BY: TOMMY NGAN
FEBRUARY 10, 2010
Passed on from generation to generation and shifting between cultures, Master Bob Boyd teaches the Snake style of Tai Chi from Grandmaster Ip Tai Tak to practitioners willing to undertake the disciplinary practices.
Situated in the heart of Church Street, Master Bob Boyd teaches Tai-Chi every Wednesday night from 7 to 8 and Saturday mornings from 11 to noon. During each session, students dressed in humble attire move in slow repetitive circular movements of the arms and torso while their feet remain grounded. Boyd’s general rule is that, “The slower the better. If the standard (Yang/Ip) form is done in 15 to 18 minutes in the beginning, this is really good. This is a relative short time to do the form compared to other lineages doing the form in 30 to 50 minutes so it is necessary to look why this is so. In Snake Style Tai Chi Chuan it is imperative to move the body absolutely connected, as one unit.” From this, the fundamental nature of Tai-Chi is not to exert one’s strength through speed alone, but so harmonize the movements and accuracy through rhythmic repetitive actions.
Enter the waiting room to the dojo and shoes of all students are lined against the wall. Periodically, someone will play with the Tibetan bowls which resonates with a calm pitch. Walk through the short corridor of wooden sabers and Tai-Chi long swords into the dojo. There is a sense of serene calm as the students move in rhythmic, and almost synchronized, patterns. Almost synchronized because where one student may be stepping into Zhan Zhong, two other students are practicing push hands and another pair will be practicing Snake Style Tai-Chi Chuan.
Almost a decade now, Master Boyd has been teaching the oriental art to the next generation of practitioners. A student himself of later Grandmaster Ip Tai Tak, the Grandmaster christened him as Bao Tak Fai (包德輝, meaning glorious virtue) in March of 2001. Grandmaster Ip allowed Master Boyd to teach the art. Following Grandmaster Ip’s death in April 2004, Master Boyd has taught the Snake Style Tai-Chi Chuan in Burlington, not far from his hometown of South Hero, Vermont.
When compared to yoga or similar exercises, Tai-Chi is a more internal exercise, meaning the practitioner is controlling his inner chi, an energy flow found in living things. Tai-Chi provides the body with relaxed movements that are performed continuously to move chi throughout the body in linear paths.
Prior to becoming a disciple to Grandmaster Ip, Boyd began martial arts training at 18 in Vermont of 1968. From there, he went to practice Okinawan Uechi-Ryu Karate for 15 years, under the tutelage of Master Uechi. Following his training, he returned to Vermont and opened a martial arts school in Essex Junction. He met John Conroy in 1974 and would become his Tai-Chi mentee. By 1985, Boyd began teaching Tai-Chi at the Burlington Tai-Chi Club. In 1999, the two of them went to Hong Kong and Boyd was introduced to Grandmaster Ip Tai Tak.
In an interview Boyd conducted with Grandmaster Ip, “Tai chi is like a tree. If you nurture it, it will grow. But it is only a potted tree without chi-gong. It can be knocked over. If you plant the tree in the ground, it will take root and cannot be pushed over.” Where more western exercises focus on the external attributes of the body, Oriental exercises focus on balancing the internal and external attributes.
Occasionally, Master Boyd is asked to host a Tai-Chi seminar. Seminars have been held in Pasadena, California; Newport News, Virginia; Brussels, Belgium: Prague, Czech Republic and various places in Germany. Each seminar emphasizes the importance and differences between snake style (Disciple style) and students style (tiger and crane).
Many speculators consider Tai-Chi to be extraneous and slow-paced because of the very nature of the exercises. There is no upbeat dance music to provide the rhythm that pilates brings to the mats. Not everyone performs the same movements as yoga. Tai-Chi allows the body to slowly warm up the muscles and mind into one chain, where the arms and legs, mind and body, have to synchronize to the rhythm of the heart. Even if the tempo and melody of the music is slowed to the melancholy beat of an erhu or Tibetan bowls, the body is most harmonious when synchronized to the heart.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Game Curator
BY: COLIN MIXSON
FEBRUARY 10, 2010
Starting December 18, folks down on Church St. who poked their heads into the Firehouse Gallery were surprised to find not fine art on display, but an array of plasma T.V.'s and video game controllers hanging from the ceiling. The exhibition is sponsored by The communication and Creative Media Division at Champlain College, UVM College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, and The Andy Warhol Foundation of the Visual Arts. The exhibit features over a dozen games, from nine different artists. It's televesion adorned walls and columns feature an eclectic mix of often unusal, and sometimes downright gorgeous video games. Though many of the games on display were released in the past several years, they represent games ranging from beautiful to blocky, violent to mundane and thought provoking to thoughtless.
"Machinarium is very beautiful to look at," says Chris Thompson, curator and the man behind the Game (Life) exhibit, "it's beautifully painted, but there really is not a lot of critical content, it's just a puzzle game, but people walk up and say, 'oh that's a beautiful game, that looks like a beautiful painting, it must be a piece of art.' There are other games that look very simple, like Passage and Gravity by Jason Rohrer that look like chunky, old 8-bit games. You know, really rough, but are very sophisticated content wise. Jason has a background in computer engineering, but thinks very much like an artist. He thinks in terms of life, and death."
What little space is left inbetween the myriad of games is generally stock full of an audience ranging from the very young to the very old, and everything in between. While the exhibition doesn't charge admission, the Firehouse Gallery has seen twice the average seasonal visitors during Game (Life)'s run. Probably a result of all the fun everyone is having. In one corner of the room a man can be seen laying down on a bench playing Johnathan Blow's Braid, while a group elementary students on a field trip hurry excitedly from game to game. John, a 4th grader at Richmond elementary, had never been to the Firehouse Gallery he seemed to be enjoying his first visit.
"This game's awesome," he said. "It's two player. I'm flying and he shoots lasers, and you collect people's organs!" His friend Mat disagreed.
"It's too hard," he said.
Whatever the Kids thought, the teachers were definitely enjoying themselves. Although a few would occasionally ask insightful questions while the kids played games, usually along the lines of, "How does this make you feel?" or, "Do you understand whats going on here?" Most of the teachers were too busy trying to beat the current level in Machinarium.
