Articles
by Kristin Palpini | Nov 9, 2016 | Articles, News
Deep breath: Donald Trump will be the president of the United States come January. The man who’s got a date with the Oval Office may be a silver-spoon clutching, bankruptcy-filing, Mexican, Muslim, Chinese-hating, tax-dodging, student-swindling, reality TV star, but...
by Blaise Majkowski | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Blaise's Bad Movie Guide, Columns, Film, Newsletter
The old adage “you can’t tell a book by its cover” still rings true. However, does this advice apply to movies and their titles? Let’s partake in a little quiz and see if you can guess the film’s plot by its moniker. Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. Hands...
by Jack Brown | Nov 7, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Film, Leisure, Newsletter
Strike up a conversation about foreign film with most American film buffs, and the discussion will almost certainly travel East, over the Atlantic, on a European course. Those buffs with enough wind in them might even reach the Middle East and parts of Asia, but few...
by Jack Brown | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, Cinemadope, Newsletter
Shortly before I sat down to write this column, the unimaginable happened: the Chicago Cubs clinched a World Series berth for the first time in 71 years. If you don’t follow baseball, just know that it was a long drought — Lawrence of Arabia long, if you’re more of a...
by Kristin Palpini | Nov 7, 2016 | Articles, Newsletter
Not all Pumpkin Spice is created equal. On the high-end of powdered pumpkin and spice is Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Latte — a creamy concoction that blankets pumpkin pie nostalgia in hot caffeine. It tastes nothing like the weaponized spice flavor deployed by Creative...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
I’ve recently begun a relationship with a man who has herpes. It’s unclear if it’s HSV-1 or -2 or both. He has scheduled an appointment with his doctor. I’ve been tested and am negative for that, hepatitis, and all other STDs. It’s important for me to know all the...
by Kristin Palpini | Nov 7, 2016 | Articles, Columns, News, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
Before you step outside puffing on a celebratory fattie, know that, despite the vote on Tuesday, recreational marijuana isn’t legal in Massachusetts, yet.That’ll happen on Dec. 15, when the ballot measure goes into effect. And even when Dec. 15 comes, the state is...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter
It was an intense meeting in the winter of 2015: On one side of the room sat the owners and operators of the Mt. Tom Generating Plant, a coal-fired power station on Route 5 in Holyoke. On the other were 60 community members and environmental activists. Carlos...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 9, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter
For the 2016 presidential election, Valley Advocate arts and production director Jennifer Levesque designed two posters: one for each candidate. The winner of the election got their poster on the cover (and back) of this week’s Advocate. Download Trump, but...
by Peter Vancini | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter
It’s official: Easthampton’s Platinum Pony has taken its last ride. The business’ former owner Kristen Davis announced that the bar, which closed its 30 Cottage St. location last fall following a suspected electrical fire, would not reopen as planned. The Platinum...
by Peter Vancini | Nov 9, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter
In the wake of complaints about officer discipline, the latest development in a long-running dispute over organization of the Springfield Police Department is going down: City Council President Michael Fenton said that he has the votes necessary to shut down the...
by Chuck Shepherd | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
A network of freelance Buddhist priests in Japan last year began offering in-home, a la carte services for those adherents who shun temples through Amazon in Japan, quoting fixed fees and bypassing the usual awkward deliberation over “donations.” And in September,...
by From Our Readers | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
The low standards of charter schools I couldn’t believe it when I heard from the MTA that charter schools are not required to hire certified teachers, unless English as a Second Language/English Language Learners (ESL/ELL). They don’t even have to hire teachers with...
by Kyle Olsen | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter, Wellness
The upcoming winter months prompt the return of the flu shot — and disagreements between alternative and traditional medical professionals, and even the general population, about its importance. Reminders of the flu vaccination for Pioneer Valley residents become more...
