Aug 22-27, 2018
Cartoonist Jason Lutes Makes History With ‘Berlin’; Manchester Adapts to Age of Online Shopping; Salvage Supperclub Hosts a Dumpster Dinner
Cover Story
For Cartoonist Jason Lutes, ‘Berlin’ Marks a Career Milestone
The Inkpot Award sitting on Jason Lutes’ mantel is kind of adorable: The anthropomorphized inkpot-person strikes an attitude, right hand on hip, left holding a staff-like quill pen à la Gandalf. Given annually by Comic-Con International to major contributors “to the worlds of comics, science fiction/fantasy” and related fields, the trophy is surprisingly petite, maybe…
Seriously: Green Mountain Garbage
In this episode, Bryan tries out a new dining trend and finds some peculiar garbage. CREDITS: Written, filmed and edited by: Bryan Parmelee Photography/artwork by: Michael Verillo, H. Brooke Paige, Visit PA, Eric Tadsen, James Buck, Colin Flanders/Essex Reporter, Bryan Parmelee, Dreamstime Logo/art direction: Don Eggert Audio by: Bryan Parmelee/Freesound Related Stories
Obituary: Richard A. Haver, 1948-2018
Shoreham Richard (Rick) A. Haver, 70, died at home in Shoreham on August 23, 2018. Near the end, he was lovingly cared for by his former wife Susan J. Edsall of Kailua Kona, Hawaii, and his dear friend and nurse Hilary Hatch of Leicester, Vt. Rick was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., on March 3, 1948,…
The Cannabis Catch-Up: A New Milestone in Legitimacy
It’s August 2018. You’re growing cannabis outside your house in rural Vermont. You wake up one morning and find that someone stole your weed plants. Whaddya do? Call the cops! That’s right: About six weeks after cannabis legalization, Vermont State Police got the agency’s first report of stolen pot plants. “We investigate this theft really…
A Rookie Sailor Crews the Diamond Island Regatta
As I settled into the cockpit of Raven, Wendy Friant’s 1975 Dufour 31 sloop, the boat’s owner and captain issued explicit, no-nonsense instructions. “I’m the captain,” Friant said firmly. “You can question me later, but when I tell you to do something, you do it.” Then, resting a hand on the ship’s helm, she smiled…
Retired ER Physician Paul Seward Reflects on His Career
When Paul Seward began his career as an emergency room physician in the 1970s, being called an “ER doc” wasn’t considered a sign of respect. It was an insult. In those days, Seward recalled, many of the doctors who worked with him in the emergency room were residents training to become surgeons or cardiologists, or…
Free Will Astrology (8/22/18)
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I think you’ve done enough rehearsals. At this point, the apparent quest for a little extra readiness is beginning to lapse into procrastination. So I’ll suggest that you set a date for opening night. I’ll nudge you to have a cordial talk with yourself about the value of emphasizing soulfulness over…
Soundbites: A Tribute to Donovan and a New Home for the Nightshade Kitchen
Mad About Saffron Tribute shows: We can’t seem to get enough of ’em … for now. But that could change. There’s only so much rehashing of old movies, TV shows and music that we, as a society, can handle. Nostalgia burnout is likely to set in at some point in the next few years. All…
Art Review: JoAnne Carson’s ‘Hyper Flora,’ BigTown Gallery
In recent weeks, agrochemical giant Monsanto was dealt a major blow: The Supreme Court of California ordered the company to pay $289 million in damages in a lawsuit filed by Dewayne Johnson. The former school maintenance employee developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after frequent use of the Monsanto product. His doctors do not expect him to live…
Letters to the Editor (8/22/18)
Gender Identity Is Not the Issue [Re Off Message: “Christine Hallquist, First Transgender Nominee for Governor, to Face Phil Scott,” August 14]: I wish every article regarding the candidate Christine Hallquist did not have to focus on her being transgender. That is not the issue. We need to know better about her qualifications, experience and…
Short Takes on Five New Vermont Books
Seven Days writers can’t possibly read, much less review, all the books that arrive in a steady stream by post, email and, in one memorable case, a swarm of boxelder bugs. So this monthly feature is our way of introducing you to a handful of books by Vermont authors. To do that, we contextualize each…
Hip-Hop Label Equal Eyes Records Makes an Imprint in Burlington
Equal Eyes Records is a Burlington hip-hop label that’s emerged as the local scene hits an all-time peak. The imprint has released six projects in as many months and won’t slow down anytime soon. Burlington’s rap scene — like Vermont’s at large — has always had an independent streak. Hip-hop labels have existed there before,…
Movie Review: Peter Berg’s Military Thriller ‘Mile 22’ Doesn’t Go the Distance
Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg just may be Hollywood’s reigning It Couple. The relationship between the actor and the action auteur has lasted longer than many a showbiz marriage. The pair met in 2012 during preproduction for Lone Survivor (2013), discovered they had a lot in common and have hooked up for three more movies…
Scarlett Letters: Is It OK to Have Sex During Your Period?
