Leisure
Full Swing: Adult sports leagues soothe the soul and harden the body
His players say Winston Lee’s life revolved around baseball and softball. When he died in 2011, the players in his Spanish American Softball League were devastated. Hundreds of the inner-city players not only missed the man, but the community he’d built around him....
The V-Spot: Getting Selfish in the Sack, Asking for better sex
We’re socialized to not ask for what we want. This applies to promotions, the best looking cookie in the cafe’s pastry case and, of course, sex. When we pointedly ask for what we want, we’re seen as selfish, greedy, finicky and maybe even a little mean. When women ask...
Cinemadope: The Art of War
All of us, at some point or another, have a teacher who makes a difference. Maybe it’s just that we cross paths at the right moment, or maybe it’s just that he or she is that damn good at what they do, but the right teacher at the right time can change a person’s path...
The V-Spot: Aftercare Is Not a Grey Area
A housewife’s wet dream, Fifty Shades of Grey, hit the big screen this past month — and hit it hard. The popularity of the book series, and now movie, has caused quite the stir in the practicing BDSM (bondage, dominance/submission, sadism/masochism) community,...
Taste-Off! Slice Showdown, Part 1: Which Northampton by-the-slice pizza joint lays claim to the best?
Pizza — it’s as American as, well, burritos and frankenfurters. Determining what’s the best pizza is a heady, touchy business. And in an area where there’s a pizza joint every 50 feet or so, the stakes are high. For something that is, at its most elemental, just...
VIDEO Jailhouse Rock: What do a dozen Northampton inmates and a chorus of senior citizens have in common?
It’s mid-morning at the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction. Eight inmates are gathered around an electric keyboard in the visiting room, laughing and talking quietly. Keyboard player Ken Maiuri hits middle C, and together they warm up with some scales. Up...
An Open Letter to Sandwich-makers: It’s time to ratify sandwich standards
Since the first time an Arab stuffed meat into a pita, the sandwich has been awesome. Sure, the Earl of Sandwich gave the lunchtime staple it’s name during a furious poker match, but the first recording of someone putting food between bread and eating it dates back to...
Nightcrawler: Fire Power, Bash benefits Christmas Eve fire victims; Amy Fairchild joins members of Extreme, The Allmans, Megadeth and more for Boston charity
She’s seen fire. She’s seen (freezing) rain. But Kristy Librera Chapman remains undaunted in her quest to aid her family and her community. A cousin to one of the families affected by a tragic Christmas Eve fire in Southwick, Chapman says that she knew she needed to...
Comedy’s Smooth Sailor: Sinbad at the Calvin Theatre
Sinbad is the older, bigger version of that cut-up from grade school that you either adored or avoided: an irrepressible tease, hyperactive and loud, with a brash baritone laugh and a tireless eye for odd social moments. Best known for his TV appearances, the...
Raise Your Glass: Organic Wines That Are Well Worth a Try
Natura Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, Chile, $9.99-11.99 Natura Chardonnay 2013, Chile, $9.99-11.99 About a decade ago, I tried an organic wine. It was expensive and bad. I didn’t spit it out or even pour it down the drain, probably because of my Scots heritage, but I...
Scene Here: Shamrock in the Wind
I’m at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and there are more plastic cups whipping down High Street in the wind than there are people waiting for the parade to turn the corner. I’m beginning to think the parade has been delayed by the 30-plus mph wind gusts, when I spy some...
Jinkies! Why won’t the Scooby-Doo Five College myth go away?
Urban legends travel through towns faster than an alligator in the sewer. They’re intriguing, they have a distinct air of truthiness to them, and they provoke strong reactions. Did you hear about Richard Gere “gerbiling?” Can’t remember who told me, but, like,...
Cinemadope: French Twist, A surprisingly resilient piece of sci-fi
During the waves of police brutality protests that rolled across the nation this last half-year, there were any number of arresting images: protestors pouring milk in their eyes to counteract the tear gas used to disperse crowds; a highway patrolman leading a peaceful...