While Chris Thompson's background is not in video games, but art, even as a curator of a "game gallery," his work generally keeps him from being able to actually play video games for recreation. However, this didn't keep Chris from asking questions. "Video games are financially the dominant cultural medium in this country," Chris says, "they make more money than film and music, but in the art world there is almost no notice that has been taken of it yet."
Chris also cites the sense of liberation some players experience from the anonymity of online play, or the moral ambiguity present in more violent games as an questionable quality in games. "It changes people's lifestyle, when your playing online games you don't know who you're playing with, or from what country. Games like Grand Theft Auto are very ambiguous morally. These are very important aspects that contemporary art isn't exploring. I saw an article in the New York Times and then I'd say, "Oh, that's an interesting question that isn't being answered lets do a show and try and figure out what's going to happen."
One of these questions Chris is trying to answer is do games reflect the artistic principles that other mediums, like fine art, film and music have been utilizing for decades, if not centuries.
"If you go to most galleries and museums almost everybody, 99% have a masters, or at least an undergraduate degree in art. In the Video Game world, almost nobody does. We called the entire world of video game art producers, and maybe two of them had been to art school and the rest of them all come from a programming, or engineering background. So, it was a very interesting question, because the people who were going to be producing the work don't really know all the rules of the art world and they don't really know what people question, so they ask things that have been figured out in the art world a hundred years ago, and they ask, "is this art?" and if an artist does something and says it's art, it's art."
In and effort to promote questions and awareness about video games as an art form, Chris has been busy working with Amanda Crispel, the director of the game design program at Champlain College, to select artists to speak as part of a lecture series on games. Ultimately they decided on five speakers, Jason Rohrer (Passage) Heather Kelly (Sugar), Jonathan Blow (Braid), Randy Smith (Spider: Secret of Bryce Manor), as well as Paolo Pedercini (Faith Fighter) to talk at the Closing Reception on Feb/13. Thompson cites Champlain College's game design program as one of the major factors of deciding to host the show in Burlington.
"I choose Burlington for a lot of reasons, but specifically, because there were so many resources to draw from Champlain College. Lots of folks helped, but Jeff Rutenbeck (Dean, Division of Communication and Creative Media Champlain College) and Amanda Crispel above all else."
Chris has considered taking Game (Life) to a number of different venues, but at this time isn't sure where he's going to find the finances. However, Chris is already hard at work planing and invitational game art competition, hopes to invite artists from across the nation to submit games and to host a show in order to push artists in the gaming direction and continue to promote questions about games as art.
FEBRUARY 10, 2010
Starting December 18, folks down on Church St. who poked their heads into the Firehouse Gallery were surprised to find not fine art on display, but an array of plasma T.V.'s and video game controllers hanging from the ceiling. The exhibition is sponsored by The communication and Creative Media Division at Champlain College, UVM College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, and The Andy Warhol Foundation of the Visual Arts. The exhibit features over a dozen games, from nine different artists. It's televesion adorned walls and columns feature an eclectic mix of often unusal, and sometimes downright gorgeous video games. Though many of the games on display were released in the past several years, they represent games ranging from beautiful to blocky, violent to mundane and thought provoking to thoughtless.
"Machinarium is very beautiful to look at," says Chris Thompson, curator and the man behind the Game (Life) exhibit, "it's beautifully painted, but there really is not a lot of critical content, it's just a puzzle game, but people walk up and say, 'oh that's a beautiful game, that looks like a beautiful painting, it must be a piece of art.' There are other games that look very simple, like Passage and Gravity by Jason Rohrer that look like chunky, old 8-bit games. You know, really rough, but are very sophisticated content wise. Jason has a background in computer engineering, but thinks very much like an artist. He thinks in terms of life, and death."
What little space is left inbetween the myriad of games is generally stock full of an audience ranging from the very young to the very old, and everything in between. While the exhibition doesn't charge admission, the Firehouse Gallery has seen twice the average seasonal visitors during Game (Life)'s run. Probably a result of all the fun everyone is having. In one corner of the room a man can be seen laying down on a bench playing Johnathan Blow's Braid, while a group elementary students on a field trip hurry excitedly from game to game. John, a 4th grader at Richmond elementary, had never been to the Firehouse Gallery he seemed to be enjoying his first visit.
"This game's awesome," he said. "It's two player. I'm flying and he shoots lasers, and you collect people's organs!" His friend Mat disagreed.
"It's too hard," he said.
Whatever the Kids thought, the teachers were definitely enjoying themselves. Although a few would occasionally ask insightful questions while the kids played games, usually along the lines of, "How does this make you feel?" or, "Do you understand whats going on here?" Most of the teachers were too busy trying to beat the current level in Machinarium.
While Chris Thompson's background is not in video games, but art, even as a curator of a "game gallery," his work generally keeps him from being able to actually play video games for recreation. However, this didn't keep Chris from asking questions. "Video games are financially the dominant cultural medium in this country," Chris says, "they make more money than film and music, but in the art world there is almost no notice that has been taken of it yet."
Chris also cites the sense of liberation some players experience from the anonymity of online play, or the moral ambiguity present in more violent games as an questionable quality in games. "It changes people's lifestyle, when your playing online games you don't know who you're playing with, or from what country. Games like Grand Theft Auto are very ambiguous morally. These are very important aspects that contemporary art isn't exploring. I saw an article in the New York Times and then I'd say, "Oh, that's an interesting question that isn't being answered lets do a show and try and figure out what's going to happen."
One of these questions Chris is trying to answer is do games reflect the artistic principles that other mediums, like fine art, film and music have been utilizing for decades, if not centuries.
"If you go to most galleries and museums almost everybody, 99% have a masters, or at least an undergraduate degree in art. In the Video Game world, almost nobody does. We called the entire world of video game art producers, and maybe two of them had been to art school and the rest of them all come from a programming, or engineering background. So, it was a very interesting question, because the people who were going to be producing the work don't really know all the rules of the art world and they don't really know what people question, so they ask things that have been figured out in the art world a hundred years ago, and they ask, "is this art?" and if an artist does something and says it's art, it's art."
