By Kevin Theissen U.S. markets The markets closed sharply higher for the month of July, fueled by strong corporate earnings, solid economic data and dovish comments by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.54 percent while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 1.93 percent. The NASDAQ Composite picked up 3.38 percent,…

By Brady Crain This was supposed to be a reunion story. Ten days ago as I was packing my car to leave Jersey City, I met someone very special.  I was carrying my first load of bags to the garage where my car was parked, and one of the neighbors in the yard said ,…

By Marguerite Jill Dye At a time when we may be on the brink of war with a country with which we’ve never had diplomatic relations since its partitioning between Russia and the U.S. after WWII, I am especially aware of the importance of international programs and exchanges that promote friendship and understanding for world peace.…

By Mary Ellen Shaw If you lived in the Rutland area back in “yesteryear,” you will remember the numerous jobs that were available in area factories. ”Yesteryear” from the point of view of my own early remembrances goes back to the 50s and 60s. However, some factories from that period had their beginning long before…

By Michael J. Caduto More than 3,000 years ago, the Chinese believed that a dragon ate the sun during a solar eclipse, so they gathered outdoors to drive away the beast by beating pots, pans and drums. Some 500 years later, the Greek poet Archilochus wrote that Zeus had turned day into night. In Australian…

By Bret Yates In July, the Boston Globe published an article about the painter Helen Frankenthaler that contained the following sentence: “Frankenthaler’s effects are more visceral, more buzzy and demanding, than pastoral evocations of space.” Every time I encounter the word “visceral” in print (which seems to happen more and more often), I have to…

By Dom Cioffi The Internet destroyed many industries during its meteoric rise in the late 90s and early 2000s. One of its most devastated victims was the Christmas card. For decades, the Christmas card reigned supreme as the preeminent means of providing an annual catch-up for friends and family. You could wish someone well, bless…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Taurus Moon and a recently turned, retrograde Mercury. People talk a lot about the retrograde mercury phenomenon. It happens three times a year and lasts for approximately three weeks each time. This recent turnaround began on…

By Brady Crain I am back, and thank goodness for that.  Living in a non-air conditioned top floor apartment in Jersey City was a little too warm for my blood.  Okay, it was a lot too warm for my blood. I did love the neighborhood thoug. I would walk a mile through garbage and glass…

By Marguerite Jill Dye Two Sarasota writer friends and I opened the door of the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park’s Forest Center, ready to make notes for our non-stop, no pressure, “free writing” assignment. We’d signed up for Dartmouth Professor Terry Osborne’s Perception, Self-Awareness, and Nature Writing workshop in Woodstock’s 9th annual Bookstock Festival of Words.…

By Bret Yates Some weeks ago I mentioned here, offhand, that I expected to hate the new “Spider-Man: Homecoming” movie, which was turned out to be totally wrong; I saw it, and I enjoyed it more than any other comic book movie of recent years. For me, that’s a fairly low bar, but I admired…

Photo by Mike O’Brien The 802 Music Series held at Paramount gives props to the local music scene, offering intimate concerts right on the stage, with just a few seats available for the shows.   By DJ Dave Hoffenberg One of my favorite albums of all time is coming to life this Thursday, Aug. 10…

By Dom Cioffi I was giving my son and his buddy a ride to grab lunch the other day and happened to mention that school was just around the corner. “What’s that supposed to mean?” my son responded indignantly. “It means that summer’s over in two weeks,” I replied. “You’re lying!” he countered with an assured…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye I’m writing this on  Aug. 7 with the sun sitting at 15 degrees, 19 minutes Leo, and the moon juxtaposed at 15 degrees, 19 minutes Aquarius, The Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a full solar eclipse. This particular eclipse has already gotten so much…

By Dom Cioffi This past weekend I had the pleasure of playing guilt-free golf. (Let me explain if you’ve never heard of this.) My golfing career has basically coincided with my marriage, meaning, I picked up golf right around the time I got married. In that time, I have had to balance my love for…