A Literary Sorceress: Northampton writer Kelly Link makes strange things happen
Kelly Link’s stories are weird in the best possible sense of the word. They often take place in unusual settings that aren’t quite like consensus reality — a hotel hosting a superhero convention, a summer house inhabited by mysterious and possibly malevolent...
Three True Hearts: True love strikes Southampton family in one fell swoop
“I hate pink because I’m a redhead,” says Kimberly Hodges, 30, the middle sister of the Truehart family. “But of course that’s Jenny’s favorite color.” Having three weddings, in one family and within a nine-month timespan requires some concessions. But if dress choice...
Beerhunter: Tips for your next brewery tour
Up in Vermont there’s a glow-in-the-dark circus party at the end of the world. Neon streamers and Mardi Gras beads hang all over the place. Colorful string lights set the room aglow. Some visitors hunker down at the long bar counter, but others try on jester hats,...Astrology: March 19-26, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You’re entering a time and space known as the Adlib Zone. In this territory, fertile chaos and inspirational uncertainty are freely available. Improvised formulas will generate stronger mojo than timeworn maxims. Creativity is de rigueur,...
Galloping With the Bronies
Granby High School senior Dylan Bellerose browses the graphic novels section of the Holyoke Barnes and Noble. He’s wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with a purple unicorn intensely focused on a tome, along with the bold words: “Read. You have to do it. It says so in...
Vintage Style
I had a friend in high school who refused to let Mother Nature be the boss of his wardrobe. Matt sported jean shorts into December, refused to wear anything sturdier on his feet than sneakers, and didn’t like how he looked in hats. Warmth is a state of mind, he would...
Street Style
Antonio Johnson From his black chukka boots to his triangle Levi’s hat, Antonio Johnson is the definition of suave. We ran into him at Savers in Springfield. Everything he’s wearing he bought second-hand, he says, except for the sweater vest. “This sweater I’ve had...
Madame Barfly: Mix It Up, Take a Shot
Shots cut to the chase. Whether you need some quick courage for that karaoke performance or don’t want a drink that sloshes on your dancing shoes, shots are great when you want to get that buzz rolling in one fell shoot. So, why not make it delicious? When it comes to...
Cinemadope: HerStory, Early feminism and UFOs
I’m not sure exactly when it was that I realized that my mom wasn’t quite like most of the other moms in our neighborhood. And from the outside, at least when I was still a boy, maybe she didn’t strike others as different, either: husband, two kids, house, a station...
Astrology: March 5-11, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): To depict what lay beyond the limits of the known world, medieval mapmakers sometimes drew pictures of dragons and sea serpents. Their images conveyed the sense that these territories were uncharted and perhaps risky to explore. There were...
The V-Spot: A Straight Boy and His Butt
“Prostate stimulation can be otherwordly, like you are not sure where the pleasure is coming from.” — The Ultimate Guide to Prostate Pleasure by Charlie Glickman, Ph.D. and Aislinn Emirzian “[I] can’t put words on the orgasms, but it felt like I was having about three...
Adopt-A-Hydrant Northampton residents clamor to claim orphan hydrants
Dear diary, Today white stuff started falling from the sky — again. Burying my stout, red body deep beneath the stuff, but at least it’s hiding the chipped paint LOLZ. Snow, is what the double-stems walking by call it as they roll it up in their cloth-covered spigots...
Putting Lipstick on a Slog: 17 ways to enjoy the rest of your winter and get ready for spring
As New England natives, we’d like to humbly challenge T. S. Elliot’s assertion that “April is the cruelest month.” It’s March. The month is a tease, punishing snow and winds one minute and green leaves coaxed by a soft breath of spring emerge in the next. March...
Raise Your Glass: Thanks! Tip Yields Excellent Spanish Red
Evodia, Spain Old Vine Garnacha, 2013 $7.89 to $11.99 Over the last year or so, I had been noticing Evodia, a Spanish red wine with a distinctive bluish-purple label, on the shelves of the area’s wine stores, but I hadn’t tried it. For some reason, I hadn’t even given...
The Arts: Saving their own lives
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Between the Lines: SEX! Now that I’ve got your attention, SEX! The importance of The V-Spot
Since returning The V-Spot sex advice column to the pages of the Advocate earlier this month, I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from our readers. Most are thrilled to have a sassy sexpert closing out the paper every week. Others question why a newspaper would dedicate so...