In and effort to promote questions and awareness about video games as an art form, Chris has been busy working with Amanda Crispel, the director of the game design program at Champlain College, to select artists to speak as part of a lecture series on games. Ultimately they decided on five speakers, Jason Rohrer (Passage) Heather Kelly (Sugar), Jonathan Blow (Braid), Randy Smith (Spider: Secret of Bryce Manor), as well as Paolo Pedercini (Faith Fighter) to talk at the Closing Reception on Feb/13. Thompson cites Champlain College's game design program as one of the major factors of deciding to host the show in Burlington.
"I choose Burlington for a lot of reasons, but specifically, because there were so many resources to draw from Champlain College. Lots of folks helped, but Jeff Rutenbeck (Dean, Division of Communication and Creative Media Champlain College) and Amanda Crispel above all else."
Chris has considered taking Game (Life) to a number of different venues, but at this time isn't sure where he's going to find the finances. However, Chris is already hard at work planing and invitational game art competition, hopes to invite artists from across the nation to submit games and to host a show in order to push artists in the gaming direction and continue to promote questions about games as art.
Mark Krawczyk: Bringing Permaculture to Burlington
BY: EMILY CUMMINGS
January 27th, 2010
BURLINGTON - Frigid temperatures didn't keep a crowd of about 20 locals away from Mark Krawczyk's Winter Tree Identification course on Sunday, January 24th. Krawczyk, a University of Vermont (UVM) alum, graduated in 2001 with a degree in Environmental Studies.
Krawczyk hosted the course in the small park in front of City Hall. He passionately discussed with the group the steps necessary for identifying trees, without leaves. The crowd, equally enthusiastic, absorbed every word - often times taking notes and drawing diagrams as Krawczyk spoke.
Krawczyk, originally from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, explains how he began speaking about tree identification, "Probably one of the most memorable classes I took at UVM was 'Dendrology' with John Shane in the Forestry Department. 'Dendro' refers to the study of trees. We learned to identify over 110 woody plants that grow here in Vermont - without their leaves!! In fact, for our final exam, John laid out 100 twigs (more or less) - just twigs - and we had to identify them."
The experience left Krawczyk wanting more, "I just ate that class up," he says," I loved it and became pretty addicted to developing my tree observation and identification skills." From there, Krawczyk wanted to share his passion with others in the community.
"I started to organize seasonal workshop series' through Burlington Permaculture," Krawczyk says. Permaculture, which was first coined in the 1970s in Australia, is the contraction of two words, permanent and agriculture. "To help fill up our listings, and to get more experience teaching and presenting," says Krawczyk, "I signed myself up for several workshops - winter tree ID being one of them." Krawczyk explains how he had an interest in having discussions with people prior to his pursuit of teaching, "I've always enjoyed talking at length about things I know about, especially when others are interested in listening. So that's really how it started - part of a bigger picture."
Krawczyk thinks there are a lot of things people in the area ought to be informed of. "If I was to prioritize, I wouldn't necessarily put 'tree identification' particularly high on the list," he says. But, he also sees the value in such a unique knowledge. "I'd love to see people interested in learning more about it have an opportunity to do so for many reasons," Krawczyk says, "It connects them to their environment, helps them get to know their fellow inhabitants a bit better, explains how things are made and how natural communities evolve and serves to retroactively replace a gaping void in many of our lives - a pattern language and deep understanding of the natural world around us."
Krawczyk goes on to demonstrate his profound thoughts on people connecting to their environment by adding, "That said, I think it's more important that people grow more informed about strategies they can take in their lives to be more positively proactive - to start providing for their own needs and minimizing the extractive impact of their lives on the environment and on the lives of people around the world. I think we need to rediscover what it means to be human in the world and remember the fact that 'we are nature working.' This is where I see the potential for real leverage and longstanding change in our world."
Krawczyk is definitely thinking on a much larger scale than this one example - his Winter Tree Identification class. He is constantly involved in events. "Burlington Permaculture is about one-third of the way through the third annual Winter Workshop Series," Krawczyk says. Events include: beehive building, coppice forestry, hand tool sharpening, edible forest garden design, financial permaculture, model making, lawn to garden conversions, landscape plan graphics, beer brewing 101, and a weekend introduction to permaculture. That's not all; there is a fourteen day permaculture design certification course at Rock Point planned for this summer, as well as more tree identification walks, and monthly potlucks.
"[There will be] a fruit tree giveaway, lawn to garden conversion parties, the Village Building Convergence, cob and earth oven building workshops and hopefully a film series," says Krawczyk. More information, and a full listing of these events, can be found on the Burlington Permaculture website http://burlingtonpermaculture.googlepages.com
Krawczyk, along with friend and fellow Permaculture activist Michael Blazewicz, founded Burlington Permaculture in 2007. The idea was to create a channel to unite with like-minded individuals in the area and create connections between people, land and resources.
Krawczyk also founded Keyline Vermont in 2007. Keyline Vermont's mission is to bring holistic site planning and design services for landscapes of all sizes. For more information on Keyline Vermont, visit www.keylinevermont.com.
Even before Krawczyk ventured Keyline Vermont and Burlington Permaculture, he was using his knowledge to craft his own custom made furniture. Krawczyk uses traditional tools and techniques to make the furniture. Check out www.rivenwoodcrafts.com to order your own piece of his woodworking, or just to find out more about the process.
Mark Krawczyk is a fascinating individual with a sincere desire for educating others on permaculture. If you are interested in learning about some of the other ways he gets involved, you might also want to check out www.sgnb.com and www.ecosystems-design.com. He's always looking for others to join him in his various efforts. If you'd like to get involved, Krawczyk says, "Please let us know if you've got skills, passions or wisdom you'd like to share. We'd love to help make it happen.
Otherwise, let us know what you'd like to learn about and we'll see if we can find someone to help." There are some great internship opportunities through Burlington Permaculture and Krawczyk seems dedicated to passing on his unique knowledge and interests to others almost as a part of his own captivating life mission statement.
January 27th, 2010
BURLINGTON - Frigid temperatures didn't keep a crowd of about 20 locals away from Mark Krawczyk's Winter Tree Identification course on Sunday, January 24th. Krawczyk, a University of Vermont (UVM) alum, graduated in 2001 with a degree in Environmental Studies.
