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by Kristin Palpini | Nov 16, 2015 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
Editor’s note: Editors Kristin Palpini and Jeff Good couldn’t come to an agreement on how to interpret the Labrie decisions, so they wrote their own opinion pieces. Jeffrey Good: There is no doubt that Owen Labrie was guilty of being an oaf, a striver and...
by From Our Readers | Nov 16, 2015 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers, News
Sorry, but what about the police? I am very sorry for the families and friends whose loved ones have died due to police action and/or while in police custody in 2015 in the U.S. (“Doesn’t Count: Deaths by police are not tracked in the U.S.” Nov. 12-19, 2015). I am...
by Jason Horan | Nov 16, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Food + Booze, Letters from our Readers, News
She smiles at you from across the table as she delicately moves the hair from her face. The lights are dim and the murmured conversations reverberate off the warm decor as the waiter pours the carefully selected wine. We ask for a moment to discuss the menu and take a...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Nov 16, 2015 | Articles, Columns, Featured, The V-Spot, Wellness
Hi Yana, My friend seriously freaked me out when she told me that I should always use condoms for oral sex when I’m not in a longterm, monogamous relationship. Have I been sleeping on this or is she being dramatic? What are the transmission rates of STDs through oral...
by Hunter Styles | Nov 16, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Food + Booze, News, The Beerhunter
Two years ago, Kate Telman started making beer at her home in Easthampton. She planned to perfect a few brews, then shop her skills around to area breweries in the hope of getting a job. “I knew there weren’t really any job postings for what I wanted to do,” said...
by Chuck Shepherd | Nov 16, 2015 | Articles, Featured, News, News of the Weird
Fort Bragg, North Carolina, declared an emergency on Oct. 30, when one of its soldiers had the bright idea to arrive for a Halloween party on base dressed as a suicide bomber, with realistic-looking canisters in a wired vest. Gates to the post, headquarters of Army...
by Hunter Styles | Nov 16, 2015 | Articles, Featured, MGM Springfield Casino coverage, News
Here are our greatest hits on the casino playlist this week: Writing’s on the Wall: If you drive fast down I-91 and squint, you can see construction crews hard at work at the casino site. Take a second look, though, and you’ll notice that the giant workers, posed...
by Hunter Styles | Nov 16, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, News, The Beerhunter
As the Advocate’s resident Beerhunter, my reportage on the art of the local craft brew has taken me up and down the Pioneer Valley, with the occasional stop in Brattleboro, Boston, and beyond. But there’s one big region on the Western Mass beer map that I’d been...
by Kristin Palpini | Nov 9, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News
Laura Radwell began to paint in the late ’80s and over the years has continued to explore various media: traditional oil painting, sculpture, calligraphy, and photography. The origin of her photo-based art is digital, a result of a familiarity and understanding of...
by Kristin Palpini | Nov 9, 2015 | Articles, Featured, News, Scene Here
Photo by Greg Saulmon Motivated by hunger and a bit of sport, the peregrine falcon searches for a high perch from which she can keep a sharp lookout for prey. Her favorite meals are pigeons, ducks, and shorebirds, but in the lush Pioneer Valley any kind of medium-size...
by Jack Brown | Nov 3, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured, Film
Movie fans can be a pasty bunch. Ducking out of the sun to catch a sparsely attended matinee is par for the course — those nearly empty mid-week shows are a welcome respite from the cellphones and chatter of weekend opening nights. Netflix, Vimeo, and the local...
by Amanda Drane | Nov 3, 2015 | Articles, Featured, News
Erving Police Chief Chris Blair said that during his first day with a new body camera and a new policy making them mandatory for on-duty officers, an incident arose during which he was stoked to be so equipped. While out on a call, Blair said he was trying to wrangle...
by Amanda Drane | Nov 3, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News
In front of a full crowd and three-piece band, a woman in a 1950s party dress, with her bangs curled and wearing bright red lipstick, wails on the mic. She’s like a Stepford wife gone rogue. This is Mandy Pachios, frontwoman and founding member of jazzy, funky...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Nov 3, 2015 | Articles, Columns, Featured, The V-Spot, Wellness
Hey Yana, Does penis size matter? I’m a 20-year-old male and a tall guy who gyms a lot and has fairly good genetics … all but in the penis department. I’m 6 feet tall and I literally have a 4-incher. I’ve found that a lot of girls are size queens and the girls I...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 26, 2015 | Articles, Featured
Some trends are stranger than fiction. When Amazon released the Kindle in 2007 – an immediate bestseller – e-readers looked like the thing of the future. Between 2008 and 2010, digital book sales increased by more than 1,200 percent. In the fourth quarter of 2010,...