Cinemadope: Colorizing Winter, Saturday morning cartoons and a ’60s era gem
As we turn the corner into March, the kids have headed back to school, leaving the rest of New England to get back to the important business of shoveling out parking spaces and shoring up roofs creaking under the weight of ice dams. But if this long winter is starting...
Local Books Worth a Look: Check out these five new books with Valley connections
The Valley is full of talented writers. Here’s a sampling of recent work by local authors, and one book that’s all about Amherst. More Money Than God By Richard Michelson “Some poets wrestle with ghosts. Michelson invites them to sit at the kitchen table, crack jokes,...
The V-Spot: Hopin’ 2 Open
Dear V-Spot, My husband and I were married in May. We’ve been together for eight years. He’s leaving in April for a year-long residence out of state. I’d like to be able to have a “monogamous-ish” (thanks Dan Savage) type thing while he’s gone. How do I bring that up...
Astrology, Feb. 19-25, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): There are many different facets to your intelligence, and each matures at a different rate. So, for example, your ability to think symbolically may evolve more slowly than your ability to think abstractly. Your wisdom about why humans act...
32 Ways to Tell You’re a Real Northamptoner
You call the WWII Club “The Deuce” You have male friends who wear clogs You know why the guy at Joe’s Pizza is wearing a sombrero You miss Pleasant Street Theater You’ve taken a side in the “Hamp” v. “Noho” debate You see a man in a dress on the street and...
The V-Spot: New Vibe for a New Mama
Hello V-Spot, I had a baby and now I’m so busy. I just want to buy a sex toy. I was going to get the newer JeJoue Mimi as I remember [from past columns] that was your favorite, but I read some people don’t like it and I don’t want to take the chance. I may get the...
The Wine Schmooze: How to taste a bottle of wine in a restaurant
Ah, the ever solemn, oft confusing restaurant ceremony of “tasting” a bottle of wine. Centuries of custom and formality have twisted it into a byproduct of wine snobbery, but it’s really a necessary quality control exercise. I call it the “Wine Schmooze” since it’s a...
The Other Good Life: Pioneering back-to-the-landers Helen and Scott Nearing lived in the shadow of Stratton Mountain before it was a ski resort
Stratton Mountain sits some 45 minutes north of Brattleboro. The drive up state Route 30 encapsulates much of what visitors and residents alike love about the Green Mountain state. The single lane road follows the meandering West River alongside the Green Mountain...
All Single and Nowhere to Mingle: Springfield has the most young, single people of any U.S. city, but where are they?
If you’re seeking a sweetheart in advance of Valentine’s Day, it would seem logical that your best shot at finding love would be to go to the city with the highest concentration of singles. According to the U.S. Census, 78.46 percent of Springfield residents between...Astrology, Feb 5-11, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In 1979, Monty Python comedian John Cleese helped direct a four-night extravaganza, The Secret Policeman’s Ball. It was a benefit to raise money for the human rights organization Amnesty International. The musicians known as Sting, Bono, and...
Talk Dirt: Mattress-dumping Knuckleheads
Most of us in this country generate a lot of trash. I spend a lot of time feeling guilty about it, but it turns out that doesn’t actually decrease my trash production. With a tiny amount of effort I can recycle all the paper and plenty of the glass and plastic. Even...
Scene Here: Catching Cold
Wind whips across the ice on the Oxbow in Northampton. Under a bright, cold sun, shadowy figures stand against a stark panorama of frozen river, snow-decked mountains, and frosted gray sky. It’s 25 degrees. Viktor Biley, 17, is rubbing his bare hands together. It’s...
Talk Dirt: What’s Creeping in Your Compost
I, like most everyone who can read this, am a proud endotherm. I do a pretty good job of maintaining a constant internal temperature. It’s something I’m pretty good at, so why shouldn’t I be proud? All birds and mammals are endotherms. There are even some large fish...