Krawczyk hosted the course in the small park in front of City Hall. He passionately discussed with the group the steps necessary for identifying trees, without leaves. The crowd, equally enthusiastic, absorbed every word - often times taking notes and drawing diagrams as Krawczyk spoke.
Krawczyk, originally from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, explains how he began speaking about tree identification, "Probably one of the most memorable classes I took at UVM was 'Dendrology' with John Shane in the Forestry Department. 'Dendro' refers to the study of trees. We learned to identify over 110 woody plants that grow here in Vermont - without their leaves!! In fact, for our final exam, John laid out 100 twigs (more or less) - just twigs - and we had to identify them."
The experience left Krawczyk wanting more, "I just ate that class up," he says," I loved it and became pretty addicted to developing my tree observation and identification skills." From there, Krawczyk wanted to share his passion with others in the community.
"I started to organize seasonal workshop series' through Burlington Permaculture," Krawczyk says. Permaculture, which was first coined in the 1970s in Australia, is the contraction of two words, permanent and agriculture. "To help fill up our listings, and to get more experience teaching and presenting," says Krawczyk, "I signed myself up for several workshops - winter tree ID being one of them." Krawczyk explains how he had an interest in having discussions with people prior to his pursuit of teaching, "I've always enjoyed talking at length about things I know about, especially when others are interested in listening. So that's really how it started - part of a bigger picture."
Krawczyk thinks there are a lot of things people in the area ought to be informed of. "If I was to prioritize, I wouldn't necessarily put 'tree identification' particularly high on the list," he says. But, he also sees the value in such a unique knowledge. "I'd love to see people interested in learning more about it have an opportunity to do so for many reasons," Krawczyk says, "It connects them to their environment, helps them get to know their fellow inhabitants a bit better, explains how things are made and how natural communities evolve and serves to retroactively replace a gaping void in many of our lives - a pattern language and deep understanding of the natural world around us."
Krawczyk goes on to demonstrate his profound thoughts on people connecting to their environment by adding, "That said, I think it's more important that people grow more informed about strategies they can take in their lives to be more positively proactive - to start providing for their own needs and minimizing the extractive impact of their lives on the environment and on the lives of people around the world. I think we need to rediscover what it means to be human in the world and remember the fact that 'we are nature working.' This is where I see the potential for real leverage and longstanding change in our world."
Krawczyk is definitely thinking on a much larger scale than this one example - his Winter Tree Identification class. He is constantly involved in events. "Burlington Permaculture is about one-third of the way through the third annual Winter Workshop Series," Krawczyk says. Events include: beehive building, coppice forestry, hand tool sharpening, edible forest garden design, financial permaculture, model making, lawn to garden conversions, landscape plan graphics, beer brewing 101, and a weekend introduction to permaculture. That's not all; there is a fourteen day permaculture design certification course at Rock Point planned for this summer, as well as more tree identification walks, and monthly potlucks.
"[There will be] a fruit tree giveaway, lawn to garden conversion parties, the Village Building Convergence, cob and earth oven building workshops and hopefully a film series," says Krawczyk. More information, and a full listing of these events, can be found on the Burlington Permaculture website http://burlingtonpermaculture.googlepages.com
Krawczyk, along with friend and fellow Permaculture activist Michael Blazewicz, founded Burlington Permaculture in 2007. The idea was to create a channel to unite with like-minded individuals in the area and create connections between people, land and resources.
Krawczyk also founded Keyline Vermont in 2007. Keyline Vermont's mission is to bring holistic site planning and design services for landscapes of all sizes. For more information on Keyline Vermont, visit www.keylinevermont.com.
Even before Krawczyk ventured Keyline Vermont and Burlington Permaculture, he was using his knowledge to craft his own custom made furniture. Krawczyk uses traditional tools and techniques to make the furniture. Check out www.rivenwoodcrafts.com to order your own piece of his woodworking, or just to find out more about the process.
Mark Krawczyk is a fascinating individual with a sincere desire for educating others on permaculture. If you are interested in learning about some of the other ways he gets involved, you might also want to check out www.sgnb.com and www.ecosystems-design.com. He's always looking for others to join him in his various efforts. If you'd like to get involved, Krawczyk says, "Please let us know if you've got skills, passions or wisdom you'd like to share. We'd love to help make it happen.
Otherwise, let us know what you'd like to learn about and we'll see if we can find someone to help." There are some great internship opportunities through Burlington Permaculture and Krawczyk seems dedicated to passing on his unique knowledge and interests to others almost as a part of his own captivating life mission statement.
Sammy
BY: COLIN MIXSON
FEBRUARY 11, 2010
BURLINGTON - Sammy was born in Yonkers, NY, January 3rd 1975. He grew up there. He went to a school there called simply 22. He also sold drugs there, marijuana and cocaine among others. He was arrested numerous times, the first for selling drugs to a federal officer.
"I've been in New York State Prison," says Sammy, "I've been to county jails up in Westchester, I did state time down state, which is a maximum. I did a little time up here in Vermont, I did 90 days for my first bid, that was for assault. I spent in Jail, total time, about two years."
Almost seven years ago, in the summer of '03, Sammy moved to Burlington and settled, like many African Americans, on the north end. Whether something followed him, or whether Burlington just doesn't agree with him is not certain. Maybe both. Either way, things haven't changed much for Sammy.
"I was driving and I almost hit this chick, up on Luimos. Basically, she ran out into the street and I pulled over to apologize to her and she started screaming in my face, and I started screaming in her face. The original charge was disorderly conduct, and by the time I went to court, they had brought the charges up to simple assault by menacing. That's, you know, foul language in the middle of the street, a pubic area. It's some bullshit, it's disorderly conduct, but since I was on probation, and the girl pressed charges because she was scared of what I said to her, well, you know."
Sammy was sent to Chittenden County, a.k.a. the Four C's for thirty days. It was a dump. Even after state prison, Sammy hadn't been to any place quite like this. It was foul, the food was terrible, the guards were, "dickheads," the facility had long started to deteriorate.