by Hunter Styles | Nov 3, 2015 | Articles, Featured, Uncategorized
The Valley is full of good Asian noodle soups, so we tried three. I’m a child of chilly New England, where steaming cups of soup are most often consumed under blankets while the snow flurries outside. But last year, in Thailand, I tried a piping hot bowl of rice soup...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Oct 26, 2015 | Articles, Columns, Featured, The V-Spot, Wellness
Hi Yana, I’m a 17-year-old virgin. My partner and I tried having sex, but we couldn’t get it in. I went to the doctor for contraception and I asked her why we couldn’t get it in. She said that I needed to relax; how the hell do I relax?! During sex (or trying to) I...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 26, 2015 | Articles, Featured, Local Elections 2015, News
This year, the Advocate is covering the Valley’s mayoral races a little differently. We’ve asked each candidate the same four questions, which we hope will provoke thoughtful and illuminating answers — with a little editing for length and clarity. This week we quizzed...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 26, 2015 | Articles, Featured, Local Elections 2015, News
This year’s mayoral race in Springfield is between incumbent Domenic Sarno, 52, who took office in 2008 and is currently in his third term, and Salvatore “Sal” Circosta, 30, the former owner of Sal’s Bakery and Cafe, who ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2013....
by Hunter Styles | Oct 21, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Film
Evil Dead: the Musical Ghost Light Theater, Turners Falls For the first 45 minutes, the crowd clapped for the songs and laugh-groaned at the corny jokes. It wasn’t until Ash, our zombie-fighting hero (played by Joe Van Allen) grabbed a chainsaw and severed his own...
by Amanda Drane | Oct 19, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Scene Here, Uncategorized
AMANDA DRANE PHOTO The Mary Jane Jones kicks off the night of comedy and lingerie at One Bar and Grill in Northampton with several soulful love songs. Eyes closed, lead singer Mandy Pachios growls a velvet reverie. A shot girl in a form-fitting, black nightgown with a...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 19, 2015 | Articles, Featured, News
This year, the Advocate is covering the Valley’s mayoral races a little differently. We’ve asked each candidate the same four questions, which we hope will provoke thoughtful and illuminating answers — with a little editing for length and clarity. This week we quizzed...
by Amanda Drane and Hunter Styles; Photos by Amanda Drane | Oct 19, 2015 | Articles, Featured, News
When the railroad tracks that run through the Valley were improved for heavy freight trains and passenger rail service, people were excited about the potential of ditching their cars and using the train to get up and down the Valley, taking it to work or to a show and...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 19, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Food + Booze, News
Greenfield doesn’t get the same attention for being an arts and cultural center like Northampton, Amherst or Springfield, but we’d like to help change that perception. There’s a lot to love about this town and not just for its obvious attributes: Greenfield’s...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 13, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Leisure, Music, News, Wellness
Feel that chill in the air? It’s only a matter of weeks before we’re all hibernating on the couch, looking out the window at the deep freeze and wondering where all the long, fun days went. Don’t spend the winter as a sad blanket case. There’s still time to bust out...
by Hunter Styles
and Amanda Drane
Photos by Hunter Styles | Oct 13, 2015 | Articles, Featured, MGM Springfield Casino coverage, News
In October 2007, MGM announced plans to build a $5 billion casino resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In addition to slots, tables, and hotel rooms, renderings of the 60-acre complex boasted restaurants, clubs, and retail space. Among 11 other nearby casinos, MGM...
by Story and Photos
Amanda
Drane | Oct 13, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Stage
Within seconds of meeting each other, tap and jazz dancer David Bovat and percussionist Jeff Hinrichs are moving and grooving. Hinrichs lays down a quick tempo on the djembe, which makes a deep, hollow sound, and Bovat’s tap shoes start click-clacking in double time....
by Hunter Styles | Oct 13, 2015 | Articles, Featured, Local Elections 2015, News
This year, the Advocate is covering the Valley’s mayoral races a little differently. We’ve asked each candidate the same four questions, which we hope will provoke thoughtful and illuminating answers — with a little editing for length and clarity. This week we quizzed...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 7, 2015 | Articles, Blogs, Featured, The Uncanny Valley, Uncategorized
by Hunter Styles Staff writer Amanda Drane has worked in the local food industry for 10 years, and she’s shared with us some truly great stories of her time in the kitchen, including a couple about the haunted room at Spoleto, an Italian restaurant in Northampton. One...
