form in which the process, from plant to cup, is meticulously monitored.
Schyndel started his venture into the auteur coffee world when he joined a club in which friends would gather at a member’s house who had a Synesso espresso machine, and try different roasters.
Schyndel worked at Simon’s, a shop that served espresso and rotated roasters, a novelty for Cambridge at the time. He became cynical towards the world of roasters, because they were more concerned with pushing their product than focusing on how it was served. “A lot of people come off as used car salesmen,” he says. It didn’t take his business degree to figure out that the only way up, was out on his own, and if roasters refused to get down to the nitty gritty, he figured it was time to take matters into his own hands.
It takes work to find Barismo. The undistinguishable Mass. Ave. locale in Arlington is only noticeable upon second glance. Inside, no yuppies sit and talk politics, for there are no tables, no soon-to-benever novelists type on MacBooks, there is no WiFi. There is a bar for ordering, pouring and serving, and in the back a set of rotating machinery mixes and roasts Barismo’s beans, that are sold in bags in a small alcove off to the side. “Everything is about transparency,” Schyndel says as he sights the Scandanavian approach to coffee he adopted. Each bag of Barismo tells how the coffee was stored, processed, the harvest and varietals—the particular coffee plant under the genus of arabica.
Schyndel keeps the espresso blends simple, this lets him help customers verbally dissect their espresso so he can cater to their taste, similar to a wine consultant. Schyndel has a full-time green buyer, who visits coffee farms and selects the choicest beans for Barismo to roast. The baristas who serve the coffee, help put the “ismo” flare in the shop’s name (think of macho as opposed machismo). Each coffee is poured individually with a precise grind, particular flow of water, monitored temperature and pattern of pouring.
Everyone who serves Barismo coffee is trained by Schyndel. Schyndel is optimistic about Cambridge’s coffee scene, especially with vendors like Voltage and Hi-Rise as other serious players.
Three years ago, he recalls the atmosphere as cutthroat between the shops, but now there is more of a competitive camaraderie. Boston in his eyes still hasn’t caught on, a city generations behind, full establishments that are nothing more than “anti-Starbucks, Starbucks” with not enough patience for the particulars.

Youk Could be the Next “Idol”!

Sox star and other stars come together to help kids in need

THERE IS A FAMOUS STORY ABOUT Babe Ruth visiting a young fan in the hospital and the fan asking the Babe to hit a homer for him and the Babe doing just that.
While it may not be possible for most players guarantee a home run on command, some players go out of their way to help kids.
The Red Sox’ Kevin Youkilis is one such player and on January 26, his Youk’s Kids Foundation will host the second annual Not Your Average Idol benefit at the State Room in Boston (www.youkskids. org). The event, which is being sponsored by New Balance, will feature a silent and live auction, drinks from Harpoon Brewery, food from a number of Boston’s top restaurants, including Bina Osteria, Blue Ginger, Bokx 109, Davio’s, Eastern Standard, The Fireplace, Sweet, Upstairs on the Square and Not Your Average Joe’s, and performances by platinum-selling pop artist Gavin DeGraw and some of Boston’s most talented performers, including comedian Tony V and American Idol contestant Ayla Brown (whose father, Senator Scott Brown, is an honorary chairman for the event). There are even rumors that new Sox skipper Bobby Valentine may drop in!
Youk’s Kids was created by the Sox star to support and advocate for the health and well-being of children in need. Since its inception, the foundation has raised over $2.5 million and touched the lives of more than 1,000 children in Boston and beyond. “As a professional athlete, I have the opportunity to give back and make a difference for kids who are facing significant challenges in life,” Youkilis explains.
“That’s what Youk’s Kids is all about.” Unlike other athlete-affiliated organizations in which the athlete just lends their name, Youkilis is deeply involved with Youk’s Kids. And takes a real interest in the kids his eponymous foundation serves. “Kevin is an integral part of the organization and the event,” says Co-VP and Board Chair Tina Cantu. “As a music lover and philanthropic figure in Boston, he knew the best way to engage a dedicated group of supporters was through a fun event with live musical and comedic performances, food from Boston’s best restaurants, and dynamic auction items.”
As he was fortunate enough to be raised by a supportive family, Youkilis knows the importance a proper upbringing can have and what it could men to go without such privileges. “I was fortunate to grow up with a loving family that supported me in all my endeavors,” Youkilis recalls, citing such vital lessons as the importance of hard work and the rewards the come of giving back.
“As an athlete, I have experienced the camaraderie, confidence and pride that comes from being part of a team. These values and experiences are the foundation of Youk’s Kids” T h o u g h the “Idol” event has quickly become the foundation’s biggest annual fundraiser, Youkilis also hosts other popular events each year, including an intimate tour and tasting at the Harpoon Brewery and an annual anniversary party at Davio’s.
Youkilis also invites the children the foundation helps to a special batting clinic and a meet and greet at Fenway Park. For this year’s “Idol” event, Youkilis was able to get DeGraw to be the featured talent in a night full of talent.
“Kevin...generated a short list of entertainers [he] thought would be an exciting fit for the event,” Cantu recalls, “and with the help of Kevin’s friends in the music business we were able to reach out to Gavin and his team and make it happen!”
So come to the State Room on January 26 and help “make t happen” for kids in need.
“It’s going to be a great night,” says ‘Youk’.

