Poughkeepsie Journal from Poughkeepsie, New York • Page 1D

Source Classifieds inside mm Poughkeepsie 3oumal LIFE Advice 2 TV listings 3 Comics 4 RAY FASHONA, LIFE EDITOR 845 4374883 rfashonapoughkee.gannett.com SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2003 ANTHONY FARMER Fall's fine time for being alive The golden hues filling the trees, the aroma of apple and spices mingling under a flaky crust, a warm blanket offering comfort against the chilly night air. Those are just a few of the things I love about this time of year. My favorite season is under way and there isn't any place better to experience the joys of autumn than New York and the Hudson Valley in particular. And it doesn't take much effort to enjoy it. In summer and winter, it's usually a chore to enjoy whatever it is that season has to offer.

Heading out to the ski slopes or even a local hill for sledding often requires layering bundles of clothes and trekking through deep, wet snow for enjoyment. As far as summer goes, enjoyment, for most people, means heading to the beach or camping in the mountains. While I enjoy both, they require packing gear and heading off to some place a good distance from home. I used to be more of a fan of spring with nature returning to life, the weather warming and baseball season beginning with dreams of a pennant fresh on every player's mind. But winter seemingly stretches on so late now that as soon as spring finally begins, we're right into the hot humid weather of sum met There's no chance to really enjoy it.

And as a Mets fan, any hopes of a pennant are dashed by Memorial Day the past couple of years. The crunch of leaves My wife has always loved autumn more than any other season, and I've finally come around. Fall is where it's at. It's the simple things that make it enjoyable. The sights and sounds are unbeatable.

Nothing beats a nice hike through the woods dead twigs crunching underfoot as the partially bare trees offer new perspectives on a landscape usually filled with thriving vegetation. A flock of Canada geese honking overhead in a formatformat ion as they hurry south for the coming winter months. A blustery day with the wind whistling as it whips through a window left slightly ajar. The stars seem to shine brighter as that old harvest moon, climbing slowly over the horizon, lights the dark, night sky. Then there's the crisp snap as you bite into an apple picked from a local farm, its various colors matching the leaves on the trees outside.

Or the smell of the guts of a pumpkin as they're pulled out and transformed into a jack o' lantern to serve as a beacon for ghouls and goblins out trick or treating. Jumping into piles of leaves as they cushion your falL Just be sure to neatly rake them back into a pile when you're done, especially if it's your neighbor's lawn. Taking a deep breath of that crisp October air early in the morning or well after sundown leaves you feeling alive. But that nip at your nose, while tolerable now, is a sure sign (hat more chilly days are to come. Soon the leaves will be gone, the pumpkins will slowly shrivel up and the wind will begin to howl as autumn turns into winter and thoughts turn to a new season.

Our Turn appears Saturdays in Life. It's meant to capture the lifestyles of twenty and thirty somethings. This edition of Our Turn is by Journal county government reporter Anthony Farmer. He can be reached at apfarm erpoughkee.gannettjcom. It's chic to be a Geek Nerd the word for popularity in wired world We used, to shun them, mock them, give them wedgies and snicker when they played that silly "Dungeons Dragons" game or fiddled for hours on computers while alone in their rooms.

Those loser days, however, are as over as "Dumb and Dumber" prequels. Knowledge is power, baby, and geek is chic. And if you are a cyber whiz who is plugged into the pop cultureculture world of sci fi, fantasy, comic books and cult horror, maybe even the master of a Web site devoted to such once arcane matters, you don't just rule. You rock. Consider a scene in the hit movie "School of Rock" when a geeky fifth grader, who can tickle the ivories like a one man Ferrante Teicher, says he can't join his class rock band because, "I'm not cool.

Nobody ever talks to me." Counters his teacher, played by that fount of rock geek trivia known as Jack Black: "Those days are over, buddy. 'Cause you could be the ugliest sad sack on the planet, but it you're in a rocking band, you're the cat's pajamas, man." What was once the obsessive domain of geek fans has achieved mass Gannett Newi Service photoe Jack Black stars as the teacher who turns a geeky fifth grader into a rock star in the comedy "School of Rock." Top, singersongwriter John Mayer said that he was too geeky to go to his school prom. media popularity. Let's put it this way: If they remade 1984's "Revenge of the Nerds" today if would have to be retitled "Triumph of the Geeks." They haven't just gotten even, they pulled ahead of the rest of us. And they didn't even have to stop wearing flood pants to do it.

"It has a lot to do with die computer revolution, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs," says Lynn Bartholome of the Popular Culture Association. "Those guys were quote unquote geeks, and for baby boomers, they've now got what's important prestige, money and power." She defines a geek as "someone Who is inquisitive, thinks on his or her own, who is a little bit off center, who doesn't follow the crowd." The Internet, with its personalized sites and chat forums, is the geek's best friend. "It has promoted geekdom because people are expressing themselves more so than ever before." The entertainment industry has simply wised up and pushed geek friendly Please see Chic, 2D These geeks are at their peak The geeks may not inherit the Earth, but they definitely are infiltrating mainstream entertainment. USA TODAYS Ann Oldenburg and Susan Wlosz czyna check out the geek class of 2003. Blue collar geeks: Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner.

