KeyBank Vermont City Marathon & Relay

runvcm.org, 863-8412... Read more

In my seventh summer as a movie critic, I’ve reached the conclusion that tent-pole films are best taken in small doses — one or two CGI-paloozas per season, say. If your job requires you to see one every single weekend, you are bound to develop blockbuster fatigue.

Here’s what blockbuster fatigue sounds like:... Read more

The documentary is the Debbie Downer of film forms. Over the years, documentaries have evolved into an information-distribution service; a sort of Associated Press for bad news. The networks and great newspapers filled this role in the past, but, as we all know, profit-minded corporations have absorbed and gutted them, leaving them without the resources to produce the in-depth journalism they once did. That job has been outsourced to the independent filmmaking community.... Read more

Mom and apple pie: Contrary to popular emotion, these are not universal goods. Some people would prefer another kind of pie, or no pie at all. Some are severely allergic to wheat. For a few, apple pie might be fatal. The same goes for motherhood.... Read more

(Self-released, CD)

John Specker is a Vermont-based fiddler credited with pioneering the “Ithaca sound” in the 1970s as a member of the Correctone Stringband, a group that fused old-time music with reggae and African grooves. Alongside his daughters, Lila and Ida Mae Specker, John’s family band, the Speckers, has been barnstorming stages around the Green Mountains for years, playing a rambunctious version of old-time music that owes as much to punk rock as Appalachia, at least in attitude.... Read more

(Self-released, CD, digital download)... Read more

5/18/13: The 2013 Chicken Coop Tour led poultry enthusiasts on a self-guided exploration of 16 coops in the Jericho & Underhill area. This is the first year of the tour and proceeds will benefit The Community Center in Jericho.

Music: The Milo White Band, "Cluck Old Hen"... Read more

The big news on the local club scene this week is the Green Mountain Comedy Festival, which begins on Wednesday, May 22, and concludes Sunday, May 26, with a festival-closing, headline performance at Club Metronome from comedian Todd Barry, who is hilarious. If you missed my interview with him in last week’s comedy issue, take a minute to read it online. I’ll wait… ... Read more

Two of the nation’s leading labor unions worked hand in hand during this year’s legislative session to win collective bargaining rights for some 7000 home-care workers in Vermont.

But with that decided, the two unions are now gearing up to fight each other over the spoils: the right to represent what’s expected to become the largest bargaining unit in the state.

“They’re like two heavyweight boxers eyeing each other and getting ready for the big fight,” says one person involved in the skirmish. ... Read more

No matter how fast you run, no matter what number bib you’re wearing, and no matter how many miles you’ve sweated in your Sauconys, you’re not going to elbow ahead of Alicia Dana at the start of the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon & Relay this Sunday. Or Patrick Standen. Or Jillian Duda. Or Bryan Bathalon.... Read more