"It was like hell, thirty days seemed like months," Sammy said. "Everyday was a week, lets put it like that. I didn't know what was going on in the outside world. talking to your girl on the phone, not knowing if she's cheating on you, or not. There's a lot of situations you think about, if you have kids you think about your kids and if they're all right. You think about all the fun you used to have, you can't stop thinking about when you get out, what you going to do when you get out."
That's not to say it really compared to state prison, where you really have to watch your back. There reside the Crypts and the Bloods, the Mietas, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Arian Brotherhood and the Metrocanos. A vast assortment of gangs that are ever present, constantly harassing and recruiting inmates. You had to link up with somebody.
"I got a lot of family members locked up in state prison that's doing real time, you know, like seven to fifteen. You know what I'm saying, doing life. I knew a lot of dudes in there that I got locked up with. I met a couple of Blood dudes, although I never turned Blood out in jail cause I thought that was a cop-out. You know, you do it on the street. If you join a gang in prison you're just proving that you're more pussy, that you needed a gang to survive. If you can survive on the street, you can survive in there. It's just a hundred times harder. "
Living in Burlington, Sammy doesn't deal in drugs like he used to in New York. However, that hasn't kept him from getting in trouble. Sammy finds himself constantly facing charges of harassment and assault, dealing lawyers and courts, and especially the police.
"I've been pulled over by the police while I was parked, and I was on the phone. The officer told me my license was suspended. So the next day I called the DMV to find out why my license was suspended, because I never got a ticket. They told me my license wasn't suspended, so I knew the cop was just being a racial dickhead, like he's always been to every black person that I know out here."
Throughout his many charges, trials and convictions Sammy has become fluent in recognizing his civil rights. He's never had the money to afford a lawyer, and Sammy's found that court appointee's do little more than, "facilitate conviction."
"New York law is different than Vermont law, but it all falls under a basic guideline and as long as you know how to read you can know what you're in there for and what the maximum penalty is. you can opt out to fight this and know what your case is about it's all about. Studying and reading, that's all it is"
Sammy now has a daughter, and lives with his girlfriend Kelly on Pine Street. He was in the process of obtaining a commercial driver’s license, but that plan was derailed with his latest conviction. He is now, "just happy to be free."
FEBRUARY 11, 2010
BURLINGTON - Sammy was born in Yonkers, NY, January 3rd 1975. He grew up there. He went to a school there called simply 22. He also sold drugs there, marijuana and cocaine among others. He was arrested numerous times, the first for selling drugs to a federal officer.
"I've been in New York State Prison," says Sammy, "I've been to county jails up in Westchester, I did state time down state, which is a maximum. I did a little time up here in Vermont, I did 90 days for my first bid, that was for assault. I spent in Jail, total time, about two years."
Almost seven years ago, in the summer of '03, Sammy moved to Burlington and settled, like many African Americans, on the north end. Whether something followed him, or whether Burlington just doesn't agree with him is not certain. Maybe both. Either way, things haven't changed much for Sammy.
"I was driving and I almost hit this chick, up on Luimos. Basically, she ran out into the street and I pulled over to apologize to her and she started screaming in my face, and I started screaming in her face. The original charge was disorderly conduct, and by the time I went to court, they had brought the charges up to simple assault by menacing. That's, you know, foul language in the middle of the street, a pubic area. It's some bullshit, it's disorderly conduct, but since I was on probation, and the girl pressed charges because she was scared of what I said to her, well, you know."
Sammy was sent to Chittenden County, a.k.a. the Four C's for thirty days. It was a dump. Even after state prison, Sammy hadn't been to any place quite like this. It was foul, the food was terrible, the guards were, "dickheads," the facility had long started to deteriorate.
"It was like hell, thirty days seemed like months," Sammy said. "Everyday was a week, lets put it like that. I didn't know what was going on in the outside world. talking to your girl on the phone, not knowing if she's cheating on you, or not. There's a lot of situations you think about, if you have kids you think about your kids and if they're all right. You think about all the fun you used to have, you can't stop thinking about when you get out, what you going to do when you get out."
That's not to say it really compared to state prison, where you really have to watch your back. There reside the Crypts and the Bloods, the Mietas, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Arian Brotherhood and the Metrocanos. A vast assortment of gangs that are ever present, constantly harassing and recruiting inmates. You had to link up with somebody.
"I got a lot of family members locked up in state prison that's doing real time, you know, like seven to fifteen. You know what I'm saying, doing life. I knew a lot of dudes in there that I got locked up with. I met a couple of Blood dudes, although I never turned Blood out in jail cause I thought that was a cop-out. You know, you do it on the street. If you join a gang in prison you're just proving that you're more pussy, that you needed a gang to survive. If you can survive on the street, you can survive in there. It's just a hundred times harder. "
Living in Burlington, Sammy doesn't deal in drugs like he used to in New York. However, that hasn't kept him from getting in trouble. Sammy finds himself constantly facing charges of harassment and assault, dealing lawyers and courts, and especially the police.
"I've been pulled over by the police while I was parked, and I was on the phone. The officer told me my license was suspended. So the next day I called the DMV to find out why my license was suspended, because I never got a ticket. They told me my license wasn't suspended, so I knew the cop was just being a racial dickhead, like he's always been to every black person that I know out here."
Throughout his many charges, trials and convictions Sammy has become fluent in recognizing his civil rights. He's never had the money to afford a lawyer, and Sammy's found that court appointee's do little more than, "facilitate conviction."
"New York law is different than Vermont law, but it all falls under a basic guideline and as long as you know how to read you can know what you're in there for and what the maximum penalty is. you can opt out to fight this and know what your case is about it's all about. Studying and reading, that's all it is"
Sammy now has a daughter, and lives with his girlfriend Kelly on Pine Street. He was in the process of obtaining a commercial driver’s license, but that plan was derailed with his latest conviction. He is now, "just happy to be free."
Smallest City of USA - The 802
BY: COLIN MIXSON
FEBRUARY 11, 2010
Burlington is the smallest U.S. city in the nation that is the largest city in it's state. Champlain College, is one of the only schools in the nation to have a game design program. It's the birthplace of the quintessential jam band Phish. Walking along the downtown strip could reveal any number of new and unusual sights, from homosexual hookups to fire breathing circus performers. For a little city Burlington has many sights, both endearing and potentially unusual.