Who are they? He's a nebbishy Clevelander who finds unlikely fame by turning his mundane life into a popular comic book titled "American Splendor." His wife is his eccentric female equal. Why they're cool geeks: Pekar is not just a comicbook hero anymore. Now his curmudgeonly world view has been celebrated in the film version of "American Splendor." And onscreen, Joyce (played by Hope Davis) is the essence of a feminist geek. Hunk geek: George Clooney. Who is he? Cagey divorce lawyer Miles Massey in "Intolerable Cruelty." The Coen brothers turn their dashing leading man into a goofball with a fetish for teeth cleaning in other words, a geek.

Why he's a cool geek: Clooney is finger snap pingly swell in such classy capers as "Ocean's Eleven." But team him with the Coens, film giants to the geek faithful, and he is one Harvey Pekar in a scene from "American Splendor." earned him some of his best worthy names like Tenzing Who is he? In "School of notices.as the architect of Norgay. Rock," he's a guitar god an iron clad pre nup who Headbanger geek: wannabe who pretends to drops "Trivial Pursuit" Jack Black. Please see Geeks. 2D Beth Williams demonstrates how to stretch a dog's foot and toes. It's not a stretch to make Fido warm up In the canine kingdom, wiener dogs are the stretch limousines.

That doesn't mean, though, that they're the only dogs that could use a good stretch. Just ask Beth Williams, a physical therapist, 'who's putting her burly dog, Nitro, through the paces of her dog stretching program. On William's request, Nitro, a 6 year old Rottweiler, offers up one paw, which Williams dutifully stretches. With one leg done, a content looking Nitro offers up the other paw. Soon, Nitro is stretching up, down and from side to side as his eyes follow a treat hidden in Williams' hands.

For Williams, the stretches are the first step to a full fledged fitness program that also includes strength training and endurance exercises. Remember the mantra of stretching before you exercise? Turns out the same thing applies to our four legged friends. Don't think you'll just be slacking off while your dog gets into shape, either. Their program, which goes by the names "2 4 Fitness" (i.e. two legs and four legs) and "Fido N' Me Fitness," is designed to incorporate fitness for both man and best friend, says Williams' dog training partner, P.J.

Wangsness Howie, at Dog Training by P.J. in Reno, Nev. As a physical therapist who works with both humans and dogs, Williams says she's seen her fair share of people and canines limping into her practice with conditions ranging from muscle strain to tendinitis. The best scenario, though, is to prevent problems before they even start, Williams says. And when it comes to prevention of many injuries, Williams says a good exercise regimen would do the trick for both her two and four legged clients.

For that, the formula is quite similar as well: address flexibility, strength and endurance. In addition to fitness, there's also one more extra incentive for learning more tilings you can do with your dog, Williams adds. "They need a job to do," Williams says. "If you don't give them a job, they will make thefir own job, which may be redoing the landscape in your lawn or terrorizing the UPS man." Center's founder honored A memorial tribute to Julie Arden, who died Oct. 5, will be held at White Pond Center in Stormville Sunday.

Arden had a career as an artist, actress, teacher and poet in New York City. In 1976, she saw a need for an arts and cultural center in Stormville, where she had lived since 1958. She organized community members and established the White Pottd Community Arts and Cultural Association, of which she became founder and president. The tribute will be at 2 p.m. at the White Pond Center, White Pond Road, Stormville.

This cat's not fussy Semi precious doesn't quite cut it when you are as cute as this female calico. The nice thing about Emerald is you won't need an expensive setting to keep her happy. Any old box, couch, chair, lap or windowsill will dot If you would like to give Emerald a home, call the shelter in Hyde Park at 845 452 SPCA. For a look at the many other cats and Nancy Bast Emerald is a gem of cat who is content to cuddle in a box or on a lap. dogs that call the shelter home, turn to page 2D.

Girl Scouts earn award Members of Junior Girl Scout Troop 21 of Hopewell Junction have completed a year long Bronze Award project that will brighten the lives of sick children. Through donations and money raisingraising events such as car washes, the troop collected $700 worth of toys and decorations for the play area of the Vassar Medical Center Pediatric Unit. The Bronze Award is the highest award a Girl Scout can earn at the Junior level. It involves completion of a significant community service project during which the scouts must demonstrate leadership and teamwork. For information on joining Girl Scouts, call the Dutchess County Council Office at 845 452 1810.

gets estuary grant The Mid Hudson Chil dren's Museum has received a $30,000 grant to provide outdoor education programming and complementary indoor programs and exhibits at its riverfront location in Poughkeepsie. The grant is from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, through the Hudson River Estuary Grants Program. Outdoor activities will introduce visitors to the estuarine system. Children What's in a name? Author Jhumpa Lahiri's first novel, The Namesake," explores the importance of a young Bengali boy's name and the Russian writer for whom he was dubbed. 5D on field trips will be able to collect specimens from the river and conduct studies of the estuary water at the museum using microscopes and other equipment.

The grant will also allow the museum to expand its current Hudson River Area, which includes a water play table, kid sized diving bell and rock climbing wall. New exhibits will explore the diversity of the Hudson River estuary. For information on the museum, visit www.mhcm.org or call 845 471 0589. Good Life is a collection of observations about life in the mid Hudson Valley. Your input is welcome.

Call 845 437 4883. This Good Life by Journal staff..