Scene Here: Birdy It’s Cold Outside
It’s never cold at Deerfield’s Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory. No matter the chill of winter, it’s always hot and humid inside, a high-latitude rain forest. The conservatory houses creatures that would hardly appear on a bobsled team recruitment...
Oh, That’s Better: How to have hotter sex in 2015
Another year goes by, another high-tech sex toy hits the market: remote-controlled vibrators that respond to your moan intonations, masturbation sleeves shaped like your favorite porn star, and whatever else the kinky nerds come up with next. Your i-Brain might have...
Free Sport: Loss Leader
In sports, teams occasionally go from "worst to first," finishing last one season and first the next. But the 2007 Philadelphia Phillies are destined to be "first to worst"—the first professional sports franchise to suffer 10,000 defeats....
Free Sport: The Wheel Deal
In Copenhagen, exiting a cab always elicits the same remark from the driver: "Watch out for the bicycles!"That's because in this city the bikes are the dominant form of transport, and they don't stop for anyone. The way the Danes have developed their...
FreeSport: Numbers Game
From a completely financial point of view, major league baseball is riding sky-high. Attendance is at an all-time high, revenues are through the roof, and despite those who have lamented its possible demise for years, it still remains America's pastime.If you dig...
The Real Carribean
Somewhere out there exists the real Caribbean—a hidden land pleasantly lacking foreign-owned, all-inclusive resorts that gate guests in and keep the island out.On this island, expats, sailors, guests and locals merge into a unique camaraderie shared over cold...
Of Clowns and Oxen
The carnival clown poked fun at my glasses and suggested that my strongest muscle is the one I use to control the computer mouse.Goading patrons is his job: pay $5 and you get three balls to pitch at a target which, when hit, launches the clown into a dunk tank. The...Wellness: The Locavores
While I'm as fond of the planet as the next oxygen-breather, I admit to an uneasy relationship with the environmentally ultra-virtuous. I don't think I'm alone in this.It's not that I have anything against folks who only put their kids in unbleached...
FreeSport: Lance Free
As an avid cycling fan, these are my high holy days. Beginning in early July and running through the third week of the month, I'll spend countless hours in front of the television or surfing through a variety of cycling-related Internet sites, following the...FreeSport: Tokers Got Game
Can't tell the difference between the sports pages and the police blotter? You're not the only one. These days it seems that everywhere you turn, another star athlete—from Elijah Dukes to Ricky Williams—is in hot water over drugs. Not for using a...
Bummer Camp
For more than one hundred years, parents horrified at the prospect of having to care for their restless, sullen teens with no help at all from algebra teachers have been dumping their progeny on summer camps. In the old days, as ‘80s period pieces like...
A Day Downtown
The sun was shining gloriously on a recent afternoon in downtown Northampton. I decided to take a stroll through the familiar streets—I've lived in the Valley for 13 years—and visit some of my favorite haunts. I parked on Market Street, thinking that...FreeSport: Sport as Salve
I'll never forget that fateful day nearly six years ago when the world seemed to stop. Who can? Against the looming horror of the 9/11 attacks, nothing else seemed to matter. Not the rest of the day's news, nor the usually distracting coverage of our favorite...FreeSport: Tour de Farce
If I ever need to know what happened on, say, Stage 15 of the 1998 Tour de France—or any other stage of the Tour in the last 23 years, for that matter—I need only reach into an enormous box of videotapes I keep under my bed. Yes, my obsession for bike...Travel: Home on the Range
You can tell a real ranch by the number of junked trucks you find in the front yard. So when you drive up to SK Ranch in northwestern Montana, you know right away these folks are real ranchers.Steve and Alison Skelton farm 8,500 acres in Conrad, Montana about 40...FreeSport: Huck It!
Last week, I learned how to throw a forehand.Let me explain. My wife and I were visiting some friends who live in Rochester, N.Y. and they are ultimate players. That's ultimate Frisbee. Only they don't call it ultimate Frisbee, because a Frisbee is a brand...FreeSport: Another Chance
All my life I have successfully avoided the trappings of modern jock-dom. Never driven to win, I've lacked the confidence, skill, and brute machismo necessary to be competitive. Shunning team sports became my credo. But my one chance at glory—in my mind, at...E-Edition
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