Dear Scarlett, I have been seeing a guy for six months, and we started sleeping with each other about two months ago. I did not have my period any of the times we had sex. But at some point I will, and I am not sure what to do. Is it OK to have sex…
It’ll Take Four Years to Replace the Drawbridge in North Hero — Twice
It sounds like the height of absurdity: The Vermont Agency of Transportation started work in July on a four-year project to build two new drawbridges across the channel between Grand Isle and North Hero. But planners say constructing a pair of spans — the first one a temporary structure — is the only way to…
Album Review: The Dead Shakers, ‘All Circles Vanish’
(Self-released, digital download) Who are the Dead Shakers? Depending on the day, they might be a multitude of talented folks culled from Burlington’s pan-genre music scene. Other times, the Dead Shakers might only be analog tape enthusiast Kevin Bloom — the amorphous project’s primary songwriter, vocalist and mad scientist — playing solo. All Circles Vanish,…
Vermont Stage Finds New Home in Renovated Black Box Theatre
Theatergoers, producers and artists can look forward to an “artistically fulfilling” experience when Vermont Stage takes up residence at the Black Box Theatre at the Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center this winter, said producing artistic director Cristina Alicea. Making the decision to leave the FlynnSpace, where the company has been based since 2000, was…
Album Review: Eric George, ‘Two Hands, Songs of Resistance’
(Self-released, CD, digital download) August 23 is the birth date of the late songwriter and activist Malvina Reynolds, born in 1900. Reynolds penned popular protest songs “Little Boxes” and “What Have They Done to the Rain,” among others, that tackled topics such as suburban conformity and nuclear fallout. August 23 is also the birth date…
‘Bitch Face’ Poet Olivia Gatwood to Read in Burlington
Last winter, the Paris Review published a series of commentaries that attempted to answer the question: What is poetry now? Nestled in the four reports is a keen observation from poet Shane McCrae, who writes that political and confessional poems are having a moment. “Their interdependence,” he elaborates, “has opened spaces for voices that have…
Movie Review: ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Offers a Deliriously Opulent Modern Fairy Tale
I didn’t learn to appreciate romantic comedies until superhero franchises drove them extinct. OK, so that’s a slight exaggeration: Rom-coms still thrive on streaming services, often in series form. But they’re far rarer in theaters than they were 10 years ago, and the ones that have survived the cinematic climate change tend to be hardier…
School Administrators Get a Crash Course in Spotting Drug Use
Detective Sgt. James Roy of the Colchester Police Department held up a black flip-flop sandal so his audience could see it. Then, like a magician performing a trick, he took a small Allen wrench-like tool, stuck it into the sandal’s side and turned. With a small paper cup in his other hand, Roy tipped the…
Burlington Cops Debunk Viral Video of Man ‘Shooting Up Heroin’
A 24-second video making the rounds online last week appeared to depict a shocking scene. Two Burlington police officers appeared to stand idly by on a downtown street corner while a man injected something into his arm. The video, uploaded by a YouTube user who goes by Zack Rose, was titled, “Two Burlington Vermont cops…
Montpelier Loses Dinner Spots deMena’s and Banchan
It’s been a tough summer for Montpelier’s food scene. The capital city lost a well-loved source of fresh, hand-cut local meats when Beau closed on Barre Street, and now, as of last weekend, two downtown restaurants have shuttered. On Main Street, deMena’s served its final supper earlier this month. We weren’t able to connect with…
‘Such an Inspiration’: Hallquist Candidacy Resonates Beyond Vermont
