The Health and Fitness Issue April 2009
The Health and Fitness Issue: The State’s Marathon Business Picks Up the State; Kettlebell Training; Vermont’s Flu Pandemic Preparedness
Weekend Web Tip
I received an email today from “Department of the Treasury,” at admin@irs-usa.com, announcing that the government owes me money. No, I’m not a bank or an automaker — I am the recipient of spam. How do I know this email is spam? Here’s the text. See if you can spot the clues: After the last…
Mark Nash Takes Over as ‘Old Man’
Did somebody say “break a leg”? Sorry, I couldn’t resist. It is so, so not funny that poor Malachy McCourt, who’s been playing the character of the Old Man in Vermont Stage Company’s current run of Prelude to a Kiss, actually did break his leg. In two places, requiring surgery, we hear. Yikes! I’ve never…
CCTV Rewind
Last night CCTV Center for Media & Democracy celebrated its 25th anniversary with a party at Main Street Landing’s Film House. Snacks, a silent auction and live music courtesy of the Gordon Stone Band entertained hobnobbing guests in the lobby before everyone filed into the auditorium to watch footage from Nat Ayer’s “impeccably catalogued” collection:…
Naked Ultimate Frisbee Team Causes Uproar in Oregon
With the hot, sunny weather we’ve been having, Frisbees have come out from hibernation and are once again flying around the St. Mike’s campus. I haven’t seen any naked people tossing Frisbees around the quad, though. Trends are different at the University of Oregon, where the school’s Ultimate Frisbee team has had its season cut…
The Simpsons on Your Mail!
You all probably know by now that the USPO is adding a Simpsons stamp to its repertoire of American luminaries, sports figures, flags, the Forever, etc. Can I get a doh? Anyway, the Simpsons being from a certain Springfield, OUR Springfield is holding a daylong cancellation event at its PO on May 7, the day…
Finkerman’s Redux
For us meat lovers, the world is looking up. First brunch returned at Souza’s – by the way, since going back to its regular price, the offerings have greatly expanded. My brunch there two weeks ago was their best yet! – now hog hogs can get their fill at Finkerman’sBarbecue. Well, sort of.From now until…
Frolf U
The debate over the Leddy Park disc-golf course rages on. So what exactly is the BFD?
![Disc Golf Debate [SIV126]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/episode126.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
Disc Golf Debate [SIV126]
4/28/09 Disc golf, a harmless pastime or a public nuisance? A debate has been raging in Burlington (pro and con) about a proposed 18-hole disc golf course at Leddy Park. Eva travels to the Johnson State College disc golf course and proposed holes at Leddy Park to see what all the fuss is about. Note:…
Braking the Cycle
A safety course prepares pedal pushers for rough-and-tumble road biking
B of P Needs You!
I don’t know why, but I found the following line in an email today hilarious:”The Battle of Plattsburgh Commemoration Committee, originally formed in 1997, is in urgent need of more help if they are to maintain the quality of program that we have all become accustomed to over the past 11 years.” What’s so funny…
Hall Monitoring
Art Review: Maltex Group Exhibit, multiple media by eight local artists. The Maltex Building, Burlington. Through September.
Free Will Astrology
Here’s the weekly astrological forecast for April 29 – May 6, 2009. What’s your sign, baby? They’re all here… ARIES (March 21-April 19): “It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little,” said the writer Sydney Smith. While this is always good advice, it’s especially apt for…
News Quirks
Curses, Foiled Again A clerk at a variety store in Biddeford, Maine, told police a robber threatened to “blow her head off,” took several hundred dollars and then crossed the road to a pizza restaurant. There, according to WLBZ-TV, police found Mary Gorsuch, 48, who matched the clerk’s description and was already on probation for…
Big Honkin’ Soundbites
Soundbites: Big Honkin’ Soundbites, Orange Juice, His Name is . . . Robert?, Down in the Valley, New Band Alert!, Break on Through, Slim Chance, Bite Torrent
Letters to the Editor
LOVING COUPLE CORRECTION I’d like to offer one correction to Cheryl Hanna’s otherwise wonderful article [“The Loving Lesson,” April 22] on the lesson of the Loving case. Richard and Mildred never intended to live in Washington, D.C. After their marriage ceremony, they came home to Virginia to live and were arrested shortly thereafter, rather than…
What the World Needs Now
Besides love? A good guffaw. And one opportunity is the Vermont “Laugh In” event, for World Laughter Day on Sunday, May 3. The Richmond Free Library, at 201 Bridge Street, is allowing silence to be broken “to contribute to the international movement of world peace through laughter.” Whatever it takes, right? Organizers are hoping for…
North Beach “Discovery”
We’ve all seen those Discovery Channel shows that document the mass mating rituals of animals, whereupon some species — be it turtles, penguins, seals, horseshoe crabs — briefly takes over the beach in a reproductive frenzy. So it was at North Beach on Saturday when thousands of scantily clad college students converged for a massive,…
Vermont’s Flu Pandemic Preparedness
Last fall, Seven Days ran a cover story evaluating Vermont’s level of preparedness for the next flu pandemic. As I discovered at the time, there was a wide spectrum of awareness in Vermont on this issue, from the “Yes, we’re on top of it,” to “the pan-what now?” Some organizations and businesses, such as public utilities,…
A Schpadoinkle Tuesday Link Dump
The sky is blue, and all the leaves are green. Enjoy your Vermont blog links for the day, but don’t stay inside for too long. Current events songs seem to be all the rage lately. The Gregory Brothers out of Brooklyn have been making a splash by auto-tuning the news: (H/T False 45th) For hard…
The Smart Way to Use Twitter to Learn About Swine Flu
In a blog post Sunday night, I recommended using Twitter — specifically the hashtag #swineflu — to keep up with the latest news of the outbreak. Since then, I’ve seen critical blog posts and stories charging that Twitter is spreading misinformation, and does more harm than good. Here’s the latest report from CNN, entitled “Swine…
