Seven Days Blogs: Stuck in Vermont

Phinn Sonin [79]

Problems watching this video?  Click here to watch it on YouTube.

5/12/08: What makes Burlington so special?  Meet Phinneus Sonin, Junk Connoisseur, Cabaret MC, proud dad, radio DJ, naked bike rider, and juggler - now do you get it?

Phinn has been dumpster diving for years which lead to the creation of Junktiques Collective, a living room/store where you can spend a couple of dollars and find some oddity or other that you didn't realize you needed: bottle caps, remote controls, irons, doodads, tools, books, records, etc.

Sheriff Phinn, you have my vote.

Location: Junktiques Collective, Burlington Vermont

Dealer.com [63]

1/18/08: Ping pong, lattes, plants, OH MY!

Dealer.com is a VT company that recently expanded into plush new digs and is hiring a young, technically savvy workforce.   

There has been lots of talk lately about young people leaving Vermont in search of better paid, high tech jobs - does Dealer.com offer a ray of hope?

Walking into their massive colorful new space, it is hard to believe that you are in VT: 65,000 square feet of wide open workspace, an organic cafe on site to fuel its workers, a gym with HDTVs, a blue and lavender tennis court, a ping pong table, basketball court, bean bag chairs and an abundance of plants. 

The primarily young workforce is expanding and many of them are Vermonters, some of whom got their feet in the door through ITAR, Vermont IT Apprenticeship Readiness Program.

Makes you wonder if VT is slowly catching up to the technological boom as our high speed internet connection gets stronger.  Perhaps VT is still in the game after all.

Music by Pretty & Nice off their Pink & Blue album, "Busy Bees."

Watch the video on YouTube here.

Our new video feature, The Campus Question asks St Mike's students what it would take to keep them in VT after graduation.

Molly in Manhattan [58]

Molly Hatfield's Vermont family has been selling Christmas trees in New York City for over 30 years.  Every December Gopher Broke Enterprises of Wolcott, Vermont sell trees at 13 locations across New York.

You can find Molly every day at the corner of 110th Street and Broadway where she has been selling trees for 14 years with two brief breaks to nurse her children.  Bring her a cup of tea, stop and say hello, everyone else does.

Molly works 14-16 hour days, every single day of the month of December.  She works outside despite the snow, freezing rain and slush.  She has never seen the tree at Rockefeller Center (which is not from VT, FYI) or taken in the tourist attractions New York has to offer.  After 14 years, she is less of a tourist and more a member of the community.

Molly is known as "The Tree Lady" to many people in the neighborhood and has become a permanent fixture on the Upper West Side every holiday season.  Even people who are not buying trees stop by to check in, say hello, deliver a fresh batch of rum balls or ask after her kids.

Molly does not plan on leaving VT anytime soon but she can't seem to give up her life in NY either.  After all, what would happen to the Upper West Side at Christmas if The Tree Lady didn't show up?  And how would The Tree Lady survive not knowing the city gossip?

Tune by Colin Clary off his awesome new album Apocalypse Yow!, "Gold Medal."

Editor's Note: I should also mention that Molly and I were best friends at Lamoille Union High School many years ago.  We went to see David Bowie together during his Glass Spider Tour and it seemed only fitting that we would meet up again on the streets of Manhattan.

The Sound of Music [56]

What is it about The Sound of Music?  Why does this story get reinvented over and over again?  And why is it so special to Vermonters?

The Salzburg Marionette Theater brought their miniature performance of The Sound of Music to the Flynn Center last week.  An hour late start did not deter the multi-generational Sound of Music fans gathered for the show.

Members of the von Trapp family were in attendance and met with the Austrian puppeteers after the curtain closed.  The general public treat the von Trapps with a special reverence and many took this opportunity for personal introductions. 

Johannes von Trapp, President of the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe VT and son of Maria and Georg speaks about the various adaptations of his family's story and discusses what it is like being a real member of this often fictionalized family.