Christine Hallquist’s victory in Vermont’s Democratic gubernatorial primary on August 14 made her the first openly transgender person to win a major party nomination for governor. It also won her a special place in the hearts of the transgender community everywhere. “We’ve gotten an unbelievable volume of letters, emails and messages,” Hallquist’s campaign manager, Cameron…
Eat This Week, August 22 to 28, 2018: Ice Cream for Dinner
For its 35th birthday, Lake Champlain Chocolates bought itself an ice cream truck. All summer long, the rolling scoop shop has been posting up behind the company’s Pine Street confectionery on Wednesdays for a breezy evening ice cream social. During the summer series’ final two weeks, passersby can stop for lawn games and treat themselves…
Oscar Winners Headline Middlebury New Filmmakers Fest
What do filmmakers Steve James, Peter Davis, Barbara Kopple, David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco have in common? Besides having received seven Academy Award nominations and five wins among them, they’ll all be in Addison County this weekend for the fourth annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival. Nearly 60 filmmakers will attend this year’s festival, according to…
Dining in a Dumpster at Waterbury’s Salvage Supperclub
A dumpster can hold 16 people or four and a half tons of trash. The people fit snugly inside if they are seated together at a table for dinner. This was the configuration at a six-course dinner party earlier this month in a dumpster placed in a Waterbury backyard. The 12-gauge-steel container, cleared of garbage…
From Retail Blues to Bluegrass: Manchester Pivots in the Age of Amazon
When yet another retailer abandoned the Price Chopper plaza in Manchester last year, Michael and Carolina Ellenbogen saw opportunity in the empty storefront. The two artists had long wanted to open a gallery, but rents in the southern Vermont town — long a retail destination for well-heeled tourists — had been too expensive for an…
Renowned Vermont Sculptor Chuck Ginnever Thinks Big
Westminster sculptor Chuck Ginnever, who turns 87 this month, once sat in a New York gallery and watched people look at a 25-foot-long work by Tony Smith. The experience alarmed him. Like Smith’s work, Ginnever’s is large-scale, metal and abstract. “All the people from our culture walked up, looked and left. Americans thought they knew…
Hackie: Adopting Reba
John Wordsworth, a Washington, D.C., resident, was going to hike the Long Trail with three friends. He planned on flying into Burlington and taking a cab from the airport to Rutland, where the foursome would rendezvous and hit the trail. John had been a college friend of Lori Flanagan’s and knew she now lived in…
Obituary: Emilie Clare Holmes Stahl, 1927-2018
Tega Cay, South Carolina On Monday, August 13, 2018, Clare Stahl passed away at age 91 in Tega Cay, S.C. She previously resided in Madison, N.J.; Hamburg, N.Y.; and South Burlington, Vt. Clare was born on May 4, 1927, in Orange, N.J., to Arthur and Leonora Holmes. She received a BA in political science from…
Willow’s and Folino’s: The Dough Is Rising at a Former Funeral Parlor
Just when you think earnest entrepreneurs have snapped up every viable inch of Burlington’s downtown to sell used records, dumplings or artisan anything, foodies take over a former funeral parlor and start slinging bagels, sourdough pizzas and craft cocktails. To be fair, the Queen City is still waiting for Stonecutter Spirits to open its Highball…
Pizzeria Ida and Little Morocco Café Coming to the ONE
Hang on to your meatballs, Burlington — there’s another pizzeria coming to town. When Pizzeria Ida opens early this fall behind Pho Hong at 662 Riverside Avenue, it’ll deliver a taste of southern Italy to the Old North End. The standard daily menu will include just three items: crisp, thin-crust Neapolitan pizzas, calzones and bready,…
