Dec 15-21, 2021
Writer Tim Brookes Creates Works of Art to Save the World’s Endangered Alphabets; Vermont’s Housing Crisis Complicates Afghan Refugees’ Resettlement; Willem Lange’s Annual Reading of ‘A Christmas Carol’ Brings Comfort and Joy
Cover Story
Writer Tim Brookes Creates Works of Art to Save the World’s Endangered Alphabets
A handful of sheep knuckles rattled across the dining table like molars knocked loose in a barroom brawl. The dried yellow bones, called shagai, came to rest on a round felt mat resembling an astrological chart. Around the mat’s perimeter, eight letters hand-stenciled in Mongolian calligraphy spelled out the four seasons. Nearby, a stack of brightly…
Clean: ‘No Longer Afraid of My Fear’
Shimmering light reflected off an icy road as I drove through a scenic mountain valley. I was three years sober, and I was on my way back from an interview for an article that I was writing for a local publication. It had been just under a month since I had started my new job…
In Memoriam: Peter J. Vlahos, 1942-2021
Peter Vlahos, July 3, 1942-December 24, 2004 “Love is love and not fade away.” —Buddy Holly Missing you. Love, Maury
In Memoriam: Jean Pike Bing
This is a message of gratitude, respect and adoration. I celebrate my mother’s passing every day. Please join me with tears of joy. God bless you, Jean.
Obituary: David Kingsbury “Skip” Smith, 1946-2021
Middlebury man passionate about travel and adventure took the road less traveled by
Obituary: Lawrence Meier, 1956-2021
Intellectual property attorney and loving father lived a life of joy, kindness and adventure
Obituary: John Henley McClain, 1950-2021
Father, grandfather, partner and friend, John ultimately found himself and his purpose in Vermont
More Than a Provocation, Lesbian Nun Drama ‘Benedetta’ Tackles Questions of Sexuality and Spirituality
Filmmaker Paul Verhoeven has always had a talent for pissing people off. Back in 1992, members of the LGBTQ community picketed his thriller Basic Instinct for its portrayal of a bisexual femme fatale. Now the Dutch director’s Benedetta, a vaguely fact-based drama about lesbian nuns in 17th-century Italy, has some religious groups up in arms.…
I’m Vaxxed, but a New Love Interest Can’t Be for Medical Reasons. What Should I Do?
Dear Reverend, I was recently elated because I had a wonderful date with someone new and started to see this potentially becoming something more. I learned, however, that they are unvaccinated because of medical reasons that I trust are legitimate — there’s research behind it regarding a condition that they have. They get tested weekly…
‘Sonic Blanket,’ a Yearlong Multimedia Installation in Brattleboro Combines Sound, Poetry, Art and Community
At the stroke of midnight early on Sunday, December 19, beneath the full moon, an invisible force field of sorts will cover Brattleboro. While denizens of the small, artsy city in southern Vermont won’t be able to see this force field, they will be able to hear it — provided they’re awake and near an…
Book Review: ‘Fierce Little Thing,’ Miranda Beverly-Whittemore
What induces someone to join a cultlike group? As a child in the 1970s, watching the adults around me float in and out of various questionable belief systems, I was convinced that kids were too grounded to heed the siren song of cult leaders. But the opposite is true in the fifth novel from Miranda…
Soundbites: The Year in Review, New Holiday Music
There was something so comforting about how much everyone hated 2020. It’s like when there’s a villain so loathsome, so despised, that everyone agrees they’re the worst. Think Joffrey in “Game of Thrones” or tech bro Martin Shkreli after he bought the secret Wu-Tang album. In a world where one person’s villain is another person’s…
Free Will Astrology (12/15/21)
SAGITTARIUS(Nov. 22-Dec. 21) The coming months will be a favorable time for you to redefine the meaning of the term “sacred” and to deepen your relationship with sacredness. To spur your imagination, I offer four quotes: 1. “Recognizing the sacred begins when we are interested in every detail of our lives.” — Buddhist teacher Chögyam…
Soon to Close, Sally’s Flower Shop Is a Winooski Institution
At Winooski’s only florist, the rhythm of the year is marked by blooms: roses for Valentine’s Day, lilies at Easter, spring bouquets for Mother’s Day and carnations for prom corsages. The annual cycle of Sally’s Flower Shop comes to its close with a festive display of poinsettias. Pots of deep-green leaves crowned in vibrant colors…
Letters to the Editor (12/15/21)
Protect the Victim I am deeply disappointed in Seven Days’ decision to publish identifying details about the sexual abuse of a Vermont youth by teacher Matthew Toof [Off Message: “Vermont Teacher Groomed Student From Age 11, Raped Her, Affidavit Says,” December 11]. Although you did not publish her name, you may as well have. You…
Once Again, Willem Lange’s Annual Reading of ‘A Christmas Carol’ Brings Comfort and Joy
