By Dom Cioffi Toru Iwatani loved arcade games, especially pinball machines. In fact, he loved them so much that he spent all of his time studying their construction and design. He became so accomplished that at 22 years old he was hired by Namco, a Japanese arcade game maker. Iwatani was initially upset when he…

Submitted Hiroya Tsukamoto If you're free on Saturday night then you must head to Brandon Music at 7:30 p.m. to see Hiroya Tsukamoto. It's a show not to miss. He is a guitarist and composer from Kyoto, Japan who now resides in New York City. He began playing banjo when he was 13 years old…

By Dom Cioffi It happened on the evening of May 16, 1983; one of those events that was burned into my mind as well as the minds of millions of other people around the planet. It took only five minutes, but those five minutes would change the world forever. Growing up, we had two televisions…

By Carolyn Lorié On a recent afternoon, I was driving along my road in Thetford when I saw a baby ruffed grouse about the size of a pincushion scurry into the bushes. I had the same impulse I did as a 10-year-old, when I scooped up a baby blue jay hopping around on a neighbor’s…

Why is the new judge on “Masterchef” so annoying? For anyone who doesn’t know, “Masterchef” is a reality TV show and amateur chef competition—billed as the quest to find America’s best home cook—that has aired on Fox since 2010. Each year, after an extensive battery of tests and challenges, a new Masterchef is crowned by…

It’s not too often that an event I enjoyed as a child in the 50s can still be enjoyed today. But the Rutland City band concert in Main Street Park continues to delight those who attend. You will be pleasantly entertained on Sunday nights at 7 p.m. during 10 weeks of the summer. Growing up…

Vermont has been referred to of late as the Bavaria of New England, a state to which people travel to enjoy its mountains and scenic beauty, its high-quality foods, like cheeses and sausages—and its beer. To a large degree, the state’s economy and infrastructure were built to accommodate, equip, feed and entertain our visitors. The…

So another uneventful week passes in the “Brady Training Camp.” I am doing maintenance work, some running, some cycling, some walking. Nothing of extraordinary length or difficulty — I’m not running Killington Road nor riding East Mountain Road. I’m not exerting a whole lot of effort. However, we are about two months away from the…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye This week's Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a late-Virgo, almost Libra moon, with the sun standing on the threshold of the cusp that separates the sign of the Crab from the sign of the Lion. For more than one reason this is an auspicious…

By Dom Cioffi When I moved my family into a new neighborhood a few years ago, one of my biggest concerns was for the safety of my son. I obviously wanted him to have a healthy environment in which to roam, but I also hoped there would be other children around to help occupy his…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a Mother of the Skye This week's horoscopes are coming out under an 'Old' Gemini Moon. In the wee hours of the morning earlier this week on July 14, the Moon moved out of its old phase and approached newness as it entered the sign of the Crab. Cancer is a deeply…

by James Mee It’s found in every season a beauty beyond measure. In the shadows of Green Mountains we see its soulful pleasure. Hers is the light of legend shimmering on these lakes. She glistens in December while falling with snowflakes. Her rivers share their swimming holes, band concerts on the green, stone fences visit…

By Carolyn Lorié On a recent damp May morning I walked around Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., with arborist Brian Beaty. While he is responsible for all of the trees in the center of the campus, our visit focused on a small number of trees that require an inordinate amount of his attention. These were…

Arguably, if there is a single style of beer that best represents the craft beer movement, it is probably IPA, or India Pale Ale. This may stir up some debate. (Good!) It’s a bold statement about a bold beer style which exists in a universe of great beer styles. It is a style with a…

This week I didn’t do much but work my little tail off. The office has been busy, the open mic is back on, and I have been being straight-up lazy. I have been using this respite as an opportunity to make a brief but well-earned swan dive into obesity. I am still as hungry as…