by Peter Vancini | Nov 3, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, Leisure
“Riding the Pine” Brought to you by Lincoln Allen, bar manager at The Alvah Stone in Montague. Ingredients: 1 ½ Ounces St. George Terroir Gin 1 ounce Zirbenz Pine Liqueur ½ ounce yellow chartreuse ¾ ounce lemon juice Lemon peel garnish To Make: • Mix in...
by Warren Johnston | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Newsletter, The Pour Man
Mionetto Gran Rosé is a very good sparkling wine with lots of rich fruit flavors that reflect the expertise of a master winemaker and the continued quality of one of Italy’s top wine producers. In fact, this widely available wine is an excellent bridge from the...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
At some point over the past few weeks, each of the four Nov. 8 state ballot measures stirred up mixed feelings in me (yes, even the weed one). But no issue had me more conflicted than Question 2, which proposes to authorize the state Board of Elementary and Secondary...
by Amanda Drane | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, Third Eye Roaming, Wellness
Turn off the news. Put away your phone and shut the newspaper. That heart rate spike that came with the latest election-related news — while appropriate — is not healthy. It’s important to stay informed, especially as America stands at the precipice of an...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Newsletter, Stage
The host/ess with the most/est turns the business of drag on its pretty little head If Drag Brunch strikes your fancy, don’t think twice — get yourself to Sláinte, the hilltop restaurant in Holyoke, as soon as possible. Just don’t do what I did last Sunday.I showed up...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Film, Get Out With Staff Picks, Leisure, Music, Newsletter, Stage
Calling All Hallows Admit it: we’re a happy Valley because we’re all a bunch of freaks. And Halloween seems to be the time of year we most like to let those flags fly. The night is a dark, blank canvas for creative expression and demonic possession. That’s why it...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Newsletter
FRIENDS SHARE LOVERS And The Kids Signature Sounds Northampton-based indie pop heroes And the Kids released their sophomore album this past June. It’s the same kind of dreamy, melodic rock they delivered on their first album, but this time everything feels a little...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Film, Leisure, Music, Newsletter, Stage
Day Screaming Ghosts are scary. Zombies are scary. Being surrounded by too many kids in Disney princess costumes is scary. If you’d rather run into any of these frightening folks in the daytime rather than in the late night hours, check out the Springfield...
by Gary Carra | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Newsletter, Nightcrawler
Most people get paid on it. A few don’t eat meat on it. Ice Cube makes movies about it. Some thank God for it. Others create restaurant chains derived from that acronym … But that’s the last Friday reference, promise. And speaking of last Fridays:...
by Chris Rohmann | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, Stagestruck
You, my friend, are fucked.” So begins Trump Card, a one-man show created by monologist Mike Daisey that deconstructs the Republican presidential candidate. Next week in the Valley, monologist Seth Lepore performs his own personal riff on Daisey’s original. Lepore’s...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Mourning Becomes Acrylic The Brattleboro Museum and Art Center opens five new exhibits on Friday. All look interesting, but one is a beautiful heartbreaker: From Luminous Shade gives three artists room to mourn the untimely passing of their sons — painter Margaret...
by Jack Brown | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Film, Newsletter
We in the Valley may have an above-average awareness of food co-ops. Take a Sunday drive around Western Mass, and you’ll find co-ops dotting the landscape, serving local communities and offering an alternative to the big box grocery chains that might not find it...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music, Stage
Hold Onto Your Wigs Local troupe Ghost Light Theater staged a killer Evil Dead: The Musical last year, but now these players are washing the fake blood out of their costumes in favor of a more earnest — but still outrageous — show: the award-winning rock and roll...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music
This Saturday night: put on your best look, darling, and hit the dance floor at the Iron Horse for HalloKween, a queer twist on a costume dance party. Beats fueled by DJ LeFox and his eclectic collection of soulful house, nu disco, indie, and monster-inspired...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter, Scene Here
If Frodo had been living in Easthampton’s new Mill 180 Park when Gandalf stopped by, he probably would have turned down the wizard’s all-powerful ring. Hidden inside an old mill building — with food, lawn games, coffee, beer, and wifi at your fingertips — it’s already...
