I’m glad I don’t live in Massachusetts. Not just because my senator would now be Scott Brown, but because I would have felt obliged to vote for Martha Coakley — barely the lesser evil.... Read more

What’s the deal with that old wedding superstition “Something old, something new…”?

Rarely have I attended a wedding and not shaken my head in bewilderment at the many odd customs that seem de rigueur at nuptials. There’s the rice throwing and the bouquet tossing, the wedding cake feeding and the creepy garter-belt business. On top of that, you have the stiff wedding march, the nervous first dance, the often ugly bridesmaids’ dresses and even the rings themselves.... Read more

Not many colleges can boast that they own a ski area. In fact, only four can — Dartmouth, Middlebury and two community colleges in Michigan and California whose ski areas’ combined vertical totals 1000 feet. So Middlebury students should count themselves lucky that not only do they have access to a ski area, but it’s actually worth visiting.... Read more

The challenge: Memorize 90 minutes of text in just two and half weeks, and then perform it solo for a live audience. It sounds utterly impossible, a nightmare to wake from in a cold sweat. Barre actress Mary Wheeler, however, embraced a last-minute opportunity to do Martin Sherman’s one-woman play Rose (1999) at Unadilla Theatre in East Calais last summer.... Read more

Traditional weddings are filled with, well, traditions. Heterosexual rituals, that is, which don’t necessarily make sense in same-sex ceremonies. Watching some of her gay friends getting civil unions and, now, having weddings, Vermonter C.D. Mattison got to thinking: Forget “something borrowed…” What about creating a unique way to commemorate these events?... Read more

The Roger Ebert of the North Country? While he may not have a Siskel-like foil, Seven Days film critic Rick Kisonak has been reviewing flicks on TV since 1984, the year that brought us Footloose and Amadeus. His show, “Art Patrol,” aired weekly for nearly a quarter-century on WPTZ before it was canceled last December.... Read more

With so many ways to connect in our communication-obsessed world, the casual kickiness of slang creeps into daily life via many avenues. Laid-back lingo fills text messages, blog posts, Tweets and emails, as well as conversation. Who has time to pen formal prose in an e, even to the boss? LOL! But where do you turn when you come across an unfamiliar term? Asking someone might mark you as hopelessly unhip.... Read more

Curses, Foiled Again ... Read more

Here's the weekly astrological forecast for February 3 - 10, 2010. What's your sign, baby? They're all here...... Read more

The key detail WPTZ meteorologist Tom Messner remembers about his wedding day? The weather.

An ice storm swept through that day in 1994, the toothy TV weatherman recalls, and threatened to shut down the entire region. Tom and wife-to-be Kate were eloping, and a burst pipe in their home drenched their plans for a stress-free wedding day. The bathroom was flooded, and the walls had to be ripped out. Undeterred, they made it to a church to say, “I do” in front of a handful of witnesses before hopping a plane for their Caribbean honeymoon. ... Read more