Seven Days Blogs: 802 Online

Over and Out in the Mountains

I wrote a story this week about the end of Out in the Mountains, Vermont's GLBTQ newspaper. Their last issue hit the streets today.

I started my journalistic career at OITM. Here's my very first published story, about my then-favorite local musician, Katherine Quinn. It's from May or June of 1998.

It's funny to read that story now and think about how things have changed. I ended up getting civil unioned to Ann-Elise, the woman I mentioned in the lead, and she and I have a 9-month-old baby boy. I'm working as a gainfully employed staff writer. Katherine doesn't play solo much anymore. She got married to an organic wool merchant a few years back; they've got a little boy and twin girls. Rhombus Gallery tanked in 2002 (I think it was '02). Now OITM is closing up shop.

I've got conflicting emotions about the end of this era of queer publishing in VT. I'll probably explore them in print before the year is out. Anybody else care to weigh in?

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Another short student film — this one's from Middlebury College student Paxson Woebler Woelber.

Food limerick contest

Suzanne Podhaizer, our new food writer, asked me to announce this limerick contest on my blog, so here it is:

Are you clever about cuisine? Enjoy writing lyrics about the larder? Then you should contribute to our first-ever Culinary Limerick Contest! Email your creations to [email protected]. The cream of the crop will be printed on December 27th. Entries must be received by December 15.

Forgotten how limericks go? Here's a sample:

A restaurant that's called Penny Cluse
is famed for fresh-squeezed citrus juice
They make tofu scram
They'd never serve Spam
But the crowd at the door is profuse

The prize for Seven Days' staff fave? Breakfast for two at Penny Cluse.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Presenting a short film entitled "My Life at Bennington College," by wackyguy1234567.

Weekly Post

Today's comes from Caleb Daniloff's blog what i saw today. I picked two of his posts, actually, because they're both short. Here's the one from last Friday:

      My four-year-old nephew ran into the dining room while we were eating Thanksgiving dinner. He’d been playing in the living room with some other kids. My sister was giving a toast. “Mama, Mama, guess what,” Nicholas interrupted, breathless. Eighteen heads turned to listen. “I’m not shy anymore!” he declared. Then dashed off. I need to pick that kid’s brain first chance I get.

You can read this one and the other on his blog, or on the Letters to the Editor page of this week's Seven Days.

You may have heard Daniloff on the radio last week. NPR picked up his holiday commentary.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Eeeew. A video of greased up male students stripping and posing at Middlebury College. Watch if you dare.

Tuesday Deadline Linkdump: The Post-Thanksgiving Edition

Look what I found yesterday while searching for my post of the week:

• Photos (like the one at right) from an old church graveyard, from Midnight Modern Conversation. Just discovered this site, which belongs to Jeff of Waterbury. Here's what that tombstone says:

"Behold my friends as you pass by / As you are now so once was I / As I am now so you must be / So prepare for death & follow me."

It's that time of year.

• Sarah Aldeman describes some of what I'm feeling this holiday season in a post called "Process versus Product: America's obsession with immediate gratification."

• Ann Zuccardy of the Vermont Shortbread Company offers tips and and inside perspective on shopping local.

• DTWOF episode 500. The 500th episode of Alison Bechdel's long-running lesbo (and discerning non-lesbo) comic. The first episode appeared first in a bi-weekly feminist newspaper. Ep 500 appeared first on Alison's blog. Times are a-changing. In honor of the 500th strip, Alison's blog audience set out to raise $500 for her via Paypal, since she puts the strip up on the blog for free. As of this blog post, they'd raised $3081.52.

• A Front Porch Forum success story. Michael Wood-Lewis writes about a local woman who used the Chittenden County social networking service to find a neighbor to shovel snow for her this winter after her husband died. She writes,

I asked for help finding someone to snowblow my driveway [through her FPF neighborhood forum] and think I have found someone. Then I went away for a week and when I returned my leaves were raked and removed and items moved from around the house to the driveway. I don’t know who did this, but I have to think it was someone in the neighborhood and I wanted to say thank you.

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Could a monkey do Eva Sollberger's job? "The verdict is still out," writes the Deadbeat. "You be the judge."

Vermont This Week podcast

I think I forgot to mention this, but Bill Simmon, Philip Baruth and I were on Vermont This Week last week talking about blogs. Bill created this handy permalink to the podcast for anyone who missed it and would like to listen in.

I was happy to be asked on the show, but I must admit, I felt a little silly sitting there answering the question, "what is a blog?" I mean, are there really people watching Vermont This Week who don't know what a blog is? Come on. This is Vermont Public Television. These people are probably pretty with it, right?

Vermont YouTube of the Day

Wild turkeys in Williston. Run away! Run away!