The Flynn Theater, located downtown on Main street is home to many of the more serious artistic endeavors within the city. One could retire to the Flynn from a downtown stroll, and on any given night expect to enjoy a variety of shows; from modern dance to classical music, from the avaunt guard to stand up comedy. One of the beautiful things about Burlington is it's seeming ability to forget to take itself seriously. To let loose and have fun.
Of all it's downtown delights, it's Church street itself that most embodies the spirit of Burlington. From Spring to fall, the downtown strip is a veritable festival, and provides an in-shakeable allure that draws people from out of town, out of state and out of country. The sights are as varied as they are unusual, and entertaining. One block may hold the music of a lone clarinet player, while the next might reveal a performer laden with dozens of drums, symbols, stringed instruments and kazoos. Beyond that may lie the flowing choreography of a break dance troupe, or the haphazard antics of a freelance circus performer. Whatever you find, this little city has playing on the street what most big cities hide in their clubs.
That's because Burlington goes out of it's way to purposefully audition, and license new performers every year for the downtown Church street attraction. Not an altogether easy process, becoming licensed is in many ways an exorcise in bureaucracy. However, the process ensures that the city's residents and it's visitor's are privileged with a unique and talented cast of performers.
Recently, my friend told me how his daughter was surprised when, having gone to New Hampshire to visit family, she couldn't find any "dancers" downtown. Burlington's Church street events are an altogether unique and entertaining collection of programs, but they don't stop with performers.
During Summer, Church street explodes with the Sidewalk sale, where the savings spill literally spill onto the street. the Church Street Marketplace’s annual Market Fest, sponsored by Stowe Mountain Resort, takes place on September 10-12 and transforms the marketplace into a lively and colorful street festival, offering some of the area’s greatest arts, crafts and entertainment; includes Acoustic Jazz, Big Band, Gypsy Swing and much more.
Trying to get off of the street for awhile? Check out the Firehouse gallery located at the bottom of Church street. The Firehouse gallery, which is part of the Burlington City Arts organization is currently hosting the Game (Life) exhibition. This exhibit is probably the only fine art gallery you'll find in a thousand miles that features TV's and controllers, instead of statues and portraits. It's curator, Chris Thompson, has gathered an eclectic mix of interactive entertainment that succeed in both delighting, and puzzling them. That's ok though, for Chris, art is more about asking questions than answering them.
Burlington, whether you like it, or not, is also home to a lively, homosexual community. Recently, Burlington was home to the first annual Winter Pride festival. Winter Pride is a celebration of just being gay, and provides entertainment events for all facets of the gay community. There was a folk music jam for gay women, and a beer bash belly contest for gay men. There was pizza put for families, and at the end a great, big part for everybody. Proceeds from the festival are being donated for the purpose of booking an as of yet undeclared, "headline," performer.
Say what you will about the prominence of homosexuality in Burlington, but one thing that is for sure, is that local businesses have their back. Red Square, Metronome, Nectars and even Mr. Mike's have all in some way donated to help benefit Pride Vermont's mission; to promote the visibility of the homosexual community in main stream culture.
Burlington's not the biggest city in the world, but in it's confine there is a lot to see. Few other cities go out of their way to entertain, promote art the way that Burlington does. In many ways it is an open minded city, tolerant of other cultures and ways of life.
Lake Champlain Chocolates Shares the Love
BY: Emily Cummings
February 6, 2010
BURLINGTON—Local favorite, Lake Champlain Chocolates (LCC), wooed customers with free hot chocolate samples and a barbershop quartet singing romantic songs. The celebration was in the spirit of Valentine’s Day and was held on Saturday, February 6th at 2 p.m. It may have been one week prior to the big day, but for Lake Champlain Chocolates love is already in the air.
"We couldn’t think of a more fun way to get in the mood for Valentine's Day," Gary Coffey, Director of Retail for LCC, was quoted as saying.
The event, which was located at LCC’s Pine Street Factory Store and Cafe, showcased Retail Manager Emily Jones’ elegant designs. Jones, currently studying as an undergraduate student at Champlain College majoring in Graphic Design, redesigned all the chocolate sculpted signs in the store, along with many of the new poster signs hung on the walls. Jones worked to make over 160 hearts for Valentine's Day.
Assistant Store Manager, Rachel Bruce, explained that LCC tries to do something different every year for the holiday and for their customers—the new addition this year being the barbershop quartet. “It’s been really great. They've got a good following. A lot of the quartet’s fans came in to see the group perform,” Jones said, “It’s been a lot of fun.”
The barbershop quartet, called High Voltage, was formed in 1985 and has since been steadily entertaining audiences all over the New England region along with New York and Quebec. Every member of High Voltage belongs to the Green Mountain Chorus, the Burlington, Vermont chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, and will be offering a fun twist on the classic Valentine. Singing Valentine's will be available from the group Friday, February 12th to Sunday, February 14th. If you're interested and would like more information, check out www.SingingValentines.com.
With the sounds of love coming from High Voltage, it only made the hot chocolate samples that much sweeter. There was also a nice variety of chocolate samples throughout the store. "There are about five different samples around the store," Bruce said, "We like to offer samples on the weekends since there aren't any tours going on." LCC offers tours during the week for anyone interested Monday through Friday, on the hour, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. You don't need a reservation, although large groups are encouraged to call ahead of time, and it's free.
Walking around the store, in every direction one could see that LCC has definitely caught the love bug. Hearts, decorative boxes and sweet sayings filled the shelves and cases. "This design for the boxes has been around for two or three years now," said Bruce referring to the design on the chocolate boxes, "It's a great design because it's not just the typical pink and red. It's got green and purple too and I think it makes the design that much more unique." The box design will be changing next year. "Next year there will be a whole new design," Bruce said, "I can't wait; I'm really excited."
The brightly colored packaging adds a touch of whimsy to the box. It's a great accent for those who end up making their Valentine's Day purchases at the last minute. "We see people coming in at the last minute in a panic," said Bruce, "I think it adds something for them to be able to get a box of chocolates that has a bit more unique of a design. People see the box and they really appreciate it."
