Wellness
Vegetable Valley: Columnist and author Claire Hopley on what to do with all those local veggies
Many of us have faced an inevitable problem. You bring in the bounty of a farm share. You’ve done the right thing, aided the local economy and your health. You should feel proud — your counter is jammed to capacity with celeriac, beets, radishes, carrots, and a...
Scene Here: ‘Yo, My Belly Button is a Pool’ – Midnight Ultimate at Wal-Mart
I was confident I would find no Ultimate Frisbee going on as I drove into the Wal-Mart plaza in Chicopee shortly after midnight early last Friday — I figured the pouring rain and flood warnings would deter the pick-up players that valleyultimate.org told me gather...
The V-Spot: How To – The Sex Talk
My dad gave me The Sex Talk one night during my freshman year in high school. We were driving home in his car. As he did his best to stammer through the basics of STD transmission and cautionary tales of unwanted pregnancies, I kept one hand on the truck’s...Free Will Astrology: July 16-22, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Stop Making Sense was originally the name of the film and music soundtrack produced by the Talking Heads in the 1980s, and now it is the central theme of your horoscope. I think your brain would benefit from a thorough washing. That’s why I...
The V-Spot: My Boyfriend Won’t Lick My Sundae
Hi Yana! I’ve been seeing a wonderful man for about a year and a half and I feel like I’ve finally found someone I could spend the rest of my life with. Here’s the problem: He isn’t a very sexual person and won’t perform oral sex on me. He says he never has on any of...Free Will Astrology, July 2-8, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): To determine whether you are aligned with the cosmic flow, please answer the following questions. 1. Would you say that your current situation is more akin to treading water in a mosquito-ridden swamp, or conducting a ritual of purification...Free Will Astrology, July 9-15, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): How can you fulfill your potential as an Aries? What strategies will help you become the best Aries you can possibly be? Now is an excellent time to meditate on these riddles. One of my Aries readers, Mickki Langston, has some stellar tips...
My Favorite Walk: Stop and Smell the … Sure, you can call them roses if you want to
Imagine, dear human, that you emerge from your car, walk across the gravel parking lot and enter a field bursting with roses, gardenia, and phlox. As the morning sun warms the blooms, they spill their sweet perfume into the air, taking aim at your quivering, cold, wet...
Get Out and Play: Alternative summer sports for everyone – Ultimate, Treetops, crazy races, and more
MOUNTAIN BIKING IN SOUTHERN VERMONT Vermont is just a stone’s throw away, and three quarters of the state is covered with forest. Mountain biking, anyone? Northern Vermont has the lion’s share of great trails, but several sites in southern Vermont stand out. The Hoot,...
Live Free or Dye! Get out and play, alternative summer sports for everyone – paintball
I ran for my life. It wasn’t fast enough. A paintball came whipping through the clearing as I crossed in a running crouch, shot by the enemy team from 20 yards away. I felt it explode against my thigh. It stung for a few seconds, like someone had whacked me hard with...
For the Love of the Game: The senior softball players of Western Mass Relics
On a recent Thursday at the Ludlow Fish and Game Club, things were abuzz. The skies were repeatedly ripped through with the blare of engines as aircraft traveled the skies around Westover Air Force Base; gunfire crackled from the firing range nearby. Amid that din,...
Wellness by the stars: What your sign can tell you about how to eat, exercise, and chill
In the work-driven culture we live in, self-care is sometimes lost in the abyss of work, chores, sleep. To make matters more complicated, we all have ways of taking care of ourselves that are strikingly different from one another. Yoga, while good for all, can be...
The V-Spot: Am I a Creepy OKCupid Troll?
Hi Yana, It’s been a few years since I last got laid. Lately I’ve been trying to use OKCupid to look for a hookup. I also tried using Craigslist personals, but that didn’t go anywhere. While on OKCupid I email women asking if they want to chat, but I don’t get a reply...
The V-Spot: My 12-year-old is watching porn. Now what?
Hi Yana, I’ve enjoyed hearing you speak on the sexpert panels at the Platinum Pony. Your name popped into my head today after learning my 12-year-old son has begun to dip his toes into the world of online porn. I knew it was going to happen. I just hoped it wouldn’t...
