The Comedy Issue
Todd Barry Headlines the Green Mountain Comedy Fest; Seven Vermont Comics to Watch; Finding Humor in Hard Places
Obituary: Everett S. Stearns
Everett S. Stearns, 81, of Johnson died peacefully at home on May 19, 2013. He was born February 10, 1932 in Johnson, the son of the late Leo and Ruth Stearns. Everett was a lifetime dairy farmer and enjoyed the outdoors. He is survived by his loving wife of 52 years, Marilynn Chase Stearns, 5…
Obituary: Charles Deasy, Jr
Interment with military honors will held for Charles Deasy, Jr. in Fairview Cemetery Hardwick Tuesday May 28 at 2: pm. Charles died January 17, 2013. Arrangements are in the care of des Groseilliers Funeral Homes Church St. Hardwick
Obituary: Joseph A. Hale
Services and a time of remembrance will be held for Joe Sunday May 26, 3: pm at his home on Weaks Place Walden. Joe died January 13, 2013 in Ft Myers Florida. Arrangements are in the care of John des Groseilliers, des Groseilliers Funeral Home Church St. Hardwick.
Obituary: James Patrick Brown
James Patrick Brown, (brown dog), age 62 years, died unexpectedly at his home Tuesday evening May 14, 2013. Born in Burlington on June 14, 1950, he was the son of the late Jeannine LaRiviere and Robert Brown. He attended Burlington High School and on November 8, 1980, was married to the former Kathleen Burnell who…
Obituary: Warren G. Davis
Graveside services and interment with military honors will be held for Warren G. Davis Sunday June 2 at 2: pm in Lamoille View Cemetery Johnson. Warren (Bud) Davis died February 8, 2013. He was 79. Arrangements are in the care of des Groseilliers Funeral Homes Johnson.
Obituary: Sandra Marie Aylward
Sandra Marie Aylward, age 60 years, lost her battle with cancer Tuesday morning May 14, 2013, at her Pion Road residence with loving family at her side. Born on April 11, 1953, she was the daughter of Homer Paradis and the late June (Dew) Paradis. She graduated in 1971 from Bellows Free Academy-St. Albans and…
Seven Days Seeks Burlington’s Best Bagels
This year, the Burlington bagel scene entered a brave new world. With spring came two new, busy bagel bakeries — the Bagel Place in South Burlington and Feldman’s Bagels on Pine Street. The latter marks the return to boiling and baking for Roy Feldman, a sort of grand poobah of local bagels: He founded Burlington…
Comedian Todd Barry’s Amazing Interview
Todd Barry is pretty amazing. Just how amazing is something the comedian will gladly share in his standup act, via Twitter or on his new podcast, “The Todd Barry Podcast.” But his is a wryly charming and often self-deprecating brand of low-key, facetious megalomania. For example, take a recent tweet in which Barry says, “Need…
In Josie Leavitt’s Standup Classes, Misery Loves Comedy
It’s been said that trying standup comedy for the first time is as scary as performing a high-wire act blindfolded. So imagine the courage someone needs to get on stage and tell jokes about being molested as a child, living in foster care or getting pregnant at a crack house — material that might be…
On the Fly: In Improv, the Perfect is the Enemy of the Funny
You’re standing in a small studio with two people you barely know, preparing to act a scene set on a desert island. One of your companions must speak exclusively in rhymes in this scene; the other must pretend to be a mind reader. Your character is endowed with hooks for hands. There’s no script to…
14th Star Brewing Brings Craft Beer to St. Albans
Steve Gagner pulls a tap jutting from the wall of his tasting room at 14th Star Brewing, and golden beer fills a tulip-shaped glass. “I came up with this one night while sitting on the couch watching ‘[The] Big Bang Theory,’” Gagner says earnestly. His vision was an ale with grapefruit, orange and lemon flavors,…
Seven Comics to Watch at the 2013 Green Mountain Comedy Festival
There is no official tally of standup comedians in Vermont. But there are a lot of them cracking up audiences around the Green Mountains. For proof, consider that roughly 100 comics — in addition to 20 or so improv comedians — will perform at the 2013 Green Mountain Comedy Festival, which runs from Wednesday, May…
String Doctors: Who You Gonna Call When Your Axe Gets Busted?
Behind every great guitar, fiddle, mando or upright bass player stands a string doctor, a skilled luthier who answers the call when an instrument needs work. Often unheralded, they see it all: a mandolin neck that’s taken a sudden twist, a fiddle top cracked by low humidity, a priceless Martin knocked over by an exuberant…
News Quirks
Curses, Foiled Again Authorities charged Carolyn James, 55, with assaulting her 96-year-old mother in Dickson City, Pa., after a neighbor recorded James slapping the invalid woman on the back and neck, screaming obscenities and threatening to break her arm. Mark Gruss told investigators he was testing webcams when he picked up a live feed from…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In the alternate universe created by Marvel comic books, there is a mutant superhero called Squirrel Girl. She has the magic power to summon hordes of cute, furry squirrels. Under her guidance, they swarm all over the bad guy she’s battling and disable him with their thousands of tiny chomps and…
Eyewitness: Collage Artist Benjamin Peberdy
White River Junction artist Benjamin Peberdy doesn’t sign his name to the collages he creates, he brands them with a logo. Peberdy makes art under the appellation Deluxe UnlimitedTM, which he chose because he “thought it sounded nicely sort of self-important, and sort of vague.” His pseudonym may be intentionally ambiguous, but what Peberdy is…
Letters to the Editor
Hooray for Restaurant Week Just wanted to thank Seven Days for sponsoring Vermont Restaurant Week [April 26-May 5, 2013]. We attended the “Real Cost of Local Food” panel, which was very informative, as well as having great food! It certainly raised awareness of our responsibility to support local foods in our restaurant choices and to…