by Amanda Drane | Oct 6, 2015 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
As I write these words, on the other side of Conz Street, Western Mass residents are strolling into Northampton’s New England Treatment Access on opening day to purchase medical marijuana from the area’s first dispensary. Would that have seemed possible in 2007? As...
by Amanda Drane | Oct 6, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News
Valley musician Mikey Sweet spent two weeks hitchhiking around the Northeast last month, holding a sign reading: “broke musician, need money to finish album.” After a storied 14 days’ worth of busking, gigging, and drawing attention to his Kickstarter campaign, Sweet...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 6, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Film
The Green Inferno Blumhouse Tilt/Universal Pictures In theaters nationwide Two Advocate staffers — horror movie buff Jen Levesque and total wimp Hunter Styles — saw the controversial horror flick The Green Inferno last weekend. The extremely gory film, directed by Eli...
by Emily Atkinson | Oct 6, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Food + Booze
With the chill of fall finally beginning to bite, it’s the perfect time to indulge in something more substantial than summer fare. Pumpkin, squash, apple, maple syrup, and any number of other fall delights await at restaurants throughout the Valley. So, when you’ve...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 29, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Film, Leisure, Music, News, Stage
What’s on tap for arts and culture over the next few months in the Pioneer Valley: Party Animals How do you describe The Surrealist Cabaret by the Royal Frog Ballet? You let the frogs do it. From the event’s website, The Surrealist Cabaret “is a walking...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Sep 29, 2015 | Articles, Columns, Featured, The V-Spot, Wellness
Hey Yana, My boyfriend and I think anal sex is super hot and are determined to be pros at it! We’ve played with fingers and anal toys and managed to have a pretty successful penile-anal penetration experience once, but it hurt so much that now I’m afraid to do it...
by Amanda Drane | Sep 29, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Wellness
Yoga isn’t for everyone, but that’s not a point the Pioneer Valley is ready to concede. Or at least, it seems that way judging by the varied yoga offerings here. Yoga and beer? Yes, please. Yoga and art? Why not. Yoga with death metal? Yes, that is a thing here. I’ve...
by Amanda Drane | Sep 29, 2015 | Articles, Featured, Wellness
Temperatures are dropping and soon frost will cover the sidewalks. Unless you’re a die-hard, it will soon be time to retire those roller blades, bikes, and running shoes for the season. Lest you become a cold-weather couch potato, here are some places to get you up...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 22, 2015 | Articles, Featured, News, Wellness
Mariette Poginy sighs, pivots in her porch chair, and looks across Norwood Street in Greenfield, where the banging of hammers and the whining of drills emanate from the former Lunt Silversmiths factory. If all goes according to plan, the vacant and overgrown building...
by From Our Readers | Sep 22, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Leisure, News
This is a new school-style portrait of my best friend Lani. We’ve been friends for 20 years now and are now 31-year-olds — that’s significant. Sadly, we live on opposite coasts now. She’s in San Fran and I’ve been between the Valley and Austin. I have two tattoos for...
by Amanda Drane | Sep 22, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News
Kalliope Jones’ story about how the local band lost a music competition following a judge’s suggestion the all-female teen band be more “sultry,” was a familiar one to rocker June Millington. She recalls how one review of a gig called her band Fanny “excellent,” but...
by Amanda Drane | Sep 22, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Leisure, News
Delilah the basset hound may be blind, but that doesn’t stop her from hiking with her humans, lying about the house, and being just too darned cute. Her eyes, says owner Charlotte Cathro, 34, of Northampton, are both her most fetching feature and her downfall....
by Advocate Staff | Sep 14, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News
Tattooed people are often asked what they think their tattoos will look like once they get older and their skin begins to wrinkle and age. My response has always been, “Well, I will look like a colorful little old lady with a gray braid, of course.” Let’s face it, if...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 14, 2015 | Articles, Featured, Food + Booze, News, Taste-Off!
Drum roll please … After four rounds of blind taste-tests of cheese slices from 27 pizzerias across the Valley — from Greenfield to Springfield — the Advocate staff is ready to announce the winner of our summer slice smackdown. Without knowledge of where the...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Sep 14, 2015 | Articles, Columns, Featured, The V-Spot, Wellness
Hi Yana! I’ve had a sexual concern for the longest time: I have trouble feeling orgasm during sex and masturbation. At first I thought it might be my partner not knowing my spots too well, but I realized I’ve never had any ejaculations by myself either. I’m worried...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 8, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News
T housands of votes later, readers have whittled the best bands in the Valley down to four groups that will battle it out for a recording session at Rotary Records in West Springfield, $500 at Falcetti Music of Springfield, and gigs at Falcetti’s new performance space...
