Love & Marriage Issue 2015
The Love & Marriage Issue: Food Truck Weddings on a Roll; Working Couples Work It Out; Polyamory in Vermont; A Bill Would Keep Ed Tax Dollars at Home
Obituary: Jennie Charlotte Hilliker
Jennie Charlotte Hilliker, age 91 years, a longtime resident of Blue Rock Road, Alburgh, went to be with the Lord, Friday February 6, 2015, at the Woodbridge Rehabilitation and Nursing Facility in Berlin. Born in Fairfax on July 29, 1923, she was the daughter of the late Jennie Mae Braley. She graduated from the former…
Obituary: Velma Mary Irish
Velma Mary Irish, age 78 years, died early Friday morning February 6, 2015, at her home with loving family at her side. Born in Colchester on July 12, 1936, she was the daughter of the late Donald and Ruby (Trayah) Shores. She attended Milton schools and on October 13, 1956, was married to Bertrand Irish…
Obituary: Gary John Campbell, Sr.
Gary John Campbell, Sr., age 60, died unexpectedly Tuesday February 3, 2015, at his North River Street residence. Born in Saint Albans on September, 16, 1954, he was the son of the late Duncan Sr., and Lucille (Dixon) Campbell. He attended Missisquoi Valley Union High School and for 25 years was associated with Champlain Cable…
Obituary: Robert Marcel Parizo
Robert Marcel Parizo, age 75 years, died unexpectedly December 19, 2014, at his Boutah Road residence. Born in Highgate, Vermont on October 4, 1939, he was the son of the late, David and Velma (Marcile) Parizo. He graduated from the former Highgate High School and worked for several years as a machine operator for RockTenn,…
Obituary: Adrian Remi St. Denis, 1931-2015, Jericho
Adrian Remi St. Denis, 83, passed away Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015 at his home in Jericho with his loving family at his bedside. Born September 6, 1931 in Williston, VT, he was the eldest son of Adrian and Mariza (Gratton) St. Denis. A resident of Jericho, he worked on the family farm on Lee River…
Project Almanac
Once there was a scrappy little time travel movie called Primer. Produced for just $7,000, Shane Carruth’s 2004 indie proved that thoughtful science fiction films didn’t have to be made on a blockbuster scale — and inspired reams of obsessive online analysis. Now imagine that the suits at MTV, figuring that their target audience hadn’t…
Daddy’s Girl
I answered my phone on a snowy Wednesday afternoon, and the caller launched into his request. “My daughter’s coming up on Amtrak tonight from New York City. I guess the station is ‘Essex.’ I can get you the train number and time … I have it here somewhere. Would you be available to pick her…
A Most Violent Year
A long time ago in an awards season that now seems far, far away, this was shaping up to be the year of A Most Violent Year. In December, writer-director J.C. Chandor’s third feature was named the best film of 2014 by the National Board of Review. Critics’ groups consistently nominated Jessica Chastain for best…
News Quirks (02/04/15)
Curses, Foiled Again Clayton Dial, 23, pulled a gun and demanded cash at a Japanese restaurant in Champaign, Ill., only to have chef Tetsuji Miwa thwart the robbery. “I instantly grabbed my sushi knife, walked up to him, wrapped my arm around his shoulder and asked him what he wanted,” Miwa said. “He saw the…
Hip-hop Legend Masta Ace Still Keeps It Real
Masta Ace has performed hip-hop since 1988 and has been widely considered one of the best at it throughout the genre’s evolution. But he doesn’t rest on any laurels; Masta Ace continues to tour relentlessly, from campus bars in the Midwest to sold-out festivals in Germany and Japan. (Like many rap artists, he fares better…
Theater Review: Or, at Vermont Stage Company
In Liz Duffy Adams’ Or, the medium is the message. For this comedy set in 1660, that medium is farce, wrapped around a bit of biography and clever dialogue reminiscent of Restoration wit and topped with a bawdy look at sexual freedom. The farcical frame makes the biggest impression, resulting in a playful 90-minute romp…
![The Odd Couple [SIV386]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/episode386.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
The Odd Couple [SIV386]
1/29/15: This week is the Love & Marriage issue of Seven Days and what better way to celebrate than with a video featuring a unique Vermont couple, Lisa and Roy Haynes. Lisa is a former professional wrestler who has rescued over 3,000 cats and dogs with her 20 year old non-profit Save Our Strays. Roy…
I’ve Been Married Six Years, and My Wife Is Never ‘in the Mood’
Dear Athena, I’ve been married six years, and things in the bedroom are a disaster. My wife is 40 and I’m 33, and she’s no fun: no oral giving or receiving, won’t try anal and is never in the mood. When we do have sex — once every week and a half or two weeks…
Vermont Culinary Couples Share Their Wedding Stories
If planning a party is stressful, devising a wedding is enough to land many couples in therapy. When it comes to the all-important postnuptial meal, some may throw up their hands and say “I do” to a fate of chicken Statlers and overcooked prime rib. Wedding banquet pressure is compounded for members of the culinary…
Letters to the Editor (02/04/15)
Another Slippery Slope Although I did not see the Vermont Right to Life flier that was referenced in the January 28 letters to the editor [Feedback: “Offensive Insert” and editor’s note], I support a woman’s right to choose. But I agree with the editorial decision to run the ad. I also agree with the editor’s…
Soundbites: New Monkey House Residency, Dead Set Turns Two, New Band Alert, Sturgill Simpson!
