Columns
Mountain Times columnists share personal experiences on themes they’ve chosen as a focus. Find a personality you relate to and follow them weekly!
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‘Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown’broke comic art conventions
April 2, 2025
Last week, I revisited the style of “Watchmen,” a masterpiece that took me 35 years to appreciate fully. This week is a graphic novel that struck me immediately, and it has served as a standard by which much of the art I appreciate is measured: “Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown,” written in 1988 by Walter and…
The Leaning Tower of Pisa and Vermont’s housing crisis
April 2, 2025
“A problem well-stated is half-solved.” Charles Kettering In 1173, construction began on a bell tower, or campanile, for a cathedral in the Italian city of Pisa. Within five years, it reached a third of its current height when a war broke out, and construction was halted for about a century. During that time, the tower…
Rutland City TIF District: Where we are and what it means
April 2, 2025
Welcome to the Rutland 360 focus column. Rutland 360 is a collaborative initiative led by a task force that includes the Rutland Redevelopment Authority, the City of Rutland, the Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region, and the Downtown Rutland Partnership. Together, these stakeholders have developed the Rutland TIF District Master Plan, a strategic…
Little Feat’s evolving lineup finds consistency in making great music
April 2, 2025
Having had the pleasure of working with Little Feat and seeing them perform four times, including this current lineup, one thing holds true: whoever joins the band keeps the tradition of making great music alive. The latest additions are something special. I was fortunate to catch up with Little Feat’s long-time multi-instrumentalist, Fred Tackett, who…
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April reminds that beauty blooms even after the harshest winter
April 2, 2025
Did you know that eating a cucumber can cool down a sore throat? How about running cheap vodka through a Brita water filter to turn it into the good stuff? I’m sure you all know that laughing for 15 minutes has the same health benefits as two extra hours of sleep. No piece of paper…
A special friendship
April 2, 2025
An adult friendship between a teacher and a former student probably doesn’t happen very often. I have been both the “student” and the “teacher” in such a friendship. It’s an interesting relationship that develops over time. During my high school days at Mt. St. Joseph Academy, I was a student in classes taught by Sister…
Edge first into the unknown
April 2, 2025
A surrendering laugh erupted. You know, the kind where you try so hard to make something happen, but you just have to give up and laugh at the silliness of it all—The old lipstick on a pig or making lemonade from lemons. Fake it until you make it. These are all classic terms for when…
Battling the senses
April 2, 2025
I remember the moment like it was yesterday: My girlfriend (soon to be my wife) and I were sitting in our tiny apartment glued to the television. It was evening, and CNN was covering the first United States invasion of Iraq. The war had officially begun. And in a change to the network landscape, the…
The many lives of the Eastern Newt
April 2, 2025
You’re probably familiar with the basic amphibian life plan: start as a wriggly water-breathing tadpole and transform into an adult that breathes air. This is the pattern followed by all our frogs, toads, and mole salamanders. Enter the eastern newt, an amphibian with three different forms, whose ability to transform their body and their lifestyle…
Even for ‘Reacher’ fans, Season 3 is a stretch
April 2, 2025
A friend of mine once said that shows like “Reacher” are "Doritos shows." You know, junk food that you can’t help but keep digging into the bag, even though you know you’re full, and all you’re eating is empty calories. Amazon Prime’s hit series “Reacher” resembles a bag of Doritos. Unfortunately, as Season 3 of…
A sea of clarity
April 2, 2025
A long time ago, my son told me, “Mum, I want to show you the clouds under the water.” The beach was magic that day. The sun shone brightly. The water was crisp and clean with an aqua hue. The waves were powerful and inviting. “Mum, you have to put your head under the water…
Rhythms of return
March 26, 2025
Like Nature, nothing in astrology is linear. Much like life, really. The process of change rarely happens in a straight line. It’s messy. It’s one step forward and two steps back. Sometimes, it’s two steps forward with just one step back. Sometimes, these circular rhythms are frustrating. Just like how it was to be age…
‘Watchmen #1’ – A comic that took me 35 years to appreciate
March 26, 2025
I’ve owned “Watchmen #1” since the day it came out, or close to its release date in September of ’86. It’s spent most of its life bagged but not boarded. The spine is still crisp, as are the edges. It lies relatively flat, and the color seems good. Maybe slightly dimmer. I think I’ve been…
Ski slower, love longer
March 26, 2025
Hello readers! I’m Uncle Matty, here for your help, but please be advised to swim at your own risk. I am not a doctor, therapist, lawyer, or man of the cloth. My professional certifications are limited to slinging cocktails and umpiring. If you have serious medical, financial, legal, or faith-based questions, please seek more appropriate…
Killington’s summit: Where the mountain whispers back
March 26, 2025
I had ridden bikes all day with a couple of friends. In my memory, it was one of my friend’s birthdays, and we were working on her goal of being able to ride Yo Vinny. Not without putting a foot down because that section of ladder around the big rock would always be tight. But…
As sweet as can be
March 26, 2025
Not a week goes by that I’m not yelling at my son about eating snacks in his bedroom. Initially, I wasn’t opposed to the idea, but after years of finding stale and rotted food underneath his bed and behind his furniture, I finally put my foot down (getting fresh wall-to-wall carpeting installed also prompted the…
Red and silver: A tale of two maples
March 26, 2025
In early spring, a reddish haze appears in the woodlands. With most deciduous trees still dormant, the red maples are living up to their name. Their awakening buds lend color to a gray landscape and signal that spring is coming. I love watching the steady progression of red as I look out my window. A…
‘Severance’ concludes its second season with an intense showdown between innie, outie, and a nefarious corporation
March 26, 2025
If you haven’t watched either season of AppleTV+’s “Severance,” this review probably isn’t for you. Let this serve as a warning and opportunity: If you haven’t yet watched “Severance,” why on earth would you want to read on and spoil the fun? If you haven’t dipped into the wild world of “Severance,” with its second…
‘One of Them Days’ struggles to make the rent
March 19, 2025
“One of Them Days” is the first theatrical R-rated female-driven Black comedy since 2017’s “Girls Trip,” and that is a shocking statistic. Released in theaters in mid-January of this year, “One of Them Days” was a modest hit, making $49 million off a budget of $14 million. The movie’s high-concept premise, two friends/roommates have just…