Singer Elisabeth von Trapp, granddaughter of Maria and Georg speaks of the impression her family's tale has left on audiences, herself included.

Vermonters have a unique association with the von Trapp family and hold their story close.  A tale that has been retold time and time again and continues to spark audience's imaginations and is essentially a simple story about a family who loved to sing.

PS Now that we have seen the marionettes, when is the Sing-a-Long-a Sound of Music coming to America!?

My Cat Goma [55]

How do you follow a vlog about socks and one about puppets?  With GOMA of course!

Sachie Tani began blogging about her Himalayan cat Goma in May of 2007. 

At first, she used her blog to connect with her family in Japan.  Then people outside her family began to ask, "How is Goma?"

Sachie's 37 Goma videos have been seen over 92,000 times on YouTube.  "Cat VS Cotton Candy" is the most popular with over 60,000 views.

Sachie did not anticipate such a massive response to her blog, My Himalayan Cat "Goma" but is pleased to share her Goma joys with others.

Call her a crazy cat lady if you must, but Sachie is unabashedly in love with her cat Goma and how can anyone find fault with that?

This song seems made for Goma:  The Smittens, A Little Revolution, "Twitterpated (Mfdod Remix)"

Eva's note: In the interest of fair disclosure, I must admit to being a crazy cat lady myself.  Two days after this interview, I got the same kitty backpack Sachie is sporting in the end of the video. 

 

Wrath of Kong [48]

On October 13th, 60 teams will compete in the Red Bull Soapbox Race in Providence Rhode Island (watch crashes here). 

One of those teams is a group of undergrad engineering students from the University of Vermont called "Wrath of Kong."

Colin Hutchens is the driving force behind the team's entry.  Sending in the winning application and coming up with the idea - a cross between King Kong and Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.

Colin will be driving the soapbox car and also playing the part of Fay Wray in the pre-race skit which will involve synchronized dancing and some King Kong destruction.

The race is one week away and the naked soapbox frame is not yet attached to its wheels. It is a race to the finish to see if the car will be ready to compete Saturday against some heavy hitters like NASA, Nascar and Burton.

UVM's Votey Hall Lab Coordinator, Floyd Vilmont is helping the students build their soapbox car.  It is a rare chance for the engineering students to test their knowledge and learn real life skills.

Wish them luck Saturday, they just might take home the gold!

Demo track off The Jazz Guys new album, So Moped Puree, "Jungle Jackson."  Thanks Herb!

Rhythm Riderz [40]

Last Saturday's Festival of Fools in downtown Burlington was a chance for children of all ages to immerse themselves in the diverse street performers Burlington has to offer.

At the bottom of Church St, the Rhythm Riderz Crew was entertaining the crowd with their b-boy dance moves.

B-boys and Burlington are two entities you might not readily connect but the crew is becoming a weekend fixture on lower Church Street.

Stuck in Vermont 2: Hackie

Finally, another installment of my new vlog, Stuck in Vermont.  Two weekends ago I spent a morning chatting with local author, cab driver, comedian and philosopher Jernigan Pontiac. In addition to being highly entertained by his droll humor and getting a great tour of the area from a cab's-eye-view, I had an excellent time talking to Jernigan about life, art and people. 

It is not often that you find such a genuine, interesting, thoughtful soul and even rarer still when you get to have an on-camera chat with them. It killed me to whittle my hour of footage down to 4 minutes (literally, it killed me, I am still in mourning) but at long last, here is the final bite-sized product, Stuck in Vermont, Episode 2, The Hackie. 

I may have to follow this vlog up with Jernigan's tour of the area not to mention more Jernigan gems about writing and life and massive amounts of silliness.  Seriously, this guy needs his own TV show.  So beware another Hackie Episode 2.1 or some such thing. The most awesome music is by C-Funk also known as Adam Cooper Wood and Chris Cheney. 

Remember to read the bi-weekly Hackie column in Seven Days and to buy the Hackie books here!  Spread the word folks, a little dose of Hackie each day keeps the winter doldrums at bay!