Residential Area Greetings, music fans! This week’s edition of Soundbites is coming to you under unusual circumstances. Namely, I’m penning it from Chicago in the middle of a blizzard. I’m currently on a cross-country road trip, bound, eventually, for Los Angeles. The storm has kinda screwed up our planned itinerary. But I suppose there are…
Casual Cuisine: Food-Truck Weddings
Weddings can be fussy, formal affairs. The number of conventions associated with the ritual is dizzying: contracts to sign, rings to purchase, dresses to try on, guests to invite, bridal showers, vows, flowers, music … the list goes on. Vermont Food Truck Finder Many of those traditions will likely stand for years to come. But…
Michael Arnowitt’s Beethoven Project Comes to an End
Vermont musicians who know Montpelier pianist Michael Arnowitt — and most do — never fail to comment on his imaginative programming. Since he moved to Vermont in 1983, Arnowitt has devised and performed a concert of pieces written in the year 1911, one of works about water and another with an animal theme. He has…
Books: Murray Bookchin’s ‘The Next Revolution’
The life and thought of longtime Burlington resident Murray Bookchin can be read as a profile in courage. Never a slave to political fashion, he made intellectual enemies among former comrades in the communist, socialist and anarchist wings of the American left by challenging their cherished dogmas. At the same time, he remained consistently radical,…
Lobby Hobby: Who’s Spending Big on Vermont’s Legislative Session?
Liberal activists weren’t the only ones disappointed when Gov. Peter Shumlin reversed course in December and dropped his plan to create a single-payer health care system. Vermont lobbyists and their far-flung funders had been gearing up for an epic — and profitable — fight over the $2 billion tax hike the governor was contemplating to…
Not So Funny: A Lifetime of Comics Stolen in Brattleboro
Cops in Brattleboro are asking for the public’s help in locating comic book collector Jim Wheelock’s missing loved ones. The Los Angeles-based illustrator, writer and graphic designer was born and raised in Vermont. Shortly after he relocated to LA in 1995, his mother died, and he moved his trove of vintage comic books from her…
A ‘Luxury’ Alternative to the Wedding Porta-Potty
Jeff Snyder and Mike Solomon were at a poker game, expressing their disdain for the typical portable toilet, when the idea of Luxury Event Restrooms was born. “We were complaining about this blue-box thing, and how we’d rather go behind it than in it,” says Solomon. The two men, who have more than 35 combined…
Jarvis Green Leads New ArtisTree Theatre Co. in ‘Fiddler’
When ArtisTree Community Arts Center & Gallery moved into a newly renovated three-story barn and farmhouse in Pomfret last fall, there were no plans to produce a full-scale musical. But this week, that’s exactly what ArtisTree will do when it opens its first production, Fiddler on the Roof, in conjunction with Pentangle Arts Council in…
How Couples Who Work Together Work It Out
Marriage, as many a spouse will tell you, is a series of negotiations — not just about who does the dishes, but about how two individuals can become part of a two-person, mutually dependent team. It can be a difficult dance, even for the most lovey-dovey of lovers. To sustain a marriage, partners have to…
Art Review: ‘Taking Pictures,’ BCA Center
The title of this exhibition, “Taking Pictures,” has multiple meanings yet remains somewhat misleading. The most common interpretation might be “snapping photographs.” But the BCA Center’s new show is not explicitly about photography, even if it does contain photos — including a slightly disturbing chromogenic print by the celebrated Cindy Sherman. What’s more germane here…
Exploring the Ins and Outs of Polyamory
Betsy has a full day ahead of her, even for someone with four romantic partners. An hour after her interview with a reporter, she’s due to pick up one of her girlfriends at the airport. Later this afternoon, she’ll have a coffee date with a potential fifth partner, followed by dinner and a movie with…