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has more adaptations than most pieces of classic literature. From Bill Murray’s Scrooged to the Muppets’ whimsical take to the incredibly dark 2019 miniseries starring Guy Pearce, the story is almost too familiar in the Western holiday tradition. Phrases such as “Bah, humbug,” “decrease the surplus population” and “God bless…
Six Quick-Hit Reviews of Local Albums
Your friendly neighborhood music editor is sinking in album submissions like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, dropping into the lava with a thumbs-up. Long story short, Vermont musicians were busy this year. It’s almost like they were forced to stay inside with their instruments or something! To catch up, here is another batch…
‘The Great Resignation’ Creates New Job Opportunities for People Convicted of Crimes
The worker shortage is tough on businesses, but it’s a boon to people whose legal problems have made it difficult for them to find work. “If you want a job, and you are under Department of Corrections supervision in this community, you can find a job,” said Leona Watt, a senior officer for the DOC’s…
COVID-19 Surge Has Pushed Hospitals to Their Limit, Hurting Patients in the Process
Keilani Lime of Vergennes was just two days away from surgery at the Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital last week when she learned that it had been canceled. The New Hampshire hospital, which is part of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health network, needed to free up beds and staff amid a surge of COVID-19 patients. That required…
Vermont’s Housing Crisis Complicates Afghan Refugees’ Resettlement
Just before Thanksgiving, Ben Carlson, an Essex Junction resident who volunteers with refugees, got an unusual request. The Vermont office of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants needed someone to drive a large family of Afghan refugees from a Williston hotel to their new residence. Typically, that new residence would be an apartment in…
The Williston Joy Brigade Brightens the Day for School Staff
One afternoon last month, Angela Filion noticed a hubbub of activity in front of Williston’s Allen Brook School. Worried that she’d missed a memo, Filion, the building principal, rushed outside to see popcorn popping and bubbles floating. A parent DJ was spinning tunes, and students were drawing colorful chalk messages of thanks to teachers and…
From the Publisher: Reporting for Duty
There’s no shortage of dire reports about local U.S. newspapers. In the same week that the owner of Vermont’s 132-year-old Hardwick Gazette announced he would sell its building on South Main Street to stay afloat, the Washington Post Magazine devoted an entire issue to chronicling what’s at stake in a growing number of “news deserts”…
Now Playing in Theaters: December 15-21
new in theaters NIGHTMARE ALLEY: In Guillermo del Toro’s remake of the classic noir set in a 1940s traveling carnival, Bradley Cooper plays a carnie con man who teams up with a scheming psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett). With Toni Collette and Willem Dafoe. (150 min, R. Capitol, Majestic, Roxy) SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME: Peter Parker (Tom…
Shelburne Museum Focuses on Vision With the Online Exhibition ‘Eyesight & Insight’
The term “visual art” implies being able to see it, so it’s paradoxical that artwork itself rarely depicts visual impairment, such as a person wearing glasses. That’s one eye-opener — pun intended — provided by the Shelburne Museum’s current exhibition, “Eyesight & Insight: Lens on American Art,” curated by Katie Wood Kirchhoff and Carolyn Bauer.…
Kuya’s Sandwiches + Kitchen Fills Randolph With Filipino Flavors
At first glance, Kuya’s Sandwiches + Kitchen looks like any other small-town Vermont sandwich shop. Peering through tall windows from Randolph’s Main Street, passersby will find a familiar scene of mismatched wooden chairs, art-filled walls and handwritten chalkboard menus. What’s on those menus is what makes Kuya’s stand out. Besides making classic Italian, veggie, Reuben…
Halyard Brewing Grows Ginger Beer Business and Expands to Soda
Kenny Richards has spent the last five years explaining to people that his Halyard Brewing ginger beer is a brewed alcoholic beverage, as its name implies, though it technically is not beer. This task is made tougher by the fact that America’s leading ginger beer brands are nonalcoholic. “Before Prohibition, all ginger beer was alcoholic,…
Alpino Vino Brings a Wine Bar to Waitsfield
Many businesses in the Mad River Valley close for a post-foliage season break in the late fall. Josh Bewlay bucked the trend: He opened his new wine bar, Alpino Vino, at 6163 Main Street in Waitsfield in late October. “We wanted to open during stick season,” Bewlay said. “I’ve never done this before, and we…
The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, December 15 to 21
The Bawdy Brunch Sunday 19 Emoji Nightmare leads a fabulous cadre of kings and queens in Eleganza and Espresso: A Drag Brunch at the Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington. Bethadone Clinique, Donna Rhea and other local performers lip-synch their way through tables of mimosa drinkers for a hilarious, tip-worthy spectacle. Masks and proof of vaccination…