by Amanda Drane | Sep 8, 2015 | Articles, Featured, Food + Booze, Leisure
Will Betsy and Jimmy Tarr, owners of the Hatfield-based Bistro Bus, ever get their money back? Jimmy Tarr said he still hasn’t heard from Rob Craven, organizer of the never-realized inaugural Massachusetts Food Truck Festival, about getting back his $425 deposit. Tarr...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 8, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Stage
Pittsburgh playwright Tammy Ryan was picking up her daughter from kindergarten in 2007 when she noticed the mother standing next to her, dressed in military fatigues and combat boots. They had met the week before. Now, she was leaving for a nine-month deployment. “I...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 8, 2015 | Articles, Blogs, Columns, Featured, News, The Uncanny Valley
Why is it that a cheeseburger costs $1.22 at Burger King, while a small order of fries costs $1.70? Isn’t beef supposed to be more expensive than potatoes? Thanks for writing in, anonymous reader, with your puzzling — and discomforting — question. To figure out why...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 1, 2015 | Articles, Featured, News
Once we’ve all had our fill of cheese curds and smoked turkey legs, whipping around on rides, shopping for T-shirts, and visiting the butter statute, and The Big E packs up another season, a perennial question strikes many Western Mass residents: Who gets to keep all...
by Amanda Drane | Sep 1, 2015 | Articles, Featured, Leisure, News, Wellness
Multi-tasking kills. This isn’t an excuse of the lazy — researchers are finding more and more that over-working yourself is a fast lane pass to the grave. According to a new study of 600,000 people in Australia, the U.S., and Europe — published August 19 in U.K....
by Amanda Drane
and Hunter Styles | Sep 1, 2015 | Articles, Careers & Education, Featured, News
So you’re in the Valley going to college and you haven’t found your fav spots yet. You haven’t found a mechanic or a hairdresser you trust. Some of you are new to the area, some of you are new to being out on your own, and some of you are both. That’s a hard boat to...
by Hunter Styles | Aug 25, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Food + Booze, Leisure, News
The saloon doors swing open, and Emily Pichette steps into the small kitchen of the Foundry in Northampton. A wave of sound follows her from the dining room: murmuring, laughter, and clinking glasses. “Are we ready for the first course?” she asks. The staff turns to...
by Hunter Styles | Aug 25, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music
Beach House Aug. 19, 2015 at Pearl Street Nightclub, Northampton A sweat lodge triggers mystical experiences, or so they say. I haven’t tried it, but Pearl Street’s crowded and steamy concert by Beach House last Wednesday got me pretty close. My glasses fogged up upon...
by Amanda Drane | Aug 25, 2015 | Articles, Featured, News
Fatal traffic accidents are up 14 percent from 2014 in the U.S. — and that’s only counting the first six months of 2015. According to new data released by the National Safety Council, injuries from traffic accidents are also up 30 percent over the same time span —and...
by Kristin Palpini | Aug 25, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News
by Hunter Styles | Aug 19, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Leisure, News
“N o matter what you might do,” Ben Folds once sang, “there’s always someone out there cooler than you.” How true. Every week I scrap together a sense of my own hipness, and every week the world lobs a curveball that busts right through my armor. It happened this past...
by Kristin Palpini | Aug 19, 2015 | Articles, Featured, Food + Booze, Leisure, News, Taste-Off!
Ah, the classic American brownie — it’s the chocolate chip cookie for chocolate lovers. Everybody has a brownie story. Whether your Grandma made the best, you ate that funny smelling one and couldn’t speak for a while, or you had the munchies and ate a whole tray of...
by James Heflin | Aug 19, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Leisure, News
A singular event in Bingen, Washington marked Chris Hubbard’s transformation from glassblowing hobbyist to professional: “On Aug. 3, 2005, a SWAT team kicked in my door. They thought the studio was a meth lab,” Hubbard says. He had his medical marijuana card, and was...
by Amanda Drane | Aug 19, 2015 | Articles, Featured, Leisure, News, Wellness
For cancer patient Valerie, marijuana makes the difference between walking and not walking. “I’ve totally outlived my expiration date,” she says, laughing. Valerie, 61 — a long time Western Mass resident who asked to be identified only by her first name — has fought...
by Amanda Drane | Aug 19, 2015 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Madame Barfly
Jim Zaccara says his bar is an appletini-free zone. Zaccara, 45, grew up working in restaurants, and bartending was always his forte. When he began making his own style of cocktail at his first full-bar restaurant — Hope and Olive in Greenfield — eight years ago, he...