by Chuck Shepherd | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
As nine states next month ask voters to approve some form of legalization of marijuana, a “new customer base” for the product — pets — was highlighted in an October New York Times report. Dogs and cats are struck with maladies similar to those that humans...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Columns, News, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
A stoner buddy of mine recently shocked me when she said she has no intention of voting on Nov. 8. Weed is already practically legal, she argued, and both the presidential candidates are duds. I reminded her that Question 3 on the ballot may set more humane standards...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Hi Yana! My boyfriend and I are approaching our four year anniversary. He recently called me and asked if he could vent to me about what he’s been feeling. He got diagnosed with anxiety and depression this past summer, but stopped going to therapy when he went back to...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has spent the last several months asserting that the Nov. 8 election will be rigged against him.He doesn’t have any evidence to support this claim — except for all the polls that say the real estate developer and reality...
by Phoebe Weissblum | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Columns, News, Newsletter
Remember applying to college? I’m sure you recall the glossy promotional packets you received in the mail from schools trying to win your application. There was always a picture on the front that looked like this: a group of college age kids sitting in a circle on a...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Film, Music
Hell Night at The Quarters • Sunday Hell Night returns to The Quarters on what many people consider “Devil’s Night,” the night before Halloween. There will be horror movies viewed on a projector all night as well as five hours of DJs spinning the best of all metal...
by From Our Readers | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Charter schools hurt larger society Certain institutions should always be public. Social Security, prisons and education are three of them. We dodged a bullet when Bush wanted to privatize Social Security. People realized that the financial industry would be taking 31...
by Rob Breszny | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I invite you to fantasize about what your four great-grandmothers and four great-grandfathers may have been doing on Nov. 1, 1930. What? You have no idea how to begin? You don’t even know their names? If that’s the case, I hope...
by Chris Rohmann | Oct 21, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Stage, Stagestruck
I didn’t attend my hometown college, but I grew up just down the street from the campus. I biked along its crisscrossed paths as a kid, DJ’d at the college radio station in high school and, most important, acquired my passion for theater from its plays. Antioch...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
Take a Page from Greenfield’s Book Got something to say? Sitting on a heretofore untold story, just biding your time for the right moment? Now’s your opportunity to stand up and share. The Greenfield Annual Word Festival has come back around again, providing visitors...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, Leisure, News, Newsletter
Game by Kristin Palpini, Kyle Olsen, Jennifer Levesque, and Hunter Styles In celebration of the Annual Manual — a condensed version of the Advocate’s yearly Best of the Valley Readers’ Poll — we’ve created a board game featuring some of the Best Of...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
Rolling with the Punchlines A football team needs a good offensive line. So, too, does the lone, lowly comedian. That’s what Mike Birbiglia has been seeking, and perhaps has nailed down — depending on whom you ask, and how touchy they are. The mission of his new show...
by Chris Rohmann | Oct 19, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
Last week Maya Lin, architect of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, came to the Smith College campus to unveil her vision for the renovation of the venerable Neilson Library. Coincidentally, in Boston a new play was unveiled which recalls Lin’s uphill battle to fulfill...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Halloween Thrash Bash 3 • Friday Maximum Capacity’s 3rd Halloween costume party is among us. Come dressed as anything but yourself! I may be in attendance sporting a blue wig. Drink specials all night and not to mention a killer line-up who may appear on stage in...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 18, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music
It starts November 2016. And we’re calling it: In partnership with Northampton Community Television and Signature Sounds. Local acts, established and upcoming, in a casual coffeehouse setting. All online, all the time. Keep your eyes peeled… We’ll...
