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In the late ‘80s, the rock band Van Halen was taken to task when journalists discovered that their concert contract contained a clause stating, “There will be no brown M&M’s in the backstage area, upon pain of forfeiture of the show, with full compensation.” Immediately dismissed as the excess of party-band celebrity and unrestrained hubris,…

Walking along a dirt road last winter, I heard a collection of pleasant, sputtering trills coming from a stand of conifers and hardwoods nearby. I’m used to the winter conversation of chickadees around feeder and woods, the cawing of crows and blue jays in the yard, and the high-pitched calls of golden-crowned kinglets sounding from…

We’ve finally arrived at the point on the astrological timeline many would prefer to avoid: Mars retrograde in Cancer.  Not unlike any other astrological occurrence, you can choose to meet this head-on and remain open to the learning opportunity it provides. Another option is to whine and moan about it and eventually complain that nothing…

Regional music recap for 2024 2024 was another excellent year for music in our region. Always check the listings to see where our incredible local talent is playing because it’s all so good. We also have some fantastic national touring acts coming through our area. The year started with a great show and time at…

When a musical bio-pic like “A Complete Unknown” comes along, movie red flags always rise. Are we going to get another cookie-cutter, a paint-by-numbers retelling of a famous musician, lined with “magical moments” of inspiration behind the music numbers we know so well, heightened by a performance that is more mime than realistic by an…

South Korea’s limited series, “Squid Game,” became a national sensation when it debuted in the U.S. in the fall of 2021. Its combination of hyper-violence and reality show meets “The Hunger Games” proved the perfect blend of entertainment for an audience still dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and feeling that life’s many challenges placed their…

For thousands of years, the transition into the new year sees people take a moment for self-reflection. Traditionally, people come up with a resolution for something they would like to improve upon, bring with them, or leave behind them with this year’s fresh start.  The Latin origin of the word resolve, resolvere, has a few meanings, such as: to loosen,…

We came in early, which, if you know anything about Team PomPom, is a miracle within itself because we are usually about 15-20 minutes late. As much as I love coaching 5-and 6-year-olds, it is extremely difficult to move them about the mountain in a timely fashion. Bathroom breaks, emergency snacks, bloody noses…they all control…

I have always stayed awake on New Year’s Eve to watch the ball drop in Times Square. No matter where I am or what I’m doing, for that final minute, I’m going to be glued to the television. It’s been a tradition of mine since I was a young child, and as far back as…

Well, the holidays are behind us and hopefully you enjoyed that special time of year. Once January rolls around, my mind gravitates toward spring and gardening. I want to forget that it’s winter. My apologies to those of you who still want to be skiing while I am tending to my daffodils! As many of…

When I think about winter survival, my mind first goes to wildlife: field mice curling up in nests, chickadees flocking to bird feeders, and amphibians burrowing into the mud. Rarely do I think about the adaptations of our northern species that can’t grow thicker fur, fluff up their feathers, or go underground. Trees, for instance,…

As a teenager, one of my most prized possessions was my stereo. The multi-unit system sat atop the dresser in my bedroom for years before following me to college and on to my first apartments. Nowadays, we only need a smartphone and a Spotify subscription to enjoy our favorite artists. Still, decades ago, serious music…

Director Robert Eggers’ re-imagining of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic “Nosferatu,” which itself was a thinly disguised ripoff of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” sneaked into theaters Christmas Day, just in the nick of time to give all the Goth kids nighttime refuge from all the family holiday parties, to sink their teeth into some counter-programming. For…

During winter, I often hear gnawing and the scurrying of little feet inside the walls of our house. Mice have taken shelter in our old farmhouse again.  Although I hate killing cute creatures, after we had to hire a carpenter twice to remove sections of our walls and take out smelly mouse nests, we resorted…

This week, social media feeds across the internet will be bursting at the seams with “new year, new me” posts. Self-improvement and lofty goals are always a good thing. However, what about self-acceptance? What would life feel like if you met it in the moment, from exactly where you are? Psychologist Carl Rogers said, “The…