The hot chocolate, the samples and the quartet all combined to make a really pleasant afternoon for visitors to Lake Champlain Chocolates that Saturday. There was a constant flow of people coming in from the bitter cold. Almost every one of them came in and went straight in for the hot chocolate. The hot chocolate, made with all natural ingredients, was another one of LCC's products.
Lake Champlain Chocolates moved into the current Pine Street location in 1998 and makes all of their chocolates in one 24,000 square foot building. During peak season, the local company employs nearly 100 people. LCC prides itself in using only the freshest, natural ingredients for all their products. Although a local business, Lake Champlain Chocolates are available not only at retail stores in Vermont, but also through mail order, through their website www.lakechamplainchocolates.com and at specialty shops nationwide.
Events like this one, charmingly coined "Sounds of Chocolate Looove" by the company, show how much they not only value good chocolate, but also the people who enjoy it. LCC plans to continue the event next year but isn't sure yet what exactly they will do. "We'll probably continue this for our customers next year, but we'll see what we come up with," Bruce said.
Lake Champlain Chocolates is a local Vermont business serving people nationwide. The event appeared to be well received by the area's patrons of all ages. By all accounts, it was a nice way to spend a blistery Saturday afternoon in Burlington, Vermont.
February 6, 2010
BURLINGTON—Local favorite, Lake Champlain Chocolates (LCC), wooed customers with free hot chocolate samples and a barbershop quartet singing romantic songs. The celebration was in the spirit of Valentine’s Day and was held on Saturday, February 6th at 2 p.m. It may have been one week prior to the big day, but for Lake Champlain Chocolates love is already in the air.
"We couldn’t think of a more fun way to get in the mood for Valentine's Day," Gary Coffey, Director of Retail for LCC, was quoted as saying.
The event, which was located at LCC’s Pine Street Factory Store and Cafe, showcased Retail Manager Emily Jones’ elegant designs. Jones, currently studying as an undergraduate student at Champlain College majoring in Graphic Design, redesigned all the chocolate sculpted signs in the store, along with many of the new poster signs hung on the walls. Jones worked to make over 160 hearts for Valentine's Day.
Assistant Store Manager, Rachel Bruce, explained that LCC tries to do something different every year for the holiday and for their customers—the new addition this year being the barbershop quartet. “It’s been really great. They've got a good following. A lot of the quartet’s fans came in to see the group perform,” Jones said, “It’s been a lot of fun.”
The barbershop quartet, called High Voltage, was formed in 1985 and has since been steadily entertaining audiences all over the New England region along with New York and Quebec. Every member of High Voltage belongs to the Green Mountain Chorus, the Burlington, Vermont chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, and will be offering a fun twist on the classic Valentine. Singing Valentine's will be available from the group Friday, February 12th to Sunday, February 14th. If you're interested and would like more information, check out www.SingingValentines.com.
With the sounds of love coming from High Voltage, it only made the hot chocolate samples that much sweeter. There was also a nice variety of chocolate samples throughout the store. "There are about five different samples around the store," Bruce said, "We like to offer samples on the weekends since there aren't any tours going on." LCC offers tours during the week for anyone interested Monday through Friday, on the hour, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. You don't need a reservation, although large groups are encouraged to call ahead of time, and it's free.
Walking around the store, in every direction one could see that LCC has definitely caught the love bug. Hearts, decorative boxes and sweet sayings filled the shelves and cases. "This design for the boxes has been around for two or three years now," said Bruce referring to the design on the chocolate boxes, "It's a great design because it's not just the typical pink and red. It's got green and purple too and I think it makes the design that much more unique." The box design will be changing next year. "Next year there will be a whole new design," Bruce said, "I can't wait; I'm really excited."
The brightly colored packaging adds a touch of whimsy to the box. It's a great accent for those who end up making their Valentine's Day purchases at the last minute. "We see people coming in at the last minute in a panic," said Bruce, "I think it adds something for them to be able to get a box of chocolates that has a bit more unique of a design. People see the box and they really appreciate it."
The hot chocolate, the samples and the quartet all combined to make a really pleasant afternoon for visitors to Lake Champlain Chocolates that Saturday. There was a constant flow of people coming in from the bitter cold. Almost every one of them came in and went straight in for the hot chocolate. The hot chocolate, made with all natural ingredients, was another one of LCC's products.
Lake Champlain Chocolates moved into the current Pine Street location in 1998 and makes all of their chocolates in one 24,000 square foot building. During peak season, the local company employs nearly 100 people. LCC prides itself in using only the freshest, natural ingredients for all their products. Although a local business, Lake Champlain Chocolates are available not only at retail stores in Vermont, but also through mail order, through their website www.lakechamplainchocolates.com and at specialty shops nationwide.
Events like this one, charmingly coined "Sounds of Chocolate Looove" by the company, show how much they not only value good chocolate, but also the people who enjoy it. LCC plans to continue the event next year but isn't sure yet what exactly they will do. "We'll probably continue this for our customers next year, but we'll see what we come up with," Bruce said.
Lake Champlain Chocolates is a local Vermont business serving people nationwide. The event appeared to be well received by the area's patrons of all ages. By all accounts, it was a nice way to spend a blistery Saturday afternoon in Burlington, Vermont.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
BURLY BEAR BEER BASH
BY: COLIN MIXSON
January 28, 2010
BURLINGTON - On January 15th, Burlington Bears and Cubs gather at Red Square for the 2010 Burly Bear Beer Blast. The blast kicked off with techno dance music, courtesy of DJ Papi Javi; along with dancing, beer specials and pizza. A raffle was held, with the grand prize of a two night stay at the Ranch Bed & Breakfast. Before long, the Sexy Bear Belly contest began and shirtless men danced, or just stood around to the cheers of their adoring fans. After a quick series of bare belly introductions, six contestants lined up to be judged by the audience. It wasn't long before crowd favorites emerged and the winner received the grand prize of $60.00 worth of Nasty Pig apparel. Those receiving prices were encouraged to model their winnings after the show.
"I'm having a great time!" said attendee and Burly Bear member, Kyle Buchard, in between chugging his Budweiser. "It's nice to have something to do in the winter time."
"It's always nice to see people of the same likes out in society," said Tattooed Burly Bear J.D., as he stood around in nothing but his underwear. He apparently didn't mind the cold.