by Will Meyer | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Basemental, Columns, Music, Newsletter
A few years ago, Valley musician Mike Parham came back from South by Southwest (SXSW), a music festival in Austin, Texas, and described it to me like the Wild West —somewhere between an underground music festival and a business convention.Some see SXSW as their ticket...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
BLOOMING THROUGH THE BLACK Parsonsfield Signature Sounds Leverett has fewer than 2,000 residents, so it’s kind of a miracle that it has launched a young bluegrass folk band as well-toured and nationally recognized as Parsonsfield. Then again, the cute, quiet town has...
by Jack Brown | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Film, Newsletter
Yankee No How Live in the Valley for any length of time, and you’ll soon know of Frances Crowe. The diminutive white-haired woman is something of a local celebrity, thanks to a life spent in activism, where her infectious cheer is matched by her uncompromising (and...
by Peter Vancini | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, News
On an unseasonably warm day in late September, Joe Sibilia is roaming the Gasoline Alley mill building complex on Albany Street in Springfield. The 59-year-old is wearing a pair of loose fitting yoga pants and his body and shaved bald head have been tanned to a deep...
by From Our Readers | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Bad Seeds? Kids and Weed Comments left on “Bad Seeds: Will legal recreational weed lead to more stoned students?” at valleyadvocate.com. Paul Hurteau: Ask a politician if they are pro-choice … Wait for their answer and then ask them about marijuana. Ian James:...
by Chuck Shepherd | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
John Weigel and Olaf Danielson are engaged in a frenzied battle of “extreme birdwatching,” each hoping to close out 2016 as the new North American champ of the American Birding Association, and a September Smithsonian piece had Weigel ahead, 763 to 759. Danielson is...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
Video footage has emerged in court proceedings that defense attorneys say shows Springfield Police Det. Gregg A. Bigda threatening two teenage suspects in an encounter last winter. According to local media reports, the lawyers who obtained the videos said they show...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Hey Yana, I am totally new to BDSM [bondage and discipline/sadism and maso- chism]. Someone told me about a “munch” happening locally tomorrow night. They found it through the FetLife website and suggested I go. Do you know anything about these “munch” meetups? How...
by Warren Johnston | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The Pour Man
The Spanish native Garnacha is a little grumpy. The grape is thin-skinned and sensitive. It’s hard to cultivate, and its vines are low yielding. At one point in its history, it was even considered a weed, and for the last 30 years or so, many Spanish farmers have...
by Rob Breszny | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Astrology, Newsletter, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In the 1980s, two performance artists did a project entitled A Year Tied Together at the Waist. For 12 months, Linda Montano and Tehching Hsieh were never farther than eight feet away from each other, bound by a rope. Hsieh said he tried...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 10, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
Send in the Frogs Now we come fully into October, when the autumn breeze skims through the changing leaves, and the sun’s cold sheen casts the hills of the Valley in a light we’ll miss come winter. You’d be nuts, in other words, to miss taking a few long walks. The...
by Chris Rohmann | Oct 12, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
“Consider Lucifer,” says Han van Meegeren, huddled against the grimy wall of his prison cell in postwar Holland. He’s awaiting a summary trial and probable execution for allegedly having sold a previously unknown Vermeer to a Nazi officer during the occupation. The...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 10, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, Newsletter
Good Apples A scientist and a farmer walk into a bar. The scientist orders a pint of craft beer, locally made and small-batch brewed. The farmer, on the other hand, can’t drink beer — he has just been diagnosed with Celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder caused by a...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 10, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
In Sickness and in Health On June 5, 1981, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report describing cases of a rare lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), in five gay men in Los Angeles — all of whom were young and previously...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 10, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music, Stage
Rock and Shock • Friday to Sunday Rock and Shock is like Disneyland for horror film buffs who love their music heavy. It’s a horror convention by day at the DCU Center. Then starting in the late afternoon and going all night: a concert at the Palladium down the...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 10, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Marley and We Reggae legend Bob Marley’s prolific career is hard to quantify, brimming as it is with huge-hearted songs and a diaspora of music fans, inspired musicians, and lifelong revolutionaries. The Hartford-based band Ras Spectiv celebrates the music of Bob...
