Can a cuddly little planet from Vermont help bring a little peace to Earth?

We’ll find out after September 11, the day Japan launches a cargo shuttle bringing equipment and supplies to the International Space Station. That cargo includes a soft, round Earth, along with Moon and Mars pillows, made by Hugg-A-Planet of Essex Junction.... Read more

Want to get a jump on Burlington’s South End Art Hop? Then skip along Pine Street and Flynn Avenue to view the outdoor sculptures that have been sited in advance of the September 11 to 12 extravaganza.... Read more

Searching for the latest martial-arts assault on your senses from the “Muscles from Brussels,” aka Jean-Claude Van Damme? Netflix can probably feed your fix. Looking for that preposterously cute puppy pic from Jennifer Aniston to tug on your heartstrings like they’re slobber-smeared chew toys? Video on demand from your local cable provider can sate that sweet tooth.... Read more

Can sexual predators be rehabilitated? Director Bob Byington’s 2008 film Registered Sex Offender offers a jaundiced and, some critics say, savagely funny answer to that question via a mockumentary about a young man recently released from prison who has a dangerous taste for dating teenagers.... Read more

Nobody thinks they’re going to be a lampshade maker when they grow up. It’s one of those niches you expect to be filled by some anonymous worker on an assembly line. But for Judy Lake, “The Lampshade Lady,” it’s both a craft and an art.... Read more

The University of Vermont uses its annual academic convocation to set the tone for the upcoming year. But this Sunday, townies might want to attend just to hear the keynote speaker, renowned nonfiction author Tracy Kidder.... Read more

Think “classical music conductor,” and the image of a young, beautiful, hip female doesn’t typically spring to mind. But that aptly describes Alondra de la Parra, the 27-year-old founder of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas. She is a rare commodity in the world of classical conductors simply by virtue of her sex. And she’s a conductor Vermonters will be able to see in action this week at the Festival of the Americas in Stowe.... Read more

It’s published original interviews with Christopher Hitchens, Jonathan Safran Foer, Barbara Ehrenreich, Sarah Vowell and John Cusack, to name a few. But Identity Theory doesn’t come between glossy covers. Its staff of about 20 is composed of volunteers, and its publisher and editor-in-chief’s office, at least on a recent afternoon, is a table in Burlington’s New Moon Café.... Read more

Staging original plays is a risky proposition in the best of times, even in Vermont’s rich theatrical soil. Producers of the upcoming Ten-Fest at the Valley Players Theater in Waitsfield hope that a less-is-more approach is just the ticket. The “more” is the number of state-based bards whose work will be featured — 11 in all, some budding, others seasoned.... Read more

Every week, a group of neighbors meets in downtown Burlington to erase the evidence of overnight tagging. These graffiti foes probably wouldn’t be too pleased to hear of a new assemblage adorning building walls with artistic expressions in broad daylight — that is, until they learn this wall-art project is a mural with the goal of beautifying the city. It’s also the latest brainchild of Burlington-based artist Frank Gonzales.... Read more