The event was part of the first Winter Pride Festival, which is a series of charity events that seek to benefit the gay community by providing entertainment and promoting visibility by hosting events for gays in public venues. The festival began on January 13th with Proud Women Play Music, which was followed by the Guerrilla Queer Bar, the Winter-Pride Family Putt at the Pizza Putt, a movie night at the RU12 Community Center, the January Thaw Beach Party at Higher Ground, and a Fun-house at the One-half Lounge, all in addition to the fourth Burly Bear Beer Blast.
"We have something for women, for families, for gay guys," says host and Burly Bear member Chris Pecaro. "We serve the whole community."
While the Beer Blast was a private event, Red Square patrons could be seen looking in to catch a glimpse of Burly Bears dancing with, or without, their Hawaiian t-shirts (or without their pants for that matter).
"Is it OK if we kiss a little?" one Burly Bear could be overheard asking his partner.
"There are some places in Burlington that are really uptight," says Pecaro, "There's a place called Lift where you can't really dress the way you want to, or go shirtless. They don't encourage you express yourself as a gay man."
Some businesses, however, are definitely showing their support. The event has numerous sponsors, including Papa John's, who provides food for numerous events. Clothing and Jewelry stores, Nasty Pig and Fat Bargains donated prizes for the raffle and belly contest. Red Square, Higher Grounds and Metronome helped by allowing Pride Vermont keep a portion of the door proceeds.
"Chris came to us with Pride Vermont a few years ago looking for a more congenial venue," says general manager at Red Square Alex Flamini. "They said they were having problems with other clubs downtown concerning going shirtless and showing affection, things we don't have a problem with."
The feeling seems mutual, with this Beer Blast being the third held at Red Square since the Summer Pride festival two years ago.
"When you choose a venue you have to keep a lot of things in minds," says Chris, "so I'll just say that Red Square had a lot of the things we were looking for. It's downtown, easily accessible. They were very, very willing to host the event. They're ok with the gay community. They're ok with us expressing ourselves as gay men, about kissing, hugging, taking our shirts off. Most venues in Burlington won't let us do that."
According to Pecaro, proceeds from the event are being put forward in order to acquire the services of an as of yet undeclared headline performer. So you can expect to see more of the Burly Bears downtown as the year goes on, along with Pride Vermont sponsored events culminating in the fourth annual Summer Pride Festival in July.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Returning to the Roots of Writing
BY TOMMY NGAN
January 27, 2010
BURLINGTON – Reaching into the deepest memories of childhood innocence, Pulitzer Prize winner Ronald Powers commemorates the journeys of a writer to the very roots of his journey during the League of Vermont Writer’s Conference at Double Tree Hotel.
Having grown up in Hannibal, Missouri, Powers draws upon much of his childhood experience to become a successful writer. He recognizes that writing is his books are “commodities,” but humbly adds that “there’s nothing wrong with that, but I think there are higher and deeper things to be concerned with.” While a successful writer, having won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 as the TV critic of the Chicago Sun-Times and an Emmy in 1985 for commentaries on “CBS News Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt,” and co-authored New York Times’ best seller Flags of Our Fathers, he lives a modest suburban life in Castleton, Vermont
While the philosophy of bringing people together is clear, the practice is never easy. The League of Vermont Writers strives to bring writers all around Vermont together for its quarterly public meetings on the fourth Saturday of January, April, July and September. To encompass Vermonters around the state, meetings are held at different locations; meetings in January are held in Burlington.
Everything Powers could draw upon from childhood memories have no conflict. “To this day, I know the topography of Hannibal. I know it as well as I know the features of my own face. That town has a sort of melancholy grandeur, still has.” There is a schoolboy glint in his eyes as he describes police officer Floyd Capp’s lecture on the “Five Ws of Traffic Safety.” A warm grin recalling “Media god Dancing Dan the Platter-Man.” Reluctant longing to dance again with “Becky Purcell, the Boggy Atom Bomb Shell.” His memoir could only attract himself. This is when he discovers a writer’s accountability. “That if it only matters to you, you have failed.
If you have not made the connection to the community, you’ve failed.”
Membership in the League allows members discounted fees for meetings, workshops and publishing conferences. With 186 members, the League continues to be a Non-Profit Organization, continuing the position since 1970. Workshops related to writing fiction, proposals, children’s books to building characters have been made open to the public.
Powers could write his own story for himself, but writing is never about always pleasing the self. He discovered this when helping a student of his at Middlebury College. Suggesting the student to rework an essay that did not captivate an audience. He could hold his student accountable for his work, and it was time he held himself accountable. Repeatedly, he emphasizes the importance of accountability. He makes the difference between internal accounting, which the writing only benefits the interests of the self and external account, which benefits the larger community. ““If the connection between the inward and the outward is broken, if this experience of a single human does not resonate with the common experience of humanity, then language fails.”
In 1988, Powers found the connection needed to balance himself. News of two murders in Hannibal, carried out by adolescents, shook away those childhood memories. “The town of my boyhood is a grid of perfect interlocking parts. A stained glass window of a town. Holy, and perfect, and utterly safe. At least that was my memory of the town. The recovered part. And now that holiness had been desecrated. Boys were killers there now.” Like the philosophy of bringing people together, Powers faced a writer’s challenge: fear. Terror. Interviewing friends and relatives in their homes. Facing the killers at the courthouse. Listening to childhood stories from the forgotten father of Hannibal, brought into light by his son’s murderous act. “People do have stories to tell and they want to tell them.”
Bringing You the B-Town 802!
Welcome to B-Cultured, your number one source to Burlington, Vermont!
B-Cultured in part of Champlain College's Online Journalism Course geared towards bringing you the 411 on Burlington Culture! Outside of Vermont's famous ski resorts and colorful autumn leaves, Burlington is a city bustling with life and energy all year round. From summer street performers on Church Street to February's annual Penguin Plunge, Burlington has it all for cultural diversity.
News articles are written from students who know where it's at. We bring you live footage and still pictures of the events spicing up Burlington's social and cultural life.
Your staff of writers:
Adam Butler - Editor
Tommy Ngan - Art Director
Emily Cummings
Colin Mixson
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