My Favorite Walk: Ruins and Raptors on Easthampton’s Manhan Rail Trail
Rail trails are a dime a dozen around these parts, but Easthampton’s Manhan Rail Trail is, for me, the finest of them. In the middle of its run, it dissects a nondescript end of town, crossing busy Union Street beside a stripmall, a melancholy ATM, and a gas station....
@work: The Man in the Mosque: A visit with spiritual leader Wissam Abdul-Baki at the Islamic Society of Western Massacchusetts
Wissam Abdul-Baki leans forward in his chair. “Try it,” he murmurs. “Say ‘Allah.’ ” I do as he instructs, drawing out the second ‘A’ into a long “aww” sound. I think it sounds pretty good, but he pats his chest. “Start from here. Let it come from the bottom of your...
Breaking Dad, an occassional series of parenting bad-vice: The Cheeto Full Monty
So this, it turns out, was the Father’s Day I had Cheetos up my nose. Not in a funny way, but more a sort of philosophical reverie way, like that glazed look you get after you’ve had seven ice cream sandwiches and a heat stroke. This was the latest result of my...Free Will Astrology, June 25-July 1, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): During my regular hikes along my favorite trails, I’ve gotten to know the local boulders quite intimately. It might sound daft, but I’ve come to love them. I’ve even given some of them names. They symbolize stability and constancy to me....
Dawn of the Dad: Fatherhood is being redefined by a new generation of hands-on dads
“I always knew that I wanted to be a dad,” Joey Mella tells me. “Then I got married and we had three children very quickly. Now I’m kind of maxed out.” The middle child, two-year-old Ati Mella-Reiss, pushes a miniature shopping cart across the wood floor of the...
Staying Home With Baby: Most dads-to-be qualify for 8 weeks of paternity leave, but can they afford to take it?
Soon-to-be parents Amy Mathers and Paul Kearney, of Limerick, Ireland, were in Florence recently visiting Mathers’ family. Mathers and Kearney are expecting their first child in September. The two said they talk about moving to the U.S. to raise a family, but Ireland...
The V-Spot: Masturbation, how much is too much?
Dear Yana, Is it normal for my husband to jerk off four times in a day? And then not want me? — XO Dear XO, Maintaining a certain amount of individualism while you’re in a relationship with someone is a completely healthy — and, in fact, recommended — thing to do,...Free Will Astrology, June 18-24, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Would you like to stop pushing and struggling for a while? Is there a clenched attitude you would love to let go of? Do you wish you could take a break from having to give so much and try so hard and be so strong? Then do it! Now would be a...
My Favorite Walk: Strolling With the Heifers
There’s nothing more amazing than walking to your own theme music. As a nearby high school marching band lifts flutes, trumpets, and saxophones to their mouths, and the drummers behind them start to tap out a more insistent beat, I can’t help lifting my feet in...
The V-Spot: Dating clichés that need to go
So many sex and dating clichés, so many hot-tub induced yeast-infections, accidental sex farts, and awkward threesomes. Here’s to half-a-dozen intimate “ideals” that gotta go: ∎ Subtly hit on your crush. No. Make that flirting obvious as hell. I don’t mean in a...Free Will Astology: June 11-17, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “To look at a thing hard and straight and seriously — to fix it.” Aries author Henry James said he wanted to do that on a regular basis. He didn’t want to be “arbitrary” or “mechanical” in his efforts. I invite you to make this perspective...
My Favorite Walk: Forest, barren, beautiful, life after The Tornado
My favorite walk is around my backyard. Although this may seem rather common, my yard is still new to me and very much an evolving space. Four years ago my backyard was a dense forest filled with pines, oaks, and poison ivy. The thick trees were covered with poison...
Scene Here: For Love or Baseball?
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, said in his poem “Locksley Hall” that in springtime a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love. Maybe so. I’m long past remembering almost anything about being a young man; but I do know that in this springtime, the first in my retirement...
‘Minute Clinic’ Some pharmacies are providing quick care to fill the gaps between doctor visits
Sitting on a folding chair in a small room at the back of CVS/ Pharmacy in Northampton, Christopher Meoli of Northborough had the sleeve of his T-shirt rolled up waiting for the needle family nurse practitioner Connie Turner had aimed at his upper arm. “I’m pretty...
Jump In: The Valley’s best swimmin’ spots
Those coastal dwellers don’t even know what they’re missing. Sure, they can boast miles of swimmable water, waves, seagulls — the whole summer package. But do they have rope swings? Waterfalls surrounded by sylvan beauty? How about mountain water clean enough to...
