The Tech Issue October 2016 (Theme Issue)
Champlain College Games Sexual Assault; A Commercial Pilot Test-Drives the F-35; Trying on Virtual Reality
The Parmelee Post: Champlain College Alumni Develop Augmented Virtual Reality
A game-design collective consisting of Champlain College alumni have developed what tech industry insiders are already calling a whole new class of virtual reality gaming. Burlington-based Soft Particle have created the first “augmented virtual reality” device that allows users to view and experience the world exactly the way they think it should be. “It’s a…
No Return: Loss of a Redemption Center Complicates ‘Canner’ Lives
Matthew Thorsen Sorting cans and bottles at Beverage Warehouse in Winooski Not long after daybreak on October 11, an elderly Bhutanese woman wearing a black hoodie and rubber gloves walked briskly along Lafountain Street, pulling a dolly-like cart. The temperature hovered just above freezing, and the streets of Burlington’s Old North End were nearly deserted.…
Gang of Thieves, Born to Be Loud
(Self-released, CD, digital download) If you’ve seen your Vermont friends posting about “GoT” on social media in the past few weeks, there’s a good chance they weren’t talking about “Game of Thrones.” Rather, they might have been raving about Burlington’s hard-funk sextet Gang of Thieves, who just dropped their fourth full-length album, Born to Be…
For Archaeologists, New Tech for Old Sites
Archaeologists dream of that “Aha!” moment, when one discovery leads to even more. Vermont state archaeologist Jess Robinson had one such moment recently. But, unlike most archaeological finds that come from digging in the ground, his “most amazing revelation” was captured from an altitude of about 12,000 feet. On a laptop, Robinson displays two side-by-side…
Exploring the Simplicity and Complexity of Orange Julians
Julian Rumney DeFelice is the man behind Vermont’s freshest electro-pop project, Orange Julians. He lives high in the Green Mountains, in Stowe. From this lofty vantage, DeFelice says he feels a bit daunted by what he sees as a local scene with minimal room for the kind of sounds he makes. “Vermont is a really…
Game Changer? A College Combats Sexual Assault With Technology
Leo has his eye on Emily, a pretty blond college sophomore. They’ve gone on one date, but he hasn’t heard from her since, despite texting her repeatedly. When he mentions his predicament to Michael, his friend has a suggestion to get Emily’s attention: Send her a dick pic. Leo, Emily and Michael are fictional characters…
Smithfield Boulevard, The Golden Years
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Smithfield Boulevard owe their name to a road in Plattsburgh, N.Y. Most of the band’s members are former SUNY Potsdam music students. Leading the group is North Country native and recent Vermont transplant Andrew Peryer. SB began as a cover band, as so many young musicians do. But in August, they…
Mapping Vermont’s Maker and Coworking Spaces
var map; var infoWindow1 = ” ” // name var infoWindow2 = ” ” // type var infoWindow3 = “, ” // City var infoWindow4 = ” ” // Notes var infoWindow5 = ” Address: ” // address var infoWindow6 = “, Vt. Find out more at the website. ” function initialize() { map =…
On Campuses, Vermont Candidates Pitch Locavore Politics
Carolynn van Arsdale faced a dilemma. Should she vote back home in Connecticut via absentee ballot? Or should the University of Vermont freshman register in the new home she is eager to embrace? “I haven’t really lived here yet. However, I see this place as my home,” the Westport, Conn., political science major said. At…
A Civilian Pilot Test-Drives the F-35
On August 25, four Vermont Air National Guard officers gathered in a planning room at the South Burlington base to war-game a hypothetical mission — destroying a nuclear plant in North Korea. Their primary weapon: two F-35s, the military’s controversial new stealth attack planes. This sort of “whiteboard” exercise is a regular part of their…
