I have to plead guilty to being a “Sylvaniaphile.” When some self-righteous polling entity says that the average American watches about three hours of TV a day, I figure I'm about average.
My old man bought our first TV in the early '50s. It was a 12-inch, black-and-white Sylvania floor model and cost $400. I've been watching the glowing eyeball of popular culture for lo these last 50 years.
There is no more informative method of getting a feel for the attitudes of America than following the development of the quiz show. The first one I remember was “You Bet Your Life,” starring Groucho Marx. Groucho would have guests on two at a time, and for 10 or 15 minutes he harmlessly poked fun at them while puffing his signature cigars and pogo-sticking his eyebrows in a lascivious manner. Once they finally got down to the questions for cash the show kind of petered out.
The first reality TV show I can recall is “Queen for a Day,” hosted by Jack Bailey. On the show, three blowsy, world-weary housewives were trotted out to tell their stories to a studio audience.
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a national War on Poverty. To set the parameters for the battle, the administration adopted a federal poverty threshold, developed by Mollie Orshansky, an economist for the Social Security Administration. Working with census data from 1955, she found that families of three...
Everyone involved seems to agree about the vision of the Putney Road Master Plan: to gradually convert the north end of town from a strip-development wasteland to “a 50-acre, mixed-use center that is pedestrian oriented and provides a rich sense of place,” the document says. But one hell of...
Dec. 31: We were on our way not just to downtown Philadelphia, and not just to a rally for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney, but we were headed to the same ground upon which the likes of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Madison, Paine, and all of the founders strolled amidst the gardens and groves of the vibrant city. Before the rally we visited Independence National Historic Park and watched a movie about the promise of the founders' efforts to create...
My article in the Jan. 2007 issue of the Commons, "A Place for Open Space," was well-timed. Shortly after its publication, Governor Douglas attacked one of the nation's most well respected and successful open space protection programs, Vermont's own Housing and Conservation Fund. Here are the details on Douglas's plan and how people can respond, courtesy of a 1/30/08 e-mail alert from Vermont Natural Resources Council, a non-profit organization in Montpelier: The conservation of working farmland, open space, recreational lands,
The emerging Brattleboro District Energy Project received another boost last week [January 23rd ACTUALLY] in the visit of consulting engineer Jens Overgaard from Copenhagen and the return of Dr. Morris Pierce from the Universityof Rochester in New York State. The Combined Heat and Power co-generation concept, so alive in Europe, seems to be moving into reality in Southern Vermont as well. Danish ingenuity has concocted tightly insulated piping 6 to16 inches wide which can carry 180 degree waterover distances as...
“All politics is local,” the late House Speaker Tip O'Neill once said. But with the Town Meeting ballot question that called for the town to indict President George W. Bush and Vice-President Richard Cheney, the town's local politics went national. And more than 8,000 people from the nation responded to the issue, a little less than half outraged by the notion and the remaining majority reacting encouragingly. Since the citizens successfully petitioned to include a ballot article on the March...
By a narrow margin, citizens voted March 4 to instruct the town attorney to, among other things, “draft indictments against President Bush and Vice President Cheney for crimes against our Constitution.” According to Town Clerk Annette Cappy's preliminary totals, 3,807 voters weighing in on the town meeting ballot question, 2,012, or 53 percent, approved the measure and 1,795, or 47 percent, turned it down. The town election drew 4,249 voters who cast a ballot in the Vermont presidential primary, delivering...
To Whom It May Concern: I honestly can't understand why anyone who lives in such a beautiful place as Vermont, as well as the best country in the entire world, could be so absolutely ungrateful for that fact. Your lack self-respect & respect for others demonstrates this to the world Brattleboro & Vermont, with your un-American Indictment Petition! If you honestly believe that Our President & Vice President are doing so badly, then how in the world could you go...
If you were a character in an Archer Mayor mystery novel, what would your name be? If Mayor were instead to use just your name, not your persona, what kind of character might he create from the name? The Newfane-based Mayor donates about eight names per book to charity. All you have to do is be the high bidder at one of the local auctions, and he will use your name. Your namesake may end up floating face down after...
In an unassuming white house on Route 9 in West Brattleboro, a wealth of culture from such places as Nepal, China, Turkmenistan, and Japan is stored: some things crafted locally, and others brought directly from Asia. The house contains both the C.X. Silver Gallery and the Asian Cultural Center, directed by Chinese artist Cai Xi Silver and her husband, Adam Silver. “We've been married 21 years and have been thinking all this time to found a nonprofit Cultural Center and...
