As the situation in Iraq grows ever more tenuous, the Bush administration continues to spin the ominous news with matter-of-fact optimism.... Read more

In more ways than one, White River Junction sits at a crossroads.

Two highways intersect there -- Interstates 89 and 91 -- and two rivers, the Connecticut and the White. Numerous rail and phone lines thread their way through, too.... Read more

When Alverta Perkins was asked recently to talk about health and fitness to a local elementary school class, she didn't think it was rude of a student to ask her, "How old are you?" Quite the opposite. The 80-year-old shot-putter and long jumper thinks it's important for children to see people her age who are athletic. "The kids didn't laugh at me," Perkins says. "I think they were just awed that someone as old as I am can still walk."... Read more

"Caller number five," the MC summoned a bearish, camouflage-clad man to the stage. "Please give us your rendition of the fly-down cackle.'"

Cupping his hands around his mouth, the subject used an instrument lodged between his tongue and the roof of his mouth to make a noise that sounded like, Cluk. Cluk. Cluk-cluk-cluk-cluk-cluk-cluk-cluk-cluk.... Read more

Multitasking is not an option when listening to Ira Glass. Unlike most of the shows on the radio, his "This American Life" demands your attention. Every week at least 1.5 million Americans tune in to hear Glass and his staff present a set of quirky, thoughtful narratives on a unlikely theme such as "Hoaxing Yourself," "Middlemen," "Miracle Cures," or "What I Should Have Said."... Read more

Talk about productivity. H. Keith Wagner has completed 22 paintings since January. That's more than four a month, a daunting pace for any artist. "I get so impatient waiting for paint to dry," he explains with a grin. Wagner also turns out heavy-metal sculptures, some of which are giant balls of rusted steel rolled up like string. Three exercise-ball-sized specimens sit in the living room of the house he designed for himself in Ferrisburgh; a couple of larger ones cast round shadows in the yard just outside.... Read more

Forget Champ. There's a new freak of nature for Vermonters to consider.
At least that's the premise of Joesquatch, a short spoof with plenty of scatological gags about a Bigfoot-like creature that may or may not be rampaging in the woods. The 15-minute production will premiere in a May 1 program at the Best Western Windjammer & Conference Center that includes several other local cinematic efforts.... Read more

Jeff Stephenson was just 14 years old when construction began on Rutland's Green Mountain Rock Climbing Center; he volunteered to sand floors and hammer nails. Later, he landed a full-time gig there while attending Poultney High School. Now 21, he's the outdoor-programs director for the climbing center's sister, Vermont Adventure Tours. From rookie rock climbers and at-risk youth to Gore-Tex-clad flatlanders and stressed-out alpha males, clients seek Stephenson for a good time in the Green Mountains.... Read more

Those of you who think freedom of the press is alive and well in the Green Mountains, think again. The Burlington Free Press just sacked its best op-ed columnist in living memory -- former foreign correspondent Barrie Dunsmore of Charlotte.... Read more