Sundae Month Collective Changes the Game
The candy-colored landscape and light electronic music belie the message that you, “a lonely spaceport sanidrone,” receive when you sign up to play: “One day, you’ll find your way off this ancient death trap of a planet.” Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor is not a happy video game. Sundae Month, an artistic game-design collective composed…
![Teen Bards in the Borderlands [SIV463]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/episode463.png?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Teen Bards in the Borderlands [SIV463]
10/15/16: Visitors to the third annual Borderlands were led on a theatrical adventure through a scenic patch of woods in Shelburne. Along the walk, costumed people performed music, recited poetry and told stories from among the trees. The performers are local teens who graduated from Enchantment Camps to learning The Way of the Bard for…
Chef Brad’s Crazy Side to Open in Quechee
Fans of the fluorescent food truck Chef Brad’s Crazy Side will soon be able to find chef Brad Pirkey’s “crazy side” in a new location — a storefront at 1 Quechee Main Street. After 15 years as the chef at Z Corners Inn, Pirkey left Bridgewater Corners to drive across country in search of culinary…
The Tech Issue — 2016
The cover of this year’s Tech Issue shows a person wearing a virtual reality headset. What’s visible through those goggles? It’s impossible to say. Chances are it’s a more appealing version of reality than the one we’re experiencing in this maddening election year. VR headsets aren’t some futuristic dream — they’re already on the market.…
Bringing the World to Vermont International Film Fest
Orly Yadin smiles when she talks about movies. So does Seth Jarvis, her right-hand man. The executive director and outreach coordinator, respectively, are two of the busiest bodies at the Vermont International Film Foundation and at the organization’s yearly festival. But even as they rush to prepare for the 10-day affair — which begins this…
Who’s on Your Vermont 2016 Ballot?
Vermont 2016 Ballot Generator Wondering what names you’ll see on the ballot this Election Day? Enter your address below and we’ll show you. And don’t worry — we won’t store any of the info you submit! Go! Unofficial Vermont General Election BallotNovember 8, 2016 Jump to: State | Local Federal Races President and Vice President…
Letters to Editor (10/19/16)
Wild Things Readers got fired up about last week’s news story “Hunting Foes Want to Snare Seats on Vermont’s Fish & Wildlife Board,” about whether nonhunters should be represented on the group of sportsmen that currently decides how Vermont manages its game. Those willing to use their names were mostly so-called “nonconsumptives.” Here’s a taste.…
Waterbury Center to Get New Eatery in a Barn
When Ari Fishman leased a barn at 179 Guptil Road in Waterbury Center — formerly home to Tanglewoods Restaurant & Bar — he envisioned opening a full-time wedding venue there. But his friends and neighbors had other ideas: “The people in town really wanted it to be a restaurant,” he says. And a restaurant they…
Ninjas and Doctors: Trying Out Virtual Reality
I am a ninja. The blades of my twin katana are a steely, shimmering blur of elegant death. I slice through my adversaries with blinding speed and precision, turning each into little more than pulp as they fly toward me. There goes a pineapple. Whoosh! A few oranges. Whoosh-whoosh! A watermelon. Splat! And finally, a…
ME2/Orchestra Expands Its Mission
Six years ago, Ronald Braunstein landed in Vermont as the new conductor of the Vermont Youth Orchestra. Previously he had appeared with orchestras around the world, including at the Juilliard School, where he had trained. Yet Braunstein simultaneously struggled with bipolar disorder, buffeted by the manic cycle that defines the illness. “I would spend two…
Road Warriors: Republicans Attack Minter’s Irene Record, But Will It Backfire?