Vermont The Bible speaks of men who think they are smart, but their foolishness will be their downfall. You are nothing but Bush haters, and a scourge to this great Christian Nation. I am planing a trip to New England for a vacation. You can count on me not to take my family any where near such a state, as Vermont, with foolish people and governments. You are disgusting shame to the rest of the true patriotic Americans. never forget...
Back in the 1980s, I was a card-carrying member of “the Sandwich Generation.” That was the term coined for women who found themselves taking care of their children while also looking after aging parents. Many of us had delayed marriage or childbearing while we completed higher education and built our careers. And thanks to medical advances, our parents were living longer. Thus we were caught unawares by the call to be caretakers to two generations simultaneously while juggling the rest...
No doubt with marketing tongue in cheek, those jokers from the Diageo company have come up with a petition campaign to make St. Patrick's Day an official U.S. holiday. Many, particularly in Boston, may assume this is already the case, but it is not so. Diageo owns Guinness, the world's most-consumed stout - some 10 million glasses a day, a million pints in Ireland alone - although it's safe to assume that there's a noticeable spike in consumption each March...
I live within a half mile of a general store. I used to walk there when I needed milk, a newspaper, or a social interlude. But sometime last spring the store closed for renovations. The current owner, who had already transformed this backwater store into a high-end delicatessen, planned to turn it into a bistro, selling milk and news on the side. A new septic system went in last summer, after which work halted, and the place has been shuttered...
Venture down Elliot Street, past the boutiques and bars, and you'll find what looks like one of those classic boxcar diners nestled next to a decrepit laundromat, across the street from a vacant convenience store. Examine the exterior, and you'll notice the absence of chrome. Step inside, and you'll notice something else missing: a diner. As you look around the interior of T.J. Buckley's Uptown Dining, you won't see Buffalo china plates filled with greasy eggs and home fries. You'll...
In previous months, I've written that in the post-petroleum world we've already entered, all activists need to devote at least part of our energy and time to helping prepare ourselves and our communities to become more sustainable and self-sufficient, collaborative and cooperative. Resisting the growing police state in our nation and revitalizing our waning democracy requires an increased personal/collective sufficiency, a strong community and an engaged citizenry. An important element in building solidarity, democracy and mutual aid among our fellow...
It started as the Leland and Gray Players' winter production - a classic comedy of manners about love and mistaken identity. Then, a few weeks into blocking Richard Sheridan's well-loved 18th century chestnut, The Rivals, for a more traditional stage configuration, the blocking was changed so the stage could be like a tennis court, with audience on both sides - a clever concept of one of my peers. And then we Players opted to set The Rivals in the spring...
Over the years covered bridges have become prominent local landmarks not only in Vermont but throughout America, becoming classic symbols of the 19th century that draw considerable attention from preservationists and historians. Vermont has more covered bridges per square mile than any other state in the union, with 107 bridges throughout the Green Mountain State. At one time 17 covered highway and railroad bridges stood in Rockingham. One of the three remaining in town, Worrall Covered Bridge on Williams Road,
“This is a real passion of mine,” says Keith Abbott, of Thermal House in Jamaica, who turned his combined love of the environment and New England's old buildings into a profession. “I was born and raised in Vermont, and the environment is part of our lives on a daily basis. Part of the beauty of the area is not just the land, but the villages and the architecture.” “Thermal House is a building performance company that focuses on improving the...
Whether you're new to Graphic Novels and comic books or have read them for years, the Rockingham Free Public Library (RFPL) in Bellows Falls invites you to Get Graphic, a 5-week series beginning March 10th celebrating all things graphic. Created by RFPL's Youth Librarian Samantha Maskell, the events are designed for adult and youth participation (age 13& up); they include: weekly Graphic Novel discussion groups, a Super-Hero movie marathon and free comic book day, screening of a documentary on the...
“No chain stores!” was a consensus of village residents engaged in helping the Planning Commission decide on a development plan, or Master Plan, for their community. After two drafts and 15 public meetings, the Selectboard voted Feb. 19 to incorporate the West Brattleboro Master Plan into the Town Plan, a document that will serve as a road map for turning "citizens' opinions into productive conversation on improving community life, building infrastructure, creating new business opportunities, and protecting the environment," according...
LECTURE: Activist Elaine Brown on "New Age Racism" in the “On the Record” lecture series. Marlboro College, in the Whittemore Theater. Thursday, March 6, 7 p.m. Information: Chris Lenois, 802-251-7644 or [email protected]. PERFORMANCE: A Midsummer Pirate's Dream. New England Youth Theatre, 100 Flat Street, Brattleboro. Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, March 6, 8, 9; 7 p.m. Thursday; 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets: $9 adults and $6 students. For reservations call 802-246-NEYT; visit www.neyt.org for more information. ARTS: Gallery Walk. Downtown Brattleboro.