As students arrived for Kimberly Quinn’s 11 a.m. class in early September, she handed each a multicolored button that read, “Be the boss of your brain.” During this semester, she aims to help them mold their young minds — literally. A Champlain College professor and expert in cognitive and positive psychology, Quinn teaches students how…
Dry leaves and pine needles crackled under my car wheels as I turned up a winding dirt driveway. I was three years sober, and I was on my way to witness the damage that had been done to the road leading up to my house in Sandgate. After several days of continuous rain, a sizable…
Colchester woman was “a gentle and loving soul”
Burlington man created a dynamic family of friends united around a love of music
A veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom led a life of service to others
Burlington man understood what it meant to cherish life and the beauty that it holds
I had an interesting side adventure this week. Our wonderful food writers asked me, as well as other Seven Days peeps, to review Burlington’s pizza spots for a piece in next week’s issue. Now, I’m not going to go on about how much I love pizza, because everybody loves pizza, except those cursed by the…
Two weeks ago, Justin Mason took his first trip to Hinterland Market, a new store in South Albany. Mason, 24, is the assistant clerk of his hometown of Albany. He noted and appreciated the array of inventory: housemade pretzels and kimchi, hot sauce and throwback candies, and a spicy flavor of Lay’s potato chips —…
Krista Marzewski became a yoga teacher four years ago, after she’d found fulfillment in the practice while beginning her recovery from substance abuse. She’d done yoga 30 years before, but at the time, it wasn’t for her. In rehab, it was. “Yoga comes to us when we need it,” Marzewski said, “and it’s changed my…
The newspaper business does not lend itself to retrospection. Reporters and editors are trained to look ahead, to see what’s coming — ideally, before any of our competitors do. Media organizations find value in reporting what’s new, first, and that treadmill never stops. On good days, it’s an endorphin-fueled workout. On bad days, it’s exhausting.…
(self-released, digital) It feels like we’ve been waiting forever for the robot revolution. From writer Isaac Asimov to filmmaker James Cameron, artists have been warning for decades about the inevitable day when your Alexa will become self-aware and begin plotting your doom. At this point, I’m like, Put up or shut up, robots. Get to…
Before Christiana and Barney Hodges created a pick-your-own apples operation at their Sunrise Orchards in Cornwall this year, they learned how to make doughnuts. Acting on the advice of friends in the business, the couple converted part of their cider pressing area into a commercial kitchen so that they could offer an array of baked…
(Self-released, digital) Formed at Middlebury College, the Big Sip joined the college and jam band circuit in 2016. A year later they released their debut EP, Music for Clapping, followed in 2018 by a second self-released EP, Sip Responsibly. The soul-inflected jamming on these two albums set the stage for the Big Sip’s latest sound.…
On September 28, hundreds of community members came out to watch the Winooski High School boys’ soccer team play on its home field under towering floodlights. Teens, some from neighboring high schools, clustered together on the sidelines, laughing and cheering. Spectators wore Winooski Strong T-shirts and held signs that read “Black Lives Matter” and “Give…
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Some people are crazy drunk on rotgut sobriety,” wrote aphorist Daniel Liebert. I trust you’re not one of them. But if you are, I beg you to change your habits during the next three weeks. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you have a heavenly mandate to seek more…
As she put the finishing touches on her documentary Ruth Stone’s Vast Library of the Female Mind, filmmaker Nora Jacobson sent Seven Days some thoughts on the former Vermont poet laureate’s body of work. “I believe that making art or being creative is a way to alchemically transform our experiences, even the tragic ones, into…
Dear Reverend, I work in an office with hardwood floors. One of my coworkers always wears clogs with big wooden bottoms that make a lot of noise when she walks. The nature of her job means she moves around all day, and the constant clomping drives me crazy. I can only imagine what it sounds…
The Tusken Raider stared me down, menace oozing from their posture as they raised a gaffi stick over their head. The worn, dust-covered weapon loomed above me. Memories from well over 30 years ago resurfaced, and I had a long-forgotten reflex: My hand went to my hip, looking for a lightsaber. Perhaps I was playing…
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is coming up, but I admit I wasn’t thinking about that when I watched “Reservation Dogs,” an eight-episode series that features an all-Indigenous lineup of writers, directors and regular cast members. I watched it because Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows), who cocreated the series with Oklahoman filmmaker Sterlin Harjo,…
The setting of Katori Hall’s 2009 play The Mountaintop tells much of the story on its own. It’s April 3, 1968, in a modest room at the Lorraine Motel. The pleated peach curtains cover windows that look out on a balcony. It’s raining, and tomorrow the room’s occupant, Martin Luther King Jr., will be assassinated.…
The view from the summit of Mount Philo is iconic. A popular image on social media, the patchwork of Charlotte’s verdant farmland, fluffy clumps of forest and the silver span of Lake Champlain is unmistakable to anyone who’s hiked the 968-foot mountain. About four miles from the shore, Mount Philo State Park offers a closer,…
new in theaters I’M YOUR MAN: A scientist (Maren Eggert) participates in an experiment where she must live with an android (Dan Stevens) programmed to be her perfect partner in this indie comedy from director Maria Schrader. (105 min, R. Savoy) LAMB: The discovery of a mysterious newborn proves a curse to a childless couple…
‘When Adults Act Like Children’ [Re “Raiders vs. Ravens,” September 22]: When adults act like children and children act like adults… Seems like those who take the most issue with school mascot changes in Rutland are not the kids directly affected, but adults unable to give up the monikers of their “Glory Days” — cue…
When Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase “The medium is the message” way back in 1964, the theorist and author was referring specifically to communication media. But the dictum could readily apply to artwork — in at least two ways. First is the object itself: An oil painting or an assemblage or a photograph conveys different…
Progressives on the Burlington City Council say they are open to hiring more police officers after a recent assessment of the department recommended a larger force. Their support for bolstering the ranks, however, may depend on Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger’s willingness to accept other reforms detailed in the wide-ranging report. The city released the long-awaited…
Laini Fondiller apologized before bringing a visitor into her barn on a recent morning. Friends had dropped by her Lazy Lady Farm, and she was behind on chores, including cleaning the dairy goat pens. The farmer-cheesemaker hardly needed to make excuses. Aside from the lightly soiled pens, where her 40 goats spend the few hours…
When customers walk up to Alexx Shuman’s tent at the Burlington Farmers Market, she greets them by saying, “Welcome to the marshmallows.” It’s a quick way to let people know what she’s selling — not tofu, cheese or soap, as some customers thought in the early days of her business, Nomadic Kitchen. But Shuman’s words…
More than a century after Michael C. Dorn created the original Venetian Ginger Ale that gave Burlington’s Soda Plant its name, Venetian Beverages is expanding its footprint at the hot spot on Pine Street. Justin Bunnell, Dorn’s great-great-grandson, brought the Venetian brand back to life in 2017. Next spring, he’ll open the Venetian Soda Lounge…
Keeping the Beat Saturday 9 Stowe Vibrancy presents the second annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day Rocks! — a festival and rock concert at Mayo Events Field celebrating Native American culture and traditions. The day kicks off with a blessing from Chief Don Stevens of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk-Abenaki Nation and continues with singing, drumming,…