Brattle Book Shop continues to thrive in his Downtown Crossing nook

THE WORLD OF words slowly morphs from books to binary, as eReaders and Amazon.com replace paper pages and brick and mortar. Some literary giants have been felled in the digital age, but Ken Gloss, the proprietor of the antiquarian Brattle Book Shop continues to thrive in his Downtown Crossing nook.
Books are practically in Gloss’s genes. According to his parents it was the first word he said, and since he was a child he has helped out at Brattle; his father purchased the store more than sixty years ago when it was located in Scollay Square.
The Brattle Book Shop of today is accurately described by Gloss: “We specialize in not specializing.” Outside, in a lot bordered by red brick walls adjacent to the store, customers peruse a selection of books on wheeled carts—none of which are priced higher than $5 dollars. Inside, the first two floors look less like a bookstore, and more like the collection of a Type A literature hoarder. Four aisles split each floor, and each aisle has several categories that vary from World War II and espionage, to health, cookbooks, etiquette and smoking. The shelves on the perimeter of the rooms are sometimes two books deep. The atmosphere makes books fun and informal, something the plasteredon smile of a Borders employee could never do.
Poster boards cover the space on the walls that is not used as shelves. The posters advertise the treasures on the third floor where Gloss’s expertise lies—rare and hard to find. The third floor is much tidier, and carpeted. The books are not shelved two deep, and many are locked in glass cases.
At the front of the room a girl sits at a desk and asks customers if they need help. Gloss’s collection has or had many holy grails, such as a copy of The Great Gatsby inscribed to T.S. Eliot from F. Scott Fitzgerald, a signed photo of Abraham Lincoln, a first edition of Lolita.
The West Street shop is the business’s home base, but as a book appraiser, buyer and seller, Gloss is always on the move. He ventures throughout the northeast; sometimes he picks a few choice selections, while other times he buys in bulk. Gloss claims once he got twenty thousand books from a professor’s apartment in Cambridge.
When he isn’t tending the shop or visiting estates for more finds, Gloss utilizes his appraisal skills in other ways. He has been on numerous radio shows where he does appraisals over the phone, sometimes he does lectures and he has also been on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow.
Gloss’s voice is soft and even, his quaint appearance, which consists of a grey sweater, collared shirt and slacks, compliments his calm demeanor, but as he talks about his profession, his mouth frequently slips into a meek smile, “Every day it’s like being Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island,” he says. Gloss is one of the few people who handles documents and artifacts written by the people that most of us only read about.