Jun 15-21, 2016
Surviving Bullets and Threats, a Muslim Woman Strives to Help Others; Inaugural Scout Film Festival Features Talented Teens; Sampling Seven Summer Beers
Cover Story
Hate Crime Victim Fatuma Bulle Advocates for Refugee Women and Families
On April 26 at about 4 p.m., Fatuma Bulle faced what she describes as the most frightening moment of her life. The Somali Bantu woman and her son, Ahmed, were walking on Burlington’s North Champlain Street when a Caucasian man yelled to them, “Go home! Go home!” Bulle ignored Michael Kochalian, but he continued to taunt…
Farmers Riled Over Decision to Charge Bull’s Owner in Fatal Crash
Connecticut therapist Jon Bellis steered his car west on Route 4 in Killington around 10 p.m. on July 31, 2015, with his wife of 37 years, Kathryn, in the passenger seat. The couple, who owned a condo in the area, were approaching the Val Roc Motel. Ten minutes earlier, a truck driver had called authorities…
Maggie’s Plan
Nature abhors a vacuum, it’s said, and as I watched the first comedy from director Rebecca Miller (Personal Velocity), I had the distinct sense that she was auditioning for the job of the Next Woody Allen. Because, let’s be honest, as much as we’ve loved him, even admired him at times, the old boy’s lost…
New Coffee Shop Onyx Tonics Focuses on the Beans
Many cafés cater to sippers and sitters — people who come to nestle into couches and catch up with friends or to flip open their laptops and work while they down the morning’s first dose of caffeine. Burlington’s next coffee shop, Onyx Tonics, will be an entirely different beast — a café that puts the…
Zig Zag Lit Mag Launches in Vergennes
Have a novella that needs to see the light of day? A collection of poems you want to share with your neighbors? A black-and-white photo you believe everyone should see? If you live in Addison County, there’s a new place to publish your creative work. Zig Zag Lit Mag is a literary journal started by…
Free Will Astrology (6/15/16)
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): My long-term predictions for the next 15 months are a blend of hopeful optimism and a reasonable interpretation of the astrological omens. Here we go: 1. You will have an excellent chance to smooth and soothe the rough spots in your romantic karma. 2. You will outgrow any addiction you might…
The Conjuring 2
Making an effective horror movie isn’t always about originality. Fear is one of our most conservative emotions — it takes us back to childhood — and so, more often, success in horror is about finding new ways to scare audiences with the same old creaks and bangs in the night. While I’m a fright fan who…
Book Review: If I Forget You, Thomas Christopher Greene
We will inevitably marry the wrong person, according to philosopher Alain de Botton. “Partly, it’s because we have a bewildering array of problems that emerge when we try to get close to others,” he wrote recently in the New York Times. “We seem normal only to those who don’t know us very well. In a…
Former Vermonter Zephyr Teachout Seeks New York Congressional Seat
Zephyr Teachout was using “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” as her personal mantra decades before Muhammad Ali’s death revived the saying. The Vermont native, endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for a U.S. House seat in New York’s Hudson Valley, quoted the champ’s trope alongside her senior photo in Hanover High School’s…
Letters to the Editor (6/15/16)
A Jew’s View [Re “Right in Rutland,” June 8]: I’m a refugee. In 1937, when I was 3 years old, my family was forced to flee Nazi Germany’s pogrom. We had cousins who had been born in the U.S. and were successful merchants. We got into the U.S. only because they vouched for us. Otherwise,…
Stealing From Work Unveils Meaning of Womanhood
Spending a half hour with even three members of the sketch comedy group Stealing From Work feels like having an improv sesh with highly talented comedians. Marianne DiMascio, the group’s cofounder and self-proclaimed leader, is constantly cracking jokes and whips out a notebook to jot down any bit of conversation that could become a sketch.…
A Nap Before Rosie
Bristol’s Greenwood Cemetery, as viewed from the roadside gate, seemed to fit the bill for what I had in mind. I had just dropped off a customer in Bristol and, in a fortuitous piece of scheduling, was booked for a New Haven pickup just 10 miles down the road. But first, I had an hour…
Low-Income Advocate Chris Curtis Follows in His Father’s Footsteps
A week ago Sunday, Chris Curtis climbed aboard his mountain bike — an aging “Al Gore for president” sticker affixed to the crossbar — and headed out on the Lund Ride and Walk for Children with his 8-year-old son, Will, following on his own bike. Even in a steady rain, Curtis was not going to miss…
Gregory Alan Isakov on Symphonies, Farming and Overused Words
There is quiet humility in the songs of Boulder, Colo.’s Gregory Alan Isakov. With his sweet, hushed vocal delivery and evocative lyricism, he’s struck on an intimate formula that has endeared him to fans and critics around the globe. On his recently released album, Gregory Alan Isakov with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the South African-born…
A Vermont Food Photographer Picks Up ‘Likes’ on Instagram
It’s 10 a.m. at the Diner in Middlebury. A waitress arrives at Rocket’s table carrying a strawberry milkshake and a plate of loaded home fries. Rocket carefully positions his milkshake next to the still-steaming platter, a shock of pink beside the heap of fried potatoes, bacon, caramelized onions, melted cheddar and two poached eggs. Instead…
Scott Barkdoll’s Canoes Are Shipshape