In the 2008 presidential election, then-senator Joe Biden famously said of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani: “There’s only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, a verb and 9/11.” The same could be said about Democratic nominee Sue Minter and Tropical Storm Irene in Vermont’s 2016 gubernatorial election. The Waterbury resident…
Soundbites: 242 Main Announces Last Show
Well, damn. We knew this day would come eventually. But, like any sad news, even when it’s inevitable and we’ve been given time to prepare for it, when it finally comes it’s still a shock to the system. So here it is: 242 Main will host its final show on Saturday, December 3. In case…
Farmers to You Connects Growers With Customers
Gregory Georgaklis, cofounder of the food-distribution business Farmers to You, strides through the company’s headquarters on his way to run some errands. The offices are located atop a hill in Berlin with a gorgeous view of mountains that now are streaked with autumnal colors. The top of Camel’s Hump pokes up just at the horizon.…
Digital Meets Celluloid at 20th Annual Ciné Salon
The 20th annual Ciné Salon is turning back the clock — literally. On Monday, October 24, the Hanover, N.H.-based film series will screen the Vincente Minnelli classic The Clock. The 1945 comedy-drama stars the director’s future wife, Judy Garland, as a secretary who falls in love with a soldier (Robert Walker) during his two-day leave…
The Last Laugh
Director Ferne Pearlstein does something very clever at the opening of her latest documentary, a look at the ever-shifting line separating good taste from bad in comedy. The film deals overwhelmingly with the ultimate taboo subject — the Holocaust. A succession of talking heads weighs in: Gilbert Gottfried, Rob Reiner, Sarah Silverman and, of course,…
I’m Asexual and People Just Don’t Get It
Dear Athena, I am asexual, but most of my friends and some of my family members just don’t get it. They can’t understand how that would be real. Like, my mother thinks I will never marry, and it’s annoying hearing about it all the time. My father thinks I am weird. My friends who are…
Art Review: ‘Rock Solid XVI: Giuliano Cecchinelli,’ SPA
Barre’s tradition of Italian-immigrant stonecutters stretches back more than a century, and now it’s nearing an end. “He’s the last one,” Studio Place Arts director Sue Higby says of Giuliano Cecchinelli, 73, whose artistry in granite and marble is being celebrated at the Barre gallery. About 50 of his political, religious and erotic sculptures make…
Into the Woods
I am in virgin territory. The realization dawned on me with a bit of awe as I swooped through the hills and curves of the Northeast Kingdom. Smiling to myself, I thought, It’s still thrilling. Vermont is like a longtime partner to me, one whose beauty never grows old. After my 35 years as a…
Free Will Astrology (10/19/16)
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In the course of her long career, Libran actress Helen Hayes won an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony. Years before all that glory poured down on her, she met playwright Charles MacArthur at a party in a posh Manhattan salon. Hayes was sitting shyly in a dark corner. MacArthur…
Theater Review: American Hero, Vermont Stage
The three main characters in Vermont Stage’s production of American Hero are a comic lineup of coping strategies for minimum-wage earners. Nothing can penetrate Jamie’s don’t-give-a-shit armor. Ted proclaims he’s too good for the work but snaps to attention to obey the rules. And Sheri, juggling two McJobs, is the portrait of the service-worker zombie…
The Accountant
The plot of The Accountant is beyond convoluted, yet it all boils down to a simple, crowd-pleasing formula: Autistic accountant kicks ass. The movie is wildly ambitious, profoundly clueless and pretty damn entertaining, when it doesn’t just feel offensive to your intelligence. Directed by Gavin O’Connor (Warrior) and scripted by Bill Dubuque (The Judge), The…
Alison Cosette, Health Care ‘Data Nerd’
Name: Alison Cossette Town: South Burlington Job: senior business and process improvement analyst, Center for Health Care Management, University of Vermont Medical Center Officially, Alison Cossette is a data analyst for the University of Vermont Medical Center. Unofficially, she says proudly, “I’m the resident data nerd.” The 45-year-old mother of two is passionate about statistics. “Being able to…
Obituary: Ellen A. Burke, 1948-2016
Ellen A. Burke, 68, passed away October 11, 2016 at Porter Medical Center. She was born on April 25, 1948 in Long Island City, NY the daughter of John and Agnes (Cross) Peace. She is survived by her husband, Michael H. Burke of Gaysville, VT. Ellen graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in English…
Grilling the Chefs at Nepali Kitchen
Chefs: Tika Ghimire, Damber Kumari Ghimire, Jeetan Khadka, Shreepali Rajbanshi Ages: 56, 55, 25, 24 Restaurant age: three months Cuisine type: Nepali street food and Indian cuisine Training: Cooking is part of the family tradition. Selected experience: Head chef Tika Ghimire worked in Bhutan, Nepal and Madras (now known as Chennai) in South India. What’s…