The V-Spot: At The End of My (Long-Distance) Rope
Hello Yana, I’ve been seeing a great guy for almost a year now who lives one and a half hours away. We’ve seen each other less than 15 times in the past year and I do 90 percent of the driving. We talk all the time through texts, but almost every weekend we make plans...Free Will Astrology: June 4-10, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Persian scholar Avicenna was so well-rounded in his knowledge that he wrote two different encyclopedias. Even as a teenager he was obsessed with learning all he could. He got especially consumed with trying to master Aristotle’s...
My Favorite Walk: An Occasional Pilgrimage to St. Thomas the Apostle Church in West Springfield
On occasion, to keep up my health, I take a walk. Nearby my home in West Springfield is a mile-long stretch of sidewalk with no hills, few cars, and even fewer people outside. The homes are densely packed, and I wonder about the people who live inside. Over time, I’ve...Freewill Astrology, May 28 – June 3, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Keith Moon played drums for the rock band the Who. He was once voted the second-greatest drummer in history. But his erratic behavior, often provoked by drugs or alcohol, sometimes interfered with his abilities. In 1973, the Who was doing a...
The V-Spot: Something Borrowed, Something Lubed
Dear Yana, Hey! I have a lube question and I thought who better to ask? My friend is going to be losing her virginity on her wedding night and is wondering what the best lube out there is — especially considering she hasn’t used any before, is unsure of allergies, and...
Living By the Stars: Hey baby, what’s your sign?
Often when someone discovers I’m into astrology, they want to know what I think of her or his relationship: He’s a Virgo and I’m an Aries — what d’ya think? For me, attraction comes first, but I get right down to the important stuff quickly, baby: What’s your sign?...
Freewill Astrology: May 21-27, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): James McNeil Whistler was an influential painter in the latter half of the 19th century. He advocated the “art for art’s sake” credo, insisting that the best art doesn’t need to teach or moralize. As far as he was concerned, its most...Children in Crisis: Where Can They Go? Psychiatric in-patient services for your Baystaters are declining
When Tracy M.’s 7-year-old son became hyperactive and aggressive after being placed on 21 different ADHD medications over two months in 2007, it was clear he needed help his mother and her partner couldn’t provide. The boy had become combative, Tracy recalled, and his...
The V-Spot: Tying to Get Kinky
Hi Yana, My girlfriend and I are in college and we’ve done some like really, really basic BDSM: blindfolding, a little handcuffs, and some bondage stuff, but nothing serious. Now we want to do some tying down. What would you suggest? — Tie-Guy Dear Tie-Guy, Like a bad...
My Favorite Walk – We Want to Hear From You
A small stretch of land between Route 9 and I-91 might not sound like prime walking territory. But out here, you can disconnect. This is farmland — a quick and easy escape to Kansas from downtown Northampton’s Oz. At Sheldon Field, Old Ferry Road branches off from...
The V-Spot: Sweet (Sex-Positive) Sixteen, Is it ever okay for a dad to buy his daughter a vibrator?
Dear Yana, My eldest daughter is now 16. I’ve had to cover the sex talk basics as her mother (we’re divorced) is FAR more conservative (and shall we say repressed) than I. How do I, as a father, steer my daughter towards a more sex-positive outlook when it’s clear she...
Ungrounded: Beating Flying Phobia
On a recent Saturday, I stared out an airport window at an Airbus 330, emblazoned with green and the Aer Lingus shamrock. For the first time in a long time, I was staring at a plane I was about to get on. I did a lot of work to get there. Still, it was a moment of...What to do if you’ve been sexually assaulted
∎ If you are in immediate danger or seriously injured, call 911. ∎ Even if you have not decided whether to report the crime, it is best to preserve anything that might contain the offender’s DNA. If at all possible, this means avoiding the following: • Using the...
Reports of rape are increasing on college campuses — and that’s good news
There’s something strange happening on college campuses here and across the nation. Reports of rape and sexual assault are skyrocketing. In 2013 the University of Massachusetts Amherst — a campus of 28,635 students this year — reported 22 forcible sex offenses,...Free Will Astrology: May 14-20, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The danger of resisting a temptation too strenuously is that the temptation might depart. I suggest that you prevent that from happening. Without throwing yourself at the mercy of the temptation, see if you can coax it to stick around for a...