Name: Scott Barkdoll Town: Middlebury Job: Wood and canvas canoe builder On a dead-end country road surrounded by rolling farm fields south of Middlebury, Scott Barkdoll builds and refurbishes wood and canvas canoes. His classic works evoke a simpler time of communing with the wilderness. Barkdoll, now 52, has been making things with his hands since…
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Jamie’s List: NDAA Zip Lining [SIV447]
6/11/16: Last summer we met Jamie Perron, a quadriplegic artist who started using an adaptive kayak supplied by the Northeast Disabled Athletic Association (NDAA). Jamie has a list of other activities she plans to try, such as riding a rollercoaster, downhill skiing and dogsledding. Last Saturday, Jamie crossed zip lining off her list. A large…
REDadmiral, REDadmiral
(Self-released, CD, digital download) REDadmiral have been lurking on the margins of the Burlington scene for two years, honing their craft on smaller stages around the city, such as Manhattan Pizza & Pub and, on occasion, the Olde Northender. And theirs is a sound tailor-made for juke joints and dives. Blending the deep-cut eclecticism of…
The Gun: How I Bought an AR-15 in a Five Guys Parking Lot
A stranger handed me an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle Monday afternoon in a South Burlington parking lot. I handed him an envelope stuffed with $500 cash. We filled out no paperwork and completed no background check. He had no idea who I was nor what my intentions were, and he did not ask. Nine minutes after…
Daddy Long Legs, Daddy Long Legs
(Self-released, CD) As local supergroups go, Daddy Long Legs sure keep a low profile. The band features three of Vermont’s finest acoustic players. First and foremost is violinist David Gusakov. Gusakov was a member of Burlington’s progressive bluegrass pioneers Pine Island in the late 1970s, presently plays with gypsy-jazz outfit Swing Noire and has logged…
Dear Old Dad: Fathers Reflect on Having Children Later in Life
In my 51 years of life, I have accomplished exactly two noteworthy physical feats. In May 2009, I completed the Vermont City Marathon. Later that year, I became the father of twin girls. As I crossed the finish line on race day, I was excited to be joining two elite societies: that special club of…
I’ve Got a Crush on My Doctor
Dear Athena, I’ve recently found myself in an ethical dilemma. I’ve needed to change health care providers, as my former doctor retired. When I went to meet my new physician, I found myself utterly attracted to him. He seems to be in his early thirties, with short dark hair and captivating eyes. He is always…
Stowe’s Inaugural Scout Film Festival Draws Youth-Made Films from Around the World
Most aspiring filmmakers can point to one or two seminal movies that served as their inspiration for pursuing careers in the industry. Harrison Allen of Bethel had a somewhat different motivational experience. “When I was 15, I saw a college filmmaker’s film, and it was really, really bad,” recalls the 18-year-old homeschooled graduating senior. “I…
Art Review: Deborah Sharpe-Lunstead, Jackson Gallery
The term “fiber art” most frequently denotes textiles: felting, soft sculpture, weaving, knitting, crochet. But it’s easy to forget that paper is also made from plant fibers. Galleries tend to draw a distinction between fiber arts and paper works, but certain artists challenge that line. Middlebury-based “pulp painter” Deborah Sharpe-Lunstead is one of them. Her…
Guns ‘n’ Poses: After Newtown, Will Vermont’s Gun Politics Evolve?
Originally published December 19, 2012. While Vermont may be the most liberal state in the country, its gun politics remain those of a rural enclave ruled by sportsmen. “Hunting is an integral part of who Vermonters are, so that’s why I think you see a lot of Vermont politicians seeking not to offend on this…
Soundbites: Curing Jazz Fest Withdrawal
The final curtain fell on the 2016 Burlington Discover Jazz Festival this past Sunday, June 12, closing yet another spectacular 10 days of jazz hands in Burlington. And the highlights were plentiful: Randy Newman tickling ivories and funny bones at the Flynn, Barika’s searing set at Nectar’s, Nico Suave’s supremely bodacious treatment of Led Zepplin…
South Burlington School Cancels Book on Addiction
Anti-censorship advocates are hailing a South Burlington elementary school’s decision to acquire a children’s book that tackles the subject of heroin addiction for its library. The move appears to come in reaction to last week’s controversial decision to cancel the author’s reading to fourth and fifth graders. Last week, children’s book author Kate Messner, of…
Sampling Seven Warm-Weather Beers
Oh, summer. It’s a season for drinking outside, in the sun (or the half-frozen rain); for session-sipping brews at lively weekend barbecues, in a canoe or at the beach. Such circumstances demand a few things of a beer. In color, texture and body, summer brews should be thirst slaking and lightweight enough to drink quickly,…
New and Improved Growler Garage to Reopen
Sometimes South Burlington’s loss is the Queen City’s gain. After an “amicable” parting-of-ways with former business partner Brian Stone last summer, Growler Garage owner Liam O’Farrell shuttered his Dorset Street brew shop this spring. But the closure wasn’t permanent. In fact, O’Farrell had just signed a lease for the airy corner storefront at 30 Main…
Paper Tiger? Katie Hunt Satirizes Media in a Statehouse Exhibit
Early last week, Bernie Sanders supporters nationwide were in an uproar over the Associated Press’ announcement that Hillary Clinton was the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee — before the polls had even opened in California and five other states. Meanwhile, in Vermont, artist Katie Hunt lambasted the media in her own way. In a surprising and…
