Imperium Watch: Grover and Gridlock

by | Nov 27, 2012 | News

He’s one of the country’s leading unelected power brokers, but his clout is eroding as more and more Congresspeople mutiny against him. He’s Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform. Norquist has long demanded that Republican Congressional...

Obama?s Post-Colonial Presidency

by | Nov 27, 2012 | News

As a refugee from Vietnam, a country colonized by the French and then fought over by the Americans and the Soviet Union, I see the Obama presidency as spelling the end of a 500-year-old colonial curse. Decades ago, when English was still unruly on my tongue, I read a...

Rising Tide

by | Nov 27, 2012 | Music

Musical talent abounds in the Pioneer Valley, something that’s easy to forget amid the clutter of the everyday. Valley Rising is here to remind us how much good music comes out of our own back yard. A long list of bands entered to be part of the compilation;...
Behind the Beat: Road Warriors

Behind the Beat: Road Warriors

by | Nov 27, 2012 | Music

Route 116, familiar to many a Valley resident, spans four different counties and connects Springfield, South Hadley, Amherst and other towns. Commuters and college students alike frequently use the highway, and often joining them in their travels are the members of...
Art in Paradise: Big Box of Jazz

Art in Paradise: Big Box of Jazz

by | Nov 27, 2012 | Music

In the liner notes to the new Legacy box set of Louis Armstrong’s Okeh recordings, Armstrong House Museum archivist Ricky Riccardi declares the discs “the most important recordings of the 20th century.” Riccardi may be a slightly biased observer, but...