The V-Spot: Feeling Rough
Ladies, when it comes to bangin’ banging, if you do the crime, you gotta do the time. Though this “time” can come in many forms, such as cramping, bruises, welts, and off-cycle vaginal bleeding, rarely will you get slapped with a life sentence. Sexual pleasure, much...Astrology: May 7-213, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Benedictine monks observe the Latin motto Laborare est Orare. The 19th-century abbot Maurus Wolter interpreted these words to mean “work is worship” or “work is prayer.” He was trying to impress upon his fellow monks that the work they did...Astrology: April 30-May 6, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Chris Moneymaker was employed as an accountant in Tennessee. On a whim, he paid $39 to enter an online poker tournament. Although he knew a lot about the game, he had never competed professionally. Nevertheless, he won the tournament. As his...
The V-Spot: Problems in Poly Paradise
Hi Yana, I’m in a relatively recent relationship, eight months, and my girlfriend is bisexual — not a problem — and polyamorous. I’ve known this from the beginning and I decided that I was okay with it. But I’m getting so heartbroken at the idea of her with someone...
Living By The Stars: It’s Complicated: Midheavens, sun and moon signs
I understand that right now, fellow star-gazers, you may miss Rob Brezsny. When I was younger I’d run and grab copies of Metroland — the Hudson Valley’s version of the Advocate — just to read the latest from the astro guru. I don’t attempt to fill those shoes. I’m...
Nightcrawler: Kindred Spirits, Whiskey Treaty, Dirty Bourbon River Show pour into the Valley; Fab Faux stroll down Abbey Road
In its earliest form back in Ireland and Scotland circa the 15th century, the distilled spirit we now call whiskey was commonly referred to as “aqua vitae.” Curiously, the word “vitae” means “blameless in life; innocent.” But as history has well chronicled, aqua vitae...Where to Bike: Area paths are plentiful if you know where to look
Western Mass is home to more than a dozen bike paths making up more than 80 miles of riding trails from Connecticut to Vermont. Next time you’re in the mood for a long ride in the woods, check out one of these paths:
The V-Spot: Seeking Spunky, Not Clunky
Hey girl! I was wondering if you might be able to recommend a good vibrator to use during sex with my boyfriend. Something with power, but not too cumbersome? xoxoxoxo — Seeking Spunky, Not Clunky Dear SSNC, I don’t make many assumptions in this job, but I get the...
Come again! How the corner store competes in a world of Amazon and Big-box
Trans World Food Market 50 Russell Street, Hadley Small Valley, big world Brothers David Tran, 22, and Sockha Son, 30, say the success of their market hinges on staffs’ ability to help customers find just what they’re looking for — even when customers don’t know...
Food Deserts in Springfield: How many buses would you take to buy groceries?
For many residents of Mason Square a full week’s grocery shopping — picking up fresh fruits and vegetables, stopping by the butcher, buying some fresh bread, eggs, or pasta — means taking two buses to get to the Big Y across the river in West Springfield and cramming...
The V-Spot: #SILO, Dumped in the digital age
So, you just got dumped. If you have a cell phone, a laptop or any kind of social media presence, your life just got real hard. There’s always something there to remind you of your ex. I recently read an article that depressingly informed me that “Facebook knows...
@Work: The Musher, Hilltown Wilderness Adventures
Marla Brodsky’s boots crunch on the snowy path. In the dog yard behind her house, 18 pairs of ears perk up at the sound. As she approaches, her four litters of Alaskan Husky sled dogs start to stir. Some dogs lift their heads and howl. Some strain at their leashes....Astrology: April 9-15, 2015
The V-Spot: Halp! I’m Totes Jelly
Dear Yana, My ex-boyfriend of five years cheated on me the whole time we were together. My low self-esteem let him convince me he still loved me despite the cheating. By the end we had opened our relationship to outside sexual partners, but it was mostly him going out...
Get Out and Stay Out! 12 of the Pioneer Valley’s best outdoor spaces
Canalside Rail Trail, Turners Falls A handful of beautiful sights crop up along the four miles of this short, scenic bike path, which runs from Deerfield up into Montague along old railroad beds. But the short northern stretch where wooded areas gives way to the...E-Edition
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