New Bill Aims to Stop Funding Out-of-State Schools
Every year, Vermont tax dollars help pay tuition to prestigious, out-of-state private schools — Phillips Exeter Academy, Emma Willard School and Northfield Mount Hermon, to name a few. In 2013, some Vermont students used state dollars to attend high schools in Sweden and Argentina. According to Vermont’s town tuition program adopted in 1869, towns that…
Writers Weigh In on Crafting Wedding Vows
Wedding vows are curious literary beasts. Truly meaningful to only two individuals, they’re typically read aloud in front of groups of people. And what if one or both of the betrothed, though sincere in their love for the soon-to-be partner, aren’t particularly endowed with writerly skill? No one wants to go up to the altar…
A Final Act of Devotion Ends in Tragedy
After 38 years of marriage, Stewart and Patricia Little acted as a team. Because she had broken her arm in a recent driveway fall, he drove them to the grocery store on December 8. They set off together, from Irasburg for Newport, hours before a nor’easter would dump 15 inches of snow and knock out…
Free Will Astrology (02/04/15)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In 1979, Monty Python comedian John Cleese helped direct a four-night extravaganza, “The Secret Policeman’s Ball.” It was a benefit to raise money for the human rights organization Amnesty International. The musicians known as Sting, Bono and Peter Gabriel later testified that the show was a key factor in igniting their…
Man of the People Faces Woman of the Party in Burlington City Council Race
A convenience store manager and a marketing director are vying to represent the largest voting bloc in Burlington. It’s an odd matchup: Both city council candidates identify as Democrats — one has the official endorsement of the party, the other has support from the man at the top of its ticket. In the end, will…
Red Clover & the Hermit Thrush, We Get By
(Monkey Luck Records, digital download) In August 2014, Burlington’s Red Clover & the Hermit Thrush released their debut self-titled album, a lo-fi assemblage of bluegrass songs studded with punk attitude. Given the band’s lineage, that fusion makes sense. With the exception of banjo player Chris True, the members of Red Clover were each in Y69,…
Shiel Worcester’s Jam Bakery Goes Mobile
Shiel Worcester started Jam Bakery from her Richmond home kitchen in summer 2013. By day, the baker turns out pastries alongside Andrew LeStourgeon at Hen of the Wood, but she says she’s used Jam to explore her medium and develop her own signature approach to the oven. For the past year and a half, Worcester…
Hold Me Back, Follow Through
(Self-released, digital download) Emo-alternative-punk music has certainly fallen from its mid-2000s commercial stardom, but there are still pockets of sensitive rockers moping in café corners. One such group is new Burlington-based trio Hold Me Back, with Ed Brady contributing lead guitars and vocals, Brian Rotella providing bass and additional guitar, and Landry Watson hitting the…
Obituary: Dr. Robert Lanzer, 1927-2015, Charlotte, NC
Robert Clark Lanzer died peacefully on January 28,2015 at the Levin-Dickson Hospice House in Huntersville, NC. He was born on May 20, 1927-a very famous day in aviation history-the day Charles Lindbergh flew over the Atlantic Ocean. He had a wonderful childhood in Sugarcreek, Ohio setting traps to catch minks, playing football and basketball in…
Agricola Farm Introduces a Dinner Club
For years, Vermont fields have welcomed a hungry public for on-farm dinners — in the summer. But Alessandra Rellini of Agricola Farm in Panton has hatched another way to share her food with her neighbors, even in cold weather. On February 13, she’ll launch a dinner club featuring ingredients grown on-site. A longtime fan of…
Why Don’t Chickens Like to Lay in Winter?
A few weeks ago, I found myself standing in front of the egg cooler at Burlington’s City Market/Onion River Co-op, bewildered. Usually filled to the brim with dozens of local, farm-fresh eggs in an array of colors and sizes, the cooler was empty. Empty! I guess I’ll have to go to